NBA Power Rankings: Rockets, Clippers threatening Bucks, Lakers at the top

By Kurt HelinMar 4, 2020, 2:20 PM EST

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

While the Bucks and Lakers hold on to their top two spots, the Rockets and Clippers are climbing fast and look like threats (at least in the West).

1. Bucks (52-9, Last Week No. 1). Brook Lopez is going to get some down-ballot Defensive Player of the Year votes — and he deserves them. Lopez has contested more shots than anyone in the NBA this season — 1,133 shot contests (82% of those are twos), which is 182 more than the next person on the list (Rudy Gobert). Lopez has played the best defense of his career and is a key reason the Bucks have the top-ranked defense in the NBA. That defense will get a good test Friday night when the Bucks travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers.

2. Lakers (47-13, LW No. 2). The Lakers add 4.1 points per 100 possessions because of their transition play, tied for most in the league (with Toronto, stats via Cleaning The Glass). The Lakers are a force when they get out and run, however, that is muted somewhat because they have a middle-of-the-pack transition defense. The Lakers are an elite halfcourt defense but the Bucks will test their transition defense Friday night (no team tries to run as much as Milwaukee). Then comes a Sunday showcase game against the healthy and hot Clippers.

3. Rockets (39-21, LW 4). In November, Russell Westbrook took 28.3% of his shots from three and 36.4% at the rim, and he struggled with his shot. In his last 10 games, just 9.4% of his shots are threes while more than half (50.6%) of his shots came at the rim — and Westbrook is thriving. The Rockets have gotten him chances to play downhill and attack closer to the rim, using him in snug pick-and-rolls and tighter spaces with their small ball lineups. It has worked brilliantly. This is one of the best stretches of basketball in Westbrook’s career.

4. Clippers (42-19, LW 8). Finally healthy and fully loaded, the Clippers have won five in a row and looked like a force of nature the past week. As in, best team in the NBA kind of force of nature. Their offense has been the best in the NBA over the past five games since everyone got in the lineup, and the defense has locked teams down (fifth-best in the league in the last five, although that got a little skewed by Shake Milton’s hot hand). Speaking of defense: Montrezl Harrell leads the NBA in charges drawn this season with 30. Doc Rivers said in the Clippers system they see a charge drawn the same way as a blocked shot and Harrell has taken that to heart.

5. Celtics (41-19, LW 5). Kemba Walker returned Tuesday night and had 21 points on 23 minutes, but a minutes limit had him on the bench down the stretch as the Celtics blew a 17-point fourth quarter lead and fell to the Nets in Boston’s worst loss of the season. Also not on the court at the end of that was was Jayson Tatum, due to illness, but the numbers are in from Tatum’s breakout February: 30.7 points a game on a 63.7 true shooting percentage, plus 7.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists a night.

6. Raptors (43-18, LW 3). Toronto just can’t get healthy — right as Norman Powell returns, Fred Van Vleet and Serge Ibaka head to the bench injured (joining Marc Gasol, who has been out since January). Toronto is up one game in the loss column over Boston for the two seed in the East, and their schedules are basically even in terms of difficulty the rest of the way. Toronto needs to get healthy and get some wins.

7. Nuggets (41-20, LW 7). Denver had an impressive defensive start to the season, but the blowout loss to the Clippers last Friday night was a reminder how much they have faded on that end of the court — the Nuggets are 20th in the league in defense over their last 10 games. This may be the biggest question the Nuggets face heading into the postseason: Can they get enough stops when it matters. Denver has 22 games to get their defensive groove back from November.

8. Mavericks (37-25, LW 10). As should have been expected coming off an ACL injury, it took a while for Kristaps Porzingis to get his legs back under him. In November he averaged 15.8 points per game on 38.7 percent shooting overall and he made 2.1 threes a game. Fast forward to February where he averaged 25.2 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting and 3.7 made threes a game (on 39.8 percent shooting from deep). Fans and some pundits were impatient, but Porzingis looks like the cornerstone Dallas thought he would be.

9. Heat (39-22, LW 12). Back in November, Miami had a defensive rating of 105, eighth-best in the NBA. Since then, the Heat defense has gotten a little worse each month, culminating in a February defensive rating of 113.7, a bottom 10 in the league ranking (hat tip to our old friend Rob Mahoney of The Ringer for pointing that out). Miami’s defense was spectacular for a night in the upset of Milwaukee this week, and the team is on a three-game winning streak. The defense will get tested by Zion and New Orleans on Friday night.

10. Thunder (37-24, LW 6). Dennis Schroder is one of the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 18.9 points per game and shooting 38 percent from three. It helps that he is part of the powerful three-guard lineup with Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander that has drawn a lot of attention, and it helps that the Clippers’ two stars will split the vote, but Schroder deserves to be at the front of that race. Reality hit the Thunder hard the last two games when the Bucks — in a 47-point blowout — and the Clippers handled them with relative ease.

11. Pacers (37-24, LW 13). While Jeremy Lamb’s torn ACL is painful news, Indiana has continued to roll of late, having won four in a row and 6-of-7. Part of the spark there is Victor Oladipo looking a little better each game (he had 19 points against Cleveland), at least until a right knee flare up has him out at least a game and maybe more. The Pacers have won two in a row to start 5-of-6 on the road, but things get tougher with the Bucks, Mavs, and 76ers coming up.

12. 76ers (37-25, LW 9). Philadelphia made a Christmas Day statement beating Milwaukee 121-109, improving to 23-10. Since that they are 14-15 with a -2.1 net rating, the defense has been solid but held back by a 24th-ranked offense (Shake Milton can only bail them out so much). That’s not getting better in the short term with Joel Embiid still out, and Ben Simmons is going to be out “a while” due to his lower back nerve issue, according to coach Brett Brown. The Sixers have slid back to sixth in the East, but the top priority is getting healthy before the playoffs.

13. Jazz (38-22, LW 11). The Jazz have the worst defense in the NBA since the All-Star break. That is some small sample size theater of just six games, but dead last is not good. Donovan Mitchell was single-handedly trying to cover that up scoring 30+ points in four straight games (until that streak ended Monday because he didn’t need to do that to beat the Cavs), but the Jazz need to get the defense fixed. A month ago I would have said Rudy Gobert is on his way to another DPOY award, but he and the Jazz have not looked great defensively of late and that door is now open for others to walk through.

14. Grizzlies (30-31, LW 17). Fivethirtyeight.com gives the Grizzlies a 13% chance of making the playoffs, that despite their three-game lead for the eight seed with 21 games to play (give or take, depending on the team). That’s because four teams — the Kings, Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Pelicans — are within four games of the Grizzlies, and every one of them has an easier schedule than Memphis. That’s why the Grizzlies upset of the Lakers was so critical, it was an unexpected win. It likely takes about 40 wins to get the last playoff spot, which means the Grizzlies need to go 10-11 the rest of the way. Do that and there’s no question Ja Morant is the Rookie of the Year (there probably isn’t anyway).

15. Pelicans (26-35, LW 14). There are a lot of fans around the league (and in executive offices at ESPN/TNT) who want the Pelicans to grab the eight seed and face the Lakers in the first round, which is why a loss like Tuesday’s to a struggling Minnesota team is a big setback. Now New Orleans has 5-of-6 on the road and against some quality teams such as the Mavericks and Clippers. That soft schedule everyone talks about with the Pels is the final dozen games or so of the season but they have to stay afloat until then to have a chance.

16. Magic (27-34, LW 16). Steve Clifford finds ways to make sure his team can compete, and throw in Aaron Gordon’s first career triple-double (against Minnesota) and this team looks like it can avoid Milwaukee in the first round. There is a 99% chance the Magic make the playoffs for the second straight year (according to fivethirtyeight.com) but that doesn’t negate the “what kind of team are they trying to build?” questions that the team will face this summer.

17. Nets (27-33, LW 15). Tuesday night’s comeback win against the Heat — sparked by Caris LeVert’s 51 — was the best win of the season for Brooklyn. That took some of the sting out of a recent four-game losing streak where the Nets had a chance to win three of those games late and fell short. Brooklyn is stumbling toward the finish line this season, but its eyes were always on next season anyway.

18. Kings (25-37, LW 18). Sacramento is surging, having won 6-of-7 to move within three games of the Grizzlies and ending the longest playoff drought in the NBA. The Kings have a top-10 offense and defense, leading to a +6.2 net rating, since the All-Star break. Fivethirtyeight.com gives the Kings a 15% chance of making the postseason, which is a lot better than things looked a couple of weeks ago.

19. Trail Blazers (27-35, LW 19). Damian Lillard is set to return to the lineup on Wednesday night after missing six games with a strained groin (only six because it happened just before the All-Star break). Portland went 2-4 in those games but remained within the striking distance of the Grizzlies and the playoffs if they got hot — now Lillard needs to light this fire (fivethirtyeight.com gives Portland a 19% chance of making the playoffs and taking on the Lakers in the first round).

20. Spurs (26-34, LW 21). Fivethirtyeight.com gives the Spurs just a 3% chance to come out of the pack and make the playoffs, maybe what they need is to have Tim Duncan as acting coach for more games, he is undefeated after all. Part of the reason for the pessimism around the Spurs chances is they have lost big man Jokob Poeltl for a few weeks to a month due to a right MCL sprain.

21. Wizards (22-38, LW 22). Bradley Beal is starting to get the James Harden treatment late in games, with teams throwing early double-teams at him to get the ball out of his hands and dare anyone else on the roster to beat them. The reason is obvious: Beal is red hot, averaging 36.2 points per game in February. Fivethirtyeight.com gives the Wizards a 10% chance of making the playoffs, but to get there they are going to need some help from Brooklyn (or Orland) coming back to the pack.

22. Suns (24-38, LW 20). The Suns have lost Kelly Oubre Jr., likely for the season, following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, and after that the Suns have lost four in a row. That has all but killed the dreams of climbing up into the playoffs in Phoenix. One of those losses was at home to the Warriors (with both Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton on the court), the kind of loss teams in a tight playoff race cannot afford.

23. Pistons (20-42, LW 24). Great note from James Edwards III over at the Athletic: Tony Snell is 28-of-28 at the free throw line this season, only the second player in league history to have more than 25 attempts in a season without a miss. If he can get over 30 attempts without a miss, he will set a new NBA record for the most free throws in a season without a miss. Hopefully all the attention on this streak doesn’t jinx it.

24. Bulls (21-40, LW 23). Coby White continues to be red hot (even though his 30+ point a game streak ended) and it’s possible Lauri Markkanen will be back soon from his pelvis injury. None of that, however, as Bulls fans as pumped as the rumors there could be front office changes this summer. Gar Forman appears to be on the way out, but it looks like John Paxson will remain on as president. How much power the new GM has — and what it means for coach Jim Boylen’s future — will be something to watch.

25. Knicks (19-42, LW 28). The Knicks have had a couple of nice, promising wins this week: They beat the Bulls behind Mitchell Robinson‘s 23 points and 10 rebounds; then R.J. Barrett went off for 27 in an upset win against Houston. Unfortunately, nobody is talking about that because Knicks management got in a public pissing match with Spike Lee that the Knicks could not win. The Knicks need to keep their heads down and fix the on-court product, but they’ve needed to do that for years and here we are.

26. Hornets (21-40, LW 25). Devonte' Graham still has his moments, like the nine points in the fourth quarter against Toronto to spark an upset win last Friday, but the consistency of his game is not there. Charlotte remains one of the luckiest teams in the NBA this season, with the net rating of a 17-win team, but they have snuck out some close ones to boost that total.

27. Hawks (19-44, LW 26). Clint Capela has been approved for contact, but is at least two weeks away from stepping on the court — Atlanta still wants to see that this season, to jump start the Trae Young/Capela chemistry. In their last five games the Hawks have the third worst defense in the league, yet play at the fourth fastest pace, which means a lot of opponent points. Atlanta is 2-3 in those games.

28. Timberwolves (18-42, LW 29). They have turbocharged the offense since the All-Star break, playing at a nearly 108 possessions a game pace. In those games, 17.5% of their plays have started in transition, up from a middle-of-the-pack 14.3% for the season. The Timberwolves also have the second worst defense in the league since the break, meaning with the pace they are giving up a lot of points.

29. Cavaliers (17-44, LW 27). J.B. Bickerstaff started with a 3-1 record as the Cavaliers coach, but three straight losses have changed that dynamic (although they were competitive in a couple of those). Cleveland is going to have a high pick in a guard-heavy draft coming up this June, and after watching the Darius Garland/Collin Sexton backcourt for a season, this franchise has to take the best guy on the board regardless of position. There is no Luka or Zion on this roster, the Cavs need talent regardless of position.

30. Warriors (14-48 LW 30). Stephen Curry should return to the court this week, and even with the rust that adds a reason to watch this team play. Steve Kerr and the Warriors staff need to start assessing how Curry fits with Andrew Wiggins, and also with Eric Paschall (who could set some picks, roll, and possibly have some chemistry with Curry). The Warriors aren’t giving up the odds of a high pick with a couple more wins, and just having Curry back on the court will be good for the psyche of the team.

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Zion cleared for on-court work, hamstring re-evaluated in two weeks

By Kurt HelinMar 22, 2023, 10:32 PM EDT

The New Orleans Pelicans expected Zion Williamson to return from his strained hamstring before the season ends.

The latest news out of the Big Easy doesn’t make that sound likely. While he has been cleared for some on-court activity, Zion will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the team announced.

Medical Update on Zion Williamson:

Following a re-evaluation on his right hamstring strain, Zion Williamson has been cleared to return to on-court activities. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 22, 2023

A two-week timeline has him re-evaluated on April 5. The last day of the NBA regular season is April 9.

If the goal is to have him back for the playoffs, the Pelicans need to make it first — at 35-37 they sat 12th in the West heading into Wednesday night’s action, but that was just half a game out of the play-in and 1.5 games out of tying Golden State for the No. 6 seed (although leapfrogging all those teams to get to the top six is highly improbable). Zion returning would make the Pelicans a lower-seed team to fear in the playoffs, they outscore opponents by 7.2 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court this season.

The problem is he has only been on the court for 29 games. We don’t know when we will see him again.

NBA Power Rankings: Bucks hold on to top spot but 76ers, Celtics close

By Kurt HelinMar 22, 2023, 8:09 PM EDT

Not much movement at the top of the NBC Sports NBA Power Rankings this week as teams racked up wins as they jockeyed for playoff seeding. A few teams, such as Miami, are climbing.

1. Bucks (51-20, Last week No. 1). If you believe the MVP should be the best player from the best team, then Giannis Antetokounmpo is your guy — and he has been gaining support in recent weeks (helped in part by the Nuggets’ slide). Antetokounmpo himself is less focused on that award and more on securing the No.1 seed in the East and its easier path through the playoffs. The Bucks have a cushion (three games in the loss column over the 76ers and Celtics) and just have to hold on to it through the four-game road trip that starts Friday in Utah. The most interesting game of that trip is Saturday in Denver, a battle of No.1 seeds.

2. 76ers (48-23, LW 2). Tyrese Maxey has found his groove of late, averaging 22.1 points and 3.4 assists a game in March — his attacking offense has been a critical part of the 76ers’ hot streak (eight straight wins until a loss to the Bulls on Monday). Joel Embiid‘s play — and with its resurgent MVP case — has also been at the heart of that run, but can he keep it going during a four-game road trip. The game everyone has circled on their calendar is Monday when the 76ers travel to Denver and Joel Embiid squares off against Nikola Jokić in a game that will take on outsized importance.

3. Celtics (50-23, LW 3). Robert Williams III returned to the court Tuesday night in an impressive win over the Kings. This matters — Williams will be key for this Celtics team to match up with Milwaukee and Philadelphia, and maybe even in the first round if they face Miami. They simply are not the same defensively or on the glass if he is not right. The other thing the Celtics need to be changed? Jayson Tatum is hitting just 29.2% of his 3-pointers since the All-Star break. Winnable games this week against the Pacers, Spurs, and Wizards.

4. Cavaliers (46-28, LW 4). Cleveland has won 7-of-9, but the two losses (one to the Heat in Miami, the other to Philadelphia) raise some questions about what kind of playoff threat the Cavaliers really are. The loss to the 76ers was the second night of a back-to-back, and Jarrett Allen was out, but it was still troubling. The Cavaliers appear headed for a 4/5 first-round playoff showdown with a scrappy Knicks team, but Cleveland will have the best player on the court in that series in Donovan Mitchell (the one they let get away in New York), and he can do things like this.

EVERY ANGLE of Donovan Mitchell's monster dunk tonight 🎬 pic.twitter.com/CPb9KMRp75

— NBA (@NBA) March 22, 2023

5. Nuggets (48-24, LW 5). Denver won 2-of-3 on the road this week, at least stemming the recent slide (although it will take more than just a couple of wins to give a jolt to the narrative around Nikola Jokic’s MVP candidacy). The real tests are awaiting when they arrive home: Milwaukee on Saturday and Joel Embiid and the 76ers on Monday. Those games are measuring sticks for the Nuggets as they prepare for the postseason, but they also will take on outsized importance in the narrative about the MVP (fair or not).

6. Grizzlies (44-27, LW 7). Ja Morant is set to return to the court Wednesday, but Dillon Brooks will be out that night due to a suspension, and that gets at the heart of the bigger issue with the Grizzlies — they have to be disciplined if they want to make a deep playoff run. NBC Sports basketball analyst Corey Robinson talks about the Grizzlies’ “punk rock attitude” which has both been part of what fuels them and part of what trips them up. In a West open for the taking, the Grizzlies have the talent, but they must be disciplined. They also have to get Steven Adams back, they miss him badly on the court and it appears he might be back for the playoffs, but nothing is for sure.

7. Kings (43-29, LW 6). The Kings will make the playoffs as a No.2 or 3 seed, but the ugly loss to the Celtics at home only fuels the questions about how deep a run this team can make in the playoffs with its 24th-ranked defense. (It should be noted that the Celtics game was the second night of a back-to-back for the Kings and their fifth game in seven days.) The Kings have a run in them with their versatile, impossible-to-stop offense, but it will depend on matchups — there are some dangerous teams in the bottom half of the West bracket. Who will the Kings’ face, how healthy will they be and matchups will be deciding factors. The Kings are good enough to make the conference finals, but there will be no easy paths in the West this year.

8. Knicks (42-31, LW 8). Josh Hart wants to stay in New York and the feeling is mutual among Knicks faithful, but the question, as always is money. The Knicks can offer four years, $51 million, but if another team comes in over the top at the restricted free agent (likely with a poison-pill Arenas rule offer) New York’s front office will have a decision to make. The Knicks appear headed for the No. 5 seed, but two of their next four games are against the Heat, New York needs a split there and not to go on a little losing streak to hold on to that spot.

9. Suns (38-33, LW 10). Phoenix has dropped 4-of-5, and them holding on to the No. 4 seed no longer feels like a sure thing, the Clippers are just one game back and the Warriors two games. The problem over those five games has been the Suns’ offense, which is 26th in the league for those games — that’s something Kevin Durant would fix just walking in the door. Durant (left ankle sprain) will be re-evaluated next week and back for at least a handful of the Suns’ remaining games. That means the Suns need wins and they have a tough week ahead with the Lakers, Kings and 76ers on the schedule.

10. Clippers (38-35, LW 12). The Clippers have won 5-of-7, with one of those losses coming in the game Kawhi Leonard sat out. That is not a coincidence, as Law Murray of The Athletic noted, the Clippers have lost seven in a row when Leonard sits and are 3-14 in their last 17 without him. Now the Clippers will need to win the next couple of weeks without Paul George, who will be re-evaluated from a knee sprain in 2-3 weeks. The Clippers are just one game out of four seed with some winnable games this week against OKC, the Pelicans and Bulls.

11. Heat (39-34, LW 11). Miami is making a push to catch the stripped-down Nets for the No.6 seed and avoiding the play-in — they are only half a game back, but Brooklyn has the tiebreaker so it is more like 1.5 games. That makes the Saturday night showdown against the Nets must win. Beyond that one game, the on-again/off-again Heat — beat the Grizzles and Cavaliers, lose to the Bulls — need consistency. And they need Max Strus and some other role players to start hitting their 3-pointers.

12. Warriors (37-36, LW 9). The Warriors snapped their 11-game road losing streak against lowly Houston, but that “winning streak” will get put to the test Wednesday night against Dallas — most importantly, can the Warriors start getting stops on the road? Their defense is 28th in the league on the road, but third-best (and more than 11 points per 100 possessions better) at home. After Wednesday the Warriors have 5-of-6 at home and they need to take advantage of that stretch and lock in their place in the top six in the West. Really good test at home Friday against the 76ers and MVP-candidate Joel Embiid.

13. Mavericks (36-36, LW 14). Dallas went 2-3 in games Luka Dončić missed with a left thigh strain, but the good news is he will be back Wednesday night in a critical showdown against the Warriors, two teams battling for the No.6 seed in the West (Golden State currently hold the spot, but the teams are tied in the loss column). The bad news for Dallas is Kyrie Irving will be out with right foot soreness after Dillon Brooks stepped on his foot in the Memphis game. The Mavericks could use a big night (or few games, if Irving is out) from Jaden Harvey, who will see a minutes bump. After the Warriors the Mavs have winnable games this week against the Hornets (twice) and the Pacers).

14. Thunder (36-36, LW 17). Look who sits at the No.7 seed in the West — the Thunder are not tanking, they are thinking postseason. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is leading that charge and cementing his All-NBA status, scoring 40 points Sunday in a win over the Suns, then dropping 31 on the Clippers on Tuesday. One thing that makes stopping the Thunder difficult is the size of their backcourt — Gilgeous-Alexander is 6’6″ and Josh Giddey is 6’8″. The Thunder started 1-0 on their West Coast road trip (a quick-trigger referee helped with that) and they have the Clippers (again), Lakers and Blazers to round out the trip.

15. Nets (39-33, LW 13). The Nets have dropped four in a row and can feel the Heat… sorry, that joke/line bothered even me. And I wrote it. But with Miami just one game back and eyeing the No. 6 seed and avoiding the play-in, Brooklyn needs wins (and to get some stops, it’s their defense that is letting them down right now). The good news is the Nets have the third easiest schedule in the NBA the rest of the way, but it doesn’t show in the shop term with the Cavaliers up next then a critical game against those Heat.

16. Raptors (35-37, LW 19). It’s the story of their season — Toronto has a +5.1 net rating over its last six games, but just a 3-3 record. For the season, they have the point differential of a team that is 38-34 (which would only move them up one spot to eighth in the East). The Raptors have a three-game cushion, and they are not falling out of the play-in, but the real target is the Hawks at No. 8 — the Raptors are just one game back of that easier path to the playoffs. They have winnable games this week against the Pacers, Pistons and Wizards, the Raptors just need to keep their focus.

17. Lakers 35-37, LW 18). Austin Reaves is earning the big payday he has coming this offseason (four years, $50ish million sounds about right), but the Lakers need more than that to get into the playoffs. They need peak Anthony Davis for a full 48 minutes. And they need LeBron James back from his foot tendon issue, he should be coming up for re-evaluation soon and has hinted on social media he is getting closer to a return. The Lakers have three more at home this week (Suns, Thunder, Bulls) before heading out on the road for five.

18. Timberwolves (36-37, LW 15). Karl-Anthony Towns is returning Wednesday after missing 51 games with a calf injury, a huge boost to the Timberwolves — but also presents a challenge. It’s hard to integrate any player who deserves a lot of offensive touches back into the rhythm of a team used to playing without him, and the fit the 21 games Towns played to open the season was clunky. It should be easier with a distributor in Mike Conley at the point (as opposed to D'Angelo Russell). Anthony Edwards‘s status is still up in the air as of this writing, but it’s good news that he will not miss much time. The Timberwolves need wins and face the Hawks, Warriors and Kings up this week.

19. Hawks (36-36, LW 16). Fans in Atlanta who remember the bump the team got when Lloyd Pierce was pushed out and Nate McMillan became the head coach have wondered why there hasn’t been the same thing with Quin Snyder in the door. It’s a very different situation, and Snyder hasn’t had the chance to install his offense (or tweak the roster). Snyder was a long-term hire. In the short term the goal is to hang on to the No.8 seed and hold off the surging Raptors, which means finding wins in games against the Timberwolves, Grizzlies, Pacers and Cavaliers. No easy task.

20. Bulls (34-37, LW 23). The Chicago Bulls needed a fire lit under them this season — that’s what Patrick Beverley excels at. The Bulls are 8-4 since signing Beverley on the buyout market with the second-best net rating in the league over that stretch (+7.9), and that has moved them up to the No.10 seed and the play in with a 2.5 game cushion to keep it. Beverley is not a quiet guy who just leads by example, his voice made a difference. It also helps Zach LaVine is averaging 29.9 points a game and shooting 45% from in those dozen games as well.

21. Jazz (35-36, LW 21). So much for tanking. We thought the Jazz bought tickets for the Wembanyama sweepstakes last summer, but they started the season 10-4. After trading away a lot of depth and quality at the deadline it was thought the tanking would start in earnest, but after a dip the Jazz are back into the top 10 and looking like a possible play-in team. Walker Kessler is drawing the headlines with his play this season, but guard Ochai Agbaji has stepped up in recent weeks, including 27 points against the Kings. Utah has a couple of keepers on the roster.

22. Pelicans (35-37, LW 20). Zion Williamson will be out at least two more weeks (through April 5) while the Pelicans are making their playoff push. Not good news for a team that has fallen to the No.12 seed and needs to string together some wins to make the postseason (things have gotten so bad they have the same record as the Lakers — with whom they have a pick swap this year). The Pelicans head out on the road Saturday for four, facing the Clippers, Blazers, Warriors and Nuggets — a tough challenge for a team needing wins.

23. Wizards (32-40, LW 22). Washington has gone 3-11 since the All-Star break and fallen 2.5 games out of the final play-in spot in the East. They will need help from teams currently playing well in the Bulls and Raptors to have a shot at making the postseason. That’s troubling for a team that entered the season with top-six aspirations — some hard questions are coming this summer. This week the Nuggets, Spurs and Raptors are on the schedule.

24. Pacers (32-40, LW 25). There are bright spots on this roster — Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Bennedict Mathurin — but it has just not come together, particularly on the defensive end. The Raptors are on the road for their next three, and it will be a tough trip: Toronto, Boston and Atlanta.

25. Magic 30-43, LW 26). Orlando is playing the role of spoiler well with some quality on the court in recent wins against Miami, the Clippers and the Wizards. While Paolo Banchero draws the headlines (and will win Rookie of the Year) it’s been the backcourt of a revived Markelle Fultz along with some good nights from Cole Anthony that has these Magic looking like a team that will not go quietly into the offseason.

26. Trail Blazers (31-40, LW 24). While some media outlets ran with this, don’t take Damian Lillard‘s recent comments as a sign he wants out of Portland. The Blazers aren’t going to trade him unless he asks out and league sources have told NBC Sports nobody expects him to (at least for the next year). He’s just frustrated with the losing and is at least considering shutting it down for the season, which is understandable. Portland has lost six in a row and are four games out of the last play-in spot — their postseason dreams are done. Starting Friday against the Bulls, the Blazers are home for five in a row.

27. Hornets (23-50, LW 27). Michael Jordan selling his majority shares of the Hornets has generally been seen as a positive for the franchise around the league. This is a team in need of new investments in practice/training facilities and more, and the new owners can step in and make a difference there right away. It’s also good for the league that Jordan will hang on to a minority ownership share of the team, it’s important for the GOAT to remain involved with the league.

28. Rockets (18-54, LW 28). With a bottom three record (and with it the best possible lottery odds) locked up, coach Stephen Silas has been able to lean into his young core and turn them loose, and they picked up some quality wins against the Celtics, Lakers and Pelicans (New Orleans even that out a couple of nights later). This week Jalen Green and the Rockets head out on the road, starting with two games against Memphis, followed by the Cavaliers.

29. Spurs (19-53, LW 29). The 24-point comeback win against the Hawks showed some heart from San Antonio, but this has been a rough season. Which was to be expected, but this will be the Spurs’ fourth straight season of missing the playoffs and the turnaround has been slow. Some luck — first with the draft, then with health — could turn things around pretty quickly. Part of the challenge this season was all the time Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson missed due to injuries.

30. Pistons (16-57, LW 30). No team is poised for a faster bounce back next season — get Cade Cunningham back healthy and put him next to Jaden Ivey, Isaiah Stewart, James Wiseman (who has spread his wings a little in the Motor City), veteran Bojan Bogdanovic, plus whoever they draft, and the Pistons could easily be in the play-in mix. Up on the schedule this week for Detroit are the Raptors and Bucks, to tough asks.

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Clippers’ Paul George out at least 2-3 weeks with sprained knee

By Kurt HelinMar 22, 2023, 3:07 PM EDT

Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

Clippers’ All-Star forward Paul George will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks after an MRI confined a sprained knee, the team announced on Wednesday. That likely means George is out for the rest of the regular season.

It looked a lot worse when it happened (and it is possible George will be out longer than a few weeks). George was injured with 4:38 left in the Thunder’s win over the Clippers Tuesday night. George had after a collision with Lu Dort when both were for a rebound, Dort was called for a foul on the play.

Here’s the play where Paul George suffered what appears to be a leg injury. pic.twitter.com/k0JbXyrXvn

— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 22, 2023

George is critical for the Clippers, who sit as the No.5 seed in the West, just a game back of Phoenix at No.4 but also 2.5 games from falling out of the playoffs entirely in a crowded bottom half of the bracket. George is averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists a game this season, and the Clippers are 6.8 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the court.

The most likely outcome is the Clippers sit George for the rest of the regular season and if, if they can hold on to a top-six seed, that would mean he would have until April 15-16 before the Clippers would have their first postseason game. The question is will that be enough time to get George back on the court?

Karl-Anthony Towns set to make return to Timberwolves Wednesday

By Kurt HelinMar 22, 2023, 12:51 PM EDT

David Berding/Getty Images

It was Nov. 28 — 51 games ago — the last time Karl-Anthony Towns stepped on the court for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That changes tonight against the Hawks, according to multiple reports, plus Towns himself said he will make his return to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

“I’m super excited to get back out on the court and help my team because these next nine games are super important,” Towns said…

“I’m just trying to pick up where I left off,” Towns said. “I was telling my dad right before I got hurt, I felt the most complete as a player in my career. From defensive end, from offensive end, from a mental aspect, leadership aspect … I felt very complete.”

The Timberwolves sit ninth in the West, in the middle of a crowded bottom of the conference where they are just a game out of the No.6 seed but also half a game away from falling out of the play-in and missing the postseason entirely. The Timberwolves need wins, and adding an elite offensive player such as Towns should help with that (as would getting Anthony Edwards back from his sprained ankle, which could happen tonight but, if not, is expected soon).

Towns suffered a calf injury just after Thanksgiving that was expected to keep him out for 4-6 weeks. However, a January setback extended that recovery to 51 games. Towns averaged 21.4 points and 8.5 rebounds a game this season before the injury.

However, his fit in those early games with Rudy Gobert (acquired over the summer), Edwards and D'Angelo Russell was clunky. Town’s efficiency was down (32.8% from 3) and the offense had a “your turn then my turn” feel. That offense has started to find a better groove recently with Edwards taking on a larger ball-handling role, then Russell being for Mike Conley (more of a traditional, floor general point guard) — the Minnesota offense in March was 4.8 points per 100 possessions better than it was in November.

How will injecting Towns back into that mix help the offense? How will it impact the defense? Unfortunately, coach Chris Finch and company don’t have time to experiment much and play around with lineup combinations, they need wins and they need them now to make the postseason.

Still, it’s good to have Towns back on the court.

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