So, we’re back to making Sneaker Reporter Power Rankings for NBA basketball, and it feels so good to say that.
Each of the 22 teams inside the NBA campus has gotten an opportunity to play at least two games, so we’ve decided to go ahead and restart up the power rankings because one game is too small of a sample size to begin with. The league’s official resumption in Lake Buena Vista, Florida got off to a thunderous start, causing rousing waves of approval in more ways than one.
From the electric pace of play and the high possibility of having exciting games whenever viewers turn on their television sets to the impact of the players’ voices on the Black Lives Matter social justice movement, the bubble has been a success so far. We’ve seen the Battle of L.A. take place, as the Los Angeles Lakers topped the Clippers for the second time in a row this year, Giannis Antetokounmpo asserted his case to end the MVP race with two dominant performances against the Celtics and Rockets, and the Pelicans, Trail Blazers and Spurs loosen the grip of the eighth-seeded Grizzlies for the last spot in the playoff seeding.
And that’s only been in one week. With that said, let’s get into the resumption of the SR – NBA Power Rankings.
(P.S. – if you’ve forgotten what’s been going on during the season of all the teams inside the bubble, or if you just need a guide to get caught up real quick in the previous Power Rankings we did back on March 9th – two days before the season was suspended, read up here.)
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1. Milwaukee Bucks (54-13, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 1)
A 144-day layoff meant nothing for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo for the resumption of the season. And despite a late-game giveaway of a win against Houston, the Greek Freak is still the frontrunner for the league’s Most Valuable Player award by an increasingly wide margin. Milwaukee is 1-1 inside the bubble and started their season resumption with a single-digit victory against the Celtics, in which the league’s best defensively rated team held Cs superstar Jayson Tatum to an abhorrently silent 5 points off 2-18 shooting.
They haven’t missed a beat, and on that defensive end they also held Houston to a combined 39.6 percent from beyond the three-point line while keeping James Harden at bay as he shot 5-14 from the field for a total of 24 points. Keep in mind, they’re doing this while still missing parts of their rotation, as Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton (Coronavirus recovery) still have yet to return to play.
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2. Los Angeles Lakers (51-15, Bubble Record: 2-1, Previous Ranking: 2)
Credit must be given to a certain Anthony Davis, who has, albeit, carried a Lakers team that got off to a relatively sluggish restart with their coveted Megastar LeBron James only shooting 38 percent in the first two games. As their leading scorer for all three games, Davis conveyed that same sentiment last night, giving the Utah Jazz (and more specifically Rudy Gobert) a 40-Burger as he dropped 42 points off 13-28 shooting.
Defensively, however, the Lakers have shined in their two wins, the first in a close victory over the Los Angeles Clippers which saw LBJ lock up both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the game’s final possession after James scored the go-ahead putback to win it. Their lone loss inside the bubble came a few days after their win over the Clippers, in which LA was stymied from the get-go during a lackluster effort against defending champion Toronto.
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3. Toronto Raptors (48-18, Bubble Ranking: 2-0, Previous Ranking: 3)
Sleep on Toronto at your own peril. These Raps are serious about retaining their title and don’t care whoever they have to face up against in order to do so.
Undefeated in the bubble and even without the help of their adored fans inside and outside of the Scotiabank Arena, Nick Nurse (who was a mere vote away from winning Coach of the Year in a three-way tie) has shown little apprehension to roll out a plethora of lineup combinations and imply suffocating defensive coverages against two venerable and arduous high-scoring teams. They were able to topple both the Western-best Los Angeles Lakers by 15 in a 107-92 victory, and outlast their rival Miami Heat by 4 in a 107-103 win.
In those two wins, Kyle Lowry took the front seat and charioted the Raptors to get closer to 50 wins with an eye-opening 33-point night in 38 minutes against LA, and Fred VanVleet took over in their second win, scoring a career-high 36 points with a fiery 7-12 night from downtown.
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4. Los Angeles Clippers (45-21, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 4)
Though competing with a rather incomplete roster as Montrezl Harrell plans to return to his team after attending to a family emergency and as Lou Willams – er, Lemon Pepper (or Honey Barbeque) Lou Williams plans to do the same after being penalized after leaving the bubble to get some wings from a Gentleman’s club in Atlanta, Georgia – the Clippers only lost by two to their Staples Center roommates in the Lakers and would further proceed to stomp the Pelicans by double-digits.
Chemistry looks to still be a kink worked out in due time, but in the case of their two stars in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, the foot has not left the pedal. Leonard and George continue to gain virtuous and meaningful minutes together, and more importantly, all of those Load Management games look to be paying off considering how healthy the two have been since the restart of the season.
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5. Houston Rockets (42-24, Bubble Record: 2-0, Previous Ranking: 10)
Who said these Small-Ball Rockets can’t lock up, grab boards and control the tempo of games that come down to crunch time without a reliable big man? H-Town’s team pulled off some energized comebacks versus both Dallas and Milwaukee to begin their bubble campaign, rallying from down seven to force overtime in a win over the Mavericks as well as eradicate an eight-point deficit against the league-best Bucks to win in the game’s waning three minutes.
When asked about how tough it was to stop MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo on the defensive end, Harden concluded the case, saying “I have nothing to prove to anybody, nothing to say.” Usually not applauded for his work on locking up an opposing team’s best player, his uncharacteristically harassing defense on Antetokounmpo actually shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if they look at the numbers. Houston is actually third in the league in total defensive rating in the clutch (97.8 ppg. per 10 possessions) and with that, they own the league’s second-best plus-minus in the clutch as well.
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6. Denver Nuggets (44-23, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 7)
Has Mike Malone struck a goldmine after not having three of his starters to restart the season in the bubble? Denver earned their first win over the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday, thanks to the sudden meteoric rise of Michael Porter Jr. who dropped a career-high 37 points on only 16 shots while also draining four threes. Additionally, the emergence of the tallest starting five of any team inside the bubble has opened some eyes. Bol Bol is now a nationwide household name and looks as if he’ll stick around a bit and continue to develop all as a part of the Nuggets’ plans to build a championship contender in a few years.
Even without the assistance of guards Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, and Will Barton, the Nugs have claimed continuity and the adage of “the show must go on” in their impressive two outings. But, health is a priority and by holding onto the third seed in the West with mere fingertips, holding off Utah and potentially avoiding a second-round date with the Western-leading Lakers (who they haven’t beaten all season) looks to be in the plans for Malone’s Nuggets.
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7. Miami Heat (42-25, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 8)
A crushing defeat handed to Denver, the previous team in these rankings, started Miami’s path back to the playoffs on the right note. The intensity, ferocity, and tenacity expressed on both ends of the floor by Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat have represented the mantra of “Heat Culture” that has defined their season all season long, and thanks to the play of Butler and potential Most Improved Player award winner Bam Adebayo, the two have led the way offensively for a heat squad that is ranked sixth in total offensive rating.
A close loss against Toronto did more good than harm to the psyche of the Heat, as they withstood the onslaught from the defending champions and only lost by four for their first loss inside the bubble. With an impending duel with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night that could provide some significance, as the grip on the third seed is possibly loosening, Miami has a serious chance to climb the rankings in the Eastern Conference with dates against Milwaukee and Phoenix await.
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8. Boston Celtics (44-22, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 6)
Maybe it was the haircut.
Jayson Tatum entered the bubble and exited the first game, leaving more head-scratching questions more than answers as to how, or if, his Celtics could be confidently deemed aggressors and threats to both Toronto and Milwaukee in their path of earning the Eastern berth to the NBA Finals this year, as Boston’s chances were largely incumbent on his play.
And admittedly so, it looked as if those prophesized takes immediately became fallacy, as Tatum struggled out of the gate to a career second-low offensive performance in his forgettable 2-18 shooting night against Milwaukee.
Now, it’s safe to say those initial perspectives were reaffirmed on Sunday, as Tatum, after cutting the curls and returning to his signature low caesar cut, shook back to drop 22 first-half points that made Celtics fans reminisce of his rise to stardom, evident during the month of February before and after the All-Star break, in which Tatum became the first Celtic since Larry Bird to average around 30 points a game in a single month. Tatum would finish Sunday’s contest against Portland with a dazzling 34 points, and a career-high 8 assists to boot in their first win inside the bubble.
For Boston, their biggest concern is to now slowly reacclimate Kemba Walker to the starting minutes he was accustomed to before he had the injection procedure done on his knee, now that Tatum may have gotten his groove back.
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9. Oklahoma City Thunder (41-25, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 9)
The Thunder were all set and ready to go to face the Utah Jazz on the infamous evening of March 11, and then the sports world was halted as a result of Jazz center Rudy Gobert’s uncavalier attitude and unprofessionalism in accordance to the severity of the oncoming COVID-19 pandemic that would affect the country and world as a whole in the coming months.
After five months of pondering and planning on how to keep the Thunder’s playoff hopes alive during the season’s suspension, OKC finally got a chance to play the Jazz and ger their licks on the team that ultimately caused the season to be put on hold. The would put away any concern of restart rust, handling the 10th-best defensive team in the NBA in a 16-point rout of the fourth-seeded Jazz.
This Thunder team has made a lot of noise as a team many speculated would be a lottery team, as head coach Billy Donovan earned co-Coach of the Year honors with Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer just yesterday. And if the development of their younger pieces like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, Darius Bazely, and Lugentz Dort says anything about the progression of this franchise, the buzz and overall hype about Loud City’s team certainly has some credibility to it.
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10. Philadelphia 76ers (40-27, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 13)
Give Philly some credit here. Their first game against the fifth-seeded Pacers was metaphorical as it was microcosmic of all of Philadelphia’s regular-season mishaps: great highs – Joel Embiid regularly cooking opposing big men on the block and behind the three-ball stripe for a 41-point explosion, and (usual) rocky lows – Josh Richardson and Al Horford struggling greatly from the field, Shake Milton and Joel Embiid having a healthy “disagreement” on the bench which had to be broken up by Matisse Thybulle and the rest of the team, allowing T.J. Warren to roast them for a career-high 53 points off 20-29 shooting and letting a Pacers team without Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon score 46 fourth-quarter points in an ugly loss.
Following that loss, it looked as if the same was to repeat itself during a “home game” against San Antonio after they lost a 14-point lead while letting DeMar DeRozan go for 30 on them. Ben Simmons fouled out, and only scored eight points, and it looked as if the Spurs couldn’t be stopped in the fourth quarter.
And then Shake Milton’s game-winning three slithered through the nylon during a side-out set, putting Philadelphia in the driver’s seat to continue to control their destiny in the Eastern Conference. Joel Embiid took to Instagram to publically apologize to the berated Milton, and it looks as if things are looking up for the sixth-ranked team in the East.
Two relatively easy games against the undermanned Wizards and Magic are up next for the Sixers, which means an uptick in confidence for Brett Brown’s squad could possibly await a team that needs all the wins they could get leading up to the playoffs.
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11. Utah Jazz (42-26, Bubble Record:1-2, Previous Ranking: 5)
Not having sharpshooter and drive-kick option Bojan Bogdanovic was enough of an impediment to a Jazz team sorely missing of reliable three-point scorers since, without him, the Jazz have shot under 25 percent (24.6 percent on 32.5 attempts per game, to be exact). Additionally, the Jazz possess an unimpressive offensive rating of 99.5 points per 100 possessions, even with Donovan Mitchell averaging 22 points per game in the bubble.
The educated guess as to what’s really ethered the Jazz’s offensive effort could be that of Mike Conley Jr.’s seemingly inconsistent play (18.6 ppg. off 36 percent shooting), but the tenth-rated defense in all of basketball has struggled to keep opponents under 100 points in every game they’ve played under the bubble.
Plus, Rudy Gobert having 42 dropped on his head by Lakers star Anthony Davis didn’t help the cause as the Jazz slipped to 1-2 in the abridged season following a loss to the one-seeded Lakers.
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12. Indiana Pacers (41-26, Bubble Record: 2-0, Previous Ranking: 12)
Even dating back to the final Power Rankings we’ve done before the season hiatus, Indiana doesn’t budge an inch for this week’s restart of the rankings. They’ve been without Domantas Sabonis (for how long, no one really knows) and Malcolm Brogdon for their first two games inside the bubble, and they’ve thrived in most of the inopportune situations bestowed upon them. Granted, a fairly light schedule has aided in their re-acclimation into NBA action, as they’ve beaten both the Sixers and Wizards to be in the handful of teams still undefeated in the bubble during the season’s restart.
T.J. Warren – y’ know, the Suns’ trade piece for “cash considerations” last offseason – went off for a career-high 53 points off 29 shot attempts, and repeated a similar sentiment he’s expressed all season: he’s not to be taken lightly as a third option who can step up and take over when Pacers head coach Nate McMillan calls his number. Warren has grown accustomed to putting on some memorable performances, averaging 19.5 points per game off 53.5 percent shooting for the year.
Just yesterday, he put up yet another 30+ point game, scoring 34 against an undermanned Wizards team. If that’s indicative of anything it’s this: the moment the Pacers are healthy, and Victor Oladipo has his minutes restriction eased, watch out for the Indiana Pacers.
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13. Dallas Mavericks (40-29, Bubble Record: 0-2, Previous Ranking: 11)
Dallas has already locked themselves into a playoff spot, but not a higher spot than the seventh seed, potentially setting themselves up for a best-of-seven series against the second-seed Clippers as a result of their 0-2 start. Both losses to the Rockets and Suns were because of blown leads – the Mavs now have 13 losses in games they led by 10 or more points, tied for the most in the league by the way – and the worrisome issue of them not finishing in the clutch (2-10 in games decided by three points or fewer) hasn’t been fixed yet, as they possess the second-worst offensive rating in the clutch at 93.7.
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14. Portland Trail Blazers (30-38, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 19)
A 1-1 start is pretty satisfactory — especially with key pieces in Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic returning to Terry Stotts’ rotation. Their win over Memphis which saw CJ McCollum show up and show out for an efficient 33-point supernova of a performance.
However, the loss against Boston was competitive to the finish and Portland can review some defensive lapses and iffy clock management (ex. Damian Lillard flinging a two-handed pass to Nurkic for a quick two when they didn’t have any timeouts left) but the Blazers have clearly come to the bubble a healthier team.
Lillard and McCollum still possess the title of the second-highest scoring backcourt in the NBA, but at the same time, their primary issue hasn’t gotten much better: They have a 124.6 defensive rating through two games, which is the second-worst mark inside the bubble.
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15. Orlando Magic (32-35, Bubble Record: 2-0, Previous Ranking:16)
Orlando’s had a full week, full of positives and negatives. The host team playing in the host city of the bubble started off their campaign on the best of feet; Nikola Vucevic hadn’t missed a beat, Aaron Gordon continued to utilize all parts of the floor to grow his offensive game and show what he’d been working on during hiatus, the rotational parts of Steve Clifford’s lineup combinations were firing on all cylinders, and the Magic are one of the few undefeated teams in all of the 22 squads invited to the Disney Springs campus.
On the other hand, the Orlando Magic received (or more centrally, Jonathan Isaac) significant push back from both fans and media members on Isaac’s willingness to atypically stand for the National Anthem amongst his kneeling teammates, opting to not provide any commentary on the fight for social justice his teammates, and the rest of the athletes in the bubble, have taken on. Aside from that, Isaac, a core piece of the Magic’s plans for the future, suffered a torn ACL in their second bubble win over the Kings. After hyperextending his left knee on Jan. 1 against the Washington Wizards, Isaac played well in his first game in almost seven months in Friday’s win over the Nets.
Now his team must face life again without him for the rest of their time in the bubble, and possibly beyond.
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16. San Antonio Spurs (29-37, Bubble Record: 2-1, Previous Ranking: 20)
These old Spurs just don’t go away, do they?
On the cusp of missing out on the postseason for the first time in 22 years, the San Antonio Spurs are only 2 games out of achieving the eighth seed, and a 1/2 game away from attaining the ninth seed from Portland. A comeback bid fell short against Philadelphia but high effort, DeMar DeRozan basically being unguardable for that entire fourth quarter, and lost because of a game-winning three off of an inbound three from Shake Milton and blown foul during a Jakob Poetl-missed putback.
Other than that, these small-ball Spurs who are playing without Trey Lyles and LaMarcus Aldridge have really stepped up, rolling out a starting five of DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Jakob Poetl and Lonnie Walker IV. Fun fact: up until their loss to Philadelphia, the new Spurs starting five had a plus-30.5 net rating in their first two games together.
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17. New Orleans Pelicans (29-38, Bubble Record: 1-2, Previous Ranking: 17)
So Zion Williamson’s questionable minutes restriction grows in leniency, he stays in the game…and the Pelicans win…hmm…what a coincidence.
Willamson’s workload limit has been, to put it euphemistically, a topic of debate and discussion, though after last night’s rousing comeback victory against eighth-seeded Memphis, and more importantly Williamson’s lone competition for the Rookie of the Year award, that restriction should ease greatly in the coming days and weeks as Williamson stuffed the stat sheet for a signature 23-point night composite of a regular effort by the behemothic 6’10, 284-lb rookie.
Williamson had played 25 minutes in their win over Memphis – a shocker, considering he was on the court for a combined 29 minutes in the team’s first two games to the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers. As a team, however, their first loss to Utah on reopening night was because of Brandon Ingram’s 3-point attempt rimming out at the buzzer, and their second was due to the Pelicans getting trounced by the Clippers in their second game. One reason partially to blame: turnovers. The Pelicans have given up 54 points off turnovers in two games, which is the worst of any team in the bubble.
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18. Memphis Grizzlies (32-36, Bubble Record: 0-3, Previous Ranking: 14)
As mentioned in this week’s ranking, the grip on the eighth seed is loosening and is at its fingertips as the Grizzlies continue to pile on losses during the abridged restart.
And while Ja Morant (19.3 ppg. on 37 percent shooting from the field) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (avg’ing 27 points on 51.4 percent shooting from the field, including 40 percent from 3-point range) have balled out and done their part to keep their position within the playoff eight (now only 1.5 games in front of Portland and 2-2.5 games in front of the other bubble teams) other pieces like Dillon Brooks haven’t been that successful, averaging 15.3 points per game while shooting 36 percent from the field. Coincidentally, Memphis is 18-4 when Brooks scores 20 points or more.
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19. Phoenix Suns (28-39, Bubble Record: 2-0, Previous Ranking: 21)
Good news Phoenix fans: Aron Baynes has cleared protocol, and you can expect them to re-integrate him into their lineup as soon as he is conditioned and ready to go. As it goes for the rest of the team, this Phoenix team has picked up some impressive wins over the Wizards and Mavericks. In their big comeback over Dallas, they started out slow in the first half but took the game over in the second to win it. While they’re threatening to be competitive, the Suns are just here in the bubble to prepare their incomplete roster for next season and beyond.
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20. Brooklyn Nets (31-35, Bubble Record: 1-1, Previous Ranking: 15)
Brooklyn is good to go in their efforts to keep their seventh seed in the East, and especially with the schedule they have coming up. The Nets needed to at least split their first two games in the bubble against the Magic and Wizards, and they did. After a blowout handed to them by the Magic, Sunday’s critical win over the Wizards supplanted them a full seven games ahead of Washington in the loss column with six games left to play.
For a roster marred with injury, opt-outs due to the pandemic, and integration of new pieces like 40-year-old Jamal Crawford (the oldest player in the league) and former Miami Heat and Phoenix Suns guard Tyler Johnson, these Nets are competitive, relying on their core of Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen. The Nets are undefeated this season whenever Allen was on the floor to put up 20 points and 15 rebounds.
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21. Sacramento Kings (28-38, Bubble Record: 0-2, Previous Ranking: 18)
Kings fans have to be wondering if such thing as a bubble restart button. They really do need it.
So, to summarize: Richaun Holmes was in an extended quarantine because he thought it’d be smart for him to order food outside of the bubble, an undisclosed Kings player had an inconclusive COVID-19 test, causing him to quarantine for two days, and the Kings are one of the lone teams without a win inside the bubble. In a loss to San Antonio, the Spurs jumped them in the Western rankings in the race for the eighth seed, and they wasted a career-high night from De’Aaron Fox during that game. To put a cherry on top of their sundae, the Magic trounced them on Sunday.
Sacramento’s probably better off getting everyone healthy for next season as their playoff hopes take a hit with two must-win games against New Orleans up next on the schedule.
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22. Washington Wizards (24-43, Bubble Record: 0-3, Previous Ranking: 22)
Well, that’s about right. The Wizards were the 22nd ranked team in these Power Rankings by the time the season was suspended, and according to their play and winless record in the bubble, their current ranking is appropriate. Further development and building of chemistry look to be the main objectives for a Wizards team that’s now a full seven games out of even sniffing the eighth-seeded Nets in the Eastern Conference standings.
Young pieces like Thomas Bryant, who scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against the Brooklyn Nets and rookie power forward Rui Hachimura, who led the team in scoring and rebounds against the Suns, seem to be at the forefront of a contender’s rebuild with both Bradley Beal and John Wall being healed up and ready to play in next year’s season opener in December.
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