NBA: Raptors ride 15-game win streak
1. Milwaukee Bucks (46-8, +0): The Bucks are the clear team to beat in the East as they have the best record in the league and the second best home record (25-3) in the conference. Milwaukee is 10-2 since our last rankings and they are the only team in the league to average a 10+ point differential per game (+12.1) as they had won five straight before losing their last game. The Bucks, behind Giannis Antetokounmpo's (30.0 points, 13.5 rebounds per game) MVP run, will face the Detroit Pistons next.
2. Los Angeles Lakers (41-12, +0): The Lakers have been the top team in the standings out West for pretty much the entire year but people still have questions about them because of their two losses to the Clippers. Despite that, they have a +7.4 average point differential, which is the best in the West. The Lakers also have the best road record in the league at 23-5. LeBron James (25.0 points, 10.8 assists per game) has this team playing like favorites and they should be the top seed come playoff time.
3. Toronto Raptors (40-15, +3): The Raptors lost their last outing but had won 15 straight games prior to that and it's honestly incredible what Pascal Siakam (23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds), Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, Norman Powell, Fred VanVleet, and Nick Nurse have done. This team lost the Finals MVP, another starter, have had injuries throughout the year and are still in contention in the East. Toronto is 19-8 on the road, the second best record in the East behind only the Bucks.
4. Boston Celtics (38-16, +3): The Celtics have a +6.9 average point differential, also the second best in the Eastern Conference as well (obviously behind the Bucks) and they have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games. Jayson Tatum (22.4 points, 6.9 rebounds) has been playing like a superstar and that was obvious in the Celtics' 141-133 win over the Clippers a couple nights ago. He had 39 points and nine rebounds on 5/10 shooting from 3-point range. Boston faces the Timberwolves after the break.
5. Los Angeles Clippers (37-18, +0): The Clippers haven't been playing all that well lately, going just 6-4 in their last 10 games, but they obviously still have the talent to make a run in the playoffs. It's clear that they decided the regular season wasn't as important and like we saw last year, Kawhi Leonard (27.2 points, 7.5 rebounds) might just be able to turn it on in April and beyond. The Clippers have gone 22-5 at home and will be back at the Staples Center versus the Sacramento Kings after the All-Star Break.
MVP rankings:
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
2. LeBron James (Lakers)
3. Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
4. Pascal Siakam (Raptors)
5. Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Photo Credit: Newsweek.
