NBA: Power Rankings 12.0

The Phoenix Suns blew past the Utah Jazz on Friday night, albeit without Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley. After earning their second win over Utah this season, the Suns jump to the top spot in our rankings. Phoenix is the fifth team to be ranked #1 this year, joining the Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, and Nets. Other playoff teams that moved up/down include the Mavericks (+2), Trail Blazers (+2), Celtics (+1), Lakers (-2), and Grizzlies (-3). The regular season ends in less than two weeks.

1. Phoenix Suns (46-18, +3): Phoenix went 4-0 last week, taking down the Knicks (118-110), Clippers (109-101), Jazz (121-100), and Thunder (123-120). Chris Paul and Devin Booker (25.5 points, 4.4 assists) are playing at an All-NBA level and will look to continue against Cleveland, Atlanta, and New York this coming week. Monty Williams’ team is tied with the Jazz atop the Western Conference standings with eight games remaining in the regular season.

2. Utah Jazz (47-18, -1): The Jazz haven’t been very sharp without Mitchell and it only got worse when Conley was sidelined as well. That’s to be expected, though, and Utah still went 2-2 this week including an eye-opening 154-105 win over the Kings. Utah had eight players score 10+ points in that outing. The Jazz still have a good chance to get the 1-seed but Jordan Clarkson (17.4 points, 4.0 rebounds) and Joe Ingles need to take on even more until they’re back to full strength.

3. Brooklyn Nets (43-22, -1): Brooklyn started off the week with a pair of wins over the Raptors (116-103) and Pacers (130-113) before dropping games against Portland and Milwaukee. Steve Nash’s team will have a chance to redeem themselves against the Bucks on Tuesday night, followed by matchups at Dallas and Denver. Kyrie Irving (26.9 points, 6.3 assists) has been outstanding in James Harden’s absence but this team obviously won’t reach their full potential until everyone is healthy.

4. Philadelphia 76ers (44-21, +1): Philadelphia didn’t play their best game on Sunday night but they still came away with a 113-111 overtime win against San Antonio following a Ben Simmons (14.7 points, 7.0 assists) game-winning tip-in as time expired. The 76ers move back to the top in the Eastern Conference after a 4-game winning streak and they’ll try to push it further against the Bulls, Rockets, Pelicans, and Pistons this week. Philly currently holds a 0.5-game lead over Brooklyn.

5. Denver Nuggets (43-22, +1): The Nuggets have slowly moved up the rankings since the All-Star break and they’re still rolling after Jamal Murray’s season-ending injury. Denver defeated Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, and Toronto before beating the Clippers (110-104) on Saturday night for their 5th straight victory. Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. (18.9 points, 7.6 rebounds) have helped the team go 8-2 in their last 10 and they’ll take on four playoff teams this week.

Other Playoff Teams:

6. Clippers (43-22, -3)

7. Bucks (40-24, +0)

8. Mavericks (36-28, +2)

9. Knicks (36-28, +0)

10. Lakers (37-28, -2)

11. Trail Blazers (36-29, +2)

12. Hawks (36-30, -1)

13. Celtics (34-31, +1)

14. Heat (35-30, +1)

15. Grizzlies (32-31, -3)

16. Hornets (31-33, +0)

Rest of the League:

17. Warriors (33-32, +1)

18. Spurs (31-32, -1)

19. Pacers (30-34, +0)

20. Wizards (30-35, +0)

21. Pelicans (29-36, +0)

22. Kings (27-37, +2)

23. Raptors (27-38, -1)

24. Bulls (26-38, -1)

25. Cavaliers (21-43, +0)

26. Thunder (21-43, +0)

27. Magic (20-44, +0)

28. Timberwolves (20-45, +1)

29. Pistons (19-46, -1)

30. Rockets (16-49, +0)

Most Valuable Player:

1. Nikola Jokic (Nuggets, +0)

2. Joel Embiid (76ers, +0)

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks, +1)

Rookie of the Year:

1. Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves, +0)

2. Tyrese Haliburton (Kings, +0)

3. LaMelo Ball (Hornets, +1)

Defensive Player of the Year:

1. Rudy Gobert (Jazz, +0)

2. Ben Simmons (76ers, +0)

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks, +1)

Most Improved Player:

1. Julius Randle (Knicks, +0)

2. Michael Porter Jr. (Nuggets, +1)

3. Jaylen Brown (Celtics, +1)

Sixth Man of the Year:

1. Jordan Clarkson (Jazz, +0)

2. Jalen Brunson (Mavericks, +1)

3. Chris Boucher (Raptors, -1)

Photo Credit: NBA.