The Los Angeles Clippers aren’t supposed to be this good.
Coming into the season, the good folks in Las Vegas projected the Clippers to finish with a win total in the mid-to-high 30’s and, while some were optimistic, almost no one picked Doc Rivers’ bunch to make the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference. The team did earn respect for its quality depth and high floor but, in general, the consensus seemed to be that the Clippers would hang around before graciously bowing out of the race and setting up for a much-ballyhooed 2019 free agent run.
With that said, things haven’t gone according to plan for the Clippers, but in the best possible way. The team has been in the mix from wire-to-wire and, even after trading its perceived best player in Tobias Harris, the train continued to roll. In fact, the Clippers have been better without Harris, posting a 14-5 record and a top-10 net rating since the deal was consummated in early February. Beyond that, L.A. is 10-1 in its last 11 games, with an obscene 116.5 offensive rating to lead the NBA during that run.
How are the Clippers doing it? Well, it helps to be well-coached and Rivers has done a tremendous job with this group. Danilo Gallinari is enjoying a spectacular offensive season, Lou Williams continues to be Lou Williams (i.e. the Sixth Man of the Year favorite), and Montrezl Harrell is a revelation in the paint.
That isn’t to say that everything is sustainable with this team because, well, this isn’t a roster that you would expect to win 60 percent of its games over a full season. Still, the Clippers deserve every bit of admiration they’ve received for this performance and, as noted earlier, the team is perfectly set up to improve itself with a big splash when July arrives.
Let’s take a look at just how high the Clippers can climb in this week’s DIME power rankings.
1. Houston Rockets (47-27, Last week — 1st)
The Rockets did lose this week but the defeat came on the road by only one point. Honestly, Houston benefits from a league-wide lull at the moment but James Harden’s bunch does have the best record (14-3) in the NBA since the All-Star break and we’ll keep them in the top spot for now.
2. L.A. Clippers (44-30, Last week — 8th)
We wrote plenty about the Clippers above but, while they almost certainly aren’t the second-best team in the league, some love is warranted for their incredible run of late.
3. Golden State Warriors (50-23, Last week — 4th)
It’s weird to write about the Warriors right now. When they’re dialed in, everyone agrees they are the best in the NBA. When they aren’t, they can lose by 35 (!) points at home to the short-handed Mavericks. I’ll defer to the larger sample but that was a ghastly showing.
4. Milwaukee Bucks (55-19, Last week — 5th)
Undeniably, the Bucks aren’t playing as well now as they were earlier in this season. There can be a debate about how much that matters but Milwaukee still has a tremendous resume and we’ll concentrate on that in the dog days of March.
5. Portland Trail Blazers (46-27, Last week — 10th)
The injury to Jusuf Nurkic on Monday night clouds everything in Portland and that is deeply unfortunate. More than anything, the NBA world wishes the best for Nurkic and the Blazers are playing fantastic basketball — winning 7 of 8 games — at the time of this post.
6. San Antonio Spurs (43-31, Last week — 2nd)
San Antonio’s blistering stretch finally cooled this week with losses to the Heat and Rockets. The Spurs did end things on a high note in a thrashing of Boston, though, and that keeps Gregg Popovich’s squad in the top six.
7. Denver Nuggets (49-23, Last week — 6th)
Everything was lining up for a big jump from the Nuggets. Then, Denver went to Indiana and got bludgeoned by the Pacers in a game that didn’t exactly live up to the billing. We’ll forgive that due to the nature of late March basketball in the NBA but it still happened.
8. Toronto Raptors (51-23, Last week — 7th)
Toronto still owns the league’s second-best record and that is an important detail. The Raptors are just 7-7 in their last 14 games, however, and back-to-back home losses keep the team in this slot.
9. Philadelphia 76ers (47-27, Last week — 3rd)
After fully embracing the Sixers a week ago, we weren’t rewarded with a stellar showing. Philly lost in Atlanta when Trae Young beat the buzzer and, while that loss was forgivable with the way the Hawks are playing, dropping a 21-point decision to Orlando on Monday was less than spectacular.
10. Utah Jazz (44-30, Last week — 9th)
The Jazz also lost in Atlanta but, unlike the Sixers, that game was the outlier in an otherwise excellent string of performances. Utah has won 7 of 8 games to take advantage of a favorable schedule and things are looking up in Salt Lake City.
11. Orlando Magic (36-38, Last week — 16th)
The Jekyll-and-Hyde Magic are back at it again. After losing 4 of 5 in disappointing fashion, Orlando just reeled off five straight wins. All five victories came at home and only one came against a playoff team but they all count just the same in the standings.
12. Indiana Pacers (45-29, Last week — 13th)
After an 0-4 road trip, the Pacers really needed a win on Sunday and that beat up the Nuggets in dominant fashion. Indiana isn’t as good as their record with their current, available roster but they’re still capable of playing with anyone on any given night.
13. Oklahoma City Thunder (43-31, Last week — 12th)
What is going on in Oklahoma City? Only the Knicks have a worse offensive rating than the Thunder since the All-Star break and OKC is just 6-11 during that stretch. It’s too much to full-on panic for a team that will be dangerous in the playoffs but things aren’t going particularly well.
14. Boston Celtics (43-31, Last week — 11th)
Speaking of teams that are a mess right now, here are the Boston Celtics. They’ve lost four in a row including a massive collapse against Charlotte and every time there is momentum building, it subsides with swiftness. It’s sincerely difficult to gauge where the Celtics are with mere weeks to go before the playoffs.
15. Miami Heat (36-37, Last week — 15th)
Miami’s finishing kick has been impressive, with 9 wins in their last 12 games. They’ve played like a top-10 team in the league during that stretch and, even if it could turn out to be too little, too late, the Heat should be commended for this run.
16. Charlotte Hornets (34-39, Last week — 21st)
The Hornets probably aren’t making the playoffs but they did just put together an impressive three-game run. Charlotte knocked off the Wolves, Celtics and Raptors in succession to essentially stay alive.
17. Detroit Pistons (37-36, Last week — 14th)
Don’t look now, but the Pistons are just 1.5 games from missing the playoffs. Detroit should still be seen as a big-time favorite to make the postseason but, with a road game in Denver on deck to begin this week, nothing is assured.
18. Brooklyn Nets (38-37, Last week — 18th)
A double-OT loss in Portland kept the Nets from a third straight win but they continue to show plenty of promise. Brooklyn has an 81 percent chance (per FiveThirtyEight) at the playoffs and they’ll be fun when they get there.
19. Sacramento Kings (36-37, Last week — 17th)
The Kings have played a little bit better recently and, in general, their overall performance remains vastly underrated in the national consciousness. It’s just hard to have Sacramento any higher than list on the heels of a loss to the rudderless Lakers.
20. Atlanta Hawks (26-48, Last week — 22nd)
The Hawks opened 6-23. Since then, they have been both competitive (20-25 record) and obscenely fun. Things came to a head this weekend when Atlanta beat the Jazz and Sixers in succession and, even if he probably won’t win Rookie of the Year, the Trae Young renaissance has been deeply enjoyable. For context, Young would be the first 20-year-old in the history of the NBA to finish with his current per-game averages (18.7 points, 7.9 assists) and that is jarring.
21. Minnesota Timberwolves (33-40, Last week — 19th)
A five-game losing streak was snapped with a road win in Memphis and that kept Minnesota from more of a freefall this week. To be fair, the Wolves lost four of those five games to playoff teams and the fifth was a road loss in Charlotte that shouldn’t be too punishable.
22. Memphis Grizzlies (30-44, Last week — 23rd)
Memphis has been stunningly competitive down the stretch and that was epitomized by a home win over Oklahoma City on Monday night. The Grizzlies didn’t have Mike Conley in that game so, as you’d expect, they turned to the combination of Bruno Caboclo and Tyler Dorsey to beat a playoff team. That really happened.
23. Cleveland Cavaliers (19-55, Last week — 25th)
You wouldn’t assume a 19-win team is competitive but the Cavs actually are. Cleveland was as dreadful as you would imagine through the first 50 games but they have a respectable 10-14 record since then (thanks to a major boost from Kevin Love’s return) and this feels like the right position.
24. Chicago Bulls (21-53, Last week — 26th)
It was a light week at the office for the Bulls, with only two games on the agenda. Technically, they split those two contests, even if the second was a 31-point home loss.
25. Los Angeles Lakers (32-41, Last week — 30th)
We buried the Lakers a week ago after they lost to the Knicks. That was a purposeful overreaction but, now that Los Angeles actually won a game recently (at home over Sacramento), we’ll restore some level of order.
26. Dallas Mavericks (29-44, Last week — 28th)
There isn’t much to take away, at least in a big-picture sense, from the Mavericks throttling the Warriors in Oakland. Still, that game happened. The Mavs beat the Warriors by 35 points… on the road. Hello, March.
27. Washington Wizards (30-44, Last week — 20th)
Technically, the Wizards haven’t been eliminated from playoff contention but we can all but slam the door on that notion. Washington has lost four in a row, including three games at home, and that just couldn’t happen if they wanted any chance.
28. Phoenix Suns (17-58, Last week — 27th)
Phoenix took part in a strange game on Monday, with Devin Booker going for 59 (!) points in a blowout loss. In many ways, that was perfectly on brand. The Suns have lost six of seven but the team’s lone win during that stretch came against New Orleans, explaining the order within this tier.
29. New Orleans Pelicans (31-44, Last week — 24th)
When Anthony Davis is on the floor, the Pelicans aren’t close to this bad. We have to acknowledge that. New Orleans has still lost 8 of 9 games and the bizarre minutes restriction for Davis combines with injuries to Jrue Holiday and E’Twaun Moore to paint an ugly picture in the present.
30. New York Knicks (14-60, Last week — 29th)
The Knicks are 1-12 in the last 13 games and the team’s lone victory came at home by a single point. New York also has the worst roster in the league and the worst record in the NBA. Let’s just agree this is the spot for David Fizdale’s team to be.
