NBA Power Rankings, Feb. 20 Edition: Warriors The Early Leader For Best Deadline Deal
By Phil Watson
On paper, it looks like the Golden State Warriors hit a home run on the night before the NBA’s trading deadline when they picked up veteran point guard Steve Blake for spare parts Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks.
Golden State has had problems with guard Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry being asked to play a ton of minutes after the departure of backup guard Jarrett Jack via free agency last summer. The team signed Toney Douglas to replace Jack, which was such a dismal failure that Douglas was swapped to the Heat last month in a three-team trade that netted the Warriors Jordan Crawford and Brooks.
Blake appears to be the perfect piece to help the Warriors reach the lofty expectations many had for the club after Golden State was the darling of last year’s playoffs.
As far as the NBA Power Rankings themselves go, not a lot has changed—it was All-Star Weekend last weekend and the league was shut down for the festivities from Friday through Monday.
Here are the current NBA power rankings.