NBA Power Rankings: Milwaukee Bucks reclaim top spot after Week 5
By Phil Watson
18. . 11-4. Previous: . Boston Celtics. 5. team
Last week: Won at Phoenix 99-85, lost at Clippers 107-104 (OT), lost at Denver 96-92
This week: Monday vs. Sacramento, Wednesday vs. Brooklyn, Friday at Brooklyn
The Boston Celtics came back to the pack a bit, going 2-3 on a Western road trip after running off 10 consecutive wins.
The difference between a winning trip and a losing one could have played out against the Clippers on Wednesday. Jayson Tatum forced overtime with a step-back 3-pointer with 13 seconds to go, but the Clips pulled away in the extra five minutes for the win.
Of course, their three losses on the trip were by a combined eight points, so the Celtics were a bounce or two from a terrific trip.
Tatum had 30 points with six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks against the Clippers, averaging 24.0 points, 6.3 boards, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 33.3 minutes per game for the week, shooting 46.4 percent overall and 33.3 percent on 8.0 3-pointers per game.
77. . 12-5. Previous: . Los Angeles Clippers. 4. team
Last week: Beat Oklahoma City 90-88, beat Boston 107-104 (OT), beat Houston 122-119, beat New Orleans 134-109
This week: Tuesday at Dallas, Wednesday at Memphis, Friday at San Antonio
The LA Clippers have gotten most of their missing pieces back, save for Landry Shamet. Shamet has been out a couple of weeks with a high left ankle sprain and still doesn’t have a timetable for a return. But the Clippers are managing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and still getting huge efforts from their bench.
It was a perfect 4-0 week at home last week for LA, with three of those games coming down to the wire — good experience for a team still learning how to play with each other.
Montrezl Harrell — a lock as Seventh Man of the Year — had a huge Sunday against the Pelicans, matching a season-high with 34 points to go with 12 rebounds and two blocks on 13-of-18 shooting.
For the week, Harrell averaged 21.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.3 steals in 30.5 minutes per game, all off the bench. He hit 62.7 percent overall while missing his two 3-point tries against the Thunder and is now 0-for-5 from long range this season.