NBA Power Rankings Week 15: Concerns for Milwaukee Bucks, other contenders
By Phil Watson
team. 81. . 31-14. Previous: . Toronto Raptors. 7
Last week: Won at Atlanta 122-117, beat Philadelphia 107-95, won at New York 118-112
This week: Sunday at San Antonio, Tuesday vs. Atlanta, Thursday at Cleveland, Friday at Detroit
It wasn’t easy, but the Toronto Raptors extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-0 week that included a solid win over the 76ers at home book-ended by narrow escapes in Atlanta and New York. The Raptors are helped by having most of their planned rotation back on the court healthy at the same time.
Fred VanVleet is recently returned from a hamstring injury and he’s played like Fred VanElite since he’s been back. VanVleet averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 35.7 minutes per game last week, shooting 45.0 percent overall and draining 10-of-18 from 3-point range. He had 22 points and eight dimes in the win over Philadelphia.
118. . 32-13. Previous: . Utah Jazz. 6. team
Last week: Beat Indiana 118-88, won at Golden State 129-96, beat Dallas 112-107
This week: Monday vs. Houston, Wednesday at San Antonio, Thursday at Denver, Saturday at Portland
Don’t look now, but the red-hot Utah Jazz have climbed all the way to second place in the Western Conference and are within shouting distance (3½ games) of the conference-leading Lakers. Utah was 3-0 last week and has now won 13 of its last 14 and is 19-2 over its last 21 games.
Since that run began on Dec. 11, the Jazz have the best offensive rating in the NBA at 119.5 points per 100 possessions and are fifth in defensive rating with a 107.4 mark. No other team in the NBA is in the top five in both categories over the same span and Utah’s plus-12.1 net rating is even better than the plus-11.3 over that stretch posted by the Milwaukee Bucks, who were 19-3.
With his 22 points in the win over the Mavericks on Saturday, Rudy Gobert has now scored at least 20 points in a career-high four straight games. Gobert as an offensive threat, too? Terrifying for opponents. For the week, Gobert averaged 21.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists in 32.8 minutes a game, shooting 81.3 percent (26-for-32).