NBA Power Rankings Week 9: The slide of the Los Angeles Lakers
By Corey Rausch
Last Week: Beat Philadelphia 76ers 134-123, Beat LA Clippers 114-96, Lost to LA Clippers 116-112
This Week: 2/22 vs. Charlotte Hornets, 2/24 vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 2/26 at Miami Heat, 2/27 at Orlando Magic
Ending the week by finally dropping a game to the LA Clippers is not enough to knock the Utah Jazz off their perch as the best team in the league today. It is just the second loss in over 20 games for the Jazz and they remain one of two teams in the top 10 in offensive and defensive rating.
Mike Conley coming back into the lineup was not enough to beat the Clippers in consecutive games but that is nothing to scoff at. Beating the Clippers and the Philadelphia 76ers this week are just the latest entries into a dossier of dominance. Every night is a new level of special.
Against the Sixers, it was all about Jordan Clarkson. The frontrunner for the Sixth Man of the Year dropped 40 off the bench in 29 minutes and was able to push the Jazz past a combined 78 points from Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris.
In the first game against the Clippers, it was Gobert who dominated, posting a line of 23 points and 20 rebounds. Finally, when the matchup was more star-studded, it was Donovan Mitchell. The star guard dropped 35 points and Bojan Bogdanovic added 23 points to keep the Jazz close. The fact that the Jazz are able to have this many ways to beat a team is more telling than any single game result.