NBA Power Rankings Week 15: The Denver Nuggets excel in March

Mar 30, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) reacts with center Nikola Jokic (15) and guard Facundo Campazzo (7) during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

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NBA, Denver Nuggets (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

20. . 31-18. Previous: 10th. Los Angeles Lakers. 9. team

Last Week: Beat Orlando Magic 96-93, Lost to Milwaukee Bucks 112-97, Beat Sacramento Kings 115-94

This Week: 4/4 at LA Clippers, 4/6 at Toronto Raptors, 4/8 at Miami Heat, 4/10 at Brooklyn Nets

At least for the time being, it would seem those who were ready to write the Los Angeles Lakers off without Anthony Davis and LeBron James may have been somewhat premature. The Lakers are winners of three of their last four games. Under normal circumstances that would not even merit mentioning.

This Lakers season is far from normal circumstances. Even Andre Drummond has felt the bite. Just 14 minutes into his Laker tenure Drummond injured his toe and now is missing time as well. Marc Gasol has caught feelings due to his lack of significant playing time of late, but that can be attributed to his lack of meaningful contribution during said playing time. All of these negatives and yet, the Lakers continue to maintain.

This is due in large part to the trio of Dennis Schroeder, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma. Schroeder, who reportedly turned down a contract extension from the Lakers, is averaging 18.9 points, 7.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game on shooting splits of .453/.458/.833 with the top two options sidelined. Harrell, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, added 18.1 and 8.6 rebounds per game. Kuzma did a little bit of everything, averaging 17.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. If this can continue when James, Davis and Drummond are back on the court the Lakers will be just fine.

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