Power rankings system devised and compiled weekly by Stemshul. “Expert” analysis by paradroid.
The top seven are largely static, with just one flip-flop between the Heat and Cavaliers (now #4 and #5 respectively). Samesies for the bottom twelve, with the Knicks and Trailblazers switching spots (#21 and #22). Toronto made the biggest leap, up four spots to #10, so let’s see how their season is going! Toronto won the first championship since the franchise’s 1993 inception during the 2018-2019 season. This title was a direct result of the one year acquisition of Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs when he essentially forced a trade by refusing to return from injury (maybe, although the different opinions on the seriousness of his injury in part led to the messy divorce). Toronto, who had risen to perennial contender under the guidance of current Piston coach Dwayne Casey, was unable to break through with DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry as the teams stars. So, in the wake of Casey winning the Coach of the Year, he was unceremoniously fired and replaced with Nick Nurse (of slack-jawed-amazement face fame). And DeRozan was exchanged for Leonard, which led to the title. But despite their best efforts to sign him to a long term deal, Kawhi went west to the Clippers and the Raptors (yes, you can thank Jurassic Park for the name) lost in the second round the following year and crashed to a miserable 27-45 record the next.
Lowry stuck around until this past off-season before moving on to the Heat, and now former role players Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet have emerged as the top options. However, the team is more balanced than it was in the past, with OG Anunoby, Gary Trent, Jr., and rookie Scottie Barnes also contributing on a similar scale. And while the season has been up and down, last week’s 4-0 record has pushed them up to a 27-23 record and the 7-seed in the East if the playoffs started today. Without a single top 20 player on the roster, there may be difficulty ahead in the playoffs (assuming they make it). But they have a top 10 defense (#9 at 106.8 PPG allowed) and a diverse cast of offensive weapons. We will see if that can translate to a deep playoff run.
Detroit started the week off poorly, losing to #32 Orlando, but bounced back well with an impressive win against Cleveland. They followed up with two games in which they were leading into the second half but ultimately faded to both #23 New Orleans and #16 Minnesota. Jerami Grant and Kelly Olynyk are both fully back, but Cade Cunningham got a hip pointer against the Pelicans and missed out on the Timberwolves. He is listed as day to day, so it sounds like it’s not too serious. It will be interesting to see how Grant and Cunningham balance their usage rates for the rest of the year, assuming the former isn’t traded in the next week. It is starting to look as if Grant may not be traded after all, at least if you believe most of the experts/professional speculators. But if the right offer comes along, we could still see it happen. Stay tuned!
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