USATSI

Last week’s rematch between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder was all but certainly going to determine which team would take the No. 1 spot this week, and … yeah … OKC basically snatched it from Cleveland’s hands with a 20-point win that was nowhere near that close. With that, the Thunder retake the top spot in this week’s NBA Power Rankings, and it’s hard to make a convincing argument for anyone else.

Actual basketball probably isn’t at the forefront of every NBA fan’s mind, however, with the Feb. 6 trade deadline rapidly approaching. One team that could be drastically altered if they get their reported desire is the Phoenix Suns. Their not-so-secretive pursuit of Jimmy Butler coincides with a stretch of good play that saw them jump four spots in this week’s rankings. The “Big Three” of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal hasn’t worked out great so far, and it remains to be seen how they would do with Butler potentially replacing Beal.

Another team on the rise is the scorching-hot Sacramento Kings, riding a four-headed scoring monster and newfound defensive identity to 10 wins in their last 11 games. They went from a fringe Play-In team to sitting just outside the top six of the Western Conference in a matter of weeks.

And that’s how quickly things can change in the NBA, which makes exercises like Power Rankings so exciting. Have a look at this week’s set.

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Thunder Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued to show his value this week, as he went for 40 points in 29 minutes in a throttling of the Cavs in “The Rematch” before dropping a career-high 54 points in Wednesday’s win over Utah. Oh yeah, and OKC lost to the injury-plagued Mavericks with SGA out of the lineup. MVP seems like it’s his to lose at this point. 1 36-7 2

Cavaliers The Cavs ran into some trouble with West’s two best teams this week, as they were destroyed by the Thunder and then watched their comeback bid fall short against the Rockets. If we’re desperately searching for any alarm bells, Cleveland’s defense is ranked 24th in the NBA over its last 10 games, allowing almost 116 points per 100 possessions. 1 36-7 3

Rockets The Rockets picked up a gritty statement win against the Cavs on Wednesday, though they almost blew it after coughing up a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter. Jalen Green’s heater is starting to wear off, as he’s scored just 29 total points in his last two games on 12-for-37 shooting. Meanwhile, Amen Thompson is now averaging 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 13 games as a starter. — 29-14 4

Celtics The Celtics aren’t exactly playing convincing basketball right now, but they’re good enough to do that and still win six of their last 10. Not surprisingly, they’ve made just 28% of their 3-pointers in the four losses, compared to 40% in the six wins. — 31-13 5

Grizzlies Lineups with Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. are outscoring opponents by a ridiculous 21 points per 100 possessions, the best of any three-man unit that’s played at least 250 minutes together. As if Memphis needed more depth, GG Jackson made his season debut this week, averaging just over 10 minutes in two games. — 29-15 6

Knicks Karl-Anthony Towns is seemingly getting used to playing with a bone chip in the thumb of his shooting hand, bouncing back from a 5-for-18 night against the Hawks to put up 25 points and 16 rebounds on 11-for-18 shooting against the Nets on Tuesday. New York is 2-3 without Towns this season, and their net rating increases by nearly 11 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor — by far the best on the team. — 29-16 7

Nuggets Denver’s offense is humming, averaging over 133 points per 100 possessions during its three-game winning streak. The good news is that Nikola Jokic has actually gotten some help, with six other Nuggets averaging double-figures in that span. — 27-16 8

Bucks Slowly but surely, the Bucks keep moving toward the top of the Eastern Conference. They’re now just one game behind the Knicks in the loss column for the No. 3 spot, a far cry from where they began the season. Damian Lillard has been excellent since returning from a calf injury just after Christmas, averaging 24 points and six assists on 44% 3-point shooting in his last 12 games. 1 24-17 9

Clippers Anyone who needed evidence of this team’s heart just needed to watch the 10th, 11th and 12th men on the roster battle to take the Celtics to overtime on Wednesday night. Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in that one but he seems to be rounding into form, averaging 21 points on 17-for-24 shooting over his last two games. 1 24-19 10

Lakers LeBron James made headlines for echoing coach JJ Redick’s sentiment about the Lakers’ razor-thin margin for error given their current roster construction. We’ll see if Rob Pelinka takes that as a message to make something happen before the trade deadline. They’ll already be adding one player to the mix on Saturday, however, when Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to make his season debut. 2 23-18 11

Pacers The Pacers are one of the hottest teams in basketball, winning eight of their last nine. Defense has been the difference, as Indiana is holding opponents to 107 points per 100 possessions during those nine games, compared to their season average of 114. 3 24-19 12

Kings The Kings have been a reported trade candidate for months, but can they really break up this team now? They’ve won 10 of 11 games with a plus-nine net rating over that stretch, during which DeMar DeRozan, De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis have each averaged at least 21 points. 3 23-20 13

Mavericks Kyrie Irving is back to his old tricks, putting up 33 and 36 points, respectively, in the Mavericks’ last two games. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, as the team will continue to have a hard time picking up wins with Luka Doncic on the sidelines. Daniel Gafford has filled in admirably for the injured Dereck Lively II, averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds and 3.5 blocks while starting the last four games. 3 23-21 14

Timberwolves The overall numbers are still good, but the Wolves’ defense has slipped considerably of late, landing 22nd in the NBA over their last 15 games. Donte DiVincenzo was brilliant in a brief foray into the starting lineup, but quickly suffered a toe injury that will keep him out for significant time. Luckily, veteran Mike Conley is always up to the task. 1 23-21 15

Magic The Magic now have the second-worst offense in the entire NBA, which makes their win total all the more impressive. That being said, they can’t wait for Franz Wagner to get back on the floor, which could happen in the next few games. 4 23-22 16

Pistons As of late Wednesday night, the Detroit Pistons are officially a playoff team — not Play-In … PLAYOFF. It’s hard to overstate what a great story this is after they were the laughing stock of the league a year ago, and this group’s confidence grows on a nightly basis. 2 23-21 17

Suns Phoenix has won six of its last eight, but nobody wants to talk about that with the Jimmy Butler rumors swirling like wild. Sending out Bradley Beal is all but guaranteed if a deal gets done, which means he would have to waive his no-trade clause. That could create some interesting leverage moving forward. Stay tuned. 4 22-21 18

Heat Miami has lost four of five games — hmm, wonder what could be distracting their focus? Maybe with Jimmy Butler suspended again, the Heat can try to find some sort of normalcy. On the bright side, rookie Kel’el Ware has been on a mission, averaging 16 points, 11 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over his last five games on 39% 3-point shooting (3.6 attempts per game). 2 21-21 19

Hawks Well, the day has finally arrived: Onyeka Okongwu has usurped Clint Capela as the Hawks’ starting center. The fifth-year big man has certainly earned it, averaging 16 points and 13 rebounds in just 28 minutes over his last five games. That includes a 22-point, 21-rebound performance in a win over the Suns which made him the first player in franchise history to record a 20-20 game off the bench. — 22-21 20

Warriors Back below .500 again, the Warriors have no help in sight with Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga both on the shelf for at least a few more games. Stephen Curry, who’s playing through multiple injuries himself, simply has no help out there — but hey, what else is new. Golden State has the league’s sixth-worst offense over its last 10 games. 3 21-22 21

Spurs Rough sledding for the Spurs, who have now lost six of their last seven games. Victor Wembanyama is mired in an offensive slump, averaging 18 points on 41% shooting during the skid, and unfortunately this team simply isn’t built to withstand that kind of performance from him. 1 19-22 22

Bulls With all the Jimmy Butler talk, the Bulls’ enticing trade assets seem to have been pushed to the background. Zach LaVine is having his most efficient NBA season, averaging 24 points per game on 51/45/82 splits, while Nikola Vucevic is putting up over 20 points per game on equally impressive percentages. With Chicago going nowhere, you have to think that a deal for one of them (or someone else) before Feb. 6 makes a lot of sense. — 19-25 23

76ers The phrase “rock-bottom” gets thrown around quite a bit these days, but dropping seven straight games and falling three spots out of the final Play-In spot seems pretty dire for the 76ers, who have allowed a ridiculous 126 points per 100 possessions during the losing streak. Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have still played just 10 games together, and the big man’s recent knee swelling doesn’t bode well for a reunion any time soon. Yeah, it’s real bad. — 15-27 24

Trail Blazers Those holding onto Scoot Henderson stock are cautiously optimistic right now, as the second-year guard appears to be putting it together. Over his last five games, he’s averaged 22 points, eight assists and four rebounds on 56/51/77 splits. Now, of course, the challenge is to keep up that production consistently. 1 15-28 25

Nets Fans of Tyrese Martin and Tosan Evbuomwan are loving this version of the Nets, as injuries and tanking have combined to create some amazing lineup combinations. The asking price for Cam Johnson is apparently two first-round picks, but he may go to Sean Marks and ask him to lower it himself so he doesn’t have to watch this much longer. 1 14-31 26

Pelicans Don’t look now, but that’s four in a row and five out of six for the Pelicans, who are witnessing the birth of a future star in Trey Murphy III. Much more than just a sharpshooter, the fourth-year forward has averaged 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists over his last five games on 47% shooting. The crazy thing is that when this team’s healthy, Murphy isn’t even (theoretically) in the starting five. 1 12-32 27

Hornets Charlotte has won three of four games and a very respectable four of their last 10. The offense has remained about the same, but the defense has stepped up considerably. Mark Williams has been on an absolute tear, averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds over the 10-game stretch, including a career-high 38 points in Wednesday’s loss to Memphis. 2 11-29 28

Raptors Toronto is playing better basketball of late, taking down the Warriors, Celtics and Magic in the span of a week. Success has come on the defensive end, as the Raptors held each of those teams to 101 or fewer points. 2 11-32 29

Jazz Did you know that rookie guard Isaiah Collier had a streak of nine straight games with at least six assists, including three straight with at least 10? It was snapped on Wednesday, but still a great sign for the Jazz’s No. 29 overall pick. He also had two 20-plus-point games in that span, and if Utah parts ways with Collin Sexton and/or Jordan Clarkson before the deadline, there could be plenty more where that came from. 1 10-32 30

Wizards If the Wizards magically doubled their win total, they’d still have the fourth-worst record in the NBA. That’s bleak. The current 11-game losing streak could easily become at least 14 with the Clippers, Suns and Mavericks on tap. — 6-36