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No budges and no movements over the All-Star break for the Houston Rockets or the Southwest Division. The Rockets went 1-1 going into the break with a win against Phoenix and a loss against the Clippers. They don't return to action until Friday and face a daunting eight games in two weeks against six playoff teams.
That's life in the Western Conference. All without Dwight Howard.
The big story this week won't be the NBA standings, but it will be the upcoming trade deadline where former Rocket Goran Dragic is screaming to get away from the Phoenix Suns.
The power rankings saw a few drops, but we all watched James Harden drop a lot of points at the All-Star game and Patrick Beverley win an award for not passing, kinda three point shooting and mostly continuing to be crafty.
Here's what happened in the national power rankings this week:
Source |
Rank |
Change |
Date |
ESPN | 8 | -1 | 2/16 |
SB Nation | 7 | -1 | 2/16 |
Yahoo! | 6 | -2 | 2/16 |
USA Today | - | - | 2/8 |
PBT/NBC | - | - | 2/9 |
CBS Sports | - | - | 2/9 |
SI | 5 | 0 | 2/9 |
Quiet weak in the Southwest Division thanks to the All-Star break. No formidable ground won and no ground lost for all five teams. The Pelicans seem on the precipice of a dangerous collapse while the San Antonio Spurs are still the snake in the grass.
As the Gasol brothers start the All-Star Game across from one another we can't say anything but 'hail to the Grizz.'
TEAM | RECORD | GB | LAST WEEK |
Memphis Grizzlies | 39-14 | 0 | 1-1 |
Houston Rockets | 36-17 | 3 | 1-1 |
Dallas Mavericks | 36-19 | 4.0 | 1-0 |
San Antonio Spurs | 34-19 | 5.0 | 1-0 |
New Orleans Pelicans | 27-26 | 12.0 | 0-1 |