The 2016 trade deadline has passed and the NBA landscape still looks the same.
A couple of title contenders — Cleveland and Oklahoma City — made changes to the fringe of their rotation, but didn’t do anything to scare the 49-5 Golden State Warriors. The Los Angeles Clippers swapped their most frustrating player for the Memphis Grizzlies’ most frustrating player and no other team within shouting distance of the best teams in the league made an upgrade.
So, with seven-plus weeks to go, there’s still a clear top four teams. And within that, there’s still a clear No. 1 and a clear No. 2. The Cavs beat the Thunder on Sunday (because LeBron James is the mayor of Oklahoma City) to give us a little movement in the top five, but one of those teams would really have to turn things up to unseat the Warriors or Spurs.
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? Last week: Is a quiet trade deadline coming?
? This time last year: Health is the key as the season hits the final stretch — Lots of point guards (including the reigning Rookie of the Year) got traded, the Jazz got better by sending Enes Kanter to Oklahoma City, and Kevin Garnett went back to ‘Sota. Carmelo Anthony shut it down after the All-Star Game, Chris Bosh was lost for the season with a blood clot, and Kevin Durant played his last game of ’14-15 (though that wasn’t known at the time).
? Plus-minus stud: C.J. McCollum (POR) was a plus-47 in two games last week.
? Plus-minus dud: Jerami Grant (PHI) was a minus-47 in two games last week.
? Hero team of the week: Cleveland (2-0) — The Cavs won in Oklahoma City on Sunday, and their Thursday win over the Bulls looked better after Chicago beat Toronto the next night.
? Zero team of the week: Denver (0-2) — The Nuggets gave up 237 points in losses to the Kings and Celtics.
? Team to watch this week: Houston — Two guys – Dwight Howard and Ty Lawson – know they were shopped at the deadline and two more – Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton – could come back after actually being traded. They’re teetering in eighth place, and they play road games against ninth-place Jazz and seventh-place Blazers this week.
? East vs. West: The West is 173-153 (.531) against the East in interconference games after the East went 8-4 (2-0 against Oklahoma City) last week.
? Toughest schedules so far: 1. L.A. Lakers, 2. Milwaukee, 3. Denver
? Easiest schedules so far: 1. Oklahoma City, 2. San Antonio, 3. Atlanta
Schedule strength is based on cumulative opponent record, and adjusted for home vs. away and days of rest before a game.
? High jumps of the week: Charlotte, Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee, Portland (+2)
? Free falls of the week: Atlanta, Denver, Memphis, Minnesota (-3)
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Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league has averaged 98.0 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 103.2 points scored per 100 possessions this season.
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NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail or contact him via Twitter.
