NEW YORK – The Clippers beat the Suns to start last week before falling at home against Golden State and on the road in Boston.
Here are the resulting power rankings from NBA.com, ESPN.com, SI.com and CBSSports.com, along with a brief explanation for the choices. Click on the ranking under each publication’s name to see the full explanations for each team.
NBA.com
Clippers No. 9 (Last week: No. 10) – “Blake Griffin had the Fancy Pass of the Week and has averaged 23.0 points on 53 percent shooting since his return. The Clippers' offense has been potent (121 points scored per 100 possessions) with Raymond Felton, J.J. Redick and Austin Rivers on the floor together over the last eight games, and Paul Pierce got a proper send-off in Boston on Sunday…The Clippers have ranked last defensively (118.3 points allowed per 100 possessions) since Chris Paul's injury.” – John Schuhmann
ESPN.com
Clippers No. 14 (Last week: No. 13) – “The Clippers are the only team in the league that will be asked to play 10 road games within an 11-game span this season. They lost three of five on the road from Jan. 21 through Feb. 1, returned home for a one-game pasting by the Warriors, then began another five-game trip Sunday with what we all believe to be Paul Pierce's final appearance at Boston Garden. According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index, LA's February schedule ranks as the toughest month any team will face all season, followed by the Suns' December and Houston's March; Oklahoma City's January and Chicago's March are tied for fourth. The Clippers, of course, are facing all of this without Chris Paul...” – Marc Stein
SI.com
CBSSports.com
Clippers No. 14 (Last week: No. 12) – "’Hey, maybe we should sacrifice all of our depth for a ball-dominant, high-usage star who doesn't defend,’" is an idea being floated, which shows you how bleak their prospects are with what is still a very talented core. Imagine if this team was in the East. How good would they feel about their situation?” – Matt Moore