SALT LAKE CITY – The Clippers lost to the Raptors but bounced back to beat the Knicks and Hornets to finish the week on a winning streak.
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. 10 (Last week: No. 9) – “The Clippers have dropped from sixth to 16th in defensive efficiency since Chris Paul's (latest) injury, but their offense was good enough in New York and Charlotte last week to put together two straight wins for the first time since Paul injured his thumb. Blake Griffin has been terrific and Jamal Crawford has followed a brutal January with 50 percent shooting in February. He's been one of the better clutch shooters in the league this season (47 percent from the field, 6-for-14 from 3-point range) and hit the two biggest shots in Wednesday's win at Madison Square Garden.” – John Schuhmann
ESPN.com
Clippers No. 13 (Last week: No. 14) – “The Clippers start the last week before the All-Star break in Salt Lake City in what, at the present, would represent a first-round playoff preview with Utah at No. 4 and L.A. at No. 5 in the West. (The Jazz, incidentally, are only 3-8 against the Warriors, Spurs, Rockets, Clippers and Grizzlies ... so it's also a biggie for them.)" – Marc Stein
SI.com
CBSSports.com
Clippers No. 15 (Last week: No. 14) – "They're over halfway done with Chris Paul's injury timeframe. It sure doesn't seem like they intend to make any major changes at the deadline, the Melo trade hanging overhead as the exception…” – Matt Moore