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Luka Doncic #77 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks for an opening against Luguentz Dort #5 the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Los Angeles Lakers, for a shining moment in March and heading into April, offered their fans what has been a rare glimpse of hope for this season, with an MVP-caliber performance from Luka Doncic, ideal No. 2-3 roles for Austin Reaves and LeBron James, and a surge up the NBA power rankings. More broadly, the red-hot Lakers seemed to finally offer some hope that the second-tier teams in the West could keep pace with the two behemoths of the conference, the defending-champ Thunder and the juggernaut Spurs.

But then Doncic’s hamstring was injured in L.A’s blowout loss in Oklahoma City on Thursday and Austin Reaves suffered an oblique injury for good measure. Both are out for the remainder of the regular season and quite possibly the first round of the playoffs.

So, now what in the West? Can we get a challenger in the conference semifinal for OKC and the Spurs?

Well, maybe. The Nuggets’ thrilling win in overtime over San Antonio was their eighth straight victory, and “dropped” San Antonio to 27-3 in their last 30 games. The win was a reminder that the Nuggets have the only big man who can match Victor Wembanyama (34 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists) for the length of a series–Nikola Jokic (40 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists).

If the Nuggets can beat out the Lakers for the No. 3 seed, that could set up a significant second-round matchup between the two.

It is easier to believe in Denver than in the Houston Rockets as a challenger in the West, but the Rockets have won six straight games and are just a game behind L.A. and the Nuggets. The Rockets offense is humming, with five players–Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard–averaging better than 15 points during the streak.

Still, it’s hard to see either the Nuggets or the Rockets giving a real challenge to the Top 2 in the West. More and more, it looks like a waiting game to the conference finals.

NBA Power Rankings: Woe to the Wolves

We’ve got the Timberwolves hanging on here in the Top 10 of the NBA Power Rankings, but only by a thread. The team has been hit with its own 1-2 injury punch, with Anthony Edwards dealing with a knee issue that has cost him seven of the team’s last 10 games, and Jaden McDaniels also listed with the rare “week-to-week” designation because of his own knee injury.

The Wolves can’t win without Edwards, of course. But in the playoffs, McDaniels is probably their biggest wildcard, the guy whose two-way skills make him invaluable at that time of year. The hope is that both will be ready for the playoffs, but that’s iffy at this point.

1. Thunder, 62-16.
2. Spurs, 59-19.
3. Pistons, 57-21.
4. Nuggets, 50-28.
5. Celtics, 53-25.
6. Rockets, 49-29.
7. Knicks, 50-28.
8. Lakers, 50-28.
9. Cavaliers, 49-29.
10. Timberwolves, 46-32.
    

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    NBA Part II Rankings: Hawks’ Unlikely Hero

    The Atlanta Hawks have been the best team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference since the All-Star break, and credit for that should go to the team’s activity ahead of the trade deadline. Except it’s not the activity most might have thought. The Hawks made a high-profile acquisition of Warriors star wing Jonathan Kuminga at the deadline, but at 11.7 points since the break, he has not been the guy driving this team.

    No, the bigger trade acquisition for the Hawks has been CJ McCollum, mostly seen as a salary filler in the Trae Young deal. But McCollum has been brilliant, averaging 18.6 points and 4.4 assists since the All-Star break. The Hawks are threatening the Top 1- in the NBA power rankings and sit at No. 5 in the East this year, a threat to either the Knicks or the Cavs in a potential first-round matchup.

11. Hawks, 45-33
12. Sixers, 43-35.
13. Hornets, 43-36.
14. Suns, 43-35.
15. Raptors, 43-35.
16. Trail Blazers, 40-38.
17. Magic, 42-36.
18. Clippers, 40-38.
19. Heat, 41-37.
20. Warriors, 36-42.

    

    CJ McCollum #3 of the Atlanta Hawks

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    NBA Power Rankings Part III: Tank-a-thon Continues

    It’s a race to the bottom for a handful of teams these days, and as much hand-wringing as there has been over tanking–those offended by it and a newly vocal group of tanking apologists–the league is not making much progress on stopping it.

21. Bucks, 31-47.
22. Mavericks, 25-53.
23. Bulls, 29-49.
24. Grizzlies, 25-53
25. Pelicans, 25-54.
26. Kings, 21-58.
27. Jazz, 21-58.
28. Nets, 19-59.
29. Pacers, 18-60.
30. Wizards, 17-61.