NBA Power Rankings: 30ish words for 30 teams

Welcome to theScore's biweekly NBA power rankings, where you'll find roughly 30 words on all 30 teams every other Monday through the end of the season.

1. Golden State Warriors (50-9)

The first NBA team to 50 wins this season, the Warriors are so good they can afford an ice-cold outing from two-time MVP Stephen Curry now and then.

2. San Antonio Spurs (45-13)

The Spurs went 6-2 on their annual rodeo road trip. Gregg Popovich thinks they may have had too good a time in Los Angeles over the weekend. They still beat the Clippers and Lakers by a combined 29 points.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (41-17)

With their February schedule complete, the Cavs lost only two games during the month, and one of them was without LeBron James. Oh, and reinforcements Deron Williams and possibly Andrew Bogut are on the way.

4. Houston Rockets (42-19)

Houston fell to the Indiana Pacers Monday, but they scored a season-high 142 points in the previous game, a win over the Timberwolves. Per Mike D'Antoni's wishes, the Rockets have taken 154 3-point attempts in three games since the break.

5. Utah Jazz (37-22)

Utah's season-long defensive stoutness has been supplemented of late by a surge in offence. The Jazz rank seventh in offensive rating in February, and Gordon Hayward has averaged 26.2 points during the month.

6. Boston Celtics (38-22)

Danny Ainge's inactivity at the trade deadline doesn't change the fact the C's still have the second-best record in the East. Losers of three of their last four however, it remains to be seen if that can last.

7. Washington Wizards (34-23)

The Wizards have cooled down of late, and welcome the Warriors to town Tuesday. Then a huge home-and-home with Toronto awaits.

8. Toronto Raptors (36-24)

After four straight wins, the only thing that places the Raps behind the Wizards right now is Kyle Lowry's injured status. And they've got the next two games against Washington to further demonstrate what they can do without their best player.

9. Los Angeles Clippers (36-23)

Chris Paul is back, but everything's still very Clipper-ish. The team is 0-5 this season against the their three biggest challengers in the Western Conference: the Warriors, the Spurs, and the Rockets.

10. Oklahoma City Thunder (34-25)

It's a small sample size, but the addition of Taj Gibson at the deadline appears to have helped the Thunder defensively. That and Russell Westbrook's 32-11-10 line in February sets up OKC nicely.

11. Memphis Grizzlies (35-25)

The Grizz could be the best fourth-quarter team in the NBA, per John Schuhmann at NBA Stats, winning the final quarter in eight straight games.

12. Miami Heat (27-33)

The Heat's upward climb over the past month-and-a-half still doesn't have them in postseason position yet, but they're close. Prior to losing to Dallas on Monday, Miami beat three playoff teams - Houston, Atlanta, and Indiana - by an average of almost 15 points.

13. Chicago Bulls (30-29)

Despite being in sell mode by jettisoning Gibson and Doug McDermott, the Bulls have won seven of their last 11, including a victory over the LeBron-less Cavs.

14. Atlanta Hawks (33-26)

How many times in the past decade have you been able to refer to the Hawks as a team in the mediocre middle of the NBA? Here's another chance.

15. Indiana Pacers (31-29)

The Pacers have lost seven of their last nine, and Larry Bird potentially has exactly one calendar year to make the team a title contender or be forced to trade Paul George.

16. Detroit Pistons (28-31)

The team whose season has gone the least as they had planned? The Pistons. In Thursday's overtime win over the Hornets, neither Andre Drummond or Reggie Jackson saw the floor in the extra period (and they weren't in foul trouble).

17. Denver Nuggets (26-33)

Denver's fighting to hang on to eighth in the West, and it'll take the faltering from the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Kings as long as they can.

18. Dallas Mavericks (24-35)

Even though they gave up veterans Williams and Bogut, Mark Cuban isn't conceding the season. Dallas is also 8-5 in its last 13 games.

19. Portland Trail Blazers (24-34)

The bad news for Portland is that it's 8-22 this season against teams currently above .500. The good news is the Trail Blazers have more games left against sub-.500 squads than anyone else in the NBA.

20. Milwaukee Bucks (26-32)

It's been a cursed season for what should've been a showcase campaign for the young Bucks, with Michael Beasley the latest casualty. Still, they only remain a game and a half out of the playoffs.

21. Sacramento Kings (26-35)

Willie Cauley-Stein posted a career-high 29 points in Sacramento's first contest of the post-Boogie era, a win over the Nuggets. He scored two and 14 over the next pair of games respectively, both 14-point losses.

22. New Orleans Pelicans (23-37)

They've yet to win a game with both Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, and the Pels have scored a laughable 95.8 points per 100 possessions with the twin tower pair on the floor together. This can't - and won't - last.

23. Minnesota Timberwolves (24-36)

After a hot start and a mushy middle to the season, Andrew Wiggins is playing out of his mind again. The Canadian is fifth in the league in scoring in February, including averaging 33 points over his last five games.

24. New York Knicks (24-36)

The only thing that places the Knicks ahead of the 76ers here is the fact that New York beat Philly Saturday on a late Carmelo Anthony jumper.

25. Philadelphia 76ers (22-37)

Nobody wants Joel Embiid shut down for the season, but it may make the most sense. The Sixers are 7-11 since he suffered his knee injury in late January.

26. Charlotte Hornets (25-34)

Outside of the basement-dwelling Brooklyn Nets, nobody has a worse record in the NBA since Jan. 23 than the Hornets (2-13).

27. Orlando Magic (22-38)

The frontcourt glut being somewhat resolved - and coach Frank Vogel admitting it was a mistake to try and shoehorn Aaron Gordon in at small forward - is probably the biggest victory you'll see from the Magic this season.

28. Los Angeles Lakers (19-41)

Whatever big moves await with Magic Johnson in charge are in the future. For now, the Lakers are bottoming out to try and ensure their draft pick remains top-three protected and they don't have to send it to Philly (although next season, it's unprotected).

29. Phoenix Suns (18-41)

Who is Alan Williams? He's the Suns big man who's averaging more than 10 points and shooting almost 61 percent from the floor in his last five games.

30. Brooklyn Nets (9-43)

This is much better entertainment in Brooklyn than the Nets: