{"id":72458,"date":"2014-02-17T08:34:34","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T16:34:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=72458"},"modified":"2014-02-17T08:34:34","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T16:34:34","slug":"power-rankings-february-17th-2014-17214","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/nba\/power-rankings-february-17th-2014-17214\/","title":{"rendered":"Betting On Hoops? Cappers Picks NBA Power Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"

2014 NBA Handicapping<\/h2>\n

The teams are set to enter the stretch run following the All-Star break. With races heating up and postseason positioning on the line, don\u2019t expect to see any team hold anything back the rest of the way. [ad-4468020]<\/p>\n

Here are the power rankings entering the 17th week of the NBA schedule.<\/p>\n

1. Indiana Pacers (40-12):<\/strong> The Pacers\u2019 grasp on the top spot isn\u2019t as tight as some seem to think. They\u2019ll need to win games down the stretch to further their gap over Miami if they\u2019re going to come away with the home court advantage they desire once that inevitable series rolls around.<\/p>\n

The team went into the break scoring a season-worst 73 points at home in a loss to the Mavericks, so it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to seem them come out of the break extra motivated.<\/p>\n

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (43-12):<\/strong> The prospect of adding Russell Westbrook back into this lineup actually seems like a bad thing given how well they have played without him.<\/p>\n

The team will be tested right out of the break in a date with the Heat on Thursday night. Oklahoma City will be looking for the season sweep in the series, but Miami will want none of that.<\/p>\n

Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s NBA Season Package Today!<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

3. Miami Heat (37-14):<\/strong> LeBron James has seemingly started to get interested in the season and it\u2019s really reflected on the stat sheet.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no need to worry about a slow start after the break as he\u2019ll be giving it his all in the team\u2019s first game with Kevin Durant on the other side and all the MVP talk that has surrounded both players.<\/p>\n

4. Houston Rockets (36-17):<\/strong> The Rockets made some significant changes in the offseason, so it\u2019s important to cut them some slack for a mediocre start. The team won 10 of its final 12 games heading into the All-Star break, and with James Harden and Dwight Howard really finding their groove, Houston is going to be a team to watch out for.<\/p>\n

5. Los Angeles Clippers (37-18):\u00a0<\/strong>Blake Griffin has found another gear of late, and that\u2019s meant big things for the Clippers. Griffin has poured in 35.4 points per game, and the Clippers scored 122.5 points per game in the two games in which Chris Paul appeared before the break.<\/p>\n

All-Star weekend couldn\u2019t have come at a more inopportune time for the team, but if they can carry their momentum into the next week, they\u2019ll be able to make a run at the top spot in the West.<\/p>\n

6. San Antonio Spurs (38-15):<\/strong> The Spurs have gone 7-7 in their last 14 games, and things won\u2019t get any easier after the break with games at the Clippers, at Portland, and at Phoenix in a four-game stretch. It\u2019s tough to imagine Coach Popovich not sitting his stars in at least one of those games.<\/p>\n

They also have a slew of injuries to battle with.<\/p>\n

7. Portland Trail Blazers (36-17):\u00a0<\/strong>Damian Lillard showed off his impressive collection of skills during All-Star weekend, but if there were a defensive contest he wouldn\u2019t have been invited to that one. The Trail Blazers would be higher up on this list if they played a lick of a defense, or just generally showed some interest in seeing the other side miss a shot.<\/p>\n

8. Phoenix Suns (30-21):<\/strong> Goran Dragic needs some love. He belonged at the All-Star Game but instead found himself on the sideline.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s carried the Suns to their best record at the All-Star break since Mike D\u2019Antoni left town, and with big wins on their resume like the one they picked up in Indiana, no one wants to draw the Suns in the first round.
\n[ad-6571516]
\n9. Memphis Grizzlies (29-23):<\/strong> Injuries have plagued this club all season. They\u2019d be in a much different situation if they had been able to keep their starting five on the court for 82 games.<\/p>\n

It sounds like Marc Gasol\u2019s knee injury isn\u2019t serious, and Mike Conley is expected back sooner rather than later. Tony Allen\u2019s return is also close and will be pivotal.<\/p>\n

10. Toronto Raptors (28-24):<\/strong> The Raptors were an afterthought in a weak Atlantic Division entering the season, but the Rudy Gay trade has transformed the team into a legitimate contender for a home date in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve quietly ranked fourth in the Association in scoring defense.<\/p>\n

11: Golden State Warriors (31-22)<\/strong>
\n 12. Chicago Bulls (27-25)<\/strong>
\n 13. Dallas Mavericks (32-22)<\/strong>
\n 14. Washington Wizards (25-27)<\/strong>
\n 15. Atlanta Hawks (25-26)<\/strong>
\n 16. Brooklyn Nets (24-27)<\/strong>
\n 17. Minnesota Timberwolves (25-28)<\/strong>
\n 18. New Orleans Hornets (23-29)<\/strong>
\n 19. Charlotte Bobcats (23-20)<\/strong>
\n 20. Denver Nuggets (24-27)<\/strong>
\n 21. New York Knicks (20-32)<\/strong>
\n 22. Detroit Pistons (22-30)<\/strong>
\n 23. Boston Celtics (19-35)<\/strong>
\n 24. Utah Jazz (19-33)<\/strong>
\n 25. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-33)<\/strong>
\n 26. Los Angeles Lakers (18-35)<\/strong>
\n 27. Sacramento Kings (18-35)<\/strong>
\n 28. Orlando Magic (16-38)<\/strong>
\n 29. Philadelphia 76ers (15-39)<\/strong>
\n 30. Milwaukee Bucks (9-43)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2014 NBA Handicapping The teams are set to enter the stretch run following the All-Star break. With races heating up and postseason positioning on the line, don\u2019t expect to see any team hold anything back the rest of the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":976,"featured_media":63061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[53145,260,744,3942,749,4046,22804,1014],"class_list":["post-72458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-53145","tag-cappers-picks","tag-nba-betting","tag-nba-handicapping","tag-nba-odds","tag-nba-power-rankings","tag-nba-ratings","tag-power-rankings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72458"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72477,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72458\/revisions\/72477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}