NBA Power Rakings: Suns stay on top, barely, with Heat, Grizzlies close

The Suns hold on to the top spot — barely — in these NBA Power Rankings despite CP3 being out, but the Heat are surging and Ja Morant is dunking on anything in his way as the Grizzlies keep playing well. For the first time in a while, the top spot in these rankings is on shaky ground.

 1. Suns (49-12, Last Week No. 1). Phoenix has gone 1-2 since Chris Paul went out with his fractured thumb (which will sideline him most or all of the rest of the regular season), and it was evident how much they missed him in the clutch during the loss to Utah over the weekend. They missed his defense in that game, too. Devin Booker looked good running the point, but now he will miss time after entering COVID health and safety protocols. Cameron Payne is due back from injury, but Monty Williams will not be able to ease his young point guard back into the rotation. Fun Finals rematch Sunday against the also-stumbling Bucks.

 2. Heat (41-21, LW 4). Bam Adebayo has played great defense and averaged 22 points a game with a ridiculous 61.4 true shooting percentage, plus 10.9 rebounds a game in February. He has been the spark behind the Heat’s run of late. Adebayo’s play has Miami as the No. 1 seed in the East, the question with him has long been can he carry over this level of play into the postseason? If he does, the Heat likely book a return trip to the Finals. The strong play of Adebayo and the Heat will be put to the test this week with games against Milwaukee, Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

 3. Grizzlies (43-20, LW 2). Memphis is by far the best offensive rebounding team in the NBA, grabbing 14.1 per game, or look at it this way: They snag 30.2% of their missed shots for a second chance. Steven Adams deservedly gets a lot of credit for that,