NBA Power Rankings: Suns still on top, Grizzlies second, Celtics climbing

The trade deadline has passed, the buyout market is heating up, but the top of the NBA Power Rankings doesn’t change with the Suns sitting on top, although Memphis leapfrogged the Warriors into second place this week.

 1. Suns (47-10, Last Week No. 1). Coaches will tell you there are no statement games in February, but the Suns easily handling the Bucks last Thursday was as close to a statement as it gets. These Suns are better than the team that went to the Finals a year ago (the Bucks are about the same, and that gap was evident). Phoenix now has a 5.5-game lead over the second-best team in the West (and the NBA) in Golden State, and the Suns have a much easier schedule the rest of the way. The Suns will finish as the top seed. The road to an NBA championship will run through Phoenix this season. Chris Paul and Devin Booker can relax and enjoy All-Star weekend.

 2. Grizzlies (41-18, LW 4). Good on the Memphis front office for standing pat at the trade deadline and not making a “we need to capitalize on this” short-sighted move. This team is winning now with this core — the Grizzlies have won 9-of-10 with a top 10 offense and defense in that stretch. Of course, the hot stretch for the Griz is longer than that, they are a league-best 22-4 since Christmas. Why mess with that? Too many teams would, but the Grizzlies played it right at the deadline.

 3. Warriors (42-16, LW 2). The Warriors defense that was the best in the league and the core of this team early in the season has stumbled of late with Draymond Green sidelined — they are 23rd in the NBA over their last five games. The Clippers beat the Warriors over the weekend because a shorthanded Los Angeles team watched Reggie Jackson and others get the matchups they