DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls ended 2021 with fireworks. They started 2022 with some too.
The NBA’s leader in fourth-quarter scoring was at it again this past week, knocking down wild, buzzer-beating 3-pointers in back-to-back fashion to stun the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards.
Thanks to DeRozan’s late-game heroics, the Bulls have now won seven straight to vault into the Eastern Conference lead.
Sticking in the East: The defending champion Milwaukee Bucks have taken advantage of softer stretch in their schedule to reel off a six-game win streak.
The longest active run in the Western Conference belongs to the Memphis Grizzlies, who remain in the driver’s seat for home-court advantage behind four straight wins, a run that includes close victories over the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.
See where the league’s streaking teams check in this week in our latest breakdown of all 30.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
1. Golden State Warriors
2021-22 record: 28-7
Previous ranking: 1
The Warriors picked up a big win over the Jazz on Saturday night, made even more impressive given the fact that they did it without Draymond Green, who was out because of COVID-19 protocols. After dealing with a variety of coronavirus-related absences, Steve Kerr’s team just rolls on and is on the verge of getting Klay Thompson back. The Warriors are clearly the best team in the league through the first 2½ months of the season. — Friedell
2. Phoenix Suns
2021-22 record: 28-8
Previous ranking: 2
Jalen Smith delivered an epic poster over Mason Plumlee on Sunday night. But more importantly, Smith, who has been forced into action because of health and safety protocols hitting Phoenix, has made the most of his…
Source : espn
