Old School Power Rankings

Week 18: Nowitzki puts an end to Gasol's run at the top, Randolph bounces back while Kobe and two others get back into the chase POSTED: Mar 26, 2016 9:17 AM ET

 

About that window that was open a crack ...

An ailing knee has ended a certain Spaniard's seven-week run as king of the mountain. Now let's see if a certain German can fend off all challengers.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies are again making their presence felt and a big man returns to the race for the first time since Week 7.

• Notes: Statistics are through games of March 24. Rankings are based on entire regular season with heavy emphasis on recent play.
• Any player who turns 33 during the regular season can be added to the Old School Power Rankings

1. Dirk Nowitzki (37), Dallas Mavericks

Last week's rank: 2
Last week's stats: 3 games, 28.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.7 apg
Season stats: 18.8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.8 apg
On Sunday, Nowitzki notched his first 40-point game this season and his first since Jan. 11, 2014. It was the 20th 40-point game of his illustrious career and he became the first OSPR player to eclipse the mark. He's now gone nine straight games with 20 or more points and three consecutive with eight or more rebounds. Think he can still get the job done?

2. Pau Gasol (35), Chicago Bulls

Last week's rank: 1
Last week's stats: 2 games, 9.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.5 apg
Season stats: 16.8 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 4.0 apg
Gasol played just two games last week because of continuing soreness in his knee. Monday's showing against the Kings wasn't bad (14 points, 14 rebounds), but Wednesday's effort (four points, five rebounds on 2-for-7 shooting) may have been his worst performance since that dreaded Jan. 20 game against Golden State (one point, eight rebounds).

3. Dwyane Wade (34), Miami Heat

Last week's rank: 3
Last week's stats: 3 games, 21. 7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.3 apg
Season stats: 19.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.7 apg
It was a productive and efficient week for Wade, who shot better than 50 percent from the field in two of three games and 54.9 FG% overall. The solid shooting put a halt to six consecutive games of sub-50 percent, with three of those games being below 35 percent. Wade appears to be in a nice shooting groove.

4. Zach Randolph (34), Memphis Grizzlies

Last week's rank: 9
Last week's stats: 3 games, 19.3 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 5.7 apg
Season stats: 14.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
Threatened with being bumped off the list, Randolph secured his first career triple-double (28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) Saturday. Take that, OSPR. The rest of Z-Bo's week was decent, notching a solid double-double (14 and 13) Monday followed up the next night with an all-around effort (16 points, six rebounds, five assists, three blocks).

10. Luis Scola (35), Toronto Raptors

Last week's rank: NA
Last week's stats: 3 games, 15.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.7 apg
Season stats: 8.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 0.9 apg
It looks like Scola is turning into a big version of Steph Curry, nailing three 3-pointers in three straight games. In addition to shooting 56.3 from beyond the arc, Scola managed a healthy 56.3 clip from the field. Equally impressive was the fact the big man notched his first back-to-back double-figure scoring games since Jan. 20 and 22.
Just missed the cut: Tyson Chandler, Tony Parker, Jose Calderon
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5. Joe Johnson (34), Miami Heat

Last week's rank: 4
Last week's stats: 3 games, 10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.3 apg
Season stats: 12.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.0 apg
Bland is probably the best word to describe Johnson's week. After eight straight double-figure scoring games, Johnson ended his week with back-to-back games of fewer than 10 points, shooting below 35 percent in both. Of course it's tough to score when you have just 24 FGA in three games combined.

6. Tony Allen (33), Memphis Grizzlies

Last week's rank: Just missed
Last week's stats: 3 games, 20.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg
Season stats: 8.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.1 apg
Allen certainly has the scoring touch lately, managing two games of 20 or more points last week including Tuesday's impressive showing in which he went 12-for-12 from the field en route to a season-high 27 points. Allen has now scored in double figures in five straight games and eight of his last 10.

7. Jamal Crawford (35), Los Angeles Clippers

Last week's rank: 7
Last week's stats: 4 games, 14.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 3.0 apg
Season stats: 13.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.2 apg
If not for Thursday's 25-point performance against the Blazers, Crawford would've fallen down a peg or two. That's because his three other games missed the mark. Yes, he went for double-figure scoring in two of the three, but he failed to eclipse 42 percent from the field in any of them. On the positive side, he's now hit at least two 3s in three of his last five.

8. Matt Barnes (36), Memphis Grizzlies

Last week's rank: 5
Last week's stats: 2 games, 10.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.0 apg
Season stats: 9.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.0 apg
Barnes' one-game suspension seemed to have stalled his mini scoring burst. Before Saturday's ban, he had scored in double figures in three straight and five of his last six. But following Saturday, Barnes went for 12 and nine. Tuesday's game also saw Barnes fail to secure a rebound for the first time since March 4.

9. Kobe Bryant (37), Los Angeles Lakers

Last week's rank: Just missed
Last week's stats: 2 games, 18.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.5 apg
Season stats: 16.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.1 apg
He may have shot poor (38.7 FG%) last week, but Bryant did manage 20 points (on 7-for-18 shooting) Tuesday for his second 20-point game in the last eight. The future Hall of Famer remains day-to-day with soreness in his right shoulder, and that will most likely be the case the rest of the season.