2017 NBA Trade Deadline Power Rankings

The trade deadline came up quickly today and passed without too much action even faster. It's the perfect timing for another power rankings review of every team with the All-Star break giving me a chance to catch a temporarily stable set of point differential and offensive and defensive ratings from NBA.com before games resume tonight. I've included a look at any trades that went down the past week and a half with draft pick details from RealGM.com and salary data from BasketballInsiders.com, although I use blue for player options, orange for  team options, and red for years that aren't fully guaranteed.

1. Golden State Warriors (1st in the West) 47-9 (27 H, 29 R) 
Point Differential: +12.8 (1st), Offense: 114.2 (1st), Defense: 101.6 (T-2nd)

With an astonishing 34 wins by double digits, the Kevin Durant fit has been about as seamless as you could have hoped for, and his defense and rebounding have been noticed more thanks to playing so much power forward with bench units, leading to a career high 1.7 blocks per game. His 3 point shooting (37.4% overall) has been a little streaky, but Steve Kerr's ball movement system has made him even deadlier on 2's with a career high 61%. Aside from Draymond Green's shooting efficiency going down, the rest of their All-Stars haven't been affected too much by the change, with Stephen Curry back to his 2015 MVP level as expected rather than last year's historic campaign, though his numbers are also typically better after the All-Star break for his career. With the ability to fit in a variety of players in the 5th spot of the lineup at times between Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Zaza Pachulia, and even JaVale McGee, they have proven to be the team to beat.

2. San Antonio Spurs (2nd in the West) 43-13 (25 H, 31 R)
Point Differential: +8.4 (2nd), Offense: 110.0 (5th), Defense: 101.0 (1st)

Despite their gaudy history, they still seem to be falling under the radar while on pace for 63 wins. Kawhi Leonard has taken his offensive game to another level with an increased workload while maintaining his stunning efficiency; someone who was a "non-shooter" when drafted had been flirting with a 50/40/90 season before a slight February slump. New center Pau Gasol has been out since mid-January with a broken hand but was effective when in, and Dewayne Dedmon has proven to be the steal I expected when filling in for Gasol with better defense. Although LaMarcus Aldridge isn't shooting at his normal clip from the mid-range, they are still elite offensively to go along with their league leading defense, joining the Warriors as the only team in the top-5 on both ends.

Super Bowl LI

Super Bowl Sunday is just about here at long last, and it should be a fun one with the highest Over/Under in Super Bowl history at 59. I would lean towards the score not hitting that final total with both teams having the extra week to prepare and usual early nerves in the big game, but Atlanta and New England do rank 1st and 2nd, respectively, in Football Outsiders' offensive DVOA. While the Patriots defense only ranks 16th in defensive DVOA due to the weight of a soft schedule, they do hold the title of the #1 scoring defense on the season, and historically, the teams with the fewest points allowed are 6-1 against the top scoring teams in Super Bowl meetings. In recent history, Mike Lombardi notes that the 2009 Saints are the only #1 offense to have won it all since 2000 while the top scoring defense has won it five times in that span. Throw in the fact that the Falcons only rank 27th in both defensive DVOA and scoring defense, and you can see why the Pats are favored by 3 in Houston.

Super Bowl XXXVI is the first one I remember, and it's hard to believe what it would kick off.