The Detroit Pistons have jumped into the top-10 in Efficiency Differential, going from 13th/+0.5 last week to 10th/+1.4. The Pistons have won four in a row following two losses after Tobias Harris joined the team.

Near the bottom of the rankings, the Phoenix Suns are now 28th as they've switched spots with the Brooklyn Nets.

Week 18 Rankings

1. San Antonio: 13.3
2. Golden State: 11.2
3. Oklahoma City: 7.4
4. Cleveland: 6.1
5. Toronto: 4.8
6. L.A. Clippers: 4.8
7. Boston: 4.2
8. Atlanta: 2.6
9. Indiana: 1.9
10. Detroit: 1.4
11. Portland: 1.3
12. Utah: 1.0
13. Charlotte: 0.9
14. Miami: 0.3
15. Dallas: -0.1
16. Memphis: -0.6
17. Chicago: -0.8
18. Orlando: -1.4
19. Houston: -1.4
20. Washington: -1.6
21. Sacramento: -2.2
22. New York: -2.7
23. New Orleans: -2.9
24. Denver: -3.3
25. Minnesota: -4.2
26. Milwaukee: -4.6
27. Brooklyn: -6.9
28. Phoenix: -7.0
29. L.A. Lakers: -10.1
30. Philadelphia: -10.8

As Stephen Curry has become stronger physically, he has been able to extend his range.

“I've heard people say you need to take his space,” Curry’s trainer Brandon Payne said via phone after Curry's 51-point game against the Orlando Magic. “Well, if you get up tight on him, that's actually what we want you to do. We want you to get up tight on him because then it's going to open lanes to the basket when he plays off the high post.”

Payne discounts the notion that Curry wouldn't be as successful in a more physical era.

“To say that you would completely shut him down or render him not effective with more physical defense, I don't think that's accurate. He just has too many things he can go to.”

Payne believes Curry is just entering his prime 

“The strength that he has is allowing him to step further and further back without changing his mechanics," Payne said. "He's able to create any look that he wants because he's able to get backward away from pressure.” 

Kawhi Leonard has been called The Claw for his gigantic hands but the Human Avatar is what Randy Shelton, Leonard's strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State, prefers.

A fan in SDSU's student section held a giant cutout of Leonard's head affixed to a blue Na'vi body from the film Avatar when he was playing in college.

"That's exactly how I wanted him to play. You want to be able to move at any degree at full speed and change direction like an Avatar," said Shelton.

Shelton says Leonard is the perfect student because he's obsessed with achieving precision.

"Kawhi loves the analytics side, loves to look at everything, wants to know. That's the beauty about it."

Basketball analysts have long criticized the Oklahoma City Thunder for not staggering the minutes of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook across the tenures of both Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan.

For the first time in an entire game, Donovan made sure either Durant or Westbrook were on the floor for every second of their 116-103 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Durant subbed out just six minutes into the game and then returned three minutes later for Westbrook. Durant finished the first quarter and then started the second when the Thunder typically have an all-bench unit.

Durant came out at the 9:27 mark of the second quarter for Westbrook to return and then came back in at the 5:09 mark.

Durant and Westbrook played approximately 12 minutes together and 12 minutes apart in each half.

Donovan also put out a previously unused small lineup of Westbrook-Randy Foye-Andre Roberson-Durant-Serge Ibaka.

Derrick Rose has been playing much better basketball of late.

"I just feel like I'm back," Rose said.

"I'm just out there playing. Whatever I can do to get my team a victory, that's what I'm going to try to do. When I'm out there, they're giving me midrange [shots], they're giving me drives to the lane. Just mixing up my game and trying to play a solid game while I'm out there."

Rose struggled to start the season coming back from a fractured orbital bone.

Rose has averaged 19.2 points per game since the start of 2016.

"That's obviously a huge thing in this league with players, is playing with confidence," Fred Hoiberg said. "And Derrick is playing with a high level of confidence right now. You can tell. The shots he was hitting at the end of the game the other night, he didn't hesitate at all. He was getting that thing down the floor quickly and taking what the defense gave him. Again, that rhythm and confidence is such an important thing and Derrick has that."

Rose's PER by month:
November: 10.3
December: 10.7
January: 16.0
February: 20.5

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and four blocks in their win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Antetokounmpo effectively played point guard in the game for the Milwaukee Bucks, bringing the ball up the floor on every possession during the first six minutes with the starters.

"Giannis is playing at a very high level right now," said Jason Kidd. "After the break, we've made some changes, we've kind of given him the ball as the point guard. We haven't announced that he's the point guard, but we're letting him start the offense. On misses, we're trying to get the ball to him as quick as possible and have everybody else run. And he's made some incredible passes. The bounce pass to Jabari. The halfcourt pass [to O.J. Mayo], that was one of the best I've seen. And I think it just becomes contagious with everyone passing the ball. We've got the ball moving right now. Khris throwing it off the glass. Guys are moving the ball. It's fun to watch. They're all making the right play. It's a little bit different than the first half of the season where the ball was sticking and we weren't getting multiple touches. But it's nice to see the improvement and the triple-double from Giannis."

The San Antonio Spurs remain first in Efficiency Differential but have dropped a full point per 100 possessions since the previous rankings two weeks ago.

The Golden State Warriors have also dropped a full point following their blowout loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, have jumped from +6.0 points per 100 possessions to +6.8. 

Week 17 Rankings

1. San Antonio: 13.2
2. Golden State: 11.4
3. Oklahoma City: 7.7
4. Cleveland: 6.8
5. Toronto: 4.6
6. L.A. Clippers: 4.2
7. Boston: 4.1
8. Atlanta: 2.5
9. Indiana: 2.3
10. Utah: 1.4
11. Charlotte: 1.3
12. Portland: 1.2
13. Detroit: 0.5
14. Miami: 0.2
15. Chicago: -0.5
16. Dallas: -0.5
17. Memphis: -1.1
18. Orlando: -1.3
19. Houston: -1.5
20. Sacramento: -1.9
21. New York: -2.3
22. Washington: -2.5
23. New Orleans: -2.7
24. Denver: -3.4
25. Minnesota: -3.9
26. Milwaukee: -4.7
27. Phoenix: -6.6
28. Brooklyn: -7.4
29. L.A. Lakers: -10.0
30. Philadelphia: -10.6

We're roughly at the midway point of the season and there are now six teams who are in the top-10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency in the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets are also in the top-10 in offensive efficiency.

The Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks are also in the top-10 in defensive efficiency.

Stephen Curry heads into the All-Star Game with a NBA-leading PER of 32.0, which is the best pre-ASG mark since Michael Jordan's 32.4 PER in the 1987-88 season.

Curry is the clear frontrunner for MVP at this point in the season.

Pre-ASG/Post-ASG/Total

15-16: Stephen Curry: 32.0

14-15: Anthony Davis: 31.6 / 28.8 / 30.7

13-14: Kevin Durant: 30.2 / 28.2 / 29.5

12-13: LeBron James: 31.1 / 32.3 / 31.5

11-12: LeBron James: 31.5 / 30.0 / 30.8

10-11: LeBron James: 26.4 / 29.3 / 27.4

09-10: LeBron James: 31.0 / 31.2 / 31.1

08-09: LeBron James: 31.4 / 32.1 / 31.7

07-08: LeBron James: 29.3 / 28.6 / 29.0

06-07: Dwyane Wade: 29.1 / 18.2 / 28.1

05-06: LeBron James: 28.6 / 27.0 / 27.8

04-05: Kevin Garnett: 27.6 / 29.3 / 28.1

03-04: Kevin Garnett: 29.0 / 30.3 / 29.5

02-03: Tracy McGrady: 28.3 / 33.2 / 30.3

01-02: Shaquille O’Neal: 29.1 / 30.1 / 29.6

00-01: Shaquille O’Neal: 27.8 / 33.2 / 30.3

99-00: Shaquille O’Neal: 29.7 / 31.8 / 30.5

98-99: Shaquille O’Neal: 30.5 (no All-Star Game)

97-98: Shaquille O’Neal: 29.3 / 28.3 / 28.6

96-97: Michael Jordan: 29.0 / 25.9 / 27.7

95-96: David Robinson: 28.9 / 30.2 / 29.5

94-95: David Robinson: 28.6 / 29.6 / 29.0

93-94: David Robinson: 29.3 / 32.3 / 30.6

92-93: Michael Jordan: 29.0 / 31.3 / 29.8

91-92: David Robinson: 27.5 / 26.7 / 27.2

90-91: Michael Jordan: 31.2 / 32.0 / 31.5

89-90: Michael Jordan: 29.3 / 33.4 / 31.0

88-89: Michael Jordan: 31.7 / 30.3 / 31.1

87-88: Michael Jordan: 32.4 / 30.9 / 31.7

86-87: Michael Jordan: 27.5 / 32.4 / 29.7

85-86: Magic Johnson: 24.6 / 22.7 / 23.7

Markieff Morris has been the subject of trade rumors due to his displeasure with the Phoenix Suns' organization but he's set to play a key role in Earl Watson's offense.

Morris had a season-high 30 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in Tuesday's game.

"He is the main focus of our offense moving forward, we know that," Watson said of Morris, who'd spent more time on the bench than on the floor all year. "That's part of talking about your role with this team, he went out there every play and that was his role, to lead us. He accepted that."

The Suns traded his brother, Marcus Morris, to the Detroit Pistons in the offseason.

"It's a tough situation for him," Watson continued. "But as the coach and the teacher of the team, I love him. So I love him, we nurture him, we embrace him, we help him grow even while he is here no matter what and the thing about when you lead teams, it becomes lifelong relationships so it's bigger than basketball for me."

"I think I heard over 20 times today how much faith he had in me," Morris said of Watson.

Watson will use Devin Booker as the Suns' second option.

"I told him he is going to be our second option," Watson said of Booker. "And he needed to step up and he came and he stepped up. He hit some big shots, took some big shots, took some questionable shots, but that's the evolution of Devin Booker."

Booker had 27 points, 18 of which came on three-pointers.