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NBA Power Rankings Week 24: There and back again

The playoffs are right around the corner with the Spurs have played the best basketball in the league since March rolled around. Is that enough for them to bump the Warriors from the top spot in the rankings?

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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

With one game left in the Spurs' regular season, playoff seeding remains up in the air.

The Warriors owned the power rankings for most of the year, and they roll into the playoffs with the first seed on lockdown, besides Portland (fourth seed) and Dallas (seventh seed) everyone else is still fighting for position ... mainly because the Spurs beat the Rockets twice last week and threw the Western Conference draw into a tizzy. After being tied for 2nd in the West after the first game of the season, San Antonio has regained the second seed after the eighty-first. What a journey.

Here's what the NBA's cognoscenti had to say about the Spurs after another undefeated week of basketball.

Marc Stein, from ESPN (Spurs rank: 2. Last week's rank: 2)

Just being as honest as a committee can. We only see two teams at the minute that can win this season's West: Golden State as team of the season and streaking San Antonio as the team of the moment, with Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard playing like an everyday MVP over the last 25-ish games.

Drew Garrison, SB Nation (Spurs rank: 2. Last week's rank: 3)

The Spurs were on a four-game losing streak heading into a game against the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 27, but they broke out of the rut and will end the season having not lost consecutive games since. San Antonio has been unstoppable since that point, putting up nearly 113 points per 100 possessions while holding opponents to 97, according to NBA.com.

Can they end the season on a 12-game winning streak?

Marc J. Spears, Yahoo Sports (Spurs rank 2. Last week's rank: 4)

No one is playing better basketball heading into the postseason than the defending NBA champions, who have won 11 straight.

USA Today (Spurs rank: 4. Last week's rank: 8)

Is there anything you can count on more than the Spurs playing great at playoff time?

John Schuhmann, NBA.com (Spurs rank: 2. Last week's rank: 3)

The Spurs have moved up one spot in the rankings each of the last five weeks, but won't reach No. 1, because the Warriors have been too good all season. San Antonio has outscored its opponents by a ridiculous 20 points per 100 possessions over its 11-game winning streak, but Golden State was better (plus-20.9) over an 11-game stretch after Christmas.

Matt Moore, CBS Sports (Spurs rank: 1. Last week's rank 1)

They were in sixth 20 days ago and second now. Not only have they kept winning (21 of 24), but everything has fallen into place. Someone asked me why the basketball gods love the Spurs. I replied, "The Spurs are the basketball gods."

Consensus track: