Rudy Gay owners lost a key piece last week when the Sacramento forward was lost for the season due to a ruptured Achilles, and that's the type of injury that could limit the veteran for the rest of his career, which is always tough to see.
While no other players suffered anything as severe as Gay, we did see Pau Gasol break a finger on his left hand that will keep him out indefinitely. Additionally, Evan Fournier remains out with a foot injury that has caused him to miss the past five games, and Kristaps Porzingis isn't playing like the dominant forward we've come to expect as he plays through a sore Achilles.
The mounting injuries made for a rough week for a lot of owners.
Gay drops out of the rankings while Gasol drops from 63 to 91, Fournier from 84 to 104 and Porzingis from 32 to 60.
Meanwhile, turning to more positive news, a huge week by Kevin Durant (27 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 5 APG, 1.6 SPG, 2 BPG, 2.4 3PG) coupled by a poor shooting week by former teammate Russell Westbrook moves Durant to the No. 2 spot behind James Harden.
Gasol has averaged 25.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1 steal, 1.2 blocks and 1.6 threes over the past five games, bumping him up from 31 to 21.
Bledsoe is coming off a huge 40-point, 6-rebound, 13-assist performance against Toronto, and he has averaged 26.6 PPG and 9.6 APG over the past five games, vaulting ahead of fellow point guards Kemba Walker and Damian Lillard for the No. 19 spot.
Rubio, who was too low last week at 103, makes a huge jump to 61 after dishing out 70 assists over a five-game stretch. The 60-80 range is likely to be where he stays the rest of the season, barring injuries.
Additionally, Blake Griffin is set to return Tuesday, helping him jump from 68 to 44 as he eases his way back into the Clippers' rotation, starting with a road game at Philadelphia.
Montrezl Harrell's demotion from the starting lineup following the return of Clint Capela leaves him out of the updated 150. However, red-hot shooting guards Dion Waiters and Caris LeVert both enter the rankings this week. Waiters scored 33 points in back-to-back games while filling in for Tyler Johnson (shoulder) and hit the game-winning three to beat Golden State on Monday. LeVert, who was rested in Monday's game against San Antonio, shot 61.5 percent over the past four games and averaged 12 PPG, 4 APG, 1.5 SPG and 1.8 3PG along the way.
Another to enter the rankings is veteran big man David Lee, who averaged 13 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while playing over 31 minutes a game in the three games since Gasol went down. Lee comes in at 129.
Here is the full rundown of the updated Top 150 rankings:
