It’s early August, the deadest of dead zones on the NBA calendar.Summer League’s over, the draft is a distant memory, and free agency’s been picked clean like the nacho tray at a Super Bowl party by halftime.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/mavericks as Mavericks' Anthony Davis still ranked among best players in Western Conference. Dallas Mavericks star forward Anthony Davis stumbled into the Lone Star State after being acquired in the Luka Doncic trade with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Phoenix Suns' newly-acquired center received a surprising ranking among the top big men in the Western Conference.

The Phoenix Suns were fifth in NBA.com's Western Conference rankings a year ago at this time, but the new rankings show a steep decline.

Last season's Western Conference was a bloodbath, as the top eight seeds all finished with at least 48 wins, and none of them are indicating regression over the