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NBA Power Rankings: Pretenders or contenders? How the 20 postseason-bound teams stack up
Following a brief interruption to present to you our annual Tanking Rankings, we return to our regularly scheduled bi-weekly programming: The world’s most accurate NBA power rankings.
But first an update to those Tanking Rankings, which detailed exactly how well the NBA’s 10 lottery teams — now set in stone — have navigated their way to the bottom of the standings:
10. New Orleans Pelicans (25-51)
9. Chicago Bulls (29-46)
8. Dallas Mavericks (24-51)
7. Memphis Grizzlies (25-50)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (29-45)
5. Sacramento Kings (19-57)
4. Utah Jazz (21-55)
3. Brooklyn Nets (18-57)
2. Washington Wizards (17-58)
1. Indiana Pacers (17-58)
No need to include any of those outfits in our power rankings this time around. They are succeeding in their own right, at losing, as the league’s nine tanking teams (the Pelicans, who owe their first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks, have no incentive to lose) have managed just seven wins against non-lottery teams in their last 100 tries. If you can call them “tries.”
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It can be difficult to tell how well some of the postseason-bound teams are playing, since win streaks have been boosted by the tanking. The Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets have all benefited from easy recent schedules. We are here to sort through the noise.
And it is getting noisy. One loss separates the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds in the Western Conference, where there are two losses between the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and second-seeded San Antonio Spurs. Three losses separate the 10th-seeded Charlotte Hornets from the East’s final guaranteed playoff seed, all with a little over a handful of games to play.
So, without further ado, our penultimate regular-season power rankings.
20. Orlando Magic (39-35)
“I’ve got to be able to do a better job of preparing them for what they were going to see tonight,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after a franchise-record, 52-point loss that saw the Raptors go on a 31-0 run (a play-by-play era record). I’m surprised he said it. So was Desmond Bane, who responded, “I think we understood how big of a game it was … but I don't have nothing for that.”
19. Miami Heat (39-36)
The Heat are 2-7 since Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, owners of a bottom-five defense in that span. “It’s extremely disappointing,” said coach Erik Spoelstra. “We’ve put in the time. The guys have put in blood, sweat and tears to develop a top-four defense two weeks ago. And when we need it the most is when we’ve let it disappear. And that’s just unacceptable at this time.” Damn.
18. Golden State Warriors (36-39)
Will Stephen Curry, who has missed 25 straight games to “runner’s knee,” return at all this season? That is The Question in the Bay Area, where the two-time MVP had a “good session” on Sunday. Coach Steve Kerr’s answer: “We’re not bringing him back [just] for the play-in game. He needs to play some games … if this is going to work. And we are running out of games.”
17. Portland Trail Blazers (38-38)
Blazers coach Tiago Splitter told his players of Tuesday’s showdown with the Clippers, “It’s going to be the most important game of the season.” The two teams, separated by two losses, vying for the Western Conference’s eighth seed, meet twice in the season’s final weeks. As Kris Murray said, “It’s going to be a playoff-type game, and a lot of us haven’t been in that position.”
16. Toronto Raptors (42-32)
Since November’s nine-game win streak, the Raptors are 28-27, owners of a +1.0 net rating, practically average, but coach Darko Rajaković insists this is only Year 2 of a rebuild that began with the exits of Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby: “Building a team is not such a thing that you can do in one year. In the NBA, it takes time to build a team that’s going to be competitive.”
15. Phoenix Suns (41-33)
At month’s start, a disappointed Suns coach Jordan Ott declared, “We shouldn’t be asking for energy. We want to get to March to play meaningful games. We shouldn't be asking for energy.” Since then, his team is 6-6, owners of a middling defense. Sounds like they could use a jolt of Dillon Brooks, who, six weeks removed from a fractured left hand, should soon be available.
14. Atlanta Hawks (42-33)
Meanwhile, the Hawks are 15-2 since the last week of February, apace with the Thunder and Spurs. “I love where we’re at as a group,” said Jalen Johnson. “We’re not going to be perfect. We’re not going to be on a win streak to end the whole year, but how we’re playing these games and how we’re just sticking to what we do best, that’s something we can continue to build on.”
13. Los Angeles Clippers (39-36)
Sorry, Cleveland, but L.A. is enjoying its Darius Garland experience. The Clippers are 10-3 with the two-time All-Star guard in the lineup, operating at historic levels offensively (126.7 points per 100 possessions) when he’s on the court. “The stuff he’s brought to this team, it’s extraordinary,” said L.A.’s Brook Lopez. “Only he could do it. He’s made a huge, positive change for this group.”
12. Philadelphia 76ers (41-33)
The Sixers, who could end up anywhere from the fifth to the 10th seed in the East, welcomed back Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, who combined for 81 points in a victory over the Hornets. "We need everybody we can get,” said Embiid. “We got to win every single game. ... We end up 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, it doesn't matter. Still got to win. I don't care where we end up."
11. Houston Rockets (45-29)
The Rockets have bounced back with two wins against lottery teams, but our minds keep going back to a record-setting blown 13-point overtime lead to Minnesota. Felt like a momentous loss. “A lot have this year,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said, “that’s just the worst one of them.” Come to think of it, Houston (8-8 since the end of February) lost to the tanking Bulls the game before!
10. Charlotte Hornets (39-36)
Back-to-back losses to Boston and Philly were not so encouraging, but the Hornets are still 28-13, owners of the league’s best net rating (+10.8), since the start of January. They are dangerous, if they can earn a playoff berth. They are the No. 10 seed. As Coby White said, “We know these last couple games, we’ve got to fight to improve our odds of making the playoffs.”
9. Cleveland Cavaliers (46-28)
“If we’re going to play defense like this, we’re going to have a short playoff stint,” said Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, and that was after a win — albeit one in which they gave up 130 points to Orlando. (Yikes!) Point is: Cleveland owns one of the NBA’s 10 worst defenses in its past nine games, and, if you will remember, as Spoeltra once said, “That’s just unacceptable at this time.”
8. Detroit Pistons (54-20)
The Pistons are 5-1 since Cade Cunningham injury, but Jalen Duren recently said it best (after his latest monstrous effort): “You can’t replace what [Cade] brings to the floor and brings to our team.” Facts. Detroit might be third on these rankings if not for Cunningham’s injury, but how else are we supposed to assess these Pistons when their best player has a collapsed left lung?
7. Minnesota Timberwolves (45-29)
“We can’t relax now that [Anthony Edwards] is coming back and say, ‘Hey, give Ant the keys and just go,’” Minnesota's Mike Conley Jr. said. “I think we’ve got to let Ant do his thing. But at the same time, continue to push the ball, continue to involve everybody, and I think that’s when we’re our best self.” And, now, they wait for Jaden McDaniels to get back from a knee injury, too.
6. New York Knicks (48-27)
In New York fashion, the Knicks have sandwiched four straight losses to winning teams around seven consecutive wins against sub-.500 teams. “We don’t want to turn on a switch,” said Jalen Brunson. “We want to be trending in the right direction as we come down to the end. There are still things we need to work on.” Only seven games remain in the regular season. Time’s ticking.
5. Los Angeles Lakers (48-26)
More from LeBron James, the NBA’s newest (and best) third option, on Luka Doncic’s heater down the stretch of the season: “Obviously he’s the head honcho when it comes to our offensive firepower. He’s just in an unbelievable rhythm right now, shooting the 3-ball exceptionally well, getting to the line as he always does and being super efficient. We’re all just playing off of him.”
4. Denver Nuggets (48-28)
No team could use a respite more than the Nuggets, whose injury list is ever-expanding, only they are clinging to home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. By the Tao of Nikola Jokić, though, “It’s really hard to say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna have amazing playoffs,’ because you cannot know what’s gonna happen or how the team’s gonna feel basically in a month.”
3. Boston Celtics (50-25)
Few teams are now healthier than the Celtics, who welcomed Jayson Tatum, the NBA’s reigning Player of the Week(!), back from Achilles surgery just 11 games ago. And as Payton Pritchard said, “We know if we want to win a championship, we need him at a high level. It’s definitely encouraging, but he’s getting better and better each game, looking more and more like himself.”
2. San Antonio Spurs (57-18)
The Spurs, behind Victor Wembanyama, are 24-2 since the start of February. They have gained only three games in the standings on the Thunder over that span, but the confidence they have built may be just as important as home-court advantage. "I keep saying it, but the league's in trouble," said San Antonio’s Devin Vassell. "We got a lot of young talent that is really good."
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (60-16)
The Thunder chase no one but themselves. “If your sense of urgency increases based on the standings, it wasn't high enough to begin with," said OKC coach Mark Daigneault. "We try to have a sense of urgency about improving, building our habits, competing together every single opportunity we get. If you need external forces to increase that, your bar is not high enough."
