Welcome to the home-stretch, NBA fans. We’ve now seen enough games after the trade deadline to get a sense of what each team is going to look like at the end of the year, and it’s time to revamp our power rankings. It only took two or three days for our previous iteration to be completely blown up.
In this version, there won’t be any witty tiers, or lengthy summaries. Just the rankings and a couple sentences summing things up. Here we go.
30. Houston Rockets
15-50
Full-on tanking. They took John Wall back, just to buy him out again. That’s how willing they are to lose every game they have left.
29. San Antonio Spurs
16-49
Could it be that Gregg Popovich is just good at whatever his primary task is? When he wants to win, he’s the best. When he wants to tank, he’s also the best at that, as this year has shown. Loss after loss after loss. Victor Wembanyama just feels like a Spur already.
28. Detroit Pistons
15-51
Professional losers. Cade Cunningham has been held out all year to keep them in the Wembanyama race. Jaden Ivey is fun, I guess.
27. Charlotte Hornets
21-46
Whoof. A really bad team. Honestly, I’m surprised they’ve eked out 21 wins from the players they have. It feels like they shouldn’t be this good. Is that sad, or a compliment?
26. Orlando Magic
27-39
Big leap from Charlotte. This team is bad but fun. In fact, it might be the worst “fun team to watch” I’ve ever seen. There are signs they could be pretty close to playoff contention. Not quite there yet, unfortunately.
25. Chicago Bulls
29-36
What is going on here? They should have blown this up at the deadline, but they didn’t. If no-man’s land were 5,000 miles from the next nearest land, they have very little food or water, and they’re left with a life-raft that looks like an actual bull tore through it, that would be where the Chicago Bulls are right now.
24. Indiana Pacers
29-37
If the Bulls are on the aforementioned remote island with no food, water, or life-raft, the Pacers are right on that shoreline 5,000 miles from there. They are in the same spot this season but actually have a direction. I’ll take a young core of Haliburton and Mathurin and build around that any day.
23. Utah Jazz
31-35
Why don’t they just tank? Is Lauri Markkanen really that good? He might be. He keeps them in games and wins them sometimes. It appears as if they just don’t have the overall talent needed to make a serious playoff push. Jazz fans – you’ve already won this season. From your perspective, the Gobert trade is one of the best ever orchestrated. You wouldn’t do Gobert-for-Kessler straight up, would you?
22. Washington Wizards
31-34
How is this team still in the mix? I feel like everything I hear about them is bad. The Beal contract is bad, they completely whiffed on Johnny Davis, and teams always seem to load manage against them. Maybe that’s the answer right there. Do they win games because they never see the opponents’ best guys?
21. Portland Trail Blazers
31-34
I don’t know what’s more remarkable, that Damian Lillard can score as much as he does, or that the Blazers still find ways to lose games despite the fact that Damina Lillard can score as much as he does. With potent scoring like that, they should be better, but defensively, they are just plain bad.
20. Toronto Raptors
32-34
Probably one of my biggest disappointments of the season. Scottie Barnes has been fine but not great. Same goes for Fred VanVleet. They have the talent and the coaching to be much better than this, so we’ll see how they finish the season. For now, they barely get out of the bottom-third.
19. Oklahoma City Thunder
31-34
Since our last power rankings, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has taken this team from tanking territory to play-in contention. His recent injuries have a slight pro-tank stench to them, so we’ll see if they decide to mail it in for the rest of the season and increase their lottery odds. Nonetheless, they have other promising talent. You never know. They will add more lottery picks, bring back Chet, and mix that with the team they already have. That’s a playoff team.
18. Atlanta Hawks
32-33
I’ll admit – this might be a little too low. I just don’t think they’re that good. Trae Young isn’t having a good year, and Dejounte Murray has been fine but definitely not up to snuff with everything they gave up to get him. They are a likely play-in team, but even if they make it out of that tournament, they’ll play Boston or Milwaukee and get smashed.
17. New Orleans Pelicans
31-34
Talk about a fall from grace. The Pelicans were first in the west at the beginning of December, but have fallen out of the top six completely after an awful three-month run. They just can’t get their guys healthy at the same time. Zion’s injury is particularly alarming. He still hasn’t returned and seemingly has setbacks over and over again. I’m starting to get to the point where I write him off because he’s so injured all the time. Additionally, the guys they do have healthy have been awful recently.
16. LA Clippers
34-33
Between the health of Kawhi and Paul George, as well as Russell Westbrook’s general presence on the roster, I don’t really see it with the Clippers. When they are firing on all cylinders, they are as good as anyone, but do you trust Kawhi and PG to be healthy and consistent from now until June? I certainly don’t. With that said, this is one where I could be very wrong.
15. Miami Heat
35-31
Easily the most confusing team in the NBA. 15 is the perfect spot for them because they feast on bad teams and lose to good ones (unless it’s the Charlotte Hornets). They’ll probably be a tough out in the postseason, but I don’t really see a way they get themselves into legitimate contention. They’re fine, not outstanding.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves
34-33
They show glimpses of functionality with Gobert, Edwards, and CONLEY! Conley has been fantastic for them. He’s definitely put his imprint on them in a real way that could translate to some late-season success. However, I still can’t help but think about that Utah/Dallas series last year when the Mavs pulled Gobert away from the basket over and over again, and he couldn’t stop anything on the perimeter.
13. Brooklyn Nets
37-28
I’ll admit it. I really like this team. A lot. In the aftermath of the Durant and Kyrie trades, they still have a team that I think is good enough to stick in the east’s top six. Mikal Bridges, out of the shadows of Booker, Paul, and Ayton, is growing into a legitimate first scoring option, a la early Rockets James Harden. Dorian Finney-Smith is showing exactly why he was valued so highly in the Irving trade with his defensive versatility and shooting prowess. This is a good team without a clear star, but I think the Nets will prove that you don’t need a clear star if you have a shit-ton of number twos.
12. Los Angeles Lakers
32-34
A quick caveat – the Lakers are only this high if they don’t have any more serious health issues. That’s a huge if. But I’ll say it: I’m all the way back in with this group. AD has been on a tear for the last few weeks, D’Angelo Russell has been… good (?)… and the other role players have been fantastic. Just watch – Jarred Vanderbilt is going to have a major coming-out moment (probably on defense) late in the season or the playoffs. Such a stroke of genius getting him while dumping Westbrook. All this is happening, keep in mind, with LeBron in a walking boot.
11. Memphis Grizzlies
38-26
I know what you’re thinking. Looking at the standings, this is way too low. But let’s evaluate where the team is at. They’ve been dreadful the last several weeks, their best player is out indefinitely with personal issues, and they just lost Brandon Clarke for the rest of the season. This Morant stuff is concerning to me. I don’t think this is a simple, “take a few days and come back” kind of situation. He needs to get some help. That isn’t a two-or-three game fix. That’s a months-long process. Too many distractions and injuries to be a serious threat, in my opinion.
10. Golden State Warriors
34-32
Enough has been said about how good this team could be, and I buy all of that. They are just so freaking bad on the road. That by itself is enough to keep them from being ranked any higher. You can’t completely write them off because of the winning pedigree, but it’s been a tough year for them overall.
9. New York Knicks
39-28
What a fun story. Even when they lose in the playoffs, this season will be one to remember for Knicks fans. Julius Randle is back, Immanuel Quickley is a legitimate scorer, and Jalen Brunson is HIM. The construction is just funny because Julius Randle is a number-two option who thinks he’s a one, and Brunson is a clear one that acts like a two. Regardless, it all works.
8. Dallas Mavericks
34-32
I’m hanging on by a thread here. People might read this and think they are ranked this high because of my Mavs bias, but I legitimately like the position Dallas is in. The remaining schedule is light, they’ve been light-handedly competitive against better teams, and when Kyrie and Luka are both on, there isn’t a defensive setup to stop them. They can’t play defense (at all) but they can outscore most teams they’ll play. I’m looking for Tuesday’s win over Utah to be the start of a nice little run here.
7. Sacramento Kings
38-26
Light the Beam! Good for Sacramento! This team is so fun to watch and a nightmare to match up with. I only have them at seven because I trust the six teams in front of them more in a playoff series. It’s not really their fault, either. They just haven’t had the experience in the postseason yet.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
41-26
This, in my opinion, is where we start to discuss legitimate contenders. The Cavs are simply a team I wouldn’t want to see in the playoffs. They have a unique combination of perimeter scoring and playmaking as well as interior size and athleticism. They’ll be a tough out for anyone.
5. Philadelphia 76ers
43-22
The Sixers are very, very good. MVP-level Embiid and a surprisingly well-adapted James Harden have gotten them near the top of the heap. They can’t get past five because I have no trust whatsoever in playoff Harden.
4. Phoenix Suns
36-29
Barring injury, this is my favorite to win the Western Conference. As Dallas learned on Sunday, the Booker/Durant combo is impossible to deal with. I actually thought it was one of the Mavs’ stronger defensive efforts, and it didn’t matter. The Suns were too good. As this is an active power ranking, you just can’t put the Suns in the top three – yet. If the season had started two weeks ago, I’d put Phoenix at number one.
3. Denver Nuggets
46-19
It’s hard not to be a top-three team with the soon-to-be three-time defending MVP on your roster. Jokic is so damn good and so hard to play against. His defensive shortcomings might be an issue in the playoffs, but they’ve been the best team in the west up to this point. The roster around Jokic has been superb as well.
2. Boston Celtics
45-21
Jayson Tatum and co. were on a mission coming off last year’s finals loss to the Warriors, but that effort has lost a little steam of late. It still feels like Tatum isn’t quite at the Giannis/Embiid/Jokic/Doncic level quite yet, but he’s got the support to still put together a championship-caliber team. Jaylen Brown is as legit as ever, and they have a lot of lineup versatility with the rest of their guys. Up until a week-or-so ago, Boston was number one on my list.
1. Milwaukee Bucks
47-18
Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best basketball player on the planet, and that’s playing out this year. He’s unstoppable on offense and very hard to score against on the other end. Jrue Holiday is a legitimate all star, and Brook Lopez (!?) is having an incredible year. On top of all that, the Bucks are just now getting Khris Middleton back from injury. It feels like it’s all coming together for them.
Hope you enjoyed it. It’s funny that my word counts per-team got a lot longer as I went on but them’s the breaks. The tanking teams just aren’t worth wasting many words on.
Side note: It’s crazy how many NBA teams feature a basketball in their logos! By my count, 22 of them from this blog contain an actual basketball. If you’re coming up one short, don’t forget the basketball created by the negative space above the antlers in Milwaukee’s insignia.
Follow Nick Hedges on Twitter @nicktrimshedges or Instagram @nicktrimshedges