The Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers move up a spot each, the Washington Wizards drop two spots to fall below both, and everyone in the top-seven stands pat.

Risers

The Charlotte Hornets consistently showing up in our top-10 is likely a bit confounding, but they've been playing well enough lately to somewhat justify nERD's faith in them. They're 6-4 over their last 10 and have the league's ninth-best net rating since the calendar flipped to 2018 (4.2). They're certainly not title contenders (0.6%) and are a long shot to even make the playoffs (24.2%), according to our algorithms, but their ninth-ranked defensive rating should keep them in the mix for a second-half push.

The Indiana Pacers have won seven of their last 10 contests and now sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-22. The post-Paul George era is off to a much better start than expected, thanks mostly to the breakout of first-time All-Star Victor Oladipo. He's a big part of the reason the Pacers have the league's seventh-ranked offensive rating on the season and the fifth-best net rating (6.1) in the new calendar year. We now give them an 83.8% chance of making the postseason and better odds of winning a title (1.9%) than the cratering Cleveland Cavaliers (1.4%).

Fallers

The Washington Wizards might have two All-Stars in John Wall and Bradley Beal, and sit fifth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 26-21, but they fall two spots in our rankings this week after losing three of their last four contests with an average point differential of -15.3. They play eight of their next 11 contests on the road (where they're 11-12 this season), so this is a bad time for a slump.