NBA Power Rankings Update: The Cleveland Cavaliers Continue to Plummet
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
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.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Washington Wizards | 26-21 | 53.7 | 8 | -2 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 19-27 | 54.0 | 10 | +1 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 26-22 | 54.1 | 9 | +1 |
| 7 | San Antonio Spurs | 32-18 | 59.5 | 7 | Even |
| 6 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 27-20 | 61.3 | 6 | Even |
| 5 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 31-19 | 61.3 | 5 | Even |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 35-14 | 61.7 | 4 | Even |
| 3 | Houston Rockets | 34-12 | 68.4 | 3 | Even |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 32-14 | 69.2 | 2 | Even |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 38-10 | 75.4 | 1 | Even |
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.
