NBA Power Rankings Update: The Utah Jazz Keep Humming Along
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
The Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers swap places, while the Houston Rockets gain ground on the Golden State Warriors.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Indiana Pacers | 30-25 | 53.5 | 8 | -2 |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | 23-30 | 54.0 | 9 | Even |
| 8 | Washington Wizards | 31-23 | 54.6 | 10 | +2 |
| 7 | San Antonio Spurs | 35-21 | 59.6 | 7 | Even |
| 6 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 34-23 | 60.4 | 6 | Even |
| 5 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 31-24 | 61.2 | 5 | Even |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 39-16 | 61.8 | 4 | Even |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 37-16 | 70.2 | 2 | -1 |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 40-13 | 70.6 | 3 | +1 |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 41-13 | 71.8 | 1 | Even |
Risers
No John Wall? No problem! The Wizards have won five of their six games since losing their All-Star point guard for an estimated six weeks following a knee procedure. They now lead the Southeast Division at 31-23, sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, and are just half a game back of the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers. Their 2.6% chance of winning the title, according to our algorithm, represents the third-best odds in the East, trailing only the Toronto Raptors (22.0%) and the Boston Celtics (11.0%).
The Rockets continue to scorch the earth, winning six in a row and 13 of their last 15. They now have the best average point differential in the league (8.25) and the second-best net rating (8.1), trailing only the Warriors (9.1). Their 70.6 nERD and 19.1% title odds are also getting close to the Warriors' 71.8 and 25.5% marks, respectively, and they're shaping up to be an actual obstacle to the champs when it comes to repeating.
Fallers
The Pacers are playing just fine, having won six of their last nine contests, but they've dropped two of three since our last instalment, and it just so happens that those two losses came at the hands of the two teams that leapfrogged them in our rankings this week, the Charlotte Hornets and the Washington Wizards.
Golden State maintains the top spot for the umpteenth week in a row, but we're mentioning them here because they've lost some ground on the competition. They've dropped three of their last four games (to the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, and Oklahoma City Thunder) and now only hold a half-game lead on the Rockets for the top spot in the Western Conference. They once had a stranglehold on the top of our nERD (71.8) and title odds (25.5%) leaderboards, but the Rockets (70.6 and 19.1%) and Raptors (70.2 and 22.0%) have caught up thanks to the Dubs' recent cold spell.
