The Los Angeles Lakers play like a team that doesn't belong in the bottom tier, the Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies play like teams that do, and the Orlando Magic win some games for some reason.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Sacramento Kings | 17-36 | 22.9 | 30 | Even |
| 29 | Phoenix Suns | 18-38 | 24.7 | 29 | Even |
| 28 | Chicago Bulls | 18-35 | 31.7 | 28 | Even |
| 27 | Brooklyn Nets | 19-37 | 34.6 | 26 | -1 |
| 26 | Atlanta Hawks | 17-37 | 35.8 | 27 | +1 |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies | 18-36 | 37.0 | 24 | -1 |
| 24 | Orlando Magic | 17-36 | 37.2 | 25 | +1 |
| 23 | Dallas Mavericks | 17-37 | 42.4 | 22 | -1 |
| 22 | New York Knicks | 23-32 | 42.9 | 21 | -1 |
| 21 | Los Angeles Lakers | 22-31 | 43.4 | 23 | +2 |
Risers
There are currently eight teams within a game and a half for the league's worst record, which could make this year's race to the bottom (and subsequently the best draft lottery odds) very interesting. The Orlando Magic, for their part, are doing it all wrong, winning three of their last four contests, including victories against two Eastern Conference playoff teams in the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. They are still in a four-way tie for the fewest wins in the NBA with 17, but they'll have to stop pulling off upsets if they want to keep it that way.
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the hottest teams in the Association right now, having won 11 of their last 15 contests, while posting the league's eighth-best net rating (3.6) over that month-long span. No matter what happens to them this season, their draft pick is going to either Philadelphia of Boston, so they're not really shooting themselves in the foot by winning as much as possible. Even with all the victories lately, however, they still sit six games out of a playoff spot and we only give them a 1.2% chance of pulling off a miracle postseason berth.
Fallers
Like the Lakers, the Nets don't own their 2018 draft pick, and therefore have nothing to lose by winning (if that makes sense). Unlike the Lakers, however, they've dropped 14 of their last 18 contests and are doing everything they can to make their draft pick more valuable for the Cleveland Cavaliers leading up to today's trade deadline and this summer's draft.
The Grizzlies are getting the hang of this tanking thing, losing five in a row and eight of their last 10. They've had the fourth-hardest schedule in the NBA this season, according to Basketball-Reference.com, but it doesn't get any easier from here with 16 of their final 28 games coming on the road, where they've got a dismal record of 5-20 this year.