NBA Power Rankings Update: The Philadelphia 76ers' Process Is Working
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
The Philadelphia 76ers leap into the top tier, the Washington Wizards are on the verge of sliding out, and the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics swap places.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Washington Wizards | 33-24 | 54.5 | 8 | -2 |
| 9 | Indiana Pacers | 33-25 | 55.0 | 10 | 1 |
| 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 30-25 | 55.1 | 12 | 4 |
| 7 | San Antonio Spurs | 35-24 | 57.8 | 7 | 0 |
| 6 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 35-25 | 59.1 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | 40-19 | 59.5 | 4 | -1 |
| 4 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 33-26 | 60.7 | 5 | 1 |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 41-16 | 23.3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Houston Rockets | 44-13 | 22.1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 44-14 | 26.8 | 1 | 0 |
Risers
The 76ers are really putting it all together. They've gone 16-7 since Christmas Day and are second in net rating since then at 7.8, trailing only the Warriors at 8.0. They now sit at 30-25 on the season and head into the All-Star break on a five-game winning streak. They currently rank seventh in the Eastern Conference and we give them a commanding 95.1% chance of making the playoffs for the first time in six seasons, despite only being three games up on the ninth-place Pistons.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost six of their last nine contests and now only hold a tenuous game-and-a-half lead on the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference, but they're the only team in the NBA outside of the clear-cut top three in our rankings (the Warriors, Houston Rockets, and Toronto Raptors) to place in the top 10 in both offensive (eighth) and defensive (seventh) efficiency, and their 3.41 average margin of victory ranks fifth in the Association. That said, this week's bump in ranking has more to do with the struggles of the Celtics than it does with the success of the Thunder.
Fallers
The Washington Wizards have won seven of nine since John Wall went down with a knee issue, but they drop a couple spot in our rankings to make room for the red-hot 76ers and the Indiana Pacers, who have won nine of their last 12. The Wiz are hanging by a thread in the top tier, but they are still one of the league's most efficient teams, despite a fair bit of turmoil in their locker room.
The Celtics had been hanging onto the top spot in the Eastern Conference ever since their 16-game winning streak from the start of the season, but they lost the honor to the Raptors this week and now sit two games back of them. The Celtics have lost four of their last five and have a record of 6-9 since January 16th, ranking 25th in offensive rating over that span and 21st in net rating. They still have the Association's top-ranked defense, but they could probably use the upcoming All-Star break to regroup more than anyone.
