A slew of teams move up a notch, while the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets backslide.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Miami Heat | 30-28 | 44.8 | 20 | 0 |
| 19 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 34-22 | 48.2 | 19 | 0 |
| 18 | Denver Nuggets | 31-26 | 48.4 | 18 | 0 |
| 17 | Detroit Pistons | 28-29 | 49.6 | 15 | -2 |
| 16 | Portland Trail Blazers | 32-26 | 49.8 | 17 | 1 |
| 15 | New Orleans Pelicans | 31-26 | 52.0 | 16 | 1 |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 24-33 | 52.3 | 9 | -5 |
| 13 | Utah Jazz | 30-28 | 53.2 | 14 | 1 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Clippers | 30-26 | 53.6 | 13 | 1 |
| 11 | Milwaukee Bucks | 32-24 | 53.8 | 11 | 0 |
Risers
The Utah Jazz are the hottest team in the NBA right now, heading into the All-Star break on an 11-game winning streak. Since the streak began on January 24th, they've ranked sixth in offensive efficiency (112.3 points scored per 100 possessions), second in defensive efficiency (97.7 points allowed per 100 possessions), and first overall in net rating (14.6). They still sit a game and a half outside the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, but they're also only 2.5 games out of fifth. We give them a 56.5% chance of making the postseason at this point, which is a monstrous leap from the 33.2% odds we had them at just last week, and the 16.2% mark from the week before.
The Los Angeles Clippers have won five of six since trading Blake Griffin for Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, and Boban Marjanovic. Moving Griffin -- a five-time All-Star -- looked like the classic start of a rebuild, but then the team re-upped Lou Williams for three years and held onto him, DeAndre Jordan, and Bradley through the trade deadline. For better or worse, the Clippers are rolling with this ragtag band of misfits, and -- for the moment -- it's working out fine. They currently sit eighth in the Western Conference and we give them a 62.2% chance of holding onto a playoff spot.
Fallers
The Pistons started the Blake Griffin era on a five-game winning streak, but then dropped three in a row over the last week before pulling off a win over the lowly Atlanta Hawks on Valentine's Day. All in all, they're an impressive 6-3 since the deal, and that places them just a game and a half behind the Miami Heat for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. We only give them a 33.1% chance of making it, however.
The 24-33 Charlotte Hornets have looked out of place in the top tier of our rankings for weeks, but it looks like nERD has finally straightened out its feelings, dropping them back down to the middle of the pack. Losing four of their last five contests has no doubt helped with that.