The Washington Wizards take a dive, the Charlotte Hornets dip a bit, and the scrappy Miami Heat and New Orleans Pelicans move up.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Denver Nuggets | 43-35 | 49.2 | 20 | 0 |
| 19 | Detroit Pistons | 37-41 | 50.1 | 19 | 0 |
| 18 | Washington Wizards | 42-36 | 50.9 | 14 | -4 |
| 17 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 48-30 | 51.7 | 17 | 0 |
| 16 | Milwaukee Bucks | 42-36 | 52.0 | 16 | 0 |
| 15 | Miami Heat | 43-36 | 52.1 | 18 | 3 |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 34-45 | 52.2 | 13 | -1 |
| 13 | New Orleans Pelicans | 44-34 | 52.8 | 15 | 2 |
| 12 | Los Angeles Clippers | 42-36 | 54.0 | 12 | 0 |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | 46-32 | 54.6 | 11 | 0 |
Risers
The Heat are now sixth in the Eastern Conference, but they are close enough to the seventh-place Wizards and the eighth-place Bucks that you can expect some shuffling over the last week or so of the season. Even so, the Heat have won four of their last five and sit above both the Bucks and Wizards in our rankings.
The eighth-place Pelicans are only a game back of the fourth-place Jazz in the standings, but are only a game up on the ninth-place Denver Nuggets as well. Their range of outcomes goes from potentially hosting a first-round playoff series as the 4-seed, to having a date with the mighty Houston Rockets -- our highest-ranked team and the one with the best record in the Association -- as the 8-seed, to missing the postseason entirely (their chances of making it are dwindling, now down to 55.6%). Regardless of where they land, they make a push in our rankings this week.
Fallers
The Wizards take the biggest plunge in our rankings this week, dropping four spots to 18th. They were a perennial top-10 team just a month ago, but after losing six of their last eight, there's a real chance that they could head into the playoffs as the 8-seed. At least they've already clinched their playoff berth.
The Hornets have hung around in the top half of our rankings for much of the season, and that remains true today as a 34-45 team eliminated from playoff contention. They currently rank above four Eastern Conference playoff teams -- including the third-place Cleveland Cavaliers -- in nERD. Go figure.