The Golden State Warriors are back on top of the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz are once again turning it on at the midway point of the season, and both the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs are going through mini rough patches.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | San Antonio Spurs | 26-20 | 58.9 | 8 | -2 |
| 8 | Utah Jazz | 25-21 | 59.2 | 10 | 2 |
| 8 | Denver Nuggets | 30-14 | 59.2 | 7 | -1 |
| 7 | Philadelphia 76ers | 30-16 | 61.3 | 9 | 2 |
| 6 | Toronto Raptors | 34-13 | 64.4 | 4 | -2 |
| 5 | Indiana Pacers | 29-15 | 64.9 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 26-18 | 65.2 | 3 | -1 |
| 3 | Golden State Warriors | 31-14 | 66.9 | 6 | 3 |
| 2 | Boston Celtics | 26-18 | 67.2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 32-12 | 75.4 | 1 | 0 |
Risers
Don't look now, but the Golden State Warriors are starting to look absolutely dominant once again. Their 68.9% win-loss percentage this season would be the lowest of their historic five-year run if it holds, but it's not like any of that will really matter when the games truly start to count in April. In the meantime, they've casually rattled off eight wins over their last nine contests, while posting the league's top net rating over that span (15.5). Oh, and they get DeMarcus Cousins back tonight.
The Utah Jazz had a perfect 4-0 week and have now won seven of their last eight. Their current 25-21 record is only enough to place them ninth in the hyper-competitive Western Conference right now, but we still give them a pretty confident 84.4% chance of making the playoffs at this juncture. Much like last season, the Jazz got off to a slow start this year but are really starting to ramp things up just past the midway point.
Fallers
The Denver Nuggets have conceded the top seed in the Western Conference to the Golden State Warriors after keeping it warm for them for much of the season but still sit only half a game back in second, while holding a four-game lead on the third-place Oklahoma City Thunder. They lose some ground in our rankings after a 1-2 week, but they've still won 9 of their last 12 and have a fairly easy schedule on the horizon.
Looking at the big picture, the San Antonio Spurs are 15-6 since December 7 and have had the league's best net rating (10.5) over that span. Recently, however, they've dropped three of five, and that's caused them to fall back a couple spots in our rankings this week.