Blurb
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Portland Trail Blazers | 33-21 | 54.8 | 11 | 1 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 31-24 | 59.0 | 10 | 1 |
| 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 34-20 | 60.8 | 7 | -1 |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | 37-17 | 61.4 | 6 | -1 |
| 6 | Indiana Pacers | 36-19 | 64.2 | 8 | 2 |
| 5 | Toronto Raptors | 40-16 | 65.5 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 35-19 | 67.4 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | Boston Celtics | 35-20 | 68.7 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 38-15 | 71.3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 40-13 | 76.3 | 1 | 0 |
Risers
The Utah Jazz are 13-4 since January 4th, sporting the league's fifth-best net rating over that span at 5.9. They've made their way up to seventh in the Western Conference, only sit two games out of fourth, and now have a commanding 92.1% chance of making the postseason, according to our algorithm.
The Indiana Pacers looked like they were in for a quick descent after Victor Oladipo was ruled out for the season, but they had one heck of a week, going a league-best 4-0 with an 18.1 net rating over that span. They're still somewhat in the mix in the Eastern Conference, even if the elite four of Boston, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee made it absolutely clear with a flurry of moves at the trade deadline that this is now definitively a four-horse race.
Fallers
The Philadelphia 76ers drop a spot after an 0-2 week, but they just loaded up by adding Tobias Harris in a deadline deal with the Los Angeles Clippers. They won't be down for long.
The Denver Nuggets have been consistently great all season long, but dropped their last two to Detroit and Brooklyn. They'll be fine too.