NBA Power Rankings Update: The Detroit Pistons Are Firing on All Cylinders
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
The Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets swap places, the Toronto Raptors continue their quietly solid season, the Oklahoma City Thunder take a slight step back, and the Boston Celtics flirt with disaster.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Portland Trail Blazers | 38-23 | 57.2 | 10 | 0 |
| 9 | Utah Jazz | 35-26 | 60.3 | 9 | 0 |
| 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 40-22 | 61.2 | 7 | -1 |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | 42-19 | 62.0 | 8 | 1 |
| 6 | Indiana Pacers | 41-22 | 63.4 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 38-23 | 64.7 | 4 | -1 |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 37-25 | 65.0 | 3 | -1 |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 45-17 | 65.2 | 5 | 2 |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 43-19 | 68.7 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 47-14 | 75.1 | 1 | 0 |
Risers
The Denver Nuggets simply won't go away. The Golden State Warriors reclaimed the top spot in the Western Conference from them a while ago, but now the Nuggets are only half a game back after a 5-1 stretch to the Dubs' recent 2-4 lull. You won't find many pundits picking the Nuggets to take down the Warriors in the postseason, but it's worth noting that we currently give Denver the fifth-best title odds in the Association at 6.6%.
The Toronto Raptors are rolling along with their best winning percentage in franchise history at .726 (45-17). They played particularly well in the month of February as well, amassing an 8-1 record over that span with an 8.2 net rating. They have the easiest strength of schedule in the NBA over their remaining 20 games, so they've still got a chance to make up the 2.5 games that separate them and the Milwaukee Bucks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Fallers
The Oklahoma City Thunder have lost four of their last five and the one win was by one point in double overtime over the Utah Jazz. Simply put, they're struggling. The Portland Trail Blazers have caught up with them to tie for third place in the Western Conference and other teams are lurking. They have a road-heavy schedule over the next couple weeks, but then they play 10 of their last 15 at home to close out the season, so brighter times lie ahead.
The Boston Celtics are reeling, having lost four in a row and six of their last eight. They are often grouped with the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers in the debate over which team is going to come out of the Eastern Conference this year, but our algorithms put their title odds (5.8%) well below the Bucks (27.2%) and Raptors (12.5%), although pretty well in line with the Indiana Pacers (5.8%) and Sixers (5.1%).
