NBA Power Rankings Update: Are the Utah Jazz a Western Conference Contender?
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
The Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz swap places, as do the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Portland Trail Blazers | 41-26 | 57.2 | 10 | 0 |
| 9 | Philadelphia 76ers | 43-25 | 60.3 | 8 | -1 |
| 8 | Utah Jazz | 39-29 | 60.6 | 9 | 1 |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | 45-22 | 61.2 | 7 | 0 |
| 6 | Indiana Pacers | 44-25 | 61.6 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 42-27 | 62.9 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 42-27 | 64.2 | 3 | -1 |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 49-20 | 64.4 | 4 | 1 |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 46-21 | 66.9 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 51-17 | 74.4 | 1 | 0 |
Risers
The Utah Jazz have lost three of their last six, but in the bigger picture, they've gone 25-12 since December 19. That's the fifth-best record in the entire Association over that span, and their 6.4 net rating during that same period ranks second overall. They're locked into a shuffle for sixth, seventh, and eighth in the Western Conference with the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers, with all three separated by only half a game in the standings, but they're also only three games back of the third-place Houston Rockets.
The Raptors have also lost three of their last six, but they maintain the NBA's second-best record at 49-20. They have the easiest strength of schedule for the remainder of the season, so they'll have every opportunity to remain up here in the top-three going forward.
Fallers
The 76ers have gone 3-3 over their last six and have been playing pretty close to .500 basketball since the beginning of February (they're 9-7 since February 2). Things get pretty tough down the stretch for them as well, as they play 9 of their remaining 14 games on the road.
The Celtics are weird. Statistically, they still profile as one of the top teams in the NBA, but lately they've only looked the part in brief stints. Sure, they've won four of their last six, but their last game was a 25-point blowout loss to the Clippers. They're now 7-8 over their last 15, and it's growing harder and harder to see them as a team that could represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals after being favored to do so coming into the season.
