NBA Power Rankings Update: Are the Utah Jazz a Western Conference Contender?
Teams Ranked 30th to 21st
The Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons both take a slight step back, despite playing well overall as of late.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 17-52 | 21.3 | 30 | 0 |
| 29 | Phoenix Suns | 16-53 | 22.3 | 29 | 0 |
| 28 | Chicago Bulls | 19-50 | 26.3 | 28 | 0 |
| 27 | New York Knicks | 13-55 | 27.9 | 27 | 0 |
| 26 | Atlanta Hawks | 24-45 | 30.2 | 26 | 0 |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies | 28-41 | 42.9 | 24 | -1 |
| 24 | Washington Wizards | 29-39 | 44.1 | 24 | 0 |
| 23 | Dallas Mavericks | 27-41 | 44.8 | 23 | 0 |
| 22 | Detroit Pistons | 34-33 | 45.4 | 20 | -2 |
| 21 | Los Angeles Lakers | 31-37 | 46.3 | 21 | 0 |
Risers
The only team from last week's bottom-10 to move upward this week was the Orlando Magic, and they leapt out of this tier entirely.
Fallers
The Grizzlies have won five of their last eight contests and have overtaken the Dallas Mavericks for 13th place in the Western Conference after what feels like an eternity in 14th. They drop ever so slightly in our rankings this week, though, due to a 21-point loss to the lowly Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
The Pistons have been one of the hottest teams in the Association lately, winning 12 of their last 16 contests. What makes them a "faller" this week, however, is the fact that they've dropped their last two games by a combined 62 points. It doesn't help that those two losses came at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat either, considering they are currently jostling with both of those teams for playoff seeding at the bottom of the Eastern Conference bracket.
