NBA Power Rankings Update: The Boston Celtics Are Finally Putting It All Together
Teams Ranked 30th to 21st
The Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets start to put it all together, the Memphis Grizzlies continue their free fall, and the Cleveland Cavaliers take over last place in convincingly fashion.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 8-34 | 19.4 | 28 | -2 |
| 29 | Chicago Bulls | 10-31 | 21.0 | 29 | 0 |
| 28 | Phoenix Suns | 10-33 | 21.8 | 30 | 2 |
| 27 | Atlanta Hawks | 12-29 | 23.0 | 27 | 0 |
| 26 | New York Knicks | 10-31 | 25.3 | 26 | 0 |
| 25 | Orlando Magic | 17-24 | 35.6 | 25 | 0 |
| 24 | Detroit Pistons | 17-23 | 38.7 | 23 | -1 |
| 23 | Washington Wizards | 17-25 | 41.9 | 24 | 1 |
| 22 | Memphis Grizzlies | 19-22 | 46.2 | 18 | -4 |
| 21 | Brooklyn Nets | 21-22 | 48.5 | 22 | 1 |
Risers
The Washington Wizards are 11-21 with John Wall and 6-4 without him in the lineup this season. Since he was declared out for the season following heel surgery, the Wizards have gone 4-3, including four wins over their last six contests. They are 17-25 overall but only sit three games out of a playoff spot, and might finally be on the verge of turning things around. We only give them a 26.4% chance of making the postseason at this juncture, but there's still plenty of season left.
Don't look now, but the Brooklyn Nets are in a playoff position. At 21-22, they currently sit sixth in the Eastern Conference, and we give them a fairly decent 69.8% chance of making it. What's more, they've improbably racked up the league's second-best record since December 7th at 13-4 (trailing only the San Antonio Spurs, and tied with the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers). After three consecutive 20-win seasons and no lottery picks to show for it (thanks, Boston), the Brooklyn faithful will take that.
Fallers
The Cleveland Cavaliers have lost 11 games in a row and currently have the league's worst record (8-34), defensive rating (116.9), and net rating (-11.2). They have finally earned the 30th and final spot in our power rankings after a full season of flirting with it.
Remember when the Memphis Grizzlies were 12-5 and sat at the top of the Western Conference? That was nice. Since then, they've completely fallen apart, going 7-17 and sinking to 13th place with an overall record of 19-22. Relief isn't likely coming anytime soon either, as they play four of their next five on the road against very stiff competition (visiting the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, and Toronto Raptors, with one game at home against the Milwaukee Bucks in between).
