NBA

NBA Power Rankings Update: The Los Angeles Lakers Are Reeling

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Teams Ranked 30th to 21st

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns swap spots at the bottom, the Orlando Magic start to put things together, and the Washington Wizards fall apart for the umpteenth time this season.

RankingTeamRecordnERDLast RankingPlus/Minus
30Phoenix Suns11-4818.729-1
29Cleveland Cavaliers12-4619.6301
28Chicago Bulls14-4424.3280
27Atlanta Hawks19-3925.026-1
26New York Knicks11-4726.8271
25Memphis Grizzlies23-3641.024-1
24Detroit Pistons26-3042.523-1
23Washington Wizards24-3442.922-1
22Orlando Magic27-3245.6253
21Brooklyn Nets30-2947.7210


Risers

The Cavaliers, Suns, and Bulls continue to trade off the honour of being our 30th-ranked team. The Cavaliers won a game this week, and since that's actually a big accomplishment among these three bottom-feeders, they climb out of last place.

The Magic have won five in a row and seven of their last eight. They're not just beating up on bad teams either, as they've amassed victories over the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, and first-place Milwaukee Bucks over that span. At 27-32, they now sit only half a game out of eighth-place in the Eastern Conference, and we give them a 35.2% chance of making the postseason at this point.

Fallers

The Suns have lost 15 in a row and now have the NBA's worst record at 11-48. Fittingly, they reclaim the last spot in our rankings after a brief hiatus.

Not long ago, the Wizards looked like they might flirt with a late-season playoff push, but those hopes are fading fast. They're 3-7 over their last 10 and now sit three games out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 24-34. We only give them an 11.0% chance of making it at this point.