NBA Power Rankings Update: Have the Houston Rockets Caught Up to the Golden State Warriors?
Teams Ranked 30th to 21st
The Miami Heat have started a slow climb out of the bottom third, while the Sacramento Kings have replaced the Chicago Bulls as nERD's least favorite team.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Sacramento Kings | 11-20 | 20.2 | 29 | -1 |
| 29 | Chicago Bulls | 10-21 | 28.8 | 30 | +1 |
| 28 | Phoenix Suns | 12-22 | 30.5 | 28 | Even |
| 27 | Atlanta Hawks | 7-24 | 32.7 | 27 | Even |
| 26 | Memphis Grizzlies | 9-23 | 34.4 | 24 | -2 |
| 25 | Brooklyn Nets | 11-19 | 36.5 | 22 | -3 |
| 24 | Orlando Magic | 11-21 | 37.9 | 23 | -1 |
| 23 | Dallas Mavericks | 9-23 | 38.3 | 25 | +2 |
| 22 | Miami Heat | 16-15 | 41.3 | 26 | +4 |
| 21 | Los Angeles Lakers | 11-18 | 43.5 | 20 | -1 |
The Expected
Last week's 30th-ranked team, the Chicago Bulls, were on a seven-game winning streak before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. As a result of that little heater, the Bulls have managed to lose the dishonor of being considered nERD's least favorite team, at least for now.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings have fallen into the last spot, despite having a better record than six other teams on this list and having won three of the five games they've played since our last power rankings update. nERD sees through the moral victories of beating the Phoenix Suns (28th in our rankings), Brooklyn Nets (25th), and the reeling Philadelphia 76ers (19th), however, and rightfully places the Kings -- who currently rank dead last in the NBA in both offensive and defensive efficiency -- at the very bottom.
The Unexpected
The 7-24 Atlanta Hawks have the worst record in the entire Association, but come in only 27th in our power rankings with a nERD of 32.7, projecting their ultimate win-loss record at about 27-55 over 82 games. Don't get us wrong, they still stink, but their 18th-ranked offense lends them a bit of grace by our efficiency-driven metric.
The Miami Heat, at 16-15, are the only team in the bottom-third of our power rankings to have a winning record. That's a perfect example of how simple win-loss totals can fail to tell the whole story, since the Heat are one of only two teams in the NBA with a record above .500 that has a negative point differential, and their -1.9 is easily the worst of the two (the 16-13 Milwaukee Bucks currently sit at -0.4).
