NBA Power Rankings Update: The Los Angeles Clippers Are Proving Everyone Wrong
Teams Ranked 30th to 21st
The Chicago Bulls leapfrog the Phoenix Suns near the bottom, the Memphis Grizzlies do the same to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Utah Jazz continue their fall from grace.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Sacramento Kings | 13-31 | 20.3 | 30 | Even |
| 29 | Phoenix Suns | 16-29 | 29.5 | 28 | -1 |
| 28 | Chicago Bulls | 17-28 | 32.1 | 29 | +1 |
| 27 | Orlando Magic | 13-31 | 33.9 | 27 | Even |
| 26 | Atlanta Hawks | 13-31 | 36.0 | 26 | Even |
| 25 | Brooklyn Nets | 16-29 | 36.8 | 25 | Even |
| 24 | Los Angeles Lakers | 15-29 | 39.7 | 23 | -1 |
| 23 | Memphis Grizzlies | 15-28 | 40.0 | 24 | +1 |
| 22 | Dallas Mavericks | 15-30 | 42.2 | 22 | Even |
| 21 | Utah Jazz | 18-26 | 43.7 | 20 | -1 |
Risers
The Chicago Bulls were the bottom team in our NBA Team Power Rankings more often than not to start the season, but they're slowly starting to look like a tough out now that they're getting fully healthy. They've still only got a 0.6% chance of making the playoffs, according to our algorithm, but at least we're starting to see that guys like Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn, and the recently returned Zach LaVine might be good assets for the rebuilding Bulls going forward.
The Memphis Grizzlies have also won three of four contests and move up a notch in the bottom tier for the second straight week. It's not like they're a real threat to turn it around and make the playoffs or anything (we give them a 1.2% chance), especially considering they're playing without Mike Conley (Achilles), Marc Gasol (Illness), and Chandler Parsons (knee), but if there's any consolation prize for being the best of the worst, they're fighting for it.
Fallers
The Phoenix Suns are 2-5 in 2018, with a point differential of -69 (trailing only the Sacramento Kings' -81 for worst in the NBA over that span). They are 27th in offensive efficiency and have unseated the Kings for dead last in defensive efficiency. They have some promising players on their roster, but for now they flat out stink. The Kings are still a heck of a lot worse by nERD, but it looks as if the Suns are on their way to putting a stranglehold on the 29th slot in our weekly rankings.
Just over a month ago, the Utah Jazz ranked eighth in this column. They were a sub-.500 team (13-14) but managed to stay in the top tier thanks to their top-five defense at the time. Since then (December 11th), they've ranked 27th in the NBA, dragging their overall ranking down to 14th on that end. Subsequently, everything else has fallen off as they find themselves in the bottom-third of our power rankings for the first time this season. Rudy Gobert is inching ever closer to a return, but time for the Jazz to turn it around might be running out, considering the fact that we only give them a 12.1% chance of making the postseason at this point.
