NBA Power Rankings Update: The Cleveland Cavaliers Continue to Plummet
Teams Ranked 20th to 11th
The Portland Trail Blazers are heating up, the Philadelphia 76ers are red hot, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks have tumultuous weeks, and almost everyone else in the middle tier shuffles ever so slightly, with the exception of the Detroit Pistons and the New Orleans Pelicans.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Utah Jazz | 20-28 | 44.5 | 21 | +1 |
| 19 | Miami Heat | 27-20 | 44.6 | 20 | +1 |
| 18 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 27-19 | 46.4 | 15 | -3 |
| 17 | Detroit Pistons | 22-24 | 47.8 | 17 | Even |
| 16 | Milwaukee Bucks | 24-22 | 47.9 | 14 | -2 |
| 15 | Denver Nuggets | 24-23 | 48.1 | 16 | +1 |
| 14 | Portland Trail Blazers | 26-22 | 49.7 | 18 | +4 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Clippers | 23-24 | 50.6 | 11 | -2 |
| 12 | New Orleans Pelicans | 26-21 | 52.2 | 12 | Even |
| 11 | Philadelphia 76ers | 23-21 | 52.7 | 13 | +2 |
Risers
The Portland Trail Blazers have won four of their last five contests, including last night's dominant victory over our fourth-ranked Minnesota Timberwolves. The Blazers now rank sixth in the league in defensive efficiency, sit only half a game out of sixth in the Western Conference standings, and their playoff chances have reached a season-high 72.5%.
The 76ers have gone and 9-3 since Christmas Day and have the league's top-ranked net rating (9.6) during this time. They currently sit seventh in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-21 and we now give them an 81.6% chance of making the playoffs for the first time in the "trust the process" era (six years). They are the second-fastest team in the Association with a pace of 100.3 possessions per 48 minutes, but also maintain the league's fifth-ranked defensive rating. Most impressively, they now sit eighth in margin of victory at 1.34, which trails only the Toronto Raptors (7.43) and Boston Celtics (4.53) for third in their own conference.
Fallers
We simply can't get through a week without discussing the demise of the Cleveland Cavaliers around here. They still maintain a decent 27-19 record and are third in the Eastern Conference, but things are getting downright dysfunctional in their locker room as the losses pile up. They've dropped 11 of their last 15 contests, including six of their last seven. They now have the league's second-worst defensive rating and are dead last in net rating across the Association since Christmas Day at -9.8. Their playoff chances are still practically a given at 96.5%, but their championship odds have dwindled all the way down to 1.4%, according to our algorithms. For the record, that now puts them below the Indiana Pacers (1.9%) and Washington Wizards (1.8%).
The Milwaukee Bucks fired head coach Jason Kidd this week and All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo was uncomfortable with the decision. As if that wasn't bad enough, they slide three spots in our rankings after losing four of their last six contests. They may still sit above .500 with a record of 24-22, but their 26th-ranked defense and -1.3 average point differential suggests this team is a fair bit worse than their record suggests. We'll see if a coaching change manages to provide a spark.
