NBA Power Rankings Update: How Low Can the San Antonio Spurs Go?
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
There is very little movement in the top tier this week, other than a slight shuffle-up in spots 6 through 10.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Charlotte Hornets | 11-13 | 58.2 | 7 | -3 |
| 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 17-9 | 58.5 | 10 | 2 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 14-10 | 58.5 | 8 | 0 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Clippers | 16-8 | 61.2 | 6 | -1 |
| 6 | Boston Celtics | 14-10 | 64.3 | 9 | 3 |
| 5 | Golden State Warriors | 17-9 | 65.3 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Denver Nuggets | 17-7 | 67.5 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 16-7 | 72.7 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Toronto Raptors | 21-5 | 73.3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 16-7 | 75.6 | 1 | 0 |
Risers
The Philadelphia 76ers have gone 8-3 since acquiring Jimmy Butler and now sit in third place in the Eastern Conference with only half a game separating them and the second-place Milwaukee Bucks. They've admittedly been beating up on pretty bad teams over that stretch, and their upcoming schedule doesn't look much harder, either, but wins are wins.
The Boston Celtics have been hovering around .500 most of the season to date, but they've won four of their last five contests and have a very favorable schedule on the horizon. The consensus top team in the Eastern Conference coming into the season, the Celtics now sit in sixth place, but only trail the second-place Milwaukee Bucks by two and a half games.
Fallers
The Charlotte Hornets have been a staple of our top 10 for weeks, but they seem a little out of place. Their 11-13 record does place them eighth in the Eastern Conference, but the teams surrounding them in the standings -- the 12-13 Orlando Magic, the 11-14 Washington Wizards, the 9-14 Miami Heat -- all belong to our bottom tier. So, what separates Charlotte from everyone else? The fact that sneakily they have the Association's ninth-ranked margin of victory at 2.83. They fall ever so slightly this week, however, thanks to a three-game losing skid.
The Los Angeles Clippers were riding high last week as the top team in the Western Conference, but a 1-2 showing over the last seven days takes them down a spot this time around. They've won 12 of their last 16 and still qualify as one of the hottest teams in the league, however, so don't read too much into the slight dip this week.
