NBA Power Rankings Update: Is the Implosion of the Boston Celtics Being Overblown?
Teams Ranked 20th to 11th
The Detroit Pistons are still playing like one of the best teams in the Association, the Los Angeles Clippers continue to unexpectedly play like a playoff team, and both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings see their playoff hopes begin to peter out.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Detroit Pistons | 32-31 | 46.8 | 23 | 3 |
| 19 | Charlotte Hornets | 29-35 | 48.0 | 17 | -2 |
| 18 | Brooklyn Nets | 34-33 | 48.6 | 19 | 1 |
| 17 | Miami Heat | 30-34 | 49.0 | 21 | 4 |
| 16 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 30-35 | 49.5 | 13 | -3 |
| 15 | Sacramento Kings | 32-32 | 50.1 | 14 | -1 |
| 14 | New Orleans Pelicans | 30-37 | 50.9 | 14 | 0 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Clippers | 37-29 | 51.3 | 16 | 3 |
| 12 | San Antonio Spurs | 37-29 | 54.1 | 12 | 0 |
| 11 | Houston Rockets | 39-25 | 54.4 | 11 | 0 |
Risers
The Detroit Pistons have had the second-best record in the entire Association since January 31st at 11-3, and they now sit in sixth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 32-31. That's likely their ceiling, as 6.5 games separate them from the fifth-place Boston Celtics, but they're also now a pretty safe bet to make the postseason with 3.5 games standing between them and the ninth-place Orlando Magic. We give them a pretty commanding 90.3% chance of making it at this point.
We all thought the Los Angeles Clippers were packing it in when they traded Tobias Harris to the Philadelphia 76ers, but they've been just as good or better since then. They're 7-3 over their last 10 and are now pretty safely in place for a postseason berth with four games separating them from the ninth-place Sacramento Kings. We give them a 95.5% chance of holding on, which is pretty darn close to a done deal.
Fallers
The Minnesota Timberwolves seemed like they were going to flirt with a playoff run for a moment there but are now the definition of a long shot with a 1.0% chance of making it, according to our algorithm. They've lost four of their last five and the 6.5 games separating them from the eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers is looking more and more insurmountable by the day.
The Sacramento Kings have officially had a better season than anyone expected. They hit the over on their projected win total for the season at the end of January and still maintain an impressive .500 record at 32-32. They still have a puncher's chance at a playoff berth at 9.1%, but they've lost six of their last eight and now sit four whole games out of eighth in the Western Conference. They've got four-game and five-game road trips coming up over their next 13 contests, so their season will be made or broken on the road, where they're a ho-hum 12-18 this year.
