NBA Power Rankings Update: Are the Celtics a Finals Contender or a First-Round Exit?
Teams Ranked 10th to 1st
The Indiana Pacers move up a lot despite their recent lull, the Utah Jazz continue to prove themselves, the Philadelphia 76ers hit a bit of a rough patch, and the Boston Celtics are still hella confusing.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Portland Trail Blazers | 47-27 | 58.1 | 10 | 0 |
| 9 | Denver Nuggets | 50-24 | 58.9 | 6 | -3 |
| 8 | Philadelphia 76ers | 48-27 | 60.2 | 7 | -1 |
| 7 | Oklahoma City Thunder | 44-31 | 60.4 | 8 | 1 |
| 6 | Indiana Pacers | 45-30 | 60.5 | 9 | 3 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | 44-31 | 62.9 | 4 | -1 |
| 4 | Utah Jazz | 45-30 | 64.8 | 5 | 1 |
| 3 | Toronto Raptors | 53-23 | 65.8 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 51-23 | 66.6 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 57-19 | 75.4 | 1 | 0 |
Risers
The Indiana Pacers have lost five of their last six, but are somehow still our biggest riser this week, jumping up three spots to sixth overall. It's worth noting, however, that teams six through nine in our rankings are separated by less than one point in terms of nERD, so they tend to shuffle a bit with each passing day.
The Utah Jazz -- who currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference -- are only two games up on eighth place, while being 2.5 games back of third. They could land almost anywhere in the playoff picture when the season ends, but they'll surely be a difficult first-round matchup for anyone they face, since our algorithm sees them as the fourth-best team in the entire league. They have the second-best net rating in the Association since January 4th at 8.2 to go with a solid 27-10 record.
Fallers
The Philadelphia 76ers went 1-2 this week, but won six in a row just before that. They drop a bit in our rankings this time around, but they're still playing fairly well as we inch towards the postseason.
What are we supposed to make of the Boston Celtics? They're the fifth-best team in the league according to nERD (62.9) and sixth by both point differential (4.57) and net rating (4.4), but they're 9-12 since February 7th and have lost four of their last five. They could honestly make the NBA Finals or get bounced in the first round, and neither result would be all that surprising.
