But first, an update to those Tanking Rankings, detailing exactly how well the 10 NBA lottery teams, now set in stone, have navigated to the bottom of the standings:
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10. New Orleans Pelicans (25-51)
9. Chicago Bulls (29-46)
8. Dallas Mavericks (24-51)
7. Memphis Grizzlies (25-50)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (29-45)
5. Kings of Sacramento (19-57)
4. Utah Jazz (21-55)
3. Brooklyn Networks (18-57)
2. Washington Wizards (17-58)
1. Indiana Pacers (17-58)
This time we don’t need to include any of those sets in our power rankings. They’re succeeding in their own right, by losing, as the league’s nine tank teams (the Pelicans, who owe their first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, have no incentive to lose) have managed just seven wins against non-lottery teams in their last 100 tries. If you can call them “attempts”.
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It can be difficult to know how well some of the postseason teams are playing, as winning streaks have been fueled by the collapse. The Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets have benefited from easy recent schedules. We are here to solve the noise.
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And there is more and more noise. One loss separates the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds in the Western Conference, where there are two losses between the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder and the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs. Three losses separate the 10th-seeded Charlotte Hornets from the last guaranteed playoff spot in the East, all with just over a handful of games left.
So, without further ado, our penultimate power rankings of the regular season.
“I’ve got to be able to do a better job of preparing them for what they were going to see tonight,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said after a franchise-record 52-point loss that led the Raptors to a 31-0 run (a play-by-play era record). I’m surprised he said that. So was Desmond Bane, who responded: “I think we understood how important the game was… but I have nothing for that.”
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The Heat are 2-7 since Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, owning a bottom-five defense in that span. “It’s extremely disappointing,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve invested time. Guys put blood, sweat and tears into developing a top-four defense two weeks ago. And when we need it the most is when we let it go. And that’s just unacceptable right now.” Curse.
Will Stephen Curry, who has missed 25 consecutive games with “runner’s knee,” return this season? That’s The Question in the Bay Area, where the two-time MVP had a “good session” on Sunday. Coach Steve Kerr’s response: “We’re not bringing him back (just) for the play-in game. He needs to play some games… if this is going to work. And we’re running out of games.”
Blazers coach Tiago Splitter told his players about Tuesday’s matchup against the Clippers: “It’s going to be the most important game of the season.” The two teams, separated by two losses and competing for eighth place in the Western Conference, meet twice in the final weeks of the season. As Kris Murray said, “It’s going to be a playoff-type game and a lot of us haven’t been in that position.”
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Since November’s nine-game winning streak, the Raptors are 28-27, owners of a net rating of +1.0, practically average, but coach Darko Rajaković insists that this is only the second year of a rebuild that began with the departures of Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby: “Building a team is not something that can be done in a year. In the NBA, it takes time to build a team that is going to be competitive.”
Earlier this month, a disappointed Suns coach, Jordan Ott, stated: “We shouldn’t ask for energy. We want to get to March to play meaningful games. We shouldn’t ask for energy.” Since then, his team has a 6-6 record, owners of a mediocre defense. It looks like they could use a jolt from Dillon Brooks, who, six weeks removed from a broken left hand, should soon be available.
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Meanwhile, the Hawks are 15-2 since the last week of February, tied with the Thunder and Spurs. “I love where we are as a group,” Jalen Johnson said. “We’re not going to be perfect. We’re not going to have a winning streak to end the whole year, but the way we play these games and how we stick to what we do best, that’s something we can continue to build on.”
Sorry, Cleveland, but Los Angeles is enjoying its Darius Garland experience. The Clippers are 10-3 with the two-time All-Star point guard in the lineup, operating at historic levels offensively (126.7 points per 100 possessions) when he is on the court. “What he has brought to this team is extraordinary,” said Brook Lopez of Los Angeles. “Only he could do it. He has made a huge, positive change for this group.”
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The Sixers, who could finish between fifth and 10th in the East, welcomed Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, who combined for 81 points in the win over the Hornets. “We need everyone we can get,” Embiid said. “We have to win every game… We finished 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, it doesn’t matter. We still have to win. I don’t care where we finish.”
The Rockets have bounced back with two wins against lottery teams, but our minds keep flashing back to a record blown 13-point lead in overtime against Minnesota. It felt like a momentous loss. “A lot of them have done it this year,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said, “that’s just the worst of them.” Come to think of it, Houston (8-8 since late February) lost to the Bulls in the previous game!
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Back-to-back losses to Boston and Philadelphia weren’t as encouraging, but the Hornets are still 28-13, owners of the league’s best net rating (+10.8), since early January. They are dangerous, Yeah They can earn a spot in the playoffs. They are the No. 10 seed. As Coby White said, “We know these last two games we have to fight to improve our chances of making the playoffs.”
“If we’re going to play defense like this, we’re going to have a short run in the playoffs,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said, and that was after a win, albeit one in which they gave up 130 points to Orlando. (Yikes!) Point is: Cleveland owns one of the NBA’s 10 worst defenses over its last nine games, and if you remember, as Spoeltra once said, “That’s just unacceptable right now.”
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The Pistons are 5-1 since Cade Cunningham’s injury, but Jalen Duren recently said it best (after his last monstrous effort): “You can’t replace what (Cade) brings to the court and contributes to our team.” Facts. Detroit might be third in these rankings if not for Cunningham’s injury, but how else are we supposed to evaluate these Pistons when their best player has a collapsed left lung?
“We can’t relax now that (Anthony Edwards) comes back and says, ‘Hey, give the keys to Ant and go,'” Minnesota’s Mike Conley Jr. said. “I think we’ve got to let Ant do his thing. But at the same time, continue to push the ball, continue to get everyone involved, and I think that’s when we’re our best selves.” And now, they expect Jaden McDaniels to recover from a knee injury as well.
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In true New York fashion, the Knicks have combined four straight losses to winning teams with seven straight wins against teams below .500. “We don’t want to flip a switch,” Jalen Brunson said. “We want to move in the right direction as we get to the end. There are still things we need to work on.” There are only seven games left in the regular season. Time is running out.
More from LeBron James, the NBA’s newest (and best) third option, on Luka Doncic’s situation down the stretch: “He’s obviously the boss when it comes to our offensive firepower. He’s in an incredible rhythm right now, shooting the three-ball exceptionally well, getting to the line like he always does and being super efficient. We’re all playing with him.”
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No team could need a break more than the Nuggets, whose injury list is ever-expanding as they just cling to home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, according to Nikola Jokić’s Tao, “it’s really hard to say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going to have amazing playoffs,’ because you can’t know what’s going to happen or how the team is going to feel basically in a month.”
Few teams are healthier now than the Celtics, who welcomed Jayson Tatum, the reigning NBA Player of the Week (!), back from Achilles surgery just 11 games ago. And as Payton Pritchard said: “We know if we want to win a championship, we need him at a high level. It’s definitely encouraging, but he’s getting better and better every game and looking more and more like himself.”
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The Spurs, behind Victor Wembanyama, are 24-2 since the beginning of February. They’ve only won three games in the standings against the Thunder in that span, but the confidence they’ve built may be just as important as home field advantage. “I keep saying it, but the league is in trouble,” said San Antonio’s Devin Vassell. “We have a lot of young talent that is really good.”
The Thunder don’t chase anyone but themselves. “If your sense of urgency goes up based on the standings, it wasn’t high enough to begin with,” OKC coach Mark Daigneault said. “We try to have a sense of urgency to improve, develop our habits and compete together every chance we get. If you need outside forces to increase that, your bar is not high enough.”