We’re almost there. The playoffs are 12 days away, and in each conference, things look more wide open than they did when we got this season started almost six months ago.
But before we get there, there’s still some seeding to figure out. And in each conference, there’s a race that looks closer than it did a week ago. With a six-game winning streak, the Boston Celtics have put some pressure on the Toronto Raptors for the No. 1 seed in the East. The Celtics are just two games back with another head-to-head meeting on Wednesday.
In the West, the last two playoff spots are very much up for grabs. With a couple of overtime wins (and some help elsewhere), the ninth-place Denver Nuggets control their own destiny, putting the eighth-place Minnesota Timberwolves and ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans in some peril.
The only teams locked into their playoff position are the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors. The Rockets remain No. 1 in the rankings despite an ugly loss in San Antonio on Sunday, while the champs have an offense to reshape as they prepare for playoff games without Stephen Curry.
Note: For the 12 teams no longer in the playoff picture (the bottom seven in the East and the bottom five in the West), notes below will be focused on their defense this season. See last week’s rankings for notes on their offense.
- Last week: Celtics, Warriors dealing with poorly timed injuries
- This time last year: Warriors clearly best in West as winning streak rolls through Texas — Playing without Kevin Durant, the eventual champs swept a road back-to-back in Houston and San Antonio. Russell Westbrook had a 57-point triple-double in Orlando (which included a wild three to send the game to overtime) and Jusuf Nurkic came up big (33 points, 15 rebounds) in a big game against his former team … before suffering a leg fracture two nights later. The Heat were in playoff position and the Pacers (the eventual 7 seed) were not. The Celtics moved past the Cavs into first place in the East and Hassan Whiteside beat the Pistons with a buzzer-beating tip-in.
- Plus-minus stud: Robert Covington (PHI) was a plus-61 in four games last week.
- Plus-minus dud: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (CHA) was a minus-50 in four games last week.
- Hero team of the week: Boston (3-0) — The Celtics’ six-game winning streak includes wins over the Thunder, Blazers, Jazz and Raptors.
- Zero team of the week: Orlando (0-3) — The Magic lost to three of the other bottom-nine teams in the league, with two of the games at home.
- East vs. West: The West is 233-209 (.527) against the East in interconference games after the East went 13-4 last week. With eight interconference games remaining, 18 of the 30 teams are done playing the opposite conference.
- Toughest schedules so far: 1. Phoenix, 2. Dallas, 3. Chicago
- Easiest schedules so far: 1. Cleveland, 2. Toronto, 3. Houston
- Schedule strength is based on cumulative opponent record, and adjusted for home vs. away and days of rest before a game.
- High jumps of the week: Eight teams (+2)
- Free falls of the week: New Orleans (-4), Oklahoma City (-4), New York (-2), Sacramento (-2)
- Team to watch in Week 25: Toronto — The Raptors’ spot atop the Eastern Conference is suddenly in peril, and they have a big back-to-back this week, visiting the Cavs on Tuesday and hosting the Celtics on Wednesday. They’ll also host another East playoff team (Indiana) on Friday.
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Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league has averaged 99.5 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 106.2 points scored per 100 possessions this season.
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NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail or contact him via Twitter.
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