The Lead’s Playoff Power Rankings v.2

Playoff Power Rankings are back again this week, as we saw some drastic changes to the standings especially out west. The Jazz are the only new team in the rankings, since the Nuggets were unable to make a move.

Week 2 Rankings, beginning with playoff hopefuls:

Playoff Hopefuls

Los Angeles Clippers (37-32, LW: 9)

Losers of three straight, the Clippers have dropped to 10th in the west, becoming ineligible for this week’s rankings. Despite this, they remain just one game back in the loss column behind the Timberwolves, who occupy the 8th seed. They have a prime opportunity to change their fate on Tuesday, where they face the T-Wolves for the final time in the regular season. This week won’t be easy at all for the Clippers, who open up a four-game road trip in Minnesota, followed by Milwaukee, Indiana and Toronto.

Denver Nuggets (38-32, LW: N/A)

The Nuggets squandered two opportunities to get back into the playoff race last week, losing to both the Lakers and the Grizzlies, who had lost 19 straight games before beating the Nuggets. Similar to the Clips, Denver is on the road all week, making stops in Miami, Chicago and Washington. Being an 11-22 road team, things are not looking good for Mile High.

Detroit Pistons (30-39, LW: N/A)

The Pistons are hanging on by a thread, and would pretty much have to win out to even have a shot at taking a playoff spot away from Miami or Milwaukee. They are seven games behind Miami for 8th, and have little hope left after losing three straight. This is beginning to look like last year’s Pelicans, who acquired DeMarcus Cousins at the trade deadline hoping for a playoff push, but instead missed the playoffs. It appears Detroit will have to wait one more year to see what the frontcourt of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond are capable of.

Now, here are the rankings:

(Rank, Team (Record, +/- from last week)

No. 16: Miami Heat (37-33, -4)

A tough overtime loss to the Kings, and the overall improvements from several other teams pits Miami at the bottom of this week’s rankings. They have nothing to worry about with a seven game lead on ninth place Detroit, but vacated the 7th spot to Milwaukee for the time being. They have a favorable schedule this week compared to the Bucks, so they could regain the 7th spot.

This week: vs. Denver, vs. New York, @ Oklahoma City, @ Indiana

No. 15: Milwaukee Bucks (37-32, –)

The Bucks stay put this week, but could have risen up a few spots this week had they not lost to Orlando on Wednesday. Their most recent win against Atlanta was a victory, but had many subliminal issues. Brandon Jennings had a near triple double in his Bucks return debut, but hasn’t been that impressive since. His 10-day contract expires this week, and the assumption is that he will either sign a second 10-day or for the remainder of the season.

This week: @ Cleveland, vs. LA Clippers, @ Chicago, vs. San Antonio

No. 14: Minnesota Timberwolves (40-31, -4)

Back-to-back losses drops Minnesota to 8th, and they are now very vulnerable of missing the playoffs should they continue to lose multiple games in a row. The losses did come against San Antonio and Houston, but every game is crucial this late in the season. The crucial game for them will be Tuesday against the Clippers, whom they’ve already defeated three times this season.

This week: vs. LA Clippers, @ New York, @ Philadelphia

No. 13: New Orleans Pelicans (40-30, -7)

The Pelicans did nothing to deserve this big of a drop this week, but a 2-2 week wasn’t good enough to hang onto fourth in the west. They sit tied with the Jazz and Spurs for 5th, and are only one game ahead of the eighth place Timberwolves. The NBA opted to reschedule a postponed game with the Pacers in the middle of two games this week, which means they will play three days in a row (Tuesday/Wednesday Thursday) in addition to playing on Saturday this week. From the span of March 13th to the 24th, New Orleans will only have four days of rest. 

Until we start seeing some separation, you will continue to see drastic changes like this in these rankings due to the close proximity of so many playoff teams.

This week: vs. Dallas, vs. Indiana, vs. LA Lakers, @ Houston

No. 12: Philadelphia 76ers (38-30, -1)

Despite winning two in a row, the Sixers are unable to move up in the rankings this week. That could have changed had they defeated Indiana at home early in the week, but this was not the case. They have three “gimme” games this week (Hornets, Grizzlies, Magic), but losing any one of those will likely keep them right where they are in week three’s rankings.

This week: vs. Charlotte, vs. Memphis, @ Orlando, vs. Minnesota

No. 11: Indiana Pacers (40-30, -4)

The Pacers began the week with a nice road win in Philly, but couldn’t close the deal, dropping their other two games to Toronto and Washington. You would have likely not seen any change had they split these two games, but because of back to back losses, they have slipped behind Cleveland in what is a forever changing seed carousel for third out east.

This week: vs. LA Lakers, @ New Orleans, vs. LA Clippers, vs. Miami

No. 10: Cleveland Cavaliers (40-29, +4)

The Cavs couldn’t get it done in Portland, but they got the job done in Phoenix and Chicago. It was announced Monday morning that head coach Ty Lue plans to take a leave of absence due to health issues, so it will be interesting to see how the team responds with associate head coach Larry Drew under the helm with just 13 games remaining.

This week: vs. Milwaukee, vs. Toronto, vs. Phoenix, @ Brooklyn

No. 9: San Antonio Spurs (40-30, +4)

The Spurs obtained three wins when they needed them the most. At 37-30, they had dropped to tenth in the West (via tiebreaker) at the beginning of last week, but three straight wins puts them back in the picture. They have one of (if not the) toughest schedules remaining, so every game becomes crucial for them as we get closer to the finish line.

This week: vs. Golden State, vs. Washington, vs. Utah, @ Milwaukee

No. 8: Washington Wizards (40-30, +5)

Two huge wins against Boston and Indiana puts them in a tie with the Pacers for 4th, and one game back in the loss column for 3rd. Washington’s season continues without John Wall, who has yet to be cleared for 5-on-5 basketball. Head coach Scott Brooks says he hopes Wall will be cleared for that by the end of the week, but he remains without a definite timetable for return.

This week: @ San Antonio, vs. Denver, vs. New York

No. 7: Utah Jazz (40-30, NR)

The Jazz were not in the playoffs this time last week, but they are now. After starting 19-28, it was widely assumed it would be a lottery year for Utah, but they’ve changed that entirely. Winners of nine straight and 21 of 23, Utah is now right in the mix, tied for 5th with New Orleans and San Antonio. Their current nine game win streak should have no problem reaching 10 or 11, as they have a nice start to their week with Atlanta and Dallas on the schedule.

This week: vs. Atlanta, @ Dallas, @ San Antonio, @ Golden State

No. 6: Oklahoma City Thunder (43-29, +2)

OKC is up two spots this week after a flawless 4-0 week, extending their win streak to six. Despite this, we can’t lock the Thunder into the playoff picture just yet, but a few more wins should do the trick. Russ capped off a dominant week with a monster triple double of 37 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists in a statement road win against the East’s best, Toronto.

This week: @ Boston, vs. Miami, vs. Portland

No. 5: Boston Celtics (47-23, –)

The Celtics are one of few teams to stay put in the rankings this week. They did lose two of three, but are dealing with a ridiculous amount of injuries that kept Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Daniel Theis out all week. Theis is out for the year, and Smart isn’t due back for another 6-8 weeks, so until Irving and Brown return from their day-to-day injuries, the Celtics will remain very shorthanded and will have to rely on the combination of Jayson Tatum and Al Horford to hinder the offensive load.

This week: vs. Oklahoma City, @ Portland, @ Sacramento

No. 4: Golden State Warriors (53-17, -1)

Yes, it’s weird putting the Warriors in fourth. They haven’t done anything to put them here, but the incredible runs the Rockets, Raptors and Blazers have had lately is why they’re here. Golden State has done quite some job pulling out victories without Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant, but it will be that much more difficult chasing down Houston for the top seed in the west.

This week: @ San Antonio, vs. Atlanta, vs. Utah

No. 3: Portland Trail Blazers (44-26, +1)

The Blazers pass the Warriors this week, because they have now extended their win streak to 13 games. This streak will be put to the test this week, beginning with a marquee matchup with Houston Tuesday on TNT. With the way Portland is currently playing, could this be a potential Western Conference Finals series?

This week: vs. Houston, vs. Boston, @ Oklahoma City

No. 2: Toronto Raptors (52-18, –)

The Raptors lost on Sunday, but had three prior victories that has solidified their reign in the Eastern Conference. They hold a five game lead on Boston, and with their current injury situation, Toronto should have no problem walking away with the top seed. The main question is, can they translate this play into the postseason?

This week: @ Orlando, @ Cleveland, vs. Brooklyn, vs. LA Clippers

No. 1: Houston Rockets (56-14, –)

There should be no question who the best team in the league is right now. The Rockets went unbeaten this week, and they too, are starting to solidify their case to clinch the top seed out west. They have a three game lead on Golden State, but will likely increase that given the Warriors current injury situation.

This week: @ Portland, vs. Detroit, vs. New Orleans, vs. Atlanta

Agree or disagree? Comment below!