The past couple of weeks have solidified that we have three clear title contenders, and every other team near the top is just trying to prove they have a chance against that trio.
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1. Cleveland Cavaliers (55-10, Last Week No. 1). When the Cavaliers beat the Celtics, we saw at the end of the game something Kenny Atkinson has been experimenting with: Lineups with De’Andre Hunter at the four and Evan Mobley at center, while Jarrett Allen sits on the bench. Hunter can play the three next to Mobley and Allen (and those lineups have a +16.5 net rating but in just 21 minutes), but more than that, Hunter offers the possibility for versatility depending on the matchup. Lineups with Max Strus at the three, Hunter at the four and Mobley at the five have a +17.5 net rating, but in limited minutes. That versatility is one reason the Cavaliers have won 15 in a row and why they are a legitimate title contender — they can match up with anyone.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (53-12, LW 2). It still looks just a little off and clunky to the naked eye, but the Thunder’s two-big lineup with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein have a +12.5 net rating so far (in non-garbage time, stats via Cleaning the Glass). It can be very effecive against certain lineups, for example on Sunday vs. Denver, it was a 57.9 net rating in 18 minutes. Small sample size, but this is working. Coach Mark Daigneault has to play the duo together more over the season’s final five weeks to let them build chemistry, but it’s already working. Also, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander helped make his MVP case last weekend.
3. Boston Celtics (47-18, LW 3). Jayson Tatum tends to be an afterthought in the MVP race — we take how well he plays for granted. In a game Sunday against the Lakers, LeBron James and Luka Doncic seemed to draw all the attention leading into the broadcast, and Jayson Tatum was the best player on the court. He dropped 40 points with eight rebounds, played high-level defense and helped lead his team to a win. Tatum isn’t going to win the MVP, but he needs to be more than the afterthought he has been in the race.
SECOND TIER CONTENDERS
4. Golden State Warriors (37-28, LW 5). Golden State gets an infusion of athleticism on Thursday with the return of Jonathan Kuminga to the lineup. He’s been out since Jan. 4 with a nasty sprained ankle. The challenge for Steve Kerr: Kuminga and Jimmy Butler have played more than half of their minutes this season at the four, and that’s Draymond Green’s natural position if we want to throw him in the mix. Kerr has a puzzle to figure out. The Warriors are 2-0 on their current homestand but things get tougher this week with the Knicks, Nuggets and Bucks coming to town.
5. Denver Nuggets (42-23, LW 6). Nikola Jokic is playing “the best basketball of my life” and just helped lead Denver to a split of games in Oklahoma City (helping his MVP case along the way), but he’s doing it while playing through a series of smaller injuries (elbow, ankle). If Denver is going to make a deep playoff run, they need to make sure he — plus Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon — are as healthy as possible for the postseason. There are tough tests this week against the Timberwolves, shorthanded Lakers, and Warriors.
6. Los Angeles Lakers (40-23, LW 4). Los Angeles is not the same team without the defense and glue to the offense that LeBron James brings — they lost to the tanking Nets without him — and this week face a tough schedule while shorthanded with the Bucks, Nuggets and resurgent Suns on the docket. LeBron is likely out a couple of weeks, and while he will push to get back the Lakers need to make sure that groin strain is fully healed because in a deep West it cannot linger into the postseason if they want to make a run.
PLAYOFFS OR BUST
7. New York Knicks (41-23, LW 7). In two games without Jalen Brunson, the Knicks offense struggled against a good Clippers defense but put up 130 against a mediocre Kings defense (16th in the NBA this season). Expect more of that up-and-down performance in the coming weeks while the Knicks work through a road-heavy portion of the schedule (they are 1-2 on this road trip so far with 4-of-5 ahead away from Manhattan). Like the two teams above them on this list, the Knicks need to wait out as long as it takes with Brunson’s ankle to make sure he is right with the playoffs, even if that means he’s out for most of the rest of the regular season.
8. Memphis Grizzlies (41-34, LW 10). Memphis has gone 3-1 since Ja Morant rejoined the lineup — he and Desmond Bane have started to find an offensive rhythm together. However (and continuing the health theme of this NBA Power Rankings), the Grizzlies need to get Jaren Jackson Jr. back healthy from his sprained ankle to make a serious postseason run. Good test Friday night against the Cavaliers.
9. Detroit Pistons (37-29, LW 9). Shaq may not be watching them — which speaks to a key issue with some of the biggest analysts/ambassadors of the NBA — but the Pistons are the best story in the NBA and now have a top-10 defense on the season, a defense that is No. 1 in the league over the past 15 games. J.B. Bickerstaff — he’s the coach in Detroit, Shaq — deserves a lot of credit for that and will get some Coach of the Year votes for it. Detroit is tied with the Bucks and Pacers for the 4/5/6 seeds in the East, but the Pistons have the toughest remaining schedule of those teams.
10. Indiana Pacers (36-28, LW 8). Tyrese Haliburton missed three games, the Pacers dropped all three. He comes back and hits the shot of the year to beat the Bucks — that is how much Haliburton and his health matter to this team. Speaking for hoops fans everywhere, a Bucks vs. Pacers first-round series — with everyone healthy — would be must-watch television.
11. Milwaukee Bucks (36-28, LW 12). Milwaukee is five games behind the Knicks for the No. 3 seed with 18 to play, is that too much ground to make up? Probably, especially if they lose games like the one Tuesday to Indiana (the Bucks get a rematch at home Saturday). The reality for Milwaukee is this is a good team led by an elite player in Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they don’t strike any fear in the hearts of the top teams in the league. Maybe they can change that Sunday when they host the Thunder and have a chance at a signature win.
12. Houston Rockets (40-25, LW 13). Fred Van Vleet is set to return this week, maybe as early as tonight (Wednesday). VanVleet has missed 16 of the Rockets’ previous 17 games due to a right ankle strain, and more than his g 14.4 points and 5.8 assists a game, they have missed him as a floor general. How VanVleet plays the rest of this season and especially in the playoffs could have a bearing n his future — Houston has a $44.9 million team option for him next season and there will be a lot of teams with their eye on that situation.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves (37-29, LW 14). I have been among the crowd saying how much better Minnesota’s offense looks with the eye test with Naz Reid playing and less Julius Randle. However, in the last 10 games Randle has played the Timberwolves are 10-0 and he’s averaged 17.9 points, 7 rebounds and 5.5 assists a night. It’s time to admit he makes this team better, even if the fit is not seamless. Minnesota has won five straight but faces a good measuring stick game Wednesday night vs. Denver.
14. Los Angeles Clippers (35-30, LW 15). Stat of the day from the must-read for Clippers fans Justin Russo: Since Feb. 1, no team in the NBA has allowed fewer wide-open three-point attempts per game than the LA Clippers (14.1). Opponents are shooting 42.5% on them. Since Feb. 1, no NBA team has seen opponents shoot 45% or better on threes more than the Clippers (five times). So, bad shooting luck plays into the Clippers going 3-4 in their last seven. Los Angeles has a 1.5-game lead over the Kings for the No. 8 seed in the West and has an easier schedule the rest of the way.
15. Sacramento Kings (33-31, LW 11). One of the things that got Mike Brown fired was the Kings’ struggles in clutch situations this season. It was one of the things that changed when Doug Christie first took over, but how have things been going? The Kings are 11-10 with a +5.1 net rating in clutch games (within five points in the final five minutes) since the coaching change. Make that a three-point game in the final three minutes, and the Kings are 9-8. The Kings need some clutch wins now, having dropped 3-of-4 as they fight for play-in positioning. It’s a tough stretch of games this week, but the big one is in Phoenix on Friday night (the second night of a back-to-back), a game against another team fighting for a West play-in slot.
16. Atlanta Hawks (31-34, LW 19). Atlanta has a pretty firm grip on the No. 7 seed in the East and needs to hold onto it — making up 5.5 games on the Pistons for the No. 6 seed is not happening, but Atlanta is just 1.5 games above the No. 9 seed (and a much tougher rout out of the play-in). The Hawks have won 4-of-5 (taking advantage of the Pacers without Haliburton) and need to keep it going this week with winnable games against the Hornets (2x), Nets and Clippers.
17. Miami Heat (29-35, LW 16). Miami is 4-7 since the All-Star break (with a +1 net rating) and has dropped to ninth in the East. Watch them play and the idea of one of those classic Heat postseason runs seems unattainable, which starts to shift the focus toward next season. Miami is expected to try and trade for Kevin Durant next summer, but is he the No. 1 option they need next to Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, or is it time for the Heat to think longer term (not how the franchise usually operates)?
18. Orlando Magic (30-36, LW 17). Orlando is 10-21 this season in the games Jalen Suggs has missed, and while there is noise in that stat (Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner missed some of those games as well), it shows how much the offense struggles to create shots when Suggs is not in the rotation. And he won’t be for the rest of the season following knee surgery. Orlando and Miami are tied for the 8/9 seeds in the East but that is an important distinction, the Magic need wins to grab the No. 8 seed and an easier path out of the play-in. The Magic are 1-1 on their current road trip and visit the Pelicans, Timberwolves and Cavaliers next.
PLAY IN HOPEFULS
19. Phoenix Suns (30-35, LW 21). With the banged up and struggling Mavericks opening the door to the play-in, the Suns have played recently with an urgency seemingly lacking much of the season. That said, Phoenix is still 3-3 in its last six. The problem is the same one Phoenix has had all season: Their defense is 25th in the league over those six games (27th for the full season). As great as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker can be, no team is winning much with that defense. The Suns are 2.5 games out of the play-in with 17 to play, and they have a couple of near must-win games on the schedule this week: the Kings, then Sunday at the banged-up Lakers, and finally the Raptors on Monday.
20. Dallas Mavericks (33-33, LW 18). Should Dallas push Anthony Davis (adductor strain) and Dereck Lively II (right ankle stress fracture) to get back on the court for a postseason push, or just write the season off (I am in the write it off camp). Despite barely rolling out the league minimum 8 players for games this week, the Mavericks snapped their five-game losing streak thanks to the struggling Spurs (those teams face off again Wednesday). The Spurs also have a very winnable game Sunday against what’s left of the 76ers.
21. Chicago Bulls (27-38, LW 22). In nine games since the All-Star break, Josh Giddey had found a rhythm and averaged 23.1 points a game shooting 52.5% from 3 while grabbing 10.9 rebounds and dishing out 8.4 assists a night. Which is why it was harsh to see him limping off the court with a sprained ankle and coach Billy Donovan saying he will be “out for a little bit.” Giddey is a restricted free agent this summer, is he in the long-term plans for the Bulls and, if so, what are they willing to pay to keep him? He’s going to be one of the more interesting stories of the offseason.
CAPTURE THE (COOPER) FLAGG
22. Portland Trail Blazers (28-38, LW 20). Losers of four straight (against quality teams) and now 5.5 games out of the final play-in spot, we can write off the Trail Blazers as a postseason team. Still, there are positives. Rookie center Donovan Clingan has shown promise, if he can improve his conditioning and limit foul trouble his role will grow. Also, defensive wing Matisse Thybulle is set to return to the rotation.
23. Toronto Raptors (22-43, LW 23). There are reasons for concern in Toronto: The offense hasn’t looked great even when Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes are on the court together. Also, Barnes has only been shooting 24.1% from 3 since the All-Star break. Still, this is a team tanking right now and looking ahead to when Brandon Ingram joins the rotation next season, so don’t read too much into the struggles now.
24. Philadelphia 76ers (22-42, LW 25). Philadelphia’s pick in this year’s draft is top-six protected, but the 76ers would have the seventh-worst record in the league right now, heading into the lottery. Don’t expect to see Paul George or Tyrese Maxey again this season as Philly tries to fall behind Toronto and Brooklyn in the standings. That makes Wednesday’s tank-off game against Toronto interesting. Starting Sunday, the Sixers head out on a six-game road trip.
25. New Orleans Pelicans (18-48, LW 24). Tune into Pelicans games right now because you want to see how good Trey Murphy can be (and discuss how much they should feature him next season) and a Zion Williamson triple-double.
Zion Williamson recorded his first-career triple-double on Feb. 27…
He recorded his second tonight in the Pelicans win!
22 PTS
12 AST (career-high)
10 REB pic.twitter.com/FW9B3IqBWu— NBA (@NBA) March 12, 2025
26. San Antonio Spurs (26-37, LW 26). The only question left for the Spurs this season: Will De’Aaron Fox have surgery on his injured left pinky finger? He said he plans to have it evaluated while in Los Angeles next week when the Spurs play the Lakers, and if he has surgery, he will be shut down for the season (which means more Stephon Castle with the ball in his hands, not a bad thing for the rookie).
27. Brooklyn Nets (22-43, LW 27). The Nets are getting healthy, which means even when D’Angelo Russell has an off night like he did Monday, his teammates can step up and get him some revenge with clutch plays to beat the Lakers.
When clutch buckets were needed, the Nets delivered!
D’Angelo Russell’s triple
Cameron Johnson’s tough fade
Ziaire Williams’ putback layup
Noah Clowney’s cutting slam pic.twitter.com/dBCgUZFmM3— NBA (@NBA) March 11, 2025
28. Charlotte Hornets (16-48, LW 30). The Hornets have won two in a row, putting their ability to hold on to one of the three worst records in the league (and have a 14% chance at the No. 1 pick) in a bit of jeopardy. New Orleans is just one game ahead of Charlotte as the No. 4 seed and could fall behind a hot Hornets team. Which makes you wonder if the Hornets will sit LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges soon.
29. Washington Wizards (13-51, LW 29). Washington had gone on a little run, winning 4-of-6, until dropping their two most recent games. And now Bilal Coulibaly could miss time with a right hip contusion after a nasty fall. Six of the Wizards’ next eight games are on the road.
30. Utah Jazz (15-50, LW 28). The Jazz are doing exactly what management hopes: Showing some progress and development on the court, but they have lost six in a row and 10-of-12, keeping them one of the teams with the three worst records heading into the NBA Draft lottery.
