NBA Power Rankings Update: Never Ever Count Out the San Antonio Spurs
Teams Ranked 30th to 21st
The Phoenix Suns and Brooklyn Nets go streaking, and we crown a new last-place team.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Chicago Bulls | 7-25 | 17.2 | 29 | -1 |
| 29 | Phoenix Suns | 8-24 | 19.2 | 30 | 1 |
| 28 | Atlanta Hawks | 7-23 | 20.2 | 28 | 0 |
| 27 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 8-24 | 26.5 | 27 | 0 |
| 26 | New York Knicks | 9-24 | 27.7 | 26 | 0 |
| 25 | Orlando Magic | 14-16 | 36.4 | 25 | 0 |
| 24 | Washington Wizards | 12-20 | 41.1 | 24 | 0 |
| 23 | Miami Heat | 14-16 | 45.5 | 21 | -2 |
| 22 | Detroit Pistons | 15-14 | 46.3 | 22 | 0 |
| 21 | Brooklyn Nets | 15-18 | 46.9 | 23 | 2 |
Risers
The Suns won 4 games over their first 28, and now have won just as many over their last four. In other words, their current four-game win streak has doubled their season win total, pushing them to 8-24. They are still pitiful, sporting the worst record in the Western Conference by a mile and the league's 28th-ranked average point differential (-9.00), but at least they've done enough to climb out of last place in our rankings (a spot they've occupied for over a month and a half).
The Nets currently have the league's longest active win streak at seven, a fine counter to the eight-game losing streak that preceded it. They now sit at 15-18 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference (a mere half game behind the Orlando Magic for eighth). The Nets finally have their own draft pick after several years of handing it to other teams because of trades, but they might be playing just well enough to avoid the lottery for the first time in four years anyway. We currently give them a 37.9% chance of making the postseason.
Fallers
We covered all the controversy surrounding the Chicago Bulls last week, but now their biggest problem is that they keep losing basketball games, and often by a wide margin. They are dead last in the NBA in win-loss record (7-25), offensive rating (100.5), and average point differential (-10.56). They were 5-19 with a -9.5 net rating under the recently fired Fred Hoiberg and have been arguably worse, at 2-6, with a -13.7 net rating under Jim Boylen. They'll likely be a contender for our last spot every week from here on out.
The Miami Heat have won three in a row and went an impressive 4-2 on a recent west coast road trip. Their nERD is practically the same as it was last week, but they drop a couple spots to make room for slightly hotter teams.
