NBA Power Rankings: Warriors, Lakers Stuck Behind Half the League

It’s time to settle in for another edition of the NBA power rankings, as playoff pursuits (and races for better draft odds) are heating up throughout the NBA.

The Boston Celtics pretty much have the Eastern Conference’s top seed locked up, but there’s plenty of jockeying for position below them. And in the West, a three-team race is developing for first that should have fans checking the standings every night.

Below them, two of the league’s marquee organizations (the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors) remain on a collision course to play each other in one of the opening games of the play-in tournament. And this weekend, we’ll get a preview of that potential matchup in primetime.

Beyond those teams, there’s almost daily movement throughout the standings, which makes it a little trickier to sort through all 30 teams.

But our handy guides (team and individual numbers, recent performance, championship chances and plenty of subjectivity) came through again.

Previous Rank: 30
Net Rating: -9.0

The Washington Wizards won two games in a row this week (yay!), but they immediately followed that up with back-to-back losses and have now dropped 18 of their last 20 games (eesh).

On the bright side, their trio of young forwards (or in Kyle Kuzma’s case, youngish) have been solid of late.

Over Washington’s last 10 games, Kuzma is averaging 26.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists, Deni Avdija is putting up 16.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists, and Corey Kispert is averaging 14.4 points and 2.6 threes, while shooting 40.4 percent from deep.

Previous Rank: 29
Net Rating: -10.1

The Charlotte Hornets still have the worst net rating in the league. And they hold that dubious distinction pretty easily.

But after beating the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday and going 2-2 this week, they’re a positively scrappy 7-9 since the trade deadline. And a couple of their new additions are making a difference.

Wednesday, Vasilije Micić had 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting, eight assists and two steals. Grant Williams came off the bench to score 18.

With both under contract for 2024-25, performances like this could go a long way toward establishing their spot in a rotation that should include a healthy LaMelo Ball.

Previous Rank: 28
Net Rating: -7.9

The victories came against the Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors, but the suddenly feisty Detroit Pistons have won three of their last four. And key players from the young core have all shown plenty of upside during this run.

Against the Nets, Jaden Ivey had a team-high 34 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Cade Cunningham had 22 points and eight assists in a blowout win over the Hornets. And Jalen Duren capped off the week with a 24-point, 23-rebound domination of the Raptors.

Next season, Detroit will have all three rolling at the same time more often. That may not mean a playoff berth, but this version of the Pistons should at least be more competitive in 2024-25.

Previous Rank: 27
Net Rating: -7.4

By his own rapidly evolving standards, Victor Wembanyama is coming off a tough five-game stretch in which he missed two contests and shot 40.4 percent from the field in the other three.

But when we look back on the season, those games are going to look like little more than blips on the radar. Over the last several weeks, Wembanyama has been good enough to give himself a legitimate All-NBA case.

Since December 28 (a stretch in which he’s made 32 appearances), Wembanyama is averaging 22.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.7 blocks, 2.0 threes and 1.2 steals, while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from deep.

That eye-popping line has juiced Wemby’s season-long numbers to the point that catch-all metrics now view him as one of 2023-24’s top 15-20 players.

And with some of the players ahead of him in those numbers likely to fall shy of the league’s 65-game minimum for awards consideration and All-NBA teams now being positionless, there will at least be a reasonable argument to sneak him into that official top 15.

Previous Rank: 26
Net Rating: -8.0

The Portland Trail Blazers are just about mathematically eliminated from the postseason, so Deandre Ayton’s recent breakout probably could have come at a better time.

Still, it’s here, and with Scoot Henderson having one of the worst statistical rookie seasons in NBA history, there isn’t a whole lot else to talk about with this team.

After missing the first five games of the month, Ayton has now played in the last four and averaged 29.0 points and 16.8 rebounds.

Previous Rank: 23
Net Rating: -4.0

In late February, Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković threw his team a pizza party for winning three straight games for the first time all season.

Since then, they are 1-7, with the most recent loss coming against the lowly (though slightly better of late) Detroit Pistons.

On the bright side, RJ Barrett—one of the least efficient scorers in the NBA over the course of his career—is averaging 20.8 points and 4.0 assists, while shooting 59.9 percent on twos and 41.7 percent from deep, since joining the team.

Even if the team has fallen completely out of playoff contention since the trade deadline, Barrett may have shown enough to be considered a part of the core for the rebuild.

Previous Rank: 25
Net Rating: -2.1

The Brooklyn Nets continued their slide down the Eastern Conference standings, going 1-2 on the week and moving to 14-31 since early December.

But while all the losing and lack of rebuilding assets has to be discouraging for fans, perhaps Cam Thomas can be a reason for some optimism at least.

The 2021 first-rounder has been the team’s leading scorer in each of its last three games and is now averaging 21.3 points on the season.

And while it may be easy to nitpick his shoot-first approach, there are only eight players in NBA history who had more career 40-point games than Thomas’ seven through his current age (22 years and 154 days old).

Previous Rank: 24
Net Rating: -6.4

The Memphis Grizzlies closed out their week with a loss to the Charlotte Hornets, but they’re 3-3 in their last six, and GG Jackson (who just turned 19 in December) continues to impress.

After starting and scoring 26 on the Hornets, the South Carolina product is now averaging 16.9 points in 27.8 minutes over his last 16 appearances.

In time, he’ll need to become more consistent on defense. More ancillary contributions in the rebounding and assist columns wouldn’t hurt, either.

But a teenager scoring like this, and with few other offensive dynamos to take attention off him, is more than encouraging. When he’s relegated to a smaller role after the returns of Ja Morant and Desmond Bane next season, he could thrive against backups and opponents’ lower-level defenders.

Previous Rank: 22
Net Rating: -3.5

The tank is officially on for the Utah Jazz, who were sellers for a second straight trade deadline day and are 6-17 since mid-January.

Some fans may argue the moves (again, for the second year in a row) came too late. At this point, there’s almost no chance they can lose enough to get a better-than-10-percent chance at the No. 1 pick.

But they are solidifying their position within the top 10 of this year’s draft, and one of last summer’s first-round picks is having a mini-breakout.

If you take out a March 4 game in which he was limited to fewer than six minutes by an injury, Keyonte George has averaged 18.4 points, 5.5 assists and 3.6 threes, while shooting 45.2 percent from three since February 4.

The 20-year-old looks like a bona fide starting guard. If he stays on this trajectory, and Utah finds a couple more needle-moving talents in upcoming drafts, this rebuild could start to look pretty good.

Previous Rank: 19
Net Rating: +2.4

The playoffs are no longer a guarantee for the Philadelphia 76ers.

After losing to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, Philadelphia is now 7-13 since Joel Embiid left the rotation with a knee injury. They’re 10-22 in all games missed by the 29-year-old and are now seventh in the East.

That position in the standings, of course, means the Sixers are now in the play-in tournament. And while they probably did enough before Embiid went down to stay out of the bottom half of the play-in, the possibility of a pre-postseason elimination game is very much on the table.

If Embiid is around and even at 90-95 percent of his old self for that, Philadelphia should be OK. But the longer he’s out, the easier it is to worry about his mobility and conditioning upon his return.

Previous Rank: 20
Net Rating: -1.7

The Atlanta Hawks are on a mini two-game losing streak, but they’re still 5-4 since Trae Young left the rotation with an injury. And Dejounte Murray is putting up some numbers that could reignite the Trae trade rumors this summer.

Over those nine games, Murray is posting 25.9 points, 8.1 assists, 3.1 threes and 1.4 steals, while shooting 38.4 percent from deep.

And for the entire season, Atlanta is plus-1.2 points per 100 possessions when Murray plays without Young and minus-5.8 when they’re together.

Previous Rank: 18
Net Rating: -2.3

The Chicago Bulls had a 1-3 week that surely disappointed plenty of their fans, but the one win helped solidify DeMar DeRozan as the betting favorite for this season’s Clutch Player of the Year honors.

DeRozan scored 18 of his 46 that night in the fourth quarter and overtime. And for the season, he now trails only Stephen Curry for total points scored during clutch time (defined by the league as the final five minutes of games within five points).

And while that award may not seem like much of a consolation for a once-proud franchise that could be headed to the lottery for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, having someone that good in high-leverage moments could be exactly what the Bulls need to escape that fate.

The beauty of the play-in tournament (where Chicago is almost guaranteed to wind up) is the one-and-done nature of the games. And if the Bulls find themselves in a fourth-quarter shootout in one of those contests, it’ll be nice to have the steely nerves DeRozan has shown all season.

Previous Rank: 21
Net Rating: +0.4

The Houston Rockets were on a bit of a roller coaster this week. It started with Alperen Şengün suffering what looked like a gruesome injury against the Sacramento Kings and ended with a 16-point win over the Washington Wizards.

In between, the team learned that Şengün somehow avoided serious damage to his knee and ankle. And while it won’t be easy to play without him for the next few weeks, a healthy offseason for the breakout center will be huge.

However, Houston still has plenty of games to play between now and then. And since Şengün went down, head coach Ime Udoka has deployed a starting five that should intrigue Rockets fans.

Amen Thompson is now in the lineup, with Jabari Smith Jr. nominally playing the 5. And in Thursday’s win, Thompson, typically a defensive ace, scored 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. He also had 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals while posting a team-high plus-minus of plus-24.

If the last few weeks facilitate a breakout for Thompson, and Şengün comes back at 100 percent for 2024-25, the Rockets could be in the mix for a playoff appearance.

Previous Rank: 15
Net Rating: +1.3

The Golden State Warriors struggling without Stephen Curry shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anyone, but after losing to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, they’re 1-2 as Curry recovers from an ankle injury. Until he’s back and looks full strength, it’ll be hard to put the Warriors back in the top half of the league.

On the bright side, Chris Paul has been solid (to the tune of 12.7 points, 7.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game) in his stead, and if those two guards are healthy, the Warriors still feel like an OK bet to survive the play-in tournament.

When Curry and CP3 are both on the floor, the Warriors are plus-6.4 points per 100 possessions. For a little context, the Los Angeles Lakers, who appear to be on a collision course with Golden State for the first play-in game, are plus-2.7 when LeBron James and Anthony Davis are both on the floor.

Previous Rank: 16
Net Rating: -0.5

Anthony Davis can’t seem to vanquish his Sacramento Kings bogeyman, Domantas Sabonis. Since the Kings beat the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Sabonis is now 10-0 against AD, with Davis shooting 46.2 percent in those games.

But prior to Wednesday’s loss, AD had a monster performance in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves with 27 points, 25 rebounds, seven steals, five assists and three blocks.

And for the entire season, his per-game averages of 24.7 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.2 steals are matched only by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who incredibly reached those marks in four different seasons).

There are still times when it looks like Davis struggles with some of the league’s burlier and more physical 5s, but he’s having an All-NBA-level campaign and could be a significant factor in a second straight postseason.

Previous Rank: 17
Net Rating: +1.6

Mediocrity has sort of been the calling card of an Indiana Pacers team that unloaded Buddy Hield at the trade deadline.

They had back-to-back wins this week, but they followed that up with a home loss to the sub-.500 Chicago Bulls.

They just haven’t been able to find much momentum, and their offensive numbers reflect that.

Up until the deadline, the Pacers were scoring a league-best 120.9 points per 100 possessions. Since then, their 116.6 points per 100 possessions ranks sixth.

That’s still good, but it’s not the “we don’t even need to care about defense”-level good that helped them get off to a hot start and make the title game of the in-season tournament.

Of course, some of that has to do with nagging injuries to Tyrese Haliburton. Midseason roster turnover can throw off rhythm too. But if the Pacers are going to put a scare into anyone in the postseason, they have to rediscover some of the mojo they seem to have lost.

And maybe the aforementioned back-to-back wins could be the start of that rediscovery. Those victories were on the road and against two of the league’s best defensive teams in the Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Previous Rank: 12
Net Rating: +0.4

Just when it felt like the playoff version of the Miami Heat might be showing up, they’ve rattled off four straight losses.

Three are pretty easy to explain away. They lost to both the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder on the road, and they closed out the week with a loss to the Denver Nuggets. But three losses are three losses, and dropping a game to the Washington Wizards in the middle of this run is almost alarming.

We’ve seen this team flip a switch too many times in the Jimmy Butler era to get overly worried, but there are nights when the offense feels like way too much of a grind to beat a team like the Boston Celtics or Milwaukee Bucks in a series.

Again, though, we’ve said that about Butler teams before, and Miami advanced past both of those squads just last postseason.

Previous Rank: 14
Net Rating: +1.1

Their net rating has sort of lagged behind their record all season, but the Sacramento Kings are in a bit of a surge of late.

They’ve won five of their last seven and eight of their last 12. And those stretches include wins over the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers (twice) and Milwaukee Bucks.

The high-octane offense that fueled last season’s breakout is coming back too. Over these last 12 games, Sacramento is fifth in points scored per 100 possessions, and an abundance of passing is starting to pay dividends.

On the season, Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk are averaging 8.4, 5.6 and 5.3 assists, respectively, making the Kings one of just two teams with at least three players averaging five-plus assists (the Lakers are the other one).

Previous Rank: 10
Net Rating: +1.5

The Orlando Magic cooled off this week, going 1-2 and still looking relatively sluggish on offense, but they got back on track against the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday.

And their top-five defense has them in the mix for a top-four finish in the East.

That may not sound like much for a lot of NBA teams that regularly enjoy winning records and playoff appearances, but Orlando’s season high for wins since Dwight Howard left is 42. It’s only been in the postseason twice in that stretch, and it just passed its preseason over-under of 37.5 wins with a month to go.

With all of those indicators pointed in the right direction and Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs all being under 23, it’s easy to get excited about this team’s present (even if this week was a half-step back) and future.

Previous Rank: 7
Net Rating: +2.5

The Phoenix Suns surged to 11 games over .500 just before the All-Star break and have quietly been just so-so since then.

After losing to the Boston Celtics on Thursday, Phoenix is now 5-6 since the break, and Devin Booker and Bradley Beal both have negative plus-minuses over that span.

The team and its fans can surely still nod to a plus-10.9 net rating when all three of Booker, Beal and Kevin Durant are on the floor, but those minutes haven’t been terribly common this season.

That trio barely ranks in the top 250 for total minutes played by a three-man combination.

Previous Rank: 11
Net Rating: +1.2

The Dallas Mavericks ended the week with a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but Luka Dončić missed that game with a sore hamstring, and the team had won four straight prior to then.

If Dončić can get back in relatively short order, it feels like the Mavericks are finally starting to find a little rhythm with a roster that saw plenty of turnover at the trade deadline.

Since the moves that landed Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington were made, Dallas is 10-6 and Dončić has averaged an eye-popping 33.9 points, 11.1 assists, 9.4 rebounds and 4.0 threes while shooting 39.0 percent from deep.

Previous Rank: 13
Net Rating: +4.4

OG Anunoby picked up right where he left off prior to an elbow surgery that cost him 18 appearances with the New York Knicks.

He’s been back for two games, the Knicks won both and he was plus-39 in those contests. Remarkably, the Indiana product has now suited up 16 times for this team, and he’s yet to log a negative plus-minus.

With Anunoby back and Jalen Brunson beefing up his All-NBA case (he just dropped 45 in Thursday’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers), New York is starting to look like the fringe contender it appeared to be prior to Anunoby’s surgery.

Previous Rank: 8
Net Rating: +5.1

They were sort of humbled by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a 21-point home loss on Wednesday, but the New Orleans Pelicans had won four straight prior to that contest, are still fourth in the league in net rating and close to a 50-win pace for the season.

And while Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and to a lesser extent, CJ McCollum have gotten the bulk of the attention during New Orleans’ slow and steady climb since the in-season tournament, it’s the depth of the team that’s really pushed it.

Williamson, Ingram and McCollum all have negative net-rating swings (meaning the team’s point differential is actually better when they’re off the floor), and reserves like Trey Murphy III, Naji Marshall and Dyson Daniels (who’s now hurt) are big reasons why.

Murphy, specifically, may be the team’s biggest X-factor. The Pelicans are 22-9 when he scores at least 10 points and 17-17 in all other games.

Previous Rank: 9
Net Rating: +4.4

After Donovan Mitchell missed their previous seven games, the Cleveland Cavaliers got the star back for a week-ending win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

But he had just 14 points on 16 shots, and the game served more as a showcase for the talent that has helped the team remain competitive in most of the 18 total games Mitchell has missed.

Resilience has been a hallmark of this team all season, and it doesn’t come from just one player. When Garland and Mobley missed a stretch together earlier this season, Mitchell carried the Cavs. Garland returned the favor by averaging 23.0 points, 7.0 assists and 4.6 threes since the start of Mitchell’s most recent string of absences. And after missing the first five games of the season, Jarrett Allen has been a constant throughout.

Few teams have had to deal with as many ins, outs and rotation changes, and Cleveland being in the mix for second in the East in spite of that is impressive.

Previous Rank: 4
Net Rating: +3.2

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points on 9-of-12 shooting in Thursday’s win, which gives him a league-leading 37 games this season with 30-plus points and a 50-plus field-goal percentage.

The eight-time All-Star also leads the league in points added from his field-goal attempts (he’s scored 193 more points on his attempts than someone with a perfectly average effective field-goal percentage would have) and is making a pretty strong case to finish top three in MVP voting for the fifth time in six years.

A strong closing kick and second-place finish in the East could put Giannis neck-and-neck with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for second (assuming Nikola Jokić doesn’t lose his overwhelming lead in both betting odds and Basketball Reference’s MVP Tracker based on previous voting results).

But all of Giannis’ individual production can’t prevent a slide in this week’s rankings. He’s been outrageously good all season, but the Bucks are still prone to letdowns under new coach Doc Rivers. They lost by 35 to the Golden State Warriors last week. They had another 35-point loss this week, this time to the Sacramento Kings.

And after winning their first six games coming out of the All-Star break, they’ve now dropped three of their last five, with the two wins coming against a Philadelphia 76ers squad without Joel Embiid and a Los Angeles Clippers squad without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

Previous Rank: 5
Net Rating: +4.4

They closed out the week with a win over the sub-.500 Chicago Bulls, but the Los Angeles Clippers are just 8-8 in their last 16 games.

And after staying healthier than expected for most of the season, injuries are starting to creep up for this team. Kawhi Leonard left Tuesday’s loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves early with back spasms (though he returned and scored 27 in Thursday’s win). And James Harden missed Thursday with a shoulder injury.

When those two are on the floor with Paul George, L.A. is still plus-10.7 points per 100 possessions, but the reality of their ages and the injury histories of Leonard and George could still factor in between now and the end of this campaign.

Previous Rank: 6
Net Rating: +6.1

The Minnesota Timberwolves are 2-2 since Karl-Anthony Towns left the rotation with a knee injury, but there are a few reasons for their fans to remain optimistic.

First, early reporting on his meniscus surgery suggests there’s at least a chance he’ll be back at some point during the postseason. And in the meantime, Minnesota can rely on a league-leading defense that’s actually been better with KAT off the floor this season.

Of course, there’s a trade-off there. Towns undoubtedly boosts the T-Wolves offense, which brings us to the next potential source of optimism. Without him in the lineup, Minnesota needs Anthony Edwards to play like a superstar. And he generally has of late.

Over his last 17 games, Edwards is averaging 29.1 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 threes.

Previous Rank: 3
Net Rating: +7.6

They’ve had a couple unexpected losses since the All-Star break and recently lost their top spot in the West to the reigning champions, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are still 11-3 in their last 14 games and are starting to look like a lock to finish top three in their conference.

On Thursday, they beat the Luka Dončić-less Dallas Mavericks in a game in which Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 31 points. And while that might not sound noteworthy, it was his 12th game this season with exactly 31 points.

That’s almost more of an oddity than a stat, but it’s also a good illustration of how consistent SGA and his team have been this season.

Previous Rank: 2
Net Rating: +11.4

The Boston Celtics had a hiccup last week, when they lost back-to-back road games to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets, but they responded with a 4-0 week that included two double-digit wins over the Phoenix Suns.

And while some may be questioning their Finals upside because they don’t have a surefire, bona fide top-four or top-five player, the strength of this team is the team.

In Thursday’s win over the Suns, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford scored 37, 26 and 24, respectively. That brought their season total for individual 20-point performances up to a league-leading 152.

To stop the offensive flood that Boston becomes on most nights, you have to throw up a lot of dams. And every time it seems like one player’s flow is slowed down or shut off, someone else breaks out.

Previous Rank: 1
Net Rating: +4.7

The reigning champion Denver Nuggets may be the hottest team in the league.

After beating the Miami Heat on the road (and holding them to 88 points), they’re now 10-1 since the All-Star break. Their plus-11.4 net rating over that span trails only the Boston Celtics, who they beat to close out last week and sweep the season series.

And while Nikola Jokić gets—and deserves—most of the credit for this surge (he’s averaging 25.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks, while shooting 60.5 percent from the field in these 11 games), his co-stars warrant plenty of credit too.

Lately, Michael Porter Jr. has been as much a co-star as anyone. He’s handling trickier defensive assignments than he did earlier in his career. And after scoring 25 in Wednesday’s win over Miami, he’s now at 20.5 points and 3.1 threes, with a 42.5 three-point percentage since the break.

On Monday, as part of a furious 22-point comeback to beat the Toronto Raptors, Nikola Jokić totaled 35 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, six steals and two blocks.

It was the first time in NBA history (regular or postseason) that anyone had hit all five of those marks in a single game, but it might not have been the most impressive number to emerge from that performance.

Jokić also shot 14-of-26 from the field in that game, giving him his 115th career triple-double in which he shot at least 50 percent from the field (again, regular and postseason combined).

He’s first all-time in such games, and the rest of that list’s top 10 is packed with all-timers.

At this point in his career, we’re probably taking stat lines like this for granted. Names like those above should restore a little perspective.