Chuddy's NBA Power Rankings: Week of April 1st

Welcome to the eighteenth installment of King Chuddy’s weekly NBA power rankings and the sixth post-all-star edition! This will be the second to last edition of the rankings as we are somehow less than two weeks from the conclusion of the regular season. As always, these rankings will fluctuate based on the team's performance during the previous week and any changes in personnel, health, schematics, or overall quality of play. These rankings are NOT predicting the future, or used to determine the odds of ultimately winning the title, they are just based on what the team has done recently and what is their immediate outlook. For example, most people would likely think the Lakers or Warriors have a much better chance of actually winning a title than teams like the Magic or Pelicans, but they simply have not played better this season so the rankings reflect that. Think of these rankings as something more like the top 25 rankings in college basketball/football and they should make more sense. Feel free to leave your comments/opinions and tell me why I’m wrong, or why I am a genius. Without further ado…

1. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-22, Last week: 3) - The Thunder got SGA back and he immediately hit the game-winning shot in MSG. They’re back atop the West standings for now.
2. Denver Nuggets (52-23, Last week: 1) - They lost back-to-back games, both at home, both scoring under 100 points. Jamal Murray has also missed five straight games with ankle/knee issues.
3. Boston Celtics (58-14, Last week: 2) - Two odd losses in Atlanta were a bit annoying, but this is what happens in late March; the Celtics have everything sewn up they just need to stay healthy and fresh.
4. Minnesota Timberwolves (51-23, Last week: 6) - The Wolves have fought valiantly without KAT and maintained their standing. If not for a tough loss to the Bulls they’d be tied with OKC for the one seed.
5. Milwaukee Bucks (47-27, Last week: 4) - This team is still prone to confusing no-shows, but they’ve clearly established themselves on both ends of the floor. They’re the clear-cut second best in the East.
6. Dallas Mavericks (45-29, Last week: 9) - The Mavs are the hottest team in the league and shooting up the standings and these power rankings. Luka and Kyrie are playing great ball together and this team can somehow actually sniff a top 4 seed.
7. New Orleans Pelicans (45-29, Last week: 5) - The Pels lost a couple of games to good teams, but they’re still right there in the West. A top 4 seed is in play and they should be safe from the play-in. Can they get Brandon Ingram back healthy?
8. Los Angeles Clippers (47-27, Last week: 10) - Even the Clippers wins haven’t felt great recently. But they’ve managed to stay in the top 4 (for now) and the team is healthy. Put up or shut up time once the playoffs start.
9. New York Knicks (44-30, Last week: 7) - A couple of tough losses with Brunson going crazy shows just how badly this team needs Anunoby and Randle back. But the playoffs are fast approaching and there’s been no real update on either guy.
10. Orlando Magic (43-31, Last week: 8) - The Magic continue to quietly chug along and maintain their pace. They could end up in the 4/5 matchup and draw a very winnable round one matchup.
11. Los Angeles Lakers (42-33, Last week: 14) - The Lakers are kind of on a hot streak and have all but locked up a play-in spot. They’re again, looking like the team that nobody will want to play. None of the top seeds (other than Denver) scare them.
12. Houston Rockets (38-36, Last week: 13) - The Rockets' surge has continued, but they seem to have woken up the Warriors and Lakers who are playing better also. It may be too little too late for the Rox, but they’ve been impressive and fun to watch. They’ll have a lot to build on going forward.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (45-30, Last week: 16) - Donovan Mitchell is back and the team is “healthy” but it just doesn’t look right. They lost to Charlotte and got destroyed by the Nuggets. Another first-round exit will create a lot of questions.
14. Miami Heat (41-33, Last week: 17) - Heat devil magic, blah blah blah. Wake me up when the playoffs start.
15. Phoenix Suns (43-31, Last week: 11) - Suddenly the season is basically over and we’re still left wondering what the Suns will look like when whole. They’ve got the talent, but they’ll have to patch it all together on the fly when the playoffs start. Needless to say, I’m skeptical.
16. Philadelphia 76ers (40-35, Last week: 18) - It has been an ugly couple of months, but the big man is officially back! Joel Embiid returns to the lineup (not a moment too soon) on Tuesday to try and vault this team out of the play-in.
17. Golden State Warriors (40-34, Last week: 19) - The ridiculous Draymond ejection stole the headlines, but they’ve won four games in a row and have gotten some of Wiggins and Thompson’s best performances recently.
18. Indiana Pacers (42-33, Last week: 15) - They’re clinging to the six spot in the East and dying to avoid the play-in. They’ve figured some things out on both ends, but they still really miss the movement shooting that Buddy Hield provided. That continues to be a baffling trade for them.
19. Sacramento Kings (43-31, Last week: 12) - The Kings are still fighting but they lost Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk in the same week. In the loaded West that’s just too much for them to overcome.
20. Atlanta Hawks (34-40, Last week: 21) - Four wins in a row, including two straight over the Celtics. They’re peaking just in time for the play-in tourney!
21. Chicago Bulls (36-39, Last week: 20) - They continue to end up in clutch time almost every game and pulled out a nice one over the T-Wolves on Sunday. Let’s just fast-forward to Hawks/Bulls, please.
22. Brooklyn Nets (29-46, Last week: 26) - Let’s just fast forward to the offseason for this team… oh but they have no picks…. Alas. This isn’t the least talented roster in the league, but it’s the most hopeless situation currently.
23. San Antonio Spurs (18-57, Last week: 25) - As long as Wemby is on the floor they are still worth watching. The guys he’s playing with just aren’t good and he’s doing it all. He almost single-handedly beat the Knicks despite 61 points from Brunson, then almost carried his team back for a 4th quarter comeback win over the Warriors. This team (only because of Wemby) is still playing extremely hard.
24. Washington Wizards (14-61, Last week: 24) - The Wiz are also playing oddly hard. The guys seem to sense the light at the end of the tunnel and they’re going out and competing and making some shots.
25. Memphis Grizzlies (24-50, Last week: 22) - Maybe the hardest playing team in the league. The Grizz deserve to be rewarded with some lottery luck after this season from hell. They could’ve thrown in the towel months ago, but their fight never ends.
26. Utah Jazz (29-46, Last week: 23) - The opposite could be said for the Jazz. This team quit hard, making sure they’d keep their own pick. They basically shut down everyone except for their young core. It’s not resulting in ANY wins (by design) but Taylor Hendricks has looked good lately.
27. Charlotte Hornets (18-56, Last week: 27) - They still aren’t good, but things have gotten better since the deadline for sure. They compete on defense, they’ve stolen a game here or there, and Brandon Miller is a keeper. Now what do they do with LaMelo?
28. Detroit Pistons (13-61, Last week: 30) - This hasn’t been the season the Pistons hoped for, but they’ll come out of it with four promising young players and another high draft pick. It could be worse.
29. Toronto Raptors (23-51, Last week: 28) - The tank commanders are here. The Raps have lost 13 straight games, shut down every meaningful player, and have a guy being invested for essentially point-shaving. They’ll still need lotto luck to keep their pick, but the recent intent has been extremely clear.
30. Portland Trail Blazers (19-55, Last week: 29) - Things got so ugly so fast for a team that I actually enjoyed watching. They can’t feel awesome about their young core going forward. It could be a long post-Dame rebuild.