Chuddy's NBA Power Rankings: Week of March 25th

Welcome to the seventeenth installment of King Chuddy’s weekly NBA power rankings and the fifth post-all-star edition! We took a week off last week to fully embrace and honor March Madness but it’s time to dive back into the rankings as we’re deep into the home stretch 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. Denver Nuggets (50-21, Last week: 1) - Losing at the buzzer to a crazy Kyrie shot in Dallas isn’t enough to bump the champs down any. They still have the best record since the All-Star break at 14-2.
2. Boston Celtics (57-14, Last week: 2) - They’ve won nine straight since the loss in Denver, all but one by double figures. Very clearly the class of the East.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder (49-21, Last week: 3) - Despite the Nuggets’ surge, OKC is still tied in the loss column. They haven’t slowed down or hit a rut all season; extremely impressive for one of the youngest teams in the league.
4. Milwaukee Bucks (46-25, Last week: 4) - The Bucks have cleaned it up on both ends of the floor and established themselves as the clear second-best team in the East. Khris Middleton has finally returned to the lineup and has looked good; they need him.
5. New Orleans Pelicans (44-27, Last week: 5) - Despite losing Brandon Ingram to injury, the team hasn’t missed a beat and they’re breathing down the Clippers’ necks for a top-four seed in the West.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (49-22, Last week: 7) - They just keep chugging along, even without KAT, and appear poised to lock up a top 3 seed - at worst.
7. New York Knicks (42-28, Last week: 12) - We’re still awaiting updates on the returns of Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson, but the team keeps finding new ways to win. They’re tied in the loss column with the floundering Cavs for third in the East.
8. Orlando Magic (42-29, Last week: 10) - The Magic are another young team that people expected to fade at some point. But the defense is legit, the team keeps getting healthier (Jonathan Isaac looks GOOD), and they’re right in the mix for a top-four seed in the East.
9. Dallas Mavericks (41-29, Last week: 13) - The Mavs are getting hot at the right time and the Luka/Kyrie combo has never looked better. The miraculous buzzer-beater to knock off the Nuggets has been the highlight of this run.
10. Los Angeles Clippers (44-26, Last week: 6) - It’s hard to tell if this team is just coasting toward the playoffs, or if they have serious issues. But if they don’t clean it up they’re in jeopardy of going on the road to start the playoffs.
11. Phoenix Suns (42-29, Last week: 9) - They can look great in stretches, but it still feels like something is missing. It’s almost like everything has to go too perfectly for this team to succeed.
12. Sacramento Kings (41-29, Last week: 14) - They desperately need to avoid the play-in but have too many inexplicable off nights (losing to the Wizards). But they bounced back with a big road win over the red-hot Magic.
13. Houston Rockets (35-35, Last week: 21) - One of the most unlikely surges in the league; they’ve won 9 of 10 and gone undefeated since Sengun got hurt. They are miraculously just a game out of the play-in after being left for dead a month ago.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (39-32, Last week: 11) - They’ve at least steadied themselves to the point that it looks like they’ll make the play-in, but avoiding the 9/10 game is still a tall task. 7 games over .500 is the best the Lakers have been in Austin Reaves’ career.
15. Indiana Pacers (40-32, Last week: 17) - They’ve looked better recently, especially Haliburton and they’re figuring out how to play through Siakam more, but the magical offense we saw early in the season just hasn’t been there consistently. They gave up 150 points to the Lakers Sunday night.
16. Cleveland Cavaliers (43-28, Last week: 8) - This team is sinking fast and it’s more than just the injuries. They’re somehow still the third seed (for now), but they’ve fallen back to the pack and with another rough week they could find themselves in the play-in mix.
17. Miami Heat (39-32, Last week: 15) - They’ll look great one night and awful the next. They’re still a baffling regular season team that has struggled to find an identity or even a 5-man lineup they like. Yet they’re still lingering as a dangerous potential playoff matchup for any team in the East.
18. Philadelphia 76ers (39-32, Last week: 16) - They’re doing everything they can to hang on for dear life while Embiid is out and have managed to scrape together a few tough wins including Sunday against the Clippers. If the big man isn’t close to a return it’s all for naught though.
19. Golden State Warriors (36-34, Last week: 18) - Things are getting scary in a hurry for the Warriors. Curry is in a bit of a slump and the team has nowhere else to turn. The Rockets are gaining on them and there’s a very real chance this team misses the play-in altogether.
20. Chicago Bulls (34-37, Last week: 19) - The steady old Bulls have seemingly been locked into the nine seed for months. They continue to be a strong clutch team and even got some positive news that Lonzo Ball may return - although not for this season.
21. Atlanta Hawks (31-39, Last week: 20) - Atlanta hasn’t really had anyone push them for the 10 seed, even though it feels like they’d be happy to end the season today. The Jalen Johnson injury is just a brutal blow as he had arguably become their best player.
22. Memphis Grizzlies (24-47, Last week: 26) - Desmond Bane has returned alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. and the team continues to fight their asses off, especially on the defensive end. They aren’t a pushover.
23. Utah Jazz (29-42, Last week: 23) - They’ve all but thrown in the towel on this season, and yet they still trot out a more competitive product than all the teams below them.
24. Washington Wizards (13-58, Last week: 27) - They’ve won two games in a row and are 4-6 in their last ten. That’s basically juggernaut status for this portion of the program.
25. San Antonio Spurs (15-56, Last week: 24) - As long as Wemby is still out there playing, they can’t really fall lower than this for the rest of the season.
26. Brooklyn Nets (26-45, Last week: 22) - Things just keep going south for this team that looks like they don’t want to be there. They have no direction, no draft pick, and no promising young players. Grim scene.
27. Charlotte Hornets (17-53, Last week: 25) - The new shine from their trade deadline moves has worn off completely. It’s still a good first step towards a rebuild but the roster is devoid of talent and it’s another lost year for LaMelo Ball.
28. Toronto Raptors (23-48, Last week: 28) - The wheels have completely fallen off as they’ve lost 10 straight. The good news is they now have a good chance to keep their top-6 protected first-round pick.
29. Portland Trail Blazers (19-52, Last week: 29) - They trotted out an all rookie starting lineup the other night. 
30. Detroit Pistons (12-59, Last week: 30) - They appear to be safe from historical ineptitude. But not by much. Better luck next year.