Chuddy's NBA Power Rankings: Week of March 4th

Welcome to the fifteenth installment of King Chuddy's weekly NBA power rankings and the third post-all-star edition! We’re officially in 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 for 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 Pacers or Kings, 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. Boston Celtics (48-12, Last week: 1) - Celtics have now won 11 straight, the last 6 by almost 30 points per game. They’re looking like a legitimate juggernaut. They had two different players named Player of the Month (Tatum) and Player of the Week (Brown) on the same day. Dominance.
2. Denver Nuggets (42-19, Last week: 3) - The Nuggets look like they are rounding back into championship form. They’ve won six in a row, with a few statement wins mixed in. The reality of a Boston/Denver collision course is enhanced by the day.
3. Milwaukee Bucks (40-21, Last week: 5) - After the slow start with Doc Rivers, this team has kicked things up a notch. They’ve been much better on both ends and look like they’re clearly the second-best team in the East.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (42-18, Last week: 2) - They dropped due to a loss to the Spurs in which Wemby looked like the best player on the floor. Chet got his lunch handed to him a little bit. But they bounced back and now hold the lead in the West by themselves.
5. Los Angeles Clippers (39-20, Last week: 6) - The Clippers have been sputtering a bit since the All-Star break, but they got PG back and had a bit of a statement win on the road in Minnesota Sunday night.
6. Minnesota Timberwolves (42-19, Last week: 4) - Speaking of the Wolves, they had another loss where the offense looked fairly hapless down the stretch. They’ve gotten punked in a few marquee games recently, but the defense has stayed elite.
7. Miami Heat (34-26, Last week: 16) - The Heat are coming. Jimmy Butler has cranked it into playoff mode, Terry Rozier is back, and the team has won 8 of 10. They are a good week away from climbing into the top 4 in the East.
8. Orlando Magic (35-26, Last week: 17) - The Magic have also been rolling lately, they’ve won 8 of 10 themselves. Paolo is back and Wendell Carter Jr. has been playing really well. They’re taking care of bad teams too, which will help solidify their playoff position.
9. New Orleans Pelicans (36-25, Last week: 11) - The Pelicans zig zag continues as it has all season. Against the Pacers Friday night, they looked like unstoppable world beaters, but two nights earlier they came out flat and got pounded by the same exact team.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers (39-21, Last week: 7) - The Cavs' hot streak has gone away and the team seems like they’re treading water a bit now, clinging to the 2 seed in the East. Donovan Mitchell has been out and will now miss at least another week, and the team has struggled without him. They’re in danger of fading fast. Luckily for them, not many teams below them in the standings are trending upward.
11. Golden State Warriors (32-28, Last week: 14) - It’s rare to see a team move up in the rankings the day after a 50+ point loss but the Warriors are the rare exception. They have been playing great basketball since Draymond Green came back, and adding the young guys, Podziemski, Moody, and Kuminga have taken them up a level. They got spanked by the Celts at the end of a long road trip, but overall they’re looking like they’ll be a tough out in the playoffs (if they can get there!).
12. Los Angeles Lakers (33-29, Last week: 15) - The Lakers, much like the Warriors have been looking better and climbing up the standings lately. They ran into the buzz saw that is the Nuggets, and blew a game at home Saturday night, but they’re cleaning up against the lesser teams.
13. Sacramento Kings (34-25, Last week: 8) - The Kings saved what would have been a brutal week by beating the Wolves, but got beaten soundly by the Nuggets and Heat to start the week. They’ve got a big stretch of very winnable games in their next four and they have to take care of business.
14. Philadelphia 76ers (35-25, Last week: 18) - The 6ers have actually found a way to win a couple of games without Embiid. They are still in long-term trouble, and need the big man back to be taken seriously, but they’re treading water right now which is what they need to do.
15. Dallas Mavericks (34–27, Last week: 10) - The Mavs had a tough week, getting dominated by the Celtics, then losing to the 6ers without Emiid. They are now only a game and a half up on the 9 and 10 seeds in the West.
16. Phoenix Suns (35-26, Last week: 12) - The Suns dropped back-to-back home games to the Rockets and Thunder and now look like they'll be without Devin Booker for the next few games. The Suns just haven’t been able to get any type of consistent rhythm with their big 3 all season.
17. New York Knicks (36-25, Last week: 13) - The poor get poorer, as the already banged-up Knicks now may be missing Jalen Brunson. They hung out without Randle, and even a bit without OG, but they need some reinforcements back. They won’t be able to withstand a long Brunson injury.
18. Indiana Pacers (34-28, Last week: 9) - The Pacers still haven’t clicked fully with Haliburton and Siakam together. They also seem to miss the movement shooting of Buddy Hield more than they anticipated. They’re running out of time to make a run and climb out of the play-in.
19. Chicago Bulls (28-32, Last week: 19) - The Bulls are comfortable right where they are, steadily and safely locked into a play-in game. They aren’t really at risk of anyone catching them, and they have almost no chance of catching anyone ahead of them. Just an extremely mediocre team all around.
20. San Antonio Spurs (13-48, Last week: 27) - Big jump for the Spurs and probably an overreaction to their last two games. But the way Wemby is playing, I just like them better than every team below them. He seems like he takes another giant leap almost weekly at this point, and now it’s starting to impact winning.
21. Utah Jazz (27-34, Last week: 20) - The Jazz season has actually become kind of a sad story. They had some of the best vibes in the league and were cruising along. Then the ruthless Danny Ainge dumped a few role players for picks at the deadline and suddenly the shine is completely gone. They may be better off in the long term, and young guys are getting to play, but they basically punted on any chance of making the playoffs.
22. Brooklyn Nets (24-36, Last week: 25) - The Nets had a huge week for their play-in chances, as they swept back-to-back games with the Hawks. Without Cam Thomas and Ben Simmons, they actually look better and the ball has been moving since Kevin Ollie took over. They may be slightly less bad than I previously thought.
23. Houston Rockets (26-34, Last week: 21) - The Rockets pulled out a nice win over the Suns, where Jalen Green played really well. We still get glimpses of the upside with this squad, but they can’t get wins consistently at this point. They are at least a year and a move away.
24. Atlanta Hawks (26-34, Last week: 22) - The Hawks keep falling with Trae Young gone and they may just be ready to throw in the towel on the season. We’ll see if they can bounce back from a pathetic week and rally to hold onto their play-in spot. 
25. Toronto Raptors (23-38, Last week: 24) - The Raps have at least had health this year, if not much else, but now Scottie Barnes looks like he’ll be out indefinitely. That should be the final nail in the coffin for any play-in chances they had.
26. Charlotte Hornets (15-46, Last week: 23) - The new car smell has worn off from the Hornets since the trade deadline, as they’ve now lost 4 straight. But they’re clearly a much better team and look like they can at least beat some bad teams and play hard on defense.
27. Memphis Grizzlies (20-41, Last week: 26) - Speaking of teams still trying on defense, it’s remarkable that the Grizzlies still have the 11th-best defense throughout the entire season. This has been a disappointing season in Memphis and the cast of characters they’ve had to play is comical, but Taylor Jenkins has done a hell of a coaching job regardless of who’s out there.
28. Detroit Pistons (9-51, Last week: 28) - The Pistons got a win this week and kept two games close until the second half. That’s pretty much the bar for success at this point in the list.
29. Portland Trail Blazers (17-42, Last week: 29) - The Blazers got two straight wins, both over the Grizzlies, to finally snap their 11 game losing streak. But those may be their last wins for quite a while.
30. Washington Wizards (9-51, Last week: 30) - 14 straight losses and counting. It’s bad. It’s really bad.