1.Golden State Warriors (41-16): The NBA's reigning champs endured some uncharacteristic struggles this year, losing 6 straight road games in November/December and double digit games prior to New Year's Day for the first time since 2013-14. That adversity is now completely in the rearview. They're 17-3 since December 29th and have recently added a healthy DeMarcus Cousins to their already terrifying starting lineup. It'll be stunning if any team can prevent them from winning their 3rd straight title.
2.Milwaukee Bucks (43-14): It's amazing what having a legit head coach can do for a team. Mike Budenholzer has the Bucks playing defense, moving the ball, hitting 3's and fulfilling the tremendous potential they'd failed to live up to while Jason Kidd was running the show. The better team play has also allowed Giannis Antetokounmpo more open runs to the rim, which has made the league's best young player even more lethal than he was in the past and subsequently put him at the forefront of the MVP conversation.
3.Toronto Raptors (43-16): Kawhi Leonard is back to his elite two-way form after essentially taking a year off, which is great news for Toronto's chances at finally making a run at an Eastern Conference title. His ability to take over a game on both ends of the floor on the league's biggest stages could be enough to finally put a stop to the Raptors perennially disappointing postseason runs.
4.Denver Nuggets (39-18): The Nuggets have arguably been the most impressive story in the league this season. Mike Malone has been able to navigate a barrage of injuries (Paul Millsap, Gary Harris and Will Barton all missed significant time) to key players in his rotation to lead this team to the #2 spot in the West. The play of their unheralded young guys (Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Juan Hernangomez, Torrey Craig) who were forced into larger role due to the aforementioned absences has been very impressive, reckless yet lethal offensive virtuoso Jamal Murray has taken another step forward in year #3 and versatile bigman Nikola Jokic has once again proved that he deserves to be considered a superstar in this league. Despite their relative lack of experience (Millsap, Barton, Trey Lyles and Isaiah Thomas- who just made his 1st appearance of the season last week- are the only guys on the roster who have played in a postseason game), this team seems like they're deep and dynamic enough to go on a nice run come playoff time.
5.Oklahoma City Thunder (37-20): In a truly stunning development, the Thunder started playing up to their potential as soon as Carmelo Anthony got shipped out of town. Paul George has been a force all season long (28.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 45.3 FG%, 40.6 3P%, league-high 2.3 SPG), the play of their newly-minted starters (Jerami Grant, Terrance Ferguson) has been a really nice surprise and bringing in a reserve guard in Dennis Schroder that can score in the high teens on a nightly basis has taken some much-needed pressure off of the starting lineup (particularly Russell Westbrook-who hasn't resorted to his crippling heroball antics nearly as much as usual this season). A 2nd straight ugly 1st round playoff exit seems unlikely.
6.Boston Celtics (37-21): What an odd year for the Celtics. They limped out of the gates with a disheartening 10-10 start, have dealt with constant locker room turmoil and currently sit in 4th in the East during a season where they were heavy favorites to represent the Conference in the Finals. However, they're still ranked in the top 5-10 in nearly every offensive and defensive category, almost always play their asses off against the league's best teams and have gone 27-11 since that aforementioned .500 start. They've got a tough schedule coming up which includes trips to Milwaukee, Toronto and Oakland, so it'll be interesting to see if they can finally turn into the consistent powerhouse they were pegged to be prior to the season or remain an unpredictable roller coaster with triumphant highs and horrific lows before the playoffs start.
7.Philadelphia 76ers (37-21): It's hard to argue that the already super talented 76ers starting lineup became better equipped to do battle on both ends of the floor with the outside shooting-happy teams in the East with the additions of Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. The problem is that these prolific trades have pissed away whatever minimal bench depth they had and Butler is a locker room cancer/on-floor chemistry killer who routinely disappears in crunch time. Brett Brown is going to have work some miracles to get this team to show up and play smart, unselfish basketball against top-tier competition.
8.Portland Trail Blazers (34-23): With an explosive offense, a home court advantage that is easily among the best in the NBA and shaky bench/defense, business has been predictably good, but not great in Portland. The real test for the Blazers will once again come in the playoffs and if Terry Stotts can't get this very talented team anchored by the best offensive backcourt in the league outside of Golden State to elevate their game yet again, it might be time to sever ties.
9.Houston Rockets (33-24): A notable hit to the depth/defensive skill they had a year ago with the offseason departures of Trevor Ariza, Luc Mbah a Moute and Joe Johnson paired with Chris Paul's extended early season absence has forced the Rockets back to being the James Harden ball-whoring sideshow they'd been for most of the Bearded One's tenure in Houston. While Harden's stat sheet-filling heroics will earn him plenty of MVP votes, it also means the Rockets are no longer the biggest threat to the Warriors throne in the West and will likely find themselves sitting at home by mid-May at the latest.
10.Indiana Pacers (38-20): Nate McMillan has instilled this sneakily talented group (Myles Turner, Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, Thaddeus Young, Domantas Sabonis, Tyreke Evans, new acquisition Wesley Matthews) with enough resiliency and confidence to carry on without team centerpiece Victor Oladipo for the rest of the season. The problem is that without Oladipo, the Pacers chances of being a dark horse threat to come out of the East have all but completely withered away. They just don't have the volume of reliable scorers or more importantly, a commanding force that can takeover a game on a whim, that's required to go on a deep postseason run.
11.San Antonio Spurs (33-26): This "rebuilding" Spurs squad is comparable to last season's Kawhi-less bunch. Throwback mid-range jumper specialist DeMar DeRozan has fit nicely into Gregg Popovich's system, LaMarcus Alridge is handling the on-and-off-court leadership role just as well as he did last season and despite their surprisingly poor defense (30th in steals, 24th in blocks, 23rd in defensive rating), they've willed their way into the playoff mix thanks to their terrific chemistry, efficient shooting and scrappy attitude.
12.Utah Jazz (32-25): Quinn Snyder apparently doesn't like doing things the easy way. The Jazz once again had a losing record as recently as early January, but now this hard-nosed defensive juggernaut has gone on a hot streak (winning 12 of their last 16 games) and finds themselves in the hunt for the #4 spot in the Western Conference. Very impressive stuff from perhaps the most mentally tough team in the league.
13.Sacramento Kings (30-27): Well I'll be damned, the Kings are actually decent!!!! De'Aaron Fox has built off a promising rookie season with a terrific sophomore campaign that's seen his shooting efficiency (41.2 to 46.1 FG%), assists (4.4 to 7.2 per game) and overall scoring numbers (11.6 to 17.2 PPG) skyrocket, Buddy Hield is starting to become the deadly sharpshooter (20.3 PPG, 47.5 FG%, 44.9 3P%) he was pegged to be when he got drafted #6 overall in 2016 and Dave Joerger has done a great job of building effective rotations out of a revolving door of parts. Even if they end up on the wrong end of the logjam at the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture, their surprisingly solid play has provided a spark of optimism that has been absent from this organization for much of the past 15 years.
14.Brooklyn Nets (30-29): The 2018-19 Nets are eerily reminiscent of the Isaiah Thomas-era Celtics teams. They're as relentless as they come, haven't let a number of key injuries (Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Allen Crabbe) effect the quality of the on-floor product and are led by a point guard (D'Angelo Russell) whose significantly elevated his game after being unceremoniously dumped by his previous team. How a poorly-ran organization with no established talent like the Knicks are considered to be a more desirable landing spot for star players than this well-coached squad with an abundance of promising young talent and a legit chance of making the playoffs is beyond me.
15.Los Angeles Clippers (32-27): While the trade of leading scorer Tobias Harris right before the deadline significantly reduces their odds of making the playoffs, keeping a team primarily compromised of veteran role players (Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley) and young guys who aren't considered to be blue chip prospects (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrone Wallace) competitive in the Western Conference has to go down as some of the finest coaching Doc Rivers has ever done. Regardless of how free agency shakes out (they now have the cap space for 2 max deals after getting rid of Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjonovic, Marcin Gortat and Mike Scott last week), their balance of established vets, solid young players and future draft assets gives them one of the rosier long-term forecasts in the league.
16.Los Angeles Lakers (28-29): LeBron missing over a month with a groin injury and the subsequent struggles the team went through during his absence killed a lot of the momentum the Lakers built up before Christmas. Now Bron will have to decide whether he wants to go balls out for the next 25 games to get this team of erratic young guns and hot-tempered veterans that are unwilling to take any of his shit back into contention or just chock this up as a lost season and hope he can assemble a super team over the summer. His decision could very well end up dictating how the free agency and trade market plays out for the next few seasons, so all eyes will be glued on the Lakers the rest of the way.
17.Minnesota Timberwolves (27-30): Karl Anthony-Towns returned to his dominant form as soon as locker room bully Jimmy Butler left the building, newly-acquired wing Robert Covington has made an immediate impact on their perimeter defense and Derrick Rose is in the midst of a resurgent season where he's frequently reminded the league that his days of being an impact player aren't over yet. With all of those positives, how is this team 3 games under .500 and stuck in 11th place in the West? The answer would be Andrew Wiggins-who not only isn't a viable #2 option on a winning team, but is becoming more of a legitimate liability by the day. His increased offensive struggles combined with his trademark lethargic defense is making it incredibly difficult for this team to flourish and with a contract that's set to pay him just shy of $148 million over the next 5 seasons, he's a problem the Wolves have no choice but to try and work around for the foreseeable future.
18.Charlotte Hornets (27-30): In a contract year, Kemba Walker is playing some of the best ball of his career (24.9 PPG, 43.1 FG%, 36.2 3P%, 5.5 AST) and helping a thin, wildly average Hornets team cling to a playoff spot. As great as Walker has been, the Hornets ineffective supporting cast could make them the odd team out in the East playoff hunt if the Nets, Heat, Pistons and/or Magic get into a groove down the stretch
19.Detroit Pistons (26-30): You won't find a stronger argument for the importance of depth and offensive versatility in the modern NBA than the Pistons. Despite a career year from Blake Griffin, reliably strong output from old-school, paint-clogging center Andre Drummond and generally good play on the defensive end, the lack of a scoring wing, outside shooters and another guy outside of Griffin that can distribute the ball has relegated them to fringe playoff status. This team is going to need a serious makeover after the season if they want to get out of this dreaded no-man's-land.
20.Miami Heat (26-30): Despite having the same corps and playing stout defense on a nightly basis, the Heat just haven't been able to replicate the level of success they had a year ago. Maybe the imminent return of starting point guard Goran Dragic will give them the offensive spark they need to get off the bubble and firmly into one of the conference's 3 wide open playoff spots.
21.Dallas Mavericks (26-31): Building for the future has been the only mission in Dallas over the past few years and with rookie phenom Luka Doncic and now Kristaps Porzingis on their roster, they look like they could be in the process of putting together a special team that puts them back in contention. In the meantime, they're just an alright team that's not good or deep enough to make it to the playoffs, especially since they dealt 2 key members of their starting 5 (DeAndre Jordan, Harrison Barnes) at the deadline.
22.Orlando Magic (27-32): In a refreshing change of pace for this long-suffering franchise, the Magic are currently in the thick of the playoff chase in the East. They lack depth (Terrence Ross is their only consistently viable option off the bench) and don't really excel at anything on the offensive end of the floor, but they've improved significantly defensively (6th in points allowed per game and 9th in defensive rating, up from 21st and 18th respectively a year go) and perpetually underrated center Nikola Vucevic is putting up the best numbers of his career in nearly every major category (PTS, REB, AST, FG%, 3P%).
23.Washington Wizards (24-34): Well it looks like the Wizards are finally starting to fall apart for real. John Wall, whose 4 year/$169 mil super max deal kicks in next year, is likely out until 2020-2021 after tearing his Achilles in a freak accident at his home while he was recovering from the heel surgery that put him on the shelf for the rest of the season, their defense is just outside of the bottom 5 in the league and despite the pretty dramatic roster turnover they've undergone since mid-December, journeyman veteran Jeff Green is still their 3rd best player. At least Bradley Beal is still tearing shit up and they were able to get Otto Porter Jr.'s terrible contract off their books.
24.Memphis Grizzlies (23-36): Really the only notable things about the Grizzlies this year is that they traded longtime franchise cornerstone Marc Gasol and potentially drafted the league's next great dynamic big in Jaren Jackson Jr. Outside of that, they've been playing their usual methodical, defensive-dependent brand of basketball with far less success than usual-despite a great bounceback campaign from Mike Conley.
25.New Orleans Pelicans (26-33): Even before the Anthony Davis trade request saga sent them completely off the rails, the Pelicans had been a huge disappointment this season. Despite the best efforts of AD and longtime running mate Jrue Holiday, their inability to replace the lost playmaking ability of Rajon Rondo and interior defensive presence of DeMarcus Cousins resulted in them failing to build upon the promise they displayed a year ago.
26.Atlanta Hawks (19-39): This Hawks squad plays as hard as anyone in the league. Sure they might be super young, alarmingly bad on the defensive end, take a ton of dumb 3's (sup Trae Young) and turn the ball over at a comically high rate (18.3 per game, most in the league), but they never quit. Getting a full 48 minutes of a young team isn't easy, so Lloyd Pierce deserves credit for getting them to buy into his relentless system right away. I'm also starting to believe that sophomore stretch 4 John Collins could be a legit cornerstone player for this team and go down as the steal of the 2017 Draft.
27.Cleveland Cavaliers (12-46): With Kevin Love getting hurt before the start of the season and unlikely to return before the end of the year, the post-LeBron tank is officially on in Cleveland. Early returns on their young guys (Cedi Osman, Ante Zizic, Larry Nance Jr., rookie Collin Sexton) have been pretty uninspiring on the whole, but at least their embarrassing at worst, respectable at best production has them in a good spot to land a high pick in a draft that is believed to be among the deepest in recent memory.
28.New York Knicks (11-47): By making no notable moves in free agency and shipping out anybody that was making money (Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee) along with lone legit asset Kristaps Porzingis to the Mavericks earlier this month, the Knicks confirmed the widespread speculation that they're only goal for 2018-19 was putting themselves in the best possible position to land at least 1 of the many stars that are going to be available on the open market or via trade in the offseason. As for the actual on-court product, 1st year coach David Fizdale has the collection of aimless stiffs he's been handed playing with purpose every night, which is more than can be said for most of the other recent iterations of the NBA's saddest big market team.
29.Chicago Bulls (14-44): If the Suns weren't in the middle of a league-high cold streak, the Bulls would be my pick for the worst team. Their roster led by Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn is easily the best among the teams populating this part of the league hierarchy, but their borderline hilarious lack of effort most nights and woeful coaching from Jim Boylen undermines the bulk of the talent they have to work with .
30.Phoenix Suns (11-48): This team really can't do anything right. Sure they're playing harder than they were a year ago and #1 overall pick Deandre Ayton is having a pretty nice rookie year (16.5 PTS, 10.5 REB and 0.9 BLKS per game), but as evidenced by their bottom 3 rankings in offensive and defensive rating and current 15-game losing streak, they're still a depressing mess on both ends of the floor. It's going to take another couple of successful high lottery picks or a huge free agent/trade splash before a true turnaround even becomes a legit possibility.
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