The field for the 2018 NBA Playoffs is (finally) set and the last few weeks have been endlessly intriguing for die-hard fans of the sport. For many teams, every single game mattered with regard to postseason positioning and, as of the last handful of days in the season, the possibilities were endless when taking seeding order and simple inclusion into account. On the other end, the race for ping-pong balls raged at the bottom of the league throughout March and April, culminating in a truly deplorable match-up between the Mavs and Suns on Tuesday that will be remembered for years to come.
However, for a tiny segment of the league, April meant virtually nothing. The Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors cruised to easy No. 1 perches in both conferences and, quite obviously, that is the best way to finish a season. The Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics limped to the finish line but, at least in part, that was okay because injuries did not detract from the teams’ ability to secure the No. 2 seed. In the middle, the Los Angeles Lakers had little to play for but, considering the team’s wealth of young talent and future free agent flexibility, there is plenty to be excited about for one of the league’s flagship franchises.
Then, there are the Charlotte Hornets and the Detroit Pistons.
Neither Charlotte nor Detroit was truly competitive in the East’s playoff race down the stretch and that is troubling in both spots. The Hornets deploy a difference-maker in Kemba Walker but, whenever he leaves the floor, doom follows and, perhaps more importantly, the concept of future flexibility is essentially lost for a team with an expensive, middling roster.
The same could be said for Detroit, who went “all in” on the acquisition of Blake Griffin’s massive contract and fell short of the postseason anyway. In some ways, the Pistons have a brighter future based on at least mildly intriguing trio of Griffin, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, to the point where they can potentially blame their playoff exclusion on Jackson’s injury issues. Still, there isn’t much light peaking through the darkness in either situation.
Yes, the Pistons and Hornets are leaps and bounds better on the court right now than teams like the Hawks, Bulls and Nets but, without draft capital or the potential for salary cap gymnastics, their pictures are more bleak for the future. There are ways to overhaul roster in these types of crunches but they almost certainly involve long-term rebuilds and that is a concept that neither organization (or market) seems to want any part of.
Both Detroit and Charlotte are at least tangentially capable of making the playoffs in 2019 and that would bring a bit more optimism to the situation. Much upward trajectory beyond that, though, is difficult to see and, during this stretch run, it has been instructive to see the teams “selling hope” to their fan bases, while the Pistons and Hornets simply exist in relative purgatory.
We’ll wrap things up with the final 2017-2018 edition of our Dime Power Rankings to see where everyone shakes out as the regular season came to a close. Thanks for reading.
1. Houston Rockets (65-17, Last week — 1st)
The Rockets pedaled off during the stretch run, losing two of the last three games, but there is no shame in that for a team with absolutely no incentive to push. Houston was the gold standard during the regular season and it will be very interesting to see how that translates to the league’s “second season” beginning this weekend.
2. Golden State Warriors (58-24, Last week — 2nd)
It is unthinkable to consider a 58-win season a disappointment but that is probably an accurate description for the Warriors. Everything comes back to health and, until Stephen Curry returns in full force, it is tough to gauge much of anything in Oakland. For now, we just know they are very good at basketball when things are right.
3. Toronto Raptors (59-23, Last week — 3rd)
Toronto holds home-court advantage over the Warriors, should the two teams match up in the NBA Finals. It remains to be seen as to whether that matters but it does illustrate how awesome the Raptors were during the regular season. They aren’t playing their best basketball right now, though, and that is at least slightly worrisome.
4. Philadelphia 76ers (52-30, Last week — 5th)
The Sixers just closed the season with 16 (yes, 16) consecutive wins and the final eight victories came with Joel Embiid on the sideline. If anything, that isn’t being discussed enough and Philly is legitimately terrifying if and when Embiid returns in the near future. Regardless, this is a team that has truly arrived.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers (50-32, Last week — 6th)
Despite all the craziness (and uninspiring peripheral numbers), LeBron and company finished with the sixth-best record in the league. Oh, and no one wants to play them in the East. Obviously.
6. Utah Jazz (48-34, Last week — 9th)
Utah has been the best defensive team in the league for months and the Jazz finished with the fifth-best net rating in the NBA. The playoff version of this squad will be intriguing to monitor but, at their best, this is a fun and suffocating group.
7. Boston Celtics (55-27, Last week — 4th)
Because it happened so long ago, it’s almost as if the Gordon Hayward injury gets lost in the shuffle. It is preposterous that the Celtics were able to win 55 games without Hayward (and with Kyrie Irving playing only 60 games) and Brad Stevens did a wonderful job.
8. Portland Trail Blazers (49-33, Last week — 7th)
Dame Lillard and his team aren’t playing their best basketball right now but they did more than enough when they were. A first-round battle with the Pelicans should be interesting on a number of levels.
9. New Orleans Pelicans (48-34, Last week — 15th)
Speaking of the Pelicans, a five-game winning streak to end the season paved the way for a big jump in this space. When Boogie Cousins went down, it wasn’t a given that New Orleans would even make the postseason and the duo of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday deserve a ton of credit for the way they led the ship.
10. Oklahoma City Thunder (48-34, Last week — 11th)
If you told anyone this Thunder team would win only 48 games without a major injury, that wouldn’t have been well received but, alas, that is what transpired. Oklahoma City does feel dangerous in a playoff setting but, on the whole, the first (and maybe only) year of this core together didn’t go perfectly according to plan.
11. Indiana Pacers (48-34, Last week — 8th)
Indiana’s performance this season cannot be overstated, as they outpaced any rational expectation. Victor Oladipo is the runaway winner for Most Improved Player and it wasn’t just him. This was an amazing story.
12. Minnesota Timberwolves (47-35, Last week — 13th)
Jimmy Butler’s injury nearly cost the Wolves a playoff spot and it likely ensured a first-round loss given a match-up with Houston. Still, Minnesota made the playoffs and, in that town and with that franchise, that’s a big deal.
13. Denver Nuggets (46-36, Last week — 12th)
Denver fell just short of a playoff spot but, as you can see, we aren’t punishing them too badly for it. If Paul Millsap played more than 38 games, the Nuggets likely would have made the cut and there is room for optimism surrounding a team that won 46 games and has this kind of youth and talent.
14. San Antonio Spurs (47-35, Last week — 10th)
After falling short of 50 wins for the first time in two decades (an obscene feat), the Spurs look vulnerable in the playoffs. That has to be said but, at the same time, it is also wild that San Antonio was able to win even 47 games with their available roster. Gregg Popovich is good at his job.
15. Milwaukee Bucks (44-38, Last week — 16th)
The Bucks were actually outscored by their opponents this season. That… isn’t the best sign. On the bright side, Giannis Antetokounmpo is excellent and Milwaukee will have a new head coach (and a new defensive scheme) soon.
16. Miami Heat (44-38, Last week — 17th)
Weren’t the Heat always destined for the No. 6 seed in the East? That is probably unfair to some degree but Miami invested heavily in a solid, yet unspectacular, roster and here we are.
17. Washington Wizards (43-39, Last week — 14th)
It wouldn’t be tough to argue that the Wizards are one of the more disappointing teams in the NBA this season. Washington managed to make the playoffs but, aside from that, not much went right in the nation’s capital.
18. Los Angeles Clippers (42-40, Last week — 18th)
The Clippers overachieved this season, finishing with 42 wins despite four straight losses at the finish line. Given all that transpired, that particular performance has to be considered a success, even if their path forward is unclear.
19. Detroit Pistons (39-43, Last week — 19th)
Perhaps a full season of Blake Griffin (and Reggie Jackson) will fix some of what ails Detroit. More likely, though, is that the deal to acquire the talented, yet expensive, forward will be lamented for some time.
20. Charlotte Hornets (36-46, Last week — 20th)
The next step for the Hornets (and the first step for new GM Mitch Kupchak) will be quite interesting. Will they really “run it back” after missing the playoffs in the East?
21. Los Angeles Lakers (35-47, Last week — 21st)
As noted above, the Lakers miss the run of depression that hits Detroit and Charlotte, largely because of their young talent. Beyond that, Los Angeles had no incentive to tank this season and, at times, that prognosis actually inspired fun basketball.
22. Brooklyn Nets (28-54, Last week — 25th)
Leave it to Brooklyn to finish 5-5 down the stretch, turning the knife for Cavs fans everywhere as they finished with only the eighth-best lottery odds.
23. New York Knicks (29-53, Last week — 24th)
Jeff Hornacek’s team was as bad as any squad in the league post-Porzingis injury and that seemingly cost him his job. Obviously, New York would have fared far better with their best player in the mix but the reality of his importance is stark.
24. Sacramento Kings (27-55, Last week — 23rd)
The Kings won three of the last five! It was a weird year in Sacramento (much like every year for the past decade) but there are actual, tangible signs of progress. I promise there are.
25. Orlando Magic (25-57, Last week — 29th)
Orlando jumped at least a few spots with a “bad” win on the final night of the season. The Magic went from a tie for third-best lottery odds to solo possession of fifth-best with a win over Washington and, well, really helped Atlanta and Dallas in the process. Oh, and the team’s head coach lost his job following another disappointing campaign.
26. Atlanta Hawks (24-58, Last week — 28th)
The Hawks were inexplicably frisky down the stretch of the season, playing their regulars as their ping-pong competition openly tanked. There is something admirable about that but, in the end, they still finished in a tie for the third-worst record in the league.
27. Chicago Bulls (27-55, Last week — 22nd)
Look at it this way, Bulls fans. Many (including myself) predicted Chicago would be the worst team in the league. They were not.
28. Dallas Mavericks (24-58, Last week — 26th)
At halftime on Tuesday evening, the Mavs led the Suns by ten points. At the end of the night, Dallas lost to the league’s worst team (deploying a skeleton crew) by 27 points. I don’t even have a joke.
29. Memphis Grizzlies (22-60, Last week — 27th)
Fittingly, Memphis dropped six of the last seven to finish in sole possession of “second place” in the tanking race. The Grizzlies certainly had injury issues but, in the same breath, it is offensive to see how bad they were for much of the campaign.
30. Phoenix Suns (21-61, Last week — 30th)
Phoenix won three games total in February, March and April. That is… bad. On the bright side, the Suns did win their finale and it was a game to remember for all time. Shout-out to Alec Peters.
