NBA Power Rankings Week 24: The Under-The-Radar Pacers Are Still At It


Getty Image

The Toronto Raptors have been the best team in the Eastern Conference this season and, despite injury hiccups galore, the Boston Celtics are right on their heels on the standings. Beyond that, the Cleveland Cavaliers are always the center of attention in the East thanks to the presence of LeBron James and, this year, the Philadelphia 76ers have grabbed headlines with stellar play and an incredibly bright future. With that said, there is a fifth team in the mix for homecourt advantage in the first round when mid-April arrives and, somehow, it is the Indiana Pacers.

Victor Oladipo and company have been consistently solid throughout the campaign, shocking skeptics by cementing a playoff resume. Down the stretch, though, the Pacers appear to be peaking at an optimal time, with five straight wins including three in a row away from home. That run of success brings Indiana’s season-long record to an impressive 46-31 and, in the blink of an eye, the Pacers are within a half-game of the Sixers for the No. 4 spot and within just one full game of the Cavs for the No. 3 seed overall.

Indiana’s remaining schedule is difficult enough to warrant some concern with road trips to Denver and Toronto sandwiched around a home game against the Warriors. Still, the Pacers are hot enough to legitimately wonder if a run to the No. 3 seed is possible and that, quite frankly, was an outcome thought to be unfathomable just a few months ago.

Nate McMillan, Myles Turner, the aforementioned Oladipo and others deserve a ton of credit and, if nothing else, the Pacers have done what basically everyone believed was unthinkable. Will it translate to postseason success in a first round match-up with the Sixers or Wizards? That remains to be seen but, for now, the Pacers earn some much deserved respect in this week’s Dime Power Rankings.

Now, let’s check out the full list.

1. Houston Rockets (62-15, Last week — 1st)

The Rockets lost their last game and they did it by a wide margin. Houston also has two total losses since late January. They’re the best team in the league as long as the Warriors aren’t back to full health.

2. Golden State Warriors (56-21, Last week — 3rd)

After dropping four of five, the Warriors have awakened to the tune of back-to-back wins. Granted, those victories came over the Kings and Suns but they were wins nonetheless. Oh, and Kevin Durant is playing basketball again.

3. Toronto Raptors (55-21, Last week — 2nd)

Worry is probably overstated with the Raptors but they simply aren’t playing as well right now. As a result, the No. 1 seed is no longer absolutely locked up in the East and they slide a peg in this space.

4. Boston Celtics (53-23, Last week — 5th)

Boston isn’t healthy in the absence of Kyrie Irving but combining six straight wins with an impressive full-season resume is a nice way to make a jump in the rankings. A lot of teams near the bottom of the East would probably want to see the Irving-less Celtics in the playoffs but they remain well-coached and multi-faceted in a fun way.

5. Philadelphia 76ers (46-30, Last week — 4th)

The Sixers have no business moving down the list, especially after ten straight wins. However, the Celtics righted the ship and necessitated a bump. Trust me, I understand how terrifying Philly is at the moment.

Getty Image

6. Cleveland Cavaliers (47-30, Last week — 7th)

LeBron and company have won eight of nine and all is right with the world. It’s difficult (read: impossible) to just overlook the No. 28 defense in the league but we all know the regular season is of little concern for this particular club.

7. Portland Trail Blazers (48-29, Last week — 6th)

Portland has officially clinched a playoff spot and, barring a collapse, the Blazers will have the No. 3 seed. Even the staunchest defenders of Terry Stotts’ team probably didn’t forecast that even a few months ago but the Blazers have played obscenely well.

8. Indiana Pacers (46-31, Last week — 9th)

The Most Improved Player race is over and it has been for a while. Because we’ve discussed the Pacers at length above, we’ll use this space to declare Victor Oladipo the winner.

9. Utah Jazz (44-33, Last week — 8th)

Utah may have slipped a bit more if not for a dominant road win in Minnesota. Things have certainly leveled off since their preposterous winning streak but, make no mistake, this defense is real and so is Utah’s dangerousness as a playoff entity.

10. San Antonio Spurs (45-32, Last week — 11th)

Gregg Popovich’s team was dead and buried, at least in some circles. Now, they’ve won eight of ten, including a win over Houston, and the Spurs are headed back to the postseason again unless something goes horribly wrong. That sounds about right.

11. Oklahoma City Thunder (45-33, Last week — 10th)

Russell Westbrook recorded yet another triple-double in a road win over New Orleans and that really helped the Thunder. OKC is struggling at a sub-optimal time but that victory should stem the tide a bit.

12. Denver Nuggets (42-35, Last week — 16th)

Denver needed 254 total points to escape with two close-fought wins over the Bucks and Thunder. They were much needed but it is a reminder of how close things can be in the midst of a playoff race.

13. Minnesota Timberwolves (44-34, Last week — 14th)

The Wolves are just trying to survive until Jimmy Butler returns and it shows. Karl-Anthony Towns’ dominant performance against the Hawks was fun but a 24-point home loss to Utah is troublesome.

14. Washington Wizards (42-35, Last week — 18th)

A four-place jump like this makes Washington look good but, in reality, the Wizards continue to struggle and other teams simply fell. The team’s 10-point win over San Antonio was nice but losing to the Bulls, at this juncture of the season, by 19 points is inexcusable in every way.

15. New Orleans Pelicans (43-34, Last week — 12th)

Woof. The Pelicans picked a bad time to lose four in a row. Each loss was justified (and against a playoff-level opponent) but New Orleans now holds only a one-game lead over the No. 9 spot with five games to play.


Getty Image

16. Milwaukee Bucks (41-36, Last week — 13th)

Milwaukee was very close to an impressive win in Denver and that is one they could have used in a big way. It didn’t come together, though, and the Bucks may be headed for the No. 8 spot and a match-up with the Raptors.

17. Miami Heat (41-36, Last week — 17th)

Miami’s next three games are against the Hawks and Knicks. If they take care of business, they can grab a stranglehold on the No. 7 spot while avoiding Toronto in favor of Boston.

18. Los Angeles Clippers (41-36, Last week — 15th)

The Clippers aren’t dead yet but they may need to run the table over the last five games. That won’t be easy, though, with games against San Antonio, Utah, Denver and New Orleans.

19. Detroit Pistons (37-40, Last week — 20th)

The Pistons are 25-15 with Reggie Jackson in the lineup this season. It is too late for that to matter but Detroit has won five straight and Jackson exploded for 29 points in the most recent victory over Brooklyn.

20. Charlotte Hornets (34-44, Last week — 19th)

In typical Hornets fashion, a four-game winning streak has given way to a three-game losing streak. All three losses came to playoff teams but they were losses nonetheless and Charlotte is just ready for the offseason at this point.

21. Los Angeles Lakers (33-43, Last week — 21st)

After a lengthy stretch of competence, the Lakers have dropped seven of nine. Some of that is injury-related but a home loss to Sacramento is unsightly to say the least.

22. Chicago Bulls (26-51, Last week — 24th)

Chicago takes pole position among the tanking tier on the heels of back-to-back wins. Knocking off the Magic isn’t impressive but winning decisively over Washington earns some actual recognition.

23. Sacramento Kings (25-53, Last week — 23rd)

The Kings won their last game in ugly fashion over the Lakers. That isn’t overly interesting but, well, neither are the Kings right now.

24. New York Knicks (27-50, Last week — 22nd)

Trey Burke is enjoying a full-blown renaissance but there aren’t many additional positives to explore for the Knicks. If not for the time period that included Kristaps Porzingis, they’d be right in the thick of the race for the top spots in the lottery.

25. Brooklyn Nets (25-52, Last week — 26th)

The Nets are playing harder than everyone in this tier… and that makes a ton of sense. There is only so much growth to be had between now and the end of the campaign but Brooklyn’s player development staff is likely angling to squeeze every last drop.

Getty Image

26. Dallas Mavericks (23-54, Last week — 28th)

Dallas just shouldn’t be this bad… but that doesn’t mean that they are anything but bad. The Mavs have just one victory since March 13.

27. Memphis Grizzlies (21-56, Last week — 27th)

I still can’t figure out how the Grizzlies beat the Wolves and Blazers in back-to-back games. Since then, though, order has been restored to the tune of back-to-back defeats.

28. Atlanta Hawks (22-55, Last week — 29th)

Without both Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore the rest of the way, Atlanta’s roster is truly a sight to behold. However, they did win a game this week. Scroll down to learn more!

29. Orlando Magic (22-54, Last week — 25th)

Frank Vogel’s team just lost to the Nets, Bulls and Hawks in succession. It’s not terribly difficult to do the math on this drop.

30. Phoenix Suns (19-59, Last week — 30th)

The Suns are putting real distance between themselves and everyone else in the tanking race. That is what happens when a team loses 15 in a row in March and April. Yikes.

×