Def Pen NBA Power Rankings: Trail Blazers Lock Playoff Status, Clippers Begin Rolling

Last week, David Morrow highlighted his great set of NBA Power Rankings right here! Check it out!

The long NBA season is coming to a close. Here’s the final set of regular season power rankings!

Multiple Linear Regression model foundation featured here (independent variables, method, and all).

NBA Power Rankings

Top 10

NBA Power Rankings

  1. Golden State Warriors – The Warriors are on a 14-game winning streak and Kevin Durant just returned from injury.

  2. San Antonio Spurs – The Spurs are locked in a playoff matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies with whom they’ve split the previous four games. We should prepare for a methodically-paced set of contests.
  3. Los Angeles Clippers – The Clippers are rolling at the right time. They’ve won five straight games, and Chris Paul was in control once again Saturday night against the Spurs. I suppose they would rather become the 3rd seed, however. The big question will become whether or not the veteran reserves will be able to make up for Austin Rivers’ void.
  4. Houston Rockets – The Rockets have been quite pedestrian (relative to their norm) for the past 10 games, but it’s nearly time to turn their focus to the Oklahoma City Thunder which should be a marquee matchup between the two most heralded MVP candidates.
  5. Toronto Raptors – Everyone is ecstatic that Kyle Lowry has returned! The 27-point, 10-assist performance he had against the Pistons in their 105-102 win is encouraging for the upcoming road.
  6. Utah Jazz – The Jazz are seven games better at home than on the road. Considering how important it will be to stave off the Clippers for the fourth seed, Saturday night’s performance against Damian Lillard was a letdown.
  7. Washington Wizards – Defensively, the Wizards have been a mess for the past month and Marcin Gortat has been struggling. Currently, they sit one spot above the Cavaliers as the 20th best defense in the NBA.
  8. Boston Celtics – Will the Celtics’ offense be prolific enough to compete with the top 4 in the Eastern Conference? Of the top four, is this team the most susceptible to underachieving in the first round? Well, as of now, the Celtics would be facing off against the Pacers, whom they’ve handled all three times during the year.
  9. Cleveland Cavaliers – It’s unclear whether the Cavaliers are bored, as is widely assumed, or incompetent on the defensive end. Their two latest defeats against the Atlanta Hawks, considering the minutes LeBron has averaged, might be the most discouraging instances of the year.
  10. Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook… there isn’t much else to say…. But the Thunder should not expect such fourth-quarter miracles against the formidable Houston Rockets.
Middle 10

NBA Power Rankings

  1. Milwaukee Bucks – Middleton’s re-emergence makes this team a more difficult out in the playoffs. It’s definitely wonderful to see this young team playing games deep into April.
  2. Portland Trail Blazers – Nurkic’s injury was untimely, but Damian Lillard wants everyone to know that it will be okay. They’ll be visiting Oakland during the playoffs.

  3. Indiana Pacers – Lance is back at the right time. The Pacers are on a three-game winning streak, and the Eastern Conference has a little more flavor now.

  4. Memphis Grizzlies – Memphis should be fairly optimistic heading into the playoffs. A matchup against the Spurs is not lopsided in either team’s favor.
  5. Miami Heat – It would be awesome to have playmaking Dion Waiters for this paramount stretch run, but Josh Richardson has been wonderful in his most recent stint.

  6. Atlanta Hawks – Do Cavs-killers exist? This “never say die” attitude has earned the Hawks two of the season’s best fourth-quarter comebacks.
  7. Chicago Bulls – The Bulls are a confounding team. they’ve played the field well enough to get back into the playoff picture; additionally, Jimmy Butler has grown into a superb scorer. However, losing to the Nets when the playoffs are within reach is inexcusable.
  8. Charlotte Hornets – It’s a shame that a competent squad like Charlotte couldn’t make the Eastern Conference playoffs, but they could certainly use another capable scorer to supplement Kemba and Nicolas.
  9. Denver Nuggets – Nuggets don’t control their own destiny, so they’ll need some help to reach the postseason.
  10. New Orleans Pelicans – Tank time. Whether Alvin Gentry has done enough to save his job is moot.
Bottom 10

NBA Power Rankings

  1. Minnesota Timberwolves – Is anyone besides Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins or Gorgui Dieng allowed to shoot the ball? Through three quarters against the Lakers, only four players accounted for their 79 points.
  2. Detroit Pistons – The Pistons might have been the most disappointing team of the season.
  3. Dallas Mavericks – Is Tony Romo really going to suit up for the Mavericks?
  4. LA Lakers – The wins seem so untimely, but salute to D’Angelo Russell for his efforts last night with that game-winner.
  5. New York Knicks – The Knicks definitely met our expectations for the season, but Carmelo Anthony’s future should provide some interesting offseason storylines.
  6. Sacramento Kings – For their sake, we should hope that the Pelicans don’t end up with a top three draft pick.
  7. Philadelphia 76ers – Will Dario Saric take the ROY crown? Will the 76ers get multiple top 5 draft selections?
  8. Phoenix Suns – You really have to enjoy the progression of their young draft picks.
  9. Brooklyn Nets – The Nets gave a very solid effort and have even won six of their last ten games, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Boston from having the best lottery odds.
  10. Orlando Magic – Sad!
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