PBT’s Week 22 NBA Power Rankings: Denver, Boston remain 1-2 in the rankings, Pelicans climbing

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The top of the NBC Sports NBA power rankings remains pretty stable as the teams we thought would be good have put things in gear for the playoffs. The more interesting question is how far teams like New Orleans and Dallas can rise.

1. Denver Nuggets (48-21, Last Week No. 1). Denver is 12-2 since the All-Star break and it took Kyrie Irving’s running left-handed H-O-R-S-E shot to hand them one of those losses this week. The Nuggets have the second-ranked offense and eighth-ranked defense in the NBA since the All-Star break, with a +9.9 net rating. In a tight three-way race for the top seed (Denver and OKC are tied as of this writing), Nikola Jokic and company are not taking their foot off the gas in the final weeks of the season like they did last year. Fun test against the gritty but shorthanded Knicks on Thursday, part of Denver having 6-of-7 at home.

2. Boston Celtics (54-14, LW 2). The Celtics officially clinched a playoff spot this week (the first team to do so) but with a 10-game lead in the East they are coasting into the No. 1 seed. There are questions about this team — they are 11-10 in games within three points in the final three minutes, their clutch offense gets stagnant — but those are questions that can only be answered in the playoffs (the second round of the playoffs and beyond, really). Boston has won six in a row and the Wednesday night showdown against Milwaukee lost some luster with Giannis Antetokounmpo out, after that game the Celtics have six straight on the road.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (47-20, LW 3). The raw numbers for Gordon Hayward are not that impressive of late — 5.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2 assists a game in his last five. However, the Thunder are winning the minutes he is on the court, with the team +37 in those 101 minutes he’s been on the court in the last five. The Thunder and Nuggets remain in a virtual tie for the No. 1 seed in the West (Minnesota is one game back) but the Nuggets have a much easier schedule the rest of the way. That doesn’t really apply this week, however, as the only really tough game on the OKC schedule is Sunday at Milwaukee.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pbts-week-22-nba-power-230959927.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-03-20 23:09:59

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