Since the beginning of December, the top three teams in my rankings have been Phoenix, Golden State, and Utah in some order, but that has changed with only 3 weeks to go in the regular season, with Boston sliding up 3 spots to #2 after going 8-1 over the past 3 weeks. Golden State dropped a couple notches after posting a losing record of 5-6 during that same time, though they looked good in the few games that their big 3 were able to play together. Here are my full current rankings and playoff picks:
|
|
|
|
|
Record
|
Proj
|
|
|
Rank
|
LW
|
Team
|
Rating
|
W
|
L
|
W
|
L
|
Seed
|
|
1
|
1
|
Phoenix
|
-7.282
|
60
|
14
|
66
|
16
|
W1
|
|
2
|
5
|
Boston
|
-5.247
|
46
|
28
|
51
|
31
|
E2
|
|
3
|
3
|
Utah
|
-5.03
|
45
|
29
|
50
|
32
|
W4
|
|
4
|
2
|
Golden State
|
-4.947
|
48
|
26
|
53
|
29
|
W3
|
|
5
|
6
|
Memphis
|
-4.359
|
51
|
23
|
55
|
27
|
W2
|
|
6
|
8
|
Milwaukee
|
-3.817
|
46
|
27
|
51
|
31
|
E3
|
|
7
|
4
|
Miami
|
-3.746
|
47
|
27
|
52
|
30
|
E1
|
|
8
|
12
|
Minnesota
|
-2.938
|
42
|
33
|
46
|
36
|
W7
|
|
9
|
9
|
Philadelphia
|
-2.726
|
46
|
27
|
51
|
31
|
E4
|
|
10
|
7
|
Dallas
|
-2.458
|
45
|
29
|
50
|
32
|
W5
|
|
11
|
10
|
Cleveland
|
-2.123
|
41
|
32
|
46
|
36
|
E6
|
|
12
|
11
|
Denver
|
-1.956
|
43
|
31
|
48
|
34
|
W6
|
|
13
|
13
|
Toronto
|
-1.881
|
41
|
32
|
46
|
36
|
E7
|
|
14
|
15
|
Atlanta
|
-0.77
|
37
|
37
|
42
|
40
|
E10
|
|
15
|
16
|
Charlotte
|
-0.42
|
38
|
36
|
42
|
40
|
E9
|
|
16
|
14
|
Chicago
|
-0.366
|
42
|
31
|
46
|
36
|
E5
|
|
17
|
19
|
Brooklyn
|
-0.288
|
38
|
35
|
43
|
39
|
E8
|
|
18
|
21
|
New York
|
0.3394
|
33
|
41
|
37
|
45
|
|
|
19
|
18
|
San Antonio
|
0.8096
|
29
|
44
|
33
|
49
|
|
|
20
|
20
|
New Orleans
|
0.8775
|
31
|
42
|
36
|
46
|
W9
|
|
21
|
17
|
LA Clippers
|
1.4443
|
36
|
39
|
39
|
43
|
W8
|
|
22
|
22
|
Indiana
|
2.2741
|
25
|
49
|
28
|
54
|
|
|
23
|
24
|
LA Lakers
|
2.6685
|
31
|
42
|
34
|
48
|
W10
|
|
24
|
23
|
Washington
|
3.1915
|
31
|
42
|
34
|
48
|
|
|
25
|
26
|
Sacramento
|
4.4867
|
26
|
48
|
29
|
53
|
|
|
26
|
25
|
Portland
|
5.4998
|
27
|
46
|
30
|
52
|
|
|
27
|
27
|
Oklahoma City
|
6.1586
|
21
|
52
|
24
|
58
|
|
|
28
|
28
|
Orlando
|
6.6
|
20
|
54
|
22
|
60
|
|
|
29
|
29
|
Detroit
|
6.7676
|
20
|
54
|
22
|
60
|
|
|
30
|
30
|
Houston
|
7.8212
|
19
|
55
|
21
|
61
|
|
Playoff Picks
Play In
(7) Raptors over (8) Nets in 3
(9) Hornets over (10) Hawks
(8) Nets over (9) Hornets
(7) Timberwolves over (8) Clippers in 2
(9) Pelicans over (10) Lakers
(9) Pelicans over (8) Clippers
First Round
(8) Nets over (1) Heat in 7
(2) Celtics over (7) Raptors in 6
(3) Bucks over (6) Cavaliers in 5
(4) 76ers over (5) Bulls in 5
(1) Suns over (9) Pelicans in 5
(7) Timberwolves over (2) Grizzlies in 7
(3) Warriors over (6) Nuggets in 7
(4) Jazz over (5) Mavericks in 5
Second Round
(4) 76ers over (8) Nets in 7
(2) Celtics over (3) Bucks in 7
(1) Suns over (4) Jazz in 6
(7) Timberwolves over (3) Warriors in 7
Conference Finals
(2) Celtics over (4) 76ers in 5
(1) Suns over (7) Timberwolves in 6
NBA Finals
(1) Suns over (2) Celtics in 7
