NBA Power Rankings Post Trade Deadline (2/14/23)

Big names were moved in the past week, but have they made a significant impact on the latest rankings? We have less than two months until the regular season hits the finish line, let's dive in.

Team (Record, Z-Score, Previous Ranking)

1. Denver Nuggets (40-18, .757, 1): The Nuggets take the top spot for the third consecutive set of rankings. It shouldn't be too big of a surprise as they rank #1 in the top two weighted statistics in this ranking with a 117.6 ORTG and a 39.3% 3P% through 58 games. They currently are a comfortable five games up on the Memphis Grizzlies for the #1 seed in the Western Conference, but do have an above average schedule difficulty to close the season out.

2. Boston Celtics (41-16, .745, 2): The C's just miss out on the top spot this week despite rattling off six wins in their last seven contests. They don't seem to be stopping anytime soon, as they rank tied for third in ORTG, tied for fourth in 3P% and fourth in DRTG. For them to be in the top five in the three highest weighted statistics shows how strong they have been on both sides of the ball. They go to Milwaukee and then host Detroit before the all star break.

3. Sacramento Kings (32-24, .509, 3): The top three remains unchanged from last week, as the Kings offense continues to roll. The boys in purple and gray have the second best offense, and Mike Brown still has this team in a semi-comfortable position out West to host a playoff series come May. Objectively, they also just play fun basketball, with a fast pace, good ball movement and fantastic home court advantage.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (38-22, .436. 7): Nice little jump from the Cavs since the last ranking as they have won seven straight. The Cavs hold the league's best defense with a DRTG of 109 (109 points given up based on 100 possessions). They win games though in a very different way than some of the other teams at the top with the slowest pace in the league. However, they are able to dominate the glass, lock down defensively, and grind out wins. Big last two weeks for the Cavs.

5. Philadelphia 76ers (37-19, .413, 5): The 76ers hold their five spot as they went 5-2 since the last ranking. Arguably the most well-rounded team in the league outside of the Celtics, they rank in the top eight in ORTG, 3P% and DRTG. They also have been really good at taking care of the basketball, with guys like James Harden having 3.2 Assist-to-Turnover ratio. Caveat: The 76ers have played the second-easiest schedule up to this point, and will be fully tested in the next 55 days or so.

6. Memphis Grizzlies: (34-22, .409, 4): 2-4 since the last ranking had them drop a couple spots. It is interesting that the most average offense in the NBA currently holds a #2 seed in a deep Western Conference. The Grizz have the second best defense behind Cleveland, have the second best rebound differential at +4 and do a good job limiting turnovers. Still, you have to wonder if the 24th best 3P% team can rattle off wins come playoff time.

7. Oklahoma City Thunder (27-29, .260, 13): Alright, stay with me here. About 7-8 teams are bunched up in this next category (keep an eye on the Z-Score), and the Thunder have truly been hanging in there this season. You may ask though why the #12 seed in the West is #7 in the rankings. Well, the Thunder are above average in ORTG, 3P%, DRTG and Pace which are the top four weighted statistics in this model. They also have the second-best turnover ratio in the NBA averaging 3 extra possessions per game than their opponents.

8. New Orleans Pelicans (30-28, .249, 10): The Zion injury really seems to be holding this team back from their true potential that we saw in the beginning of the year. They truly are the definition of a slightly above average team through 58 games so far. Based on the statistics, they do almost everything slightly better than the middle NBA team.

9. Utah Jazz (29-30, .228, 6): The numbers have liked the Jazz since the beginning of this season, and it's because they have a really good offense. They are tied for third with the Celtics in ORTG, a statistic that is highly weighted due to a high correlation with NBA playoff teams. However, they are very below average in DRTG, which creates a ton of points both ways in the games Utah plays in.

10. Phoenix Suns (31-27, .227, 9): The big splash of the trade deadline was Kevin Durant joining Chris Paul and Devin Booker in Phoenix. They needed an offensive spark, because this team (who was in the finals 20 months ago) had a below average offense even with that star power. They shoot the three very well, but did just trade Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson whom both nail threes at a high clip. One of my favorite teams to watch looks to secure a home playoff series.

11. Golden State Warriors (29-28, .213, 12): We just seem to be waiting for the Warriors to go on their big win streak and aren't getting it. They're such a unique team that the model doesn't really know what to do with them and plopped them at 11. They assist on 69.5% of their buckets, which is 1st by a significant margin and (to no surprise) play with the fastest pace. However, their offense and defense are both incredibly average, which is strange to see from this squad. They are on the outside looking in as the playoffs are less than two months away.

12. Portland Trail Blazers (28-29, .205, 11): One of the most "meh" teams all season. Another team similar to Utah with an extremely good offense and a very bad defense. They at least semi-addressed that scooping up Matisse Thybulle at the deadline, but this team seems to be stuck in NBA purgatory for the time being.

13. Milwaukee Bucks (39-17, .195, 14): Okay, I know you were waiting for them. One of the three teams (we will get there with the others) that the model doesn't seem to like are the deer. They play such an interesting brand of basketball that is unlike most elite teams in the NBA, and the model dings them for it. They have the 21st best ORTG and 16th best 3P% and 29th best turnover differential. Yet, they have the best rebound differential, 2nd best defense...and Giannis, a game breaker who seems to trump all statistics.

14. Brooklyn Nets (33-24, .186, 8): A team that has been all over the place in the rankings drops six spots since the last post. Dealing Kyrie and KD obviously hurt, but they still are in a decent playoff position at this time of the season. They are the 2nd best three point shooting team through this point of the season, but Jacque Vaughn has his work cut out for him to make this new roster work and collaborate come playoff time. They are 5th in the East, and are up 2 games from a play-in spot.

15. Toronto Raptors (27-31, .073, 15): A surprising buyer at the trade deadline, the Raptors are sticking with this core and trying to make a move into the playoffs. They have the best turnover differential in the league, but are hindered by their extremely poor three point shooting. Despite being buyers, they didn't address that issue, and one has to wonder if they have enough to make it into the postseason in a loaded Eastern Conference.

16. New York Knicks (32-27, .065, 16): If you look at the Knicks from afar, you see a team five games above .500 with a four game cushion of being in the play-in. If you look a little closer, the flaws begin to appear. Despite a solid offense and rebounding differential, they are another team who desperately need some better three point shooting. Their defense leaves a lot to be desired, and it will be interesting to see if they can hang in there for the long haul.

17. Washington Wizards (26-30, -.050, 19): The first "below average" team according to the Z-Score, but the Wiz would be in the play-in if the season ended today. Another team stuck with very little direction, they truly don't have any statistics to call out of being very good or very bad. Every statistic is within that one Z-score range.

18. Dallas Mavericks (31-28, -.057, 22): Here is team #2 that the XSM model does not particularly like. The Mavericks offense is a lot of standing around and letting Luka work, but that should indeed change with the Kyrie Irving addition. Still though, Kyrie probably won't improve their -4.9 rebound differential which ranks dead last in the league.

19. Atlanta Hawks (29-29, -.076, 21): Similar to the Portland Trail Blazers in that this team has seemingly been stuck in this .500 mud all year. They are below average in six of the ten statistics that make up this model, and for a team that relies on Trae Young to be the playmaker, he needs shooters around him. They have not performed up to this point, but are still hanging around the #8 seed in the East.

20. Chicago Bulls (26-31, -.096, 17): Another team that stayed put in the deadline, trying to keep the core together. A team with Demar Derozan, Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic somehow has a very below average offense. It has shown this year that this core may need to go their separate ways at season end.

21. Los Angeles Lakers (26-32, -.113, 20): "You don't want to see this team in the play-in" probably isn't what Lakers fans wanted to hear as we hit mid-February. Even with a team that attracts multiple defenders towards Lebron, the Lakers rank 28th in 3P%. Their one extremely positive statistic to call out is that they have the best free throw differential in the entire NBA at +4.

22. Minnesota Timberwolves (31-29, -.177, 24): If you are a Minnesota fan, there are reasons to be positive. It has felt like the sky has been falling with this team at times, and they still sit in the #8 seed. A healthy Karl Anthony Towns could catapult them higher come March into April. Still though, a team with KAT/Rudy Gobert should not be out rebounded by 3.1 every night.

23. Los Angeles Clippers (31-28, -.179, 23): At this point in the season, the Clips still seem a little mysterious. They had a better record when Kawhi was off of the floor, and still are a below average offensive team. They have a tough schedule the rest of the way. and with a bunch of teams on their heels, it will be interesting to see where they fall.

24. Indiana Pacers (25-34, -.184, 18): Not a ton to say here. A young team with a good coach that got off to a hot start and faded away. They are a team that will grow and be better but their chance of making the playoffs this season are pretty much gone.

25. Miami Heat (32-26, -.350, 25): Ding, ding, ding this is #3. The Heat are a team that just want to muck up every game, and the model despises it. They have the third-worst offense in the league, have the third worst 3P% and are six games above .500. They are truly the most unorthodox NBA team, but coach Spoelstra has the boys in the MIA in the #6 spot in the East.

26. Orlando Magic (24-34, -.379, 26): Probably the most fun bad team in the NBA. They are just extremely pesky despite what the numbers say, and seem to be a team that could affect playoff seeding down the stretch. Their average defense keeps them afloat in some games that they shouldn't be in.

27. Detroit Pistons (15-43, -.654, 27): Not a ton to say here either. The Pistons rank below average in eight of the ten statistics that make up this model with Pace and Free Throw differential as the lone positives.

28. Charlotte Hornets (16-43, -.755, 28): The LaMelo Ball early injury created a relative throwaway year for this team. There are still some interesting pieces to build around, and with a high pick, don't see them being too far away. It should start with acquiring shooters to fix the worst 3P% in the league this season.

29. Houston Rockets (13-44, -1.04, 30): A new team falls in the basement as the Rockets move up one spot. A team that has seemingly gone full tank mode, they do surprisingly have the second best rebound differential in the NBA keeping them just above the team in last place.

30. San Antonio Spurs (14-44, -1.05, 29): The Spurs are back in the basement after a couple weeks outside of this spot. They are on average being outscored by 10.1 points per game and we are in mid-February. The tank rolls on!