The battle for the top seed in the East is heating up after Easter Sunday, as the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks are all separated by just 1.5 games. The same cannot be said for the rest of the East. From seeds 4 to 11, each team is separated by a total of 6.5 games, and are all treading lightly and have a litany of tough games down the stretch of the last seven weeks of the year. All teams in that position are all fighting to stay out of the play-in round as it stands.

And as it goes for a team like the Lakers, who aren’t playing up to their potential because of their injury difficulties, don’t have much of a margin for error in the final seven weeks of the year. LeBron James isn’t expected back for another three weeks, and Anthony Davis’ Achilles troubles are, concerning, to put it lightly. But as conference battles continue to take shape, we’re getting a picture of who can hang in the playoff picture, and who should hold off on their playoff hopes for another year.

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1. Utah Jazz (38-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

The Jazz have won nine games in a row and are resembling the team that struck the league by storm at the season’s beginning. As the surprise team of the year, this is their third-longest win streak of the season, not to mention that on Friday against Chicago and Orlando, they won their 21st and 22nd home game and undoubtedly possess the most outstanding home record inside Vivint Smart Home Arena, scoring an absurd 118.5 points on their home court.

Donovan Mitchell looks as if he’s about to earn his first All-NBA First-Team selection, averaging 28.1 points with 5.6 assists off 53.1/51.6/95.3 shooting splits during this uptick in play and his accomplice should be a lock for Defensive Player of the Year, averaging 15.7 points, 12 rebounds and an eye-opening 3.3 blocks in the same span.

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2. Brooklyn Nets (35-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

Kevin Durant is slated to finally return from a lingering hamstring issue that’s hampered him since the beginning of February, and with his imminent comeback, the machine will be fully operational. Brooklyn saw their four-game winning streak come to an end against the Bulls on Easter Sunday but still got an ample 24 points out of Kyrie Irving in the loss. Brooklyn’s focus is optimal health since the playoffs aren’t so far away anymore, though being only 1.5 games out of first place in the East doesn’t mean the top seed isn’t attainable. And with all their players (MVP candidate/favorite James Harden included) becoming more and more available for the final stretch, holding home court is also of importance.

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3. Phoenix Suns (35-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

The second seed is well in the grasp of the Suns, who hold a 2.5-game lead over the third-place Clippers in the Western Standings. Devin Booker really got it going last week, averaging an insane 32.7 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds in his last three contests. The Suns are on a five-game winning streak, and when Booker dropped his season-high 45 points against the Bulls, that had been the most points he’d score since putting up 48 points in March of 2019, Booker then dropped 32 points against the Hornets, and then 21 points against the Hawks on Friday. That was another personal best for the former Kentucky standout, as it had been the second time this year where he’s had back-to-back games with at least 32 points.

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4. Philadelphia 76ers (34-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Joel Embiid’s return to the hardwood started off with a bang – not in a good way at first, with Karl Anthony-Towns dunking on him and turning him into somewhat of a meme – but he went off in the comeback game, scoring 24 points while grabbing 8 rebounds in the home win. Philly’s week ended sourly, however, and with the Grizzlies beating an Embiid-less Sixers team due to the MVP candidate missing time as a means of rest, they did so by holding a head-scratchingly un-aggressive Ben Simmons to 7 points on 2 of 6 shooting. The 76ers remain tied in a dead heat with the Nets and have a chance to separate themselves from the pack with trips to Boston, New Orleans, and Oklahoma City this week.

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5. Milwaukee Bucks (32-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)

Milwaukee’s right in the thick of things when it comes to competing in the East, and more importantly, they’re locking down their most integral parts to bolster their game plan. They blessed (pun intended) Jrue Holiday on Easter Sunday, signing the two-way guard to a four-year, $135M extension after giving away Eric Bledsoe to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Holiday in the offseason. As a team, the Bucks got out of their two-game slump with a three-game winning streak. A home-court advantage throughout the playoffs isn’t all that unattainable for Milwaukee, for they have the roster and talent to shake things up as a team that’s only a little under 2.5 games out of the Conference lead.

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6. Los Angeles Clippers (33-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

What followed a productive week last week was anything but this week, as the Clippers put forth one of their most inconsistent weeks of the season. They opened the week blowing the doors off of Milwaukee via a 129-105 home win but continued in that same week to lose against Orlando and Denver while ending the week with a dominant blowout over the Lakers, their cross-hallway rivals in the Staples Center on Easter Sunday. Injuries to Marcus Morris, Paul George, Serge Ibaka, and Patrick Beverley have hampered the chances of the third-seeded Clips but recharged when they put new Clipper Rajon Rondo on the floor during a 104-86 rout against his old Laker team. DeMarcus Cousins officially signed his 10-day contract with the Clips and is expected to join the team at some point.

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7. Denver Nuggets (31-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

Aaron Gordon being an acquisition for the Nuggets might be the signature piece that makes them contenders and upsetters in a tight Western Conference. Since getting him before the Trade Deadline, the Nuggets have yet to lose with him on the court as the star forward has been equally omnipresent on the offensive and defensive end. They’ve beaten the likes of fringe contenders like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles (Clippers), and Jamal Murray, Will Barton, and Michael Porter Jr. picked up a Nugs squad while Nikola Jokic noticeably struggled this past week. Adding Gordon to this team gives them another big body to match up with the likes of LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and just about any other big wing that chooses to create offense off the bounce, as well as present an additional target for Jokic to dish off some assists to.

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8. Los Angeles Lakers (31-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

For a second-straight week, the Lakers find themselves nearly out of the top-10 for these weekly standings, and should their injury woes continue, they’ll fall even further. A prominent scoring option aside from Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell is just as necessary as a defibrillator after a heart attack, and quite frankly their chances of getting the West’s No. 1 seed this year are on life support. And prior to them going through the gauntlet of injuries, they finished February 21-6 and looked well enough to keep a home-court advantage. Andre Drummond couldn’t even stay healthy for an entire week, before leaving his first game with a loose toenail. Even worse, while a break in their schedule is needed to help them recalibrate, they aren’t getting one this week; Toronto, Miami, and Brooklyn are up next.

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9. Portland Trail Blazers (30-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

Perhaps the greatest news needs reporting: Jusuf Nurkic is back, and for the most part, the Trail Blazers’ starting five is 100% healthy! That’s something that hasn’t been uttered since the season began, as both CJ McCollum and Nurkic haven’t but played more than five games together this year since the year began. They’ve capitalized in their uptick in health, winning five of their last six, albeit against rebuilding teams while stumbling against playoff teams like the Nets, Mavericks, and Bucks by an average of 20.6 points. Some tough matchups against the Clippers and Jazz this week give yet another opportunity for Terry Stotts’ team members to measure just how competitive they can be against the most tedious foes.

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10. Dallas Mavericks (28-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

Dallas went 4-1 in their longest road trip of the year, finishing strong with a four-game winning streak after Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis sat out their road opener to improve an already expansive 3.5-game lead in the Southwest Division out West. That’s now 18 of the last 25 games that the Mavericks have gotten wins out of, giving them the league’s fourth-best winning percentage and raise their record to six games over .500.

Jalen Brunson has been the guard that Rick Carlisle and Mavs brass had hoped he developed into this season and during this increase in win percentage, the Villanova standout has averaged 13.7 points off an efficient 64.2 percent true shooting percentage. He’s shown he can be trusted enough to control the tempo of the floor, additionally averaging 4.1 assists per game in their last 25 games.

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11. Miami Heat (26-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

It’s an up-and-down season for the Heat, who a few weeks ago looked unstoppable with both Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in the starting lineup. They head into Tuesday’s game against the Grizzlies with a two-game winning streak, which is coming off the cusp of a six-game losing streak, and that was followed by them winning 11 out of their last 12. Victor Oladipo got his first minutes in a Heat uniform, but even he would like a do-over as the Indiana product has started out his Heat tenure with a sloppy 5-of-21 shooting percentage in his first couple of games.

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12. Atlanta Hawks (26-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

The Hawks raise three spots in this week’s rankings, and for good reason. Nate McMillan’s offense is fluid enough in its ability to allow each guard and wing to flow into a variety of floppy and side PnR actions that generate both simple looks at the rim and one-away, Hi-Lo finds around the perimeter. Moreso, this is a team that can finish in the clutch; Trae Young is tied for fourth in total clutch rating (110.6 Clth. Off. Rtg., per 82Games) with the likes of Damian Lillard, Buddy Hield, and Harrison Barnes, and with help from the bench (new Hawk Lou Williams scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth and Danilo Gallinari scored 20 of his total 25 points in the second half) the Hawks won their third-straight game. While notable teams in the East struggle in a tight battle from seeds 5-11, the Hawks have crept their way into the fourth seed.

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13. San Antonio Spurs (24-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

San Antonio opened the week with a win and loss to the Kings and then continued to split a series of games that went into overtime against the Atlanta Hawks and the Indiana Pacers. In both their successful results against the Pacers and Hawks, DeMar DeRozan was that aggressive, mid-post scorer that took over and led his team in scoring, which was a first considering that the Spurs hadn’t had the same player lead them in scoring in three straight contests.

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14. New York Knicks (25-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

The Knicks remain in the hunt for a playoff spot as one of the teams in the 4-11 seeds that have nary a margin of error heading into this week. They sit in eighth place and currently have a better record than the Toronto Raptors, and are four losses above them in the column. They have to like where they’re at, as they weren’t even considered to even make it to this point of the season without bottoming out with only seven weeks left. If all goes well and should bad luck transpire for their Eastern opponents, the Knicks could be making the playoffs for the first time in eight years.

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15. Boston Celtics (25-25, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

Evan Fournier was told that his 0-for-7 debut with the Celtics was to be only but a small “blip of your time as a Celtic” by Head Coach Brad Stevens, and while it seemed that those words of positive reinforcement went in one ear and out of the other (Fournier scored a combined six points in Boston’s consecutive losses to open last week) his tenured advice soon rubbed off on the French swingman.

Boston had been anemic without a playmaking wing with the departure of Gordon Hayward which delivered the deepest cut to a team that had, with his assistance, advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals only a few months prior to the new season beginning this past December. It seems like their search for that exact playmaking hybrid wing has come to an end, if their last two games told Boston fans anything.

In the two games that the Celtics won this week to get them back to a suboptimal-but-even-.500 record, Fournier would score a combined 40 points in his third and fourth outings wearing Green. A shooter of his caliber gives a predictable Boston offense a new dynamic layer and further promulgates a reality that, with an increasingly simple schedule to close out the regular season, Boston can play up to at least the semblance of what was expected of them at season’s opening.

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16. Charlotte Hornets (25-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

Another week, another injury. Charlotte will likely slip if these injury woes continue, as Gordon Hayward is slated to miss four weeks with another sprained right foot, the same injury that kept him out of the majority of the Bubble Playoffs. The Hornets are now missing LaMelo Ball (wrist), and now Terry Rozier will be forced to have an even bigger role in the offense. He’s averaging a little over 20 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.4 assists over his past 10 games.

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17. Memphis Grizzlies (24-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

The Grizzlies are getting healthier, and as they are waiting on the return of their star forward Jaren Jackson Jr., they had a very productive 3-1 week and ended it on a great note when they upset the East-leading Philadelphia 76ers, and kept an Embiid-less Sixers team under 110 points in a blowout. They held Ben Simmons to only 7 points off 2-of-6 shooting, and currently have a top-10 defense with the seventh-best defensive rating. After the win, Jonas Valanciunas has recorded a double-double in his past 10 games, and when he records that stat, the Grizzlies are 6-4 on the season.

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18. Golden State Warriors (23-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

Golden State is in, arguably, one of the worst places they’ve been in all season, dropping seven of their last eight while things just aren’t seemingly getting better, Stephen Curry’s efforts to at least keep them competitive aren’t rubbing off. In his last three games since returning from a bruised tailbone, Curry has been averaging 35 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists and has done everything he can to keep the Warriors in reach of the final play-in tournament spot. What’s worse, is that James Wiseman is showing that he still has a long way to go in order to fit in and produce for a starting lineup. The Dubs’ bench was embarrassingly outscored 55-19 to the Hawks during Sunday’s loss.

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19. Indiana Pacers (22-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

Since returning from Kidney Cancer, Caris LeVert had his best game as a Pacer, scoring 26 points and dishing nine assists in their win over San Antonio. That was only his 12th game in a Pacers uniform, and the win was significant; they were missing both Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon weren’t on the floor. The nine assists he had were the most he had since his return.

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20. New Orleans Pelicans (22-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)

After their massive win over the Celtics last week, it was looking as if things were finally looking up. And then they weren’t. Health hasn’t been an issue for one of the most offensively balanced teams in basketball, but recently, it has; Zion Williamson avoided serious injury but will miss time with a sprained right thumb, as well as Brandon Ingram, who missed some time with what is being called a “right first MTP irritation”. After not trading Lonzo Ball, the Pelicans backcourt took some major hits with injuries to Josh Hart (torn thumb UCL) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (ankle) as well as their frontcourt with Steven Adams (concussion). They’ll get some additional artillery by signing former 32-year old All-Star Isaiah Thomas, meaning he’ll get a lump sum of minutes starting Tuesday night.

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21. Chicago Bulls (20-28, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

The good news is that the Bulls ended a six-game losing streak on Sunday against a Nets team that was missing KD and Harden. The bad news is that the Nikola Vucevic signing hasn’t given the team the boost it needed. Vucevic’s numbers have been good, but the Bulls’ defense has been a problem. In their last seven games, they’ve given up an average of 114 points per game.

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22. Sacramento Kings (22-29, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

Terence Davis made an instant impact in Sacramento, scoring 27 points in just his fifth game with the Kings, tying for the second-highest scoring output of his two-year career. In Sacramento’s narrow loss to Milwaukee, the 6-foot-4 shooting guard went 7-for-10 from three-point range, giving head coach Luke Walton a high-level backup behind Buddy Hield, who is back as a full-time starter.

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23. Toronto Raptors (20-30, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

With their rout of the Warriors on Friday night, the Raptors matched their win total for the entire month of March in just two days. That pretty much sums up Toronto’s season, which has been a disaster since it got to 17-17 after a 2-8 start, only to be ruined by COVID-19 issues. On the positive side, despite their abysmal results, the Raptors are just 1.5 games behind Chicago for the 10th and final seed of the play-in tournament.

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  24. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-30, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

Simply put, while it’s known they are developing talent and instilling confidence in their younger pieces, this Thunder team is just not good. They lost in embarrassing fashion, 132-108, to the lowly Detroit Pistons on Monday, and in their past two games prior to Monday, they’ve lost by 37 to the Suns and 48 to the Trail Blazers. This is a G-League roster, and they are likely primed to capture a high draft pick at season’s end.

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25. Washington Wizards (17-32, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

Russell Westbrook is putting up triple-doubles as if he’s returned to his MVP self, but the Wizards are starting to lose ground as injuries mount. They’ve dropped three in a row, and Bradley Beal has missed the last four games due to a sore hip. Daniel Gafford played two games for Washington before suffering an ankle injury. Last Monday, Rui Hachimura took another developmental step forward, as he scored 30 points against Charlotte.

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26. Cleveland Cavaliers (18-32, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

Cleveland has lost five straight games until their win on Monday night, but Kevin Love returned to the lineup for the first time since mid-March at the end of the week, giving the team a glimmer of hope. In two games against Philadelphia and Miami, the five-time All-Star averaged 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 21.5 minutes. Love had only appeared in his fifth and sixth games of the season due to a calf strain.

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27. Orlando Magic (17-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

Reconstruction is underway. The Magic swept the Clippers and Pelicans on the road this week, thanks in part to new forward Wendell Carter Jr.’s contributions. In his last three games, the former Bull has averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds. Chuma Okeke, a rookie guard, is also impressing and making the most of his increased playing time. In his last seven games, Okeke has scored in double figures six times.

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28. Detroit Pistons (15-35, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Detroit began the week 2-0, with victories over Toronto and Washington, before losing to the Knicks by 44 points on Saturday. The Pistons’ perimeter defense was non-existent, allowing the Knicks to shoot 19-for-39 from beyond the arc. With 14 points, newcomer Hamidou Diallo led Detroit in scoring, but he also had a minus-36 plus-minus in 24 minutes, which is difficult to achieve.

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29. Houston Rockets (13-37, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

Since arriving in Houston as part of the Victor Oladipo trade with Miami, Kelly Olynyk has been productive. In the five games he has played, Olynyk, who will be a free agent this offseason, has led the Rockets with an average of 18.5 points on 58.2 percent shooting from the field. Though given a small sample, The early returns on an Olynyk/Christian Wood combination have not been encouraging, however. Houston has been outscored by 27 points in the 48 minutes that the duo has played together.

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30. Minnesota Timberwolves (13-38, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

Anthony Edwards has gotten a lot of coverage, and rightfully so, but the Wolves’ other first-round choice is also on the rise. Jaden McDaniels’ defensive versatility is impressing teammates, and he was given assignments against James Harden and Ja Morant during his trial by fire last week. The Wolves are looking for signs of progress, and McDaniels’ ability to turn into a stopper could help.

The NBA Trade Deadline is now a thing of memory. We’ve gotten a glimpse of just how certain transactions have immediately impacted teams’ win probabilities, and have yet to see some other traded parts and buyout market acquisitions show their value as we enter yet another fluctuating week of NBA basketball. And by anticipated value, that evidently has to do with teams making a splash in the buyout market, like the Brooklyn Nets scooping up LaMarcus Aldridge and the Los Angeles picking up Andre Drummond. But what does it mean for the rest of the NBA heading into Week 14?

When it comes to the competition side of things, the Utah Jazz finally woke up out of their post-All-Star slumber, winning five straight games after losing five of their last eight. And in the East, the Philadelphia 76ers, who also grew a little during the Trade Deadline, are finding ways upon ways to accumulate wins and maintain their perch atop the East while Joel Embiid rests up.

As for everyone else, let’s break down the rest of the occurrences in the league, for that’s what we do every week in these Power Rankings.

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1. Utah Jazz (35-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)

So a slow 2nd-half start out of the blocks wasn’t to be the case for the West’s leading team. After losing five of their last eight heading into last week, the Jazz found a way to rattle off five straight, with a majority of those wins coming by way of the visiting Memphis Grizzlies during a two-game series. Donovan Mitchell, as always, has led the charge and during this five-game winning streak, is averaging over 31 points off .58/.51/.97 shooting splits.

Jordan Clarkson got out of his slump with a 28-point, 11-for-21 shooting night against the Grizzlies this past Sunday night, and as a team, the Jazz are back in the thick of things when it comes to stopping the other team from scoring. With a defensive rating of 108.3 on the season, they are now fifth in the NBA in the metric and offensively, are a position higher as the fourth-most-efficient offense in the game. With eight weeks to go, health and consistency heading into the playoffs are the bullet points that Head Coach Quin Snyder must drill in the minds of his team to ensure they’re on pace to remain hot.

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2. Philadelphia 76ers (32-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)

Philly only drops a spot in the Power Rankings this week, and while that’s partly due to their health fiasco, they’ve kept the ship from sinking and have found ways to scrap eight wins in their last ten contests without Joel Embiid on the floor, as the MVP candidate continues to nurse and rehabilitate from a hyperextended knee. Good news: Embiid and new pickup George Hill (as a result of the Trade Deadline) have been cleared for on-court activities and their return, while much-awaited, may not be too far away.

Still, with an entire game lead over the Goliath-sized Brooklyn Nets, who got even better with the signing of LaMarcus Aldridge this past weekend, Philadelphia has to love where they’re at. If they can get Embiid back on the floor, albeit in spurts, they’ll have an even greater chance to control their own destiny as the East’s best squad for the final eight weeks of the season.

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3. Brooklyn Nets (32-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)

Is James Harden the cumulative and prohibitive favorite to win the League’s Most Valuable Player award? Amongst a time period where the league itself is awash with ailments to its most integral players, it seems that only Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic is the only other competitor for the award at the moment. And keep in mind, the offense that Steve Nash employs on a nightly occurrence shows that Harden isn’t the main centerpiece in which it revolves around.

While Kyrie Irving (personal reasons) and Kevin Durant (hamstring) continue to miss time, Harden has put up all-world numbers, averaging around 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists per game in the span of 31 games in a Nets uniform. And as the Nets get more comfortable putting Blake Griffin on the floor who can — not to anyone’s surprise, I mean he is 6’10 after all — still get up and be a dynamic roll threat that plays above the rim, the LaMarcus Aldridge signing makes this team all the more dangerous. Though 35 and surrounded with anxieties over whether he can keep up with such an uptempo offense, considering that’s why the Spurs let go of him because he couldn’t, it’ll be analyzed just what role he plays on this team as a complimentary and presumptive understudy to DeAndre Jordan.

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4. Phoenix Suns (31-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)

It’s no longer moderately considerable to fathom that if these Suns were in the East, they’d only be a game out of having the best record in the conference. While not making any moves at the deadline — not like they needed to anyway, they have a top-10 offense, and top-3 defense, rating-wise — Phoenix opened and closed this week both with four games on the road, going 3-1 in the span of four games and in their last 10, have won seven of those games. For a team that’s heavily utilized a home-court advantage as one of the teams that have let fans re-enter the Talking Stick Resort Arena, they continue to prove just how dangerous they are away from their home stadium, now 16-6 on the road this year.

They eeked by a resilient Charlotte Hornets team Sunday afternoon in a game that went into extra time and devised a gameplan to keep Charlotte’s coveted young up-and-comer PJ Washington (who’s been relatively efficient this year as an 11.9-ppg. scorer) scoreless through 44 minutes.

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 5. Los Angeles Clippers (32-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)

The Clippers had their most productive and successful week of the season, and are just about ready to get rounded into shape. And quite frankly, it was a week that involved a sweep of Kawhi Leonard’s former team, the San Antonio Spurs, a defeat handed to the surging Atlanta Hawks and the road warrior Philadelphia 76ers. As a further incentive to get the best record they possibly can, the Clippers went out and traded for Rajon Rondo from the Hawks and in exchange, gave away three-time 6MOTY Lou Williams.

Rondo is the type of piece that, in the quintessential situation, can turn a fringe contender into a championship favorite, and with his leadership, equanimity under pressure, Basketball IQ, and championship experience, there is a considerable playmaking load taken off the shoulders of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Clippers hope they can get just a mere semblance of that since it helped deliver the Lakers a title back in the Bubble Playoffs.

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6. Milwaukee Bucks (29-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)

After eight straight wins, the Bucks dropped back-to-back games to the Knicks and Celtics as Giannis Antetokounmpo nursed a sprained left knee. As a team that worked its way into the Trade Deadline picture by picking up P.J. Tucker, another shooting addition to the already bolstered perimeter attack of Mike Budenholzer, they found some success with their bench making some notable contributions, including Giannis’ brother Thanasis scoring 23 points against the Knicks.

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7. Denver Nuggets (28-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)

While a lot of teams in the West have gone through their own myriad of injuries, the Nuggets have only been hampered by Health and Safety protocols and inconsistent scoring outings. Well, it’s looking like those are things of the past now. Denver’s won seven of their last 10 and went 3-1 in their last four contests, and as the league’s third-best offense, Nikola Jokic continues to build on his career-best campaign averaging 26 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 8.4 assists in their last five contests.

They were working heavily on the phones during Thursday’s Trade Deadline, picking up star forward Aaron Gordon, who immediately gives Jokic yet another versatile and athletic above-the-rim third option. Defensively, he’s the exact body frame capable of stifling LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard in the postseason for when they eventually coincide with them in May and June. Also, JaVale McGee made his return to the Denver Nuggets after being traded from them seven years ago, providing additional rim protection to stop the likes of Anthony Davis.

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8. Los Angeles Lakers (30-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)

The defending champions didn’t have the ideal week; LeBron James going down with a high ankle sprain is confirmed to keep him out for 4 more weeks at the most, while Anthony Davis’ (Achilles tendinosis) return isn’t to be until the playoffs, at the likeliest. Additionally, while LA went 2-2 on the week with six wins in their last 10 games, Los Angeles may have missed out on trading for Kyle Lowry by deciding to not give away assets like Talen Horton-Tucker or Dennis Schroder with some draft picks. It’s unknown whether or not Rob Pelinka’s apprehensiveness in the Trade market will come to bite the Lakers’ playoff time since the addition of a third All-Star couldn’t hurt in the wake of their conference rivals and potential Finals opponents (if they make it that far) adding supplementary help to increase their championship odds.

But the addition of Andre Drummond certainly shakes things up a bit. Drummond, a walking double-double machine and arguably the best player on the buyout market, will join the Lakers and will make his debut as their starting center this week against either the Bucks, Kings, or Clippers. With James and Davis coming back from injury heading into the postseason, Drummond could be that substantial player that takes them over the top and advances them to the Finals for a second-straight year.

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9. Portland Trail Blazers (28-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)

Portland was another additional active buyer during the Trade Deadline, and they went out and got Norman Powell from the Toronto Raptors. They were in search of a two-way slasher and three-level scorer at the three to fill in the minutes that Carmelo Anthony wasn’t on the floor, as well as an additional floor spacer that compliments the talents of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Moreover, the Powell pickup is going to come in handy when Terry Stotts puts on small-ball lineups on the floor. The Blazers are getting healthier and to their benefit, where they’re placed in the postseason standings as-is will come to their aide with a presumptively easier path to the Conference Finals than expected, as a team that not a lot of people are giving a lot of credit to.

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10. Dallas Mavericks (24-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)

Dallas is prioritizing the health of its most impactful players over avoiding the play-in scenario, even to the point of resting both Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis this past week. Granted, the Mavs have won five of their last 10, and have slipped to only 3.5 games out of the sixth seed in the Western Playoff seeding but have, promptly, won only one game without Doncic on the floor. Luka missed last Friday’s contest against the Pacers in a 15-point loss. And then, Doncic sat out of Saturday’s contest against Pelicans, which also resulted in a loss. Health is a priority to Rick Carlisle’s Mavs, but they are running out of time to qualify for a non-Play-In Tournament spot with a thin margin of error left during this season’s last eight weeks.

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11. San Antonio Spurs (23-21, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)

In just 10 games together, SA’s modified lineup equipped for speed in the post-LaMarcus Aldridge days (composed of Derrick White, Jakob Poetl, DeMar DeRozan, Dejounte Murray, and Keldon Johnson) has helped the Spurs acquire a plus 1.4 net rating when those five share the court. Prior to that starting lineup’s formation in 16 games this season, the lineup of DeRozan, Murray, Johnson, Poetl, and Aldridge had a minus-12.5 in a combined 219 minutes together.

Consider this the official first year of Gregg Popovich transitioning into the modern, uptempo-style of play that’s helped fringe contenders become champions.

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12. New York Knicks (24-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)

And the Garden’s beat goes on. The Knicks keep winning, much against anyone’s expectations at this point of the season and still have cemented themselves as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. But a little streak of luck broke for them this past week, as the returning Mitchell Robinson III, who just recovered from a broken hand, will miss additional time due to a fractured right foot. It’s unclear just how much time he will miss and if he’ll even be in good enough shape to come back at some point this season. The Knicks haven’t quite missed his presence, but as a floor-spacing roll threat and a force on the glass, the Knicks could’ve really used him heading into the postseason. This week, the Knicks couldn’t fend off a resilient Miami Heat team visiting the Garden, but still, have to play both the Timberwolves and Pistons on the road.

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13. Boston Celtics (23-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)

As the Celtics get near the top-10 again, they became the 20th team to welcome fans back into their stadium, and for a team that’s swapped places with the likes of the Knicks, Hawks, Heat, and Hornets for the fourth and fifth seeds, a true home-court feel couldn’t have come at a better time, even though they sustained a loss to the Pelicans. Boston had to part ways with Daniel Theis prior to Thursday’s deadline, and will now look to Robert Williams III to be their starting center, even amidst his injury worries. Evan Fournier made his debut with his new team after clearing Health and Safety protocols, and with him being etched into Brad Stevens’ rotation for the first time, we’ll get an understanding of how well (or not) he compliments Jayson Tatum while Jaylen Brown sits with a knee injury.

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14. Charlotte Hornets (23-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)

Charlotte rebounded respectably in the wake of LaMelo Ball’s season-ending wrist injury by winning three of their last four games. And while it could’ve been four straight for the Hornets, they weren’t able to complete the comeback against Phoenix in a 101-97 home loss while PJ Washington didn’t score a single point in 44 minutes of play. Their highlight of the week came in their huge win over Miami this past weekend, in which they nearly gave away a 30-point lead but were carried to victory by the play of Malik Monk, who scored 32 points in 26 minutes off the bench. And Terry Rozier, who has had an amplified role in the offense with Ball not on the floor, has scored 22 points in the four games as his replacement.

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15. Atlanta Hawks (23-23, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)

Nate McMillan’s eight-game winning streak couldn’t extend to nine games, for it was stopped by the hosting Clippers in a close contest. On the road is where ATL is headed, for they’ll have to do battle with teams out West. The Suns, Spurs, and Pelicans will all play host to the Atlanta Hawks, the NBA’s 11th-ranked offense. The Hawks are on the longest road trip for any team in the NBA, and it’s likely that they’ll quickly incorporate new Hawk Lou Williams (as a result of the Trade Deadline) into the fold soon.

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16. Miami Heat (23-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)

As of last week, Miami entered the final week of March losing six games in a row. They are giving up an average of 113 points per contest and aren’t playing up to the standards expected of them, specifically reified by their winning of 11 of their last 12 two weeks ago. Fortunately, they’ve found a way to portray their formerly dominant selves with a 10-point road win against the defensively-stout Knicks on Monday night, as Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 27 points. Miami will be a team to keep an eye on as they etch in Houston’s Victor Oladipo into their postseason plans.

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17. Indiana Pacers (21-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)

The Pacers have won four of their last six games, and as a team that wasn’t so active during the deadline, they’ve begun to make their own plans of bolstering their own backcourt, as new Pacer Caris LeVert (15.0 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 3.9 apg.) has fit in Nate Bjorkgren’s gameplan like a glove. During their hot streak, Myles Turner scored 9 points and grabbed 7 rebounds with 7 blocks against the Mavericks.

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18. Memphis Grizzlies (22-22, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)

Memphis may not have to wait much longer to get Jaren Jackson Jr. back. At some point during the end of April, JJJ will accompany Ja Morant and the rest of the Grizzlies for the first time since the abridged season restart in the bubble. Justise Winslow, one of the other young players also impacted by injury who returned this season, has predictably struggled, shooting only 34.2 percent from the field in his first 16 games with the Grizzlies.

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19. Golden State Warriors (23-24, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)

Prior to their 14-point win over Chicago on Monday night, Golden State entered the week with a skid of losing four of their last five games. Stephen Curry’s return on Monday put the Warriors back into arm’s reach of the eighth seed in the West. Curry dropped 32 points in the first game back since he injured his tailbone earlier this month. His return, however, does not fully absolve the bad basketball they’ve been playing. Excluding their game against the Bulls, Golden State has given up an average of 121 points per game during their skid.

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20. New Orleans Pelicans (21-25, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)

With a vengeance, Zion Williamson rounded out the week. In back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, he exceeded his previous career-high of 36 points. On Friday, he scored 39 points in a loss to the Nuggets before scoring 38 points in a win over the Mavericks the next night. And on Monday, Williamson dropped 28 on the Celtics on the road to stay undefeated against Boston in his career.

To say the kid is making history is an understatement: Per ESPN, Williamson joined Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adrian Dantley, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Scottie Pippen, and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the only players to have at least 75 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting at least 70% from the field in a two-game span.

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21. Sacramento Kings (22-25, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)

Talk about March Madness.

Harrison Barnes’ game-winning shot over the Cavs on Saturday, set up by a full-court inbound pass from De’Aaron Fox with 1.6 seconds left, was reminiscent of Duke’s Grant Hill’s game-winning pass to Christian Laettner in 1992. And seeing how as Monday was the 30-somethingth anniversary of that feat, the Kings are experiencing their own little Cinderella run. The glass slipper hasn’t come off just yet with the Kings winning five games in a row, and what’s even more comforting: Tyrese Haliburton is the real deal and the perfect developmental piece to build your future around.

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22. Chicago Bulls (19-26, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)

With three losses this week to Utah, Cleveland, and San Antonio and a week-opening loss to the Warriors, the Bulls failed to get in sync despite improvements to the starting lineup and rotation. Despite a loss in San Antonio, Nikola Vucevic put up a team-high 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists in 32 minutes in his Bulls debut. Billy Donovan and Bulls executives hope that Vucevic and Zach LaVine can form a sense of chemistry in the final stretches of the season for a playoff push.

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23. Oklahoma City Thunder (19-27, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)

With Al Horford out for the rest of the season, the Thunder aren’t holding back on their plans to get the best draft spot possible for the remainder of the season. However, there are a few things to consider: They were just 8-8 with Horford this season, and they weren’t doing much anyway with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out for a month or so due to a foot injury. The Thunder also want to play their young players. One of whom is Horford protégé Moses Brown, who put up 21 points and 23 rebounds on Saturday against the Celtics while also earning himself a four-year contract with the team.

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24. Toronto Raptors (18-29, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)

After ending a nine-game losing streak, the Raptors immediately lost three games in a row, bringing them closer to 13th than 10th in the standings at this late stage of the season. There’s always time for Toronto to turn things around, and having Kyle Lowry will help if the right foot soreness that kept him out of Sunday’s loss to Portland doesn’t continue. However, the possibility of this team posing a challenge for an opponent in the first round is becoming increasingly unlikely. As a consequence, the much more pertinent question is whether it will jump up in a loaded lottery.

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25. Washington Wizards (17-28, Last Week’s Ranking: 25)

Russell Westbrook’s 15th triple-double (19 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists) virtually forced the Wizards to win against Detroit, snapping a three-game losing streak. Despite the fact that the Wizards have lost eight of their last ten games and Bradley Beal is sidelined with a hip bruise, they made a move that they hope would save their fading playoff hopes. On Monday, Westbrook then put on his most sensational performance of the season: a 25-point, 20-assist, 16-rebound game against the Indiana Pacers in a 132-124 home win, which would make that the 16th time this season that Russell Westbrook would get a triple-double this season.

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26. Cleveland Cavaliers (17-30, Last Week’s Ranking: 26)

The Cavaliers have dropped eight of their last 11 games, including a pair of blowouts over the weekend. Cleveland was held to just 86 points in a loss to the Lakers without LeBron James on Friday, scoring just 10 points in the third quarter. It then lost to Sacramento, scoring just 98 points while winning the turnover battle with seven turnovers to Sacramento’s 18. They opened their following week with a blowout loss to the Utah Jazz where they couldn’t even score more than 75 points. In that loss to the Kings, they let De’Aaron Fox score 36 points in a 100-98 road loss.

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27. Orlando Magic (15-31, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)

Orlando is in the middle of yet another rebuild after selling away their seasoned core of Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and Aaron Gordon before the deadline. Now they must hope that some of their recent first-round picks grow into important contributors in the future, as well as that Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz rebound from severe knee injuries and return to form.

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28. Detroit Pistons (13-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)

Prior to their 14-point win over the Toronto Raptors, the Pistons dropped four straight, including a 106-92 loss in Washington on Saturday during which they trailed by as many as 30 points but cut the deficit to three points in the fourth quarter. At the deadline, the Pistons traded Delon Wright to the Kings for Cory Joseph, and second-round picks in 2021 and 2024.

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29. Houston Rockets (13-33, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)

Keep an eye on things. Kevin Porter Jr.’s growth is one of the Rockets’ top priorities for the rest of the season, which is one of the reasons the team decided to trade Victor Oladipo despite not receiving anything in exchange. Porter scored 25 points in the Rockets’ win over the Timberwolves on Saturday, his third time doing so in eight games with the team. Per ESPN, the Rockets had previously had only two such performances by players 20 or younger in franchise history.

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30. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-36, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)

One of the Wolves’ (many) problems is that they actually do not play competitive games. The experience of being in close games and making vital plays late is invaluable for a young team. Just one of the Wolves’ previous nine defeats was determined by two possessions. They are regularly blown out by 15 to 20 points, making it difficult to build a young roster.