NBA power rankings 2024-25: Celtics take over No. 1, while Lakers vault up into top five

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As teams start to get focused and make a push during the home stretch of the NBA season, it’s becoming clearer where the line is for genuine contenders and who are pretenders. And also, it’s clear who is tanking at this point.

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1. Boston Celtics (42-16, Last Week No. 2). If the Celtics are going to repeat as champions it will have to start with their defense — and of late they are back to playing at a championship level on that end of the floor (top 10 in the league over their last 10 games). On offense, the ball is moving again and more field goals are coming via assist. This is like a midterm week for Boston with some big tests ahead: Its showdown against Cleveland on Friday matters more to the Cavaliers’ psyche than the Celtics, but things don’t get easier for Boston after that when Nikola Jokic and Denver come to town on Sunday.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers (48-10, LW 3). Cleveland is going be the No. 1 seed in the East (it has a six-game lead with 24 to play), has a player who will get MVP votes (Donovan Mitchell could finish fifth in the voting), and another who might win Defensive Player of the Year (Even Mobley is a serious contender). Despite all that, there are plenty of doubters, and if the Cavs want to convince people it can come out of the East — including convincing themselves on some level — a win against Boston on Friday night goes a long way. The Cavaliers come in red hot, having gone 9-1 in their last 10 with a +18.7 net rating.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (46-11, LW 1). It’s only happened for 77 minutes across five games, but when Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein share the court the Thunder have a +17.5 net rating. As long as Holmgren remains comfortable at the four and spaces the floor, this is a dangerous lineup the Thunder are just starting to explore. Neither Holmgren nor Hartenstein were on the court when the Thunder blew a 24-point lead to the Timberwolves last weekend, but that loss gave credence to the doubts some around the league have about OKC, that this is a team built for the regular season but not the playoffs — when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/nba-power-rankings-2024-25-171700699.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-27 00:00:00

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