Why Stephen A. isn’t buying the Celtics as favorites in the East (1:27)Stephen A. Smith explains why the Celtics shouldn’t be the favorites to win the Eastern Conference. (1:27)
The calendar has flipped to March, which means the NBA playoffs start next month! But before we get there, there are plenty of things to be decided over the next six weeks.
The Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to clinch a postseason berth with a win on Sunday. Their lead over the San Antonio Spurs is just three games, however, as the standings in the always-competitive Western Conference are tighter than ever. With four games currently separating the play-in teams and the No. 3 seed, and with plenty of high-profile games on the calendar, the standings are bound to change.
In the East, the Detroit Pistons have held on to their position as the conference’s top team, but Jayson Tatum’s potential return for the Boston Celtics could change the playoff outlook.
With the end of the season on the horizon, our NBA insiders took a look at the most important games in each team’s remaining schedule in this week’s Power Rankings.
Note: Team rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Dave McMenamin, Jamal Collier, Michael C. Wright, Bobby Marks, Tim Bontemps, Tim MacMahon, Vincent Goodwill and Zach Kram) think teams belong.
Considering the recent Lu Dort and Nikola Jokic dustup, the Nuggets matchup carries some extra juice. — Anthony Slater
The last full week of March, during which the Pistons play the Lakers, Hawks, Pelicans and Timberwolves, could be critical on several fronts.
The Nuggets’ visit to Oklahoma City on March 9 would have been circled on the schedule regardless of circumstances. The spotlight on that game intensified after the fracas in the fourth quarter of Denver’s OT loss in OKC on Friday night, when Nikola Jokic had a fiery “necessary reaction” to Luguentz Dort’s flagrant foul. It’s a real rivalry between two recent title teams who battled for seven games in last season’s playoffs. — MacMahon
Their 11-game winning streak ended after they surrendered a 19-0 run to the Knicks in the second quarter of a 25-point loss. Coach Mitch Johnson said his team needs to “understand the delicacy of every possession and every detail.” — Michael C. Wright
Circle April 9 on your schedule, the start of a three-games-in-four-nights stretch to finish the season. The opponent is the Celtics, and it’s at Madison Square Garden.
Jayson Tatum, by all indications, should be back and trying to get himself ready for the playoffs. MSG also was the scene of his last game, during last year’s Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The next two weeks will be critical for Minnesota, which has a chance to get into the top four in the Western Conference. This upcoming stretch of six out of seven games against teams with winning records will put an inconsistent Timberwolves team to the test.
The Cavs are in one of their most important stretches of the season, after a pair of meetings with the top-seeded Pistons this past week and a matchup with Boston ahead this Sunday. The Cavs, who have dealt with health issues of late, have some cushion on a top-four seed in the conference.
If Cleveland can knock off Boston this weekend, the Cavs could have a chance to jump up in the standings. — Collier
Houston’s hold on the No. 3 seed will be tested starting March 10 against Toronto, followed by a road matchup at Denver and two more nationally televised clashes with the Lakers at Toyota Center.
Jabari Smith Jr. remains out with a sprained right ankle, but the team is targeting a March 5 return. Reed Sheppard has filled in as a starter in Smith’s absence and has made strides that could prove beneficial in the playoffs as Houston continues to try to facilitate offense without a true point guard. — Michael C. Wright
It’s a brutal stretch for a Suns team that is already dealing with injuries to Devin Booker (right hip) and Dillon Brooks (fractured left hand). — McMenamin
Charlotte still plays Miami (twice) and Orlando, and wins against those divisional opponents could propel the Hornets into the advantageous 7-8 play-in game instead of the single-elimination 9-10 contest.
If the Heat are going to rise in the standings, they will have to do so without Norman Powell at full strength. Powell played only 10 minutes in their loss to Philadelphia and is week-to-week with a right groin strain. He will need to play in 17 of the remaining 23 games to be eligible for postseason honors. Powell is averaging a career-high 22.5 PPG.
The sight of Anthony Black sitting out a game with an injury is a rarity. Since the 2023-24 season, Black has missed only five games, including the Sunday loss to Detroit. Because of his durability, Black is only seven games short of becoming eligible for the Most Improved Player award. In his first three seasons, Black’s points per game have increased from 4.6 to 9.4 to currently 15.7, so the Magic will want to capitalize in any game with him down the stretch. — Marks
Five of Portland’s next nine games are against lottery teams without incentives to win. They face the Grizzlies, Nets, Jazz and Pacers (twice). If the Blazers can inch back toward the .500 mark, they could threaten to pass both the struggling Warriors and the surging Clippers and perhaps get on the higher side of the play-in bracket. That would at least give them a more realistic chance at sneaking into the playoffs. — Slater
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the court this week for the first time in more than five weeks, and the Bucks still have aspirations of making the postseason. However, after one of their best stretches of the season, winning eight of 11 in February, the Bucks have dropped three in a row and still sit 3.5 games behind the No. 10 and final play-in seed in the East.
Milwaukee needs to start making up ground soon, and it’ll have a pair of chances against one of the teams directly in front of it. The Bucks welcome the Hawks to Milwaukee on Wednesday night before a road trip to Atlanta on March 14. If the Bucks aren’t closer to the Hawks by then, their playoff dreams will look even cloudier. — Collier
Lottery positioning is key for the Grizzlies, who won two in a row on the road at Dallas and Indiana but announced Sunday that Zach Edey will undergo another surgery on his left ankle, this time to address discomfort and bone stress. Edey hasn’t played since Dec. 7.
Meanwhile, Brandon Clarke will miss more time recovering from a strained right calf, and Santi Aldama has missed 14 of the past 15 contests. Star guard Ja Morant (left elbow) remains out, too. A three-game trip to close the season features matchups at Denver, Utah and Houston with Memphis likely to come out of it with at least two losses. — Wight
A winless February has taken the Bulls out of yet another East play-in race and flipped Chicago’s attention toward lottery odds. The 25-win Bulls are No. 12 in the East with a large gap before they fall any more spots in the standings. That could make the season finale against the Mavericks on April 12, a team that benefited from jumping up in the lottery last season, a serious tank-off as both teams try to ensure they can get as many ping-pong balls as possible. — Collier
New Orleans captured four consecutive victories for its second-longest win streak of the season before a loss to the Clippers on Sunday with Zion Williamson sitting out due to a right ankle injury. Williamson had played a career-high 35 consecutive games before his latest injury setback.
With no hope for a postseason berth and without its first-round draft pick, New Orleans can try to finish strong to set the tone for a pivotal offseason. Starting March 24 against the Knicks, the Pelicans play seven of their last 10 games on the road in a stretch that includes games with future playoff teams (the Pistons, Raptors, Rockets, Celtics and Timberwolves). — Wright
The Jazz play the Wizards on Thursday and again March 25, two games the league office might watch with great interest. The teams are in very similar situations, as both made midseason trades for stars who are sidelined and own top-eight-protected picks that they hope will end up as one of the final foundation pieces of a rebuild. — MacMahon
The Wizards have 16 wins, fourth fewest in the league. Among the three teams below them in the standings, they’ve already finished their season series against the Kings and Pacers, but one game remains against the 15-win Nets. If Washington drops that April 5 contest, it’ll move one step closer to prime lottery position and maximum 14% odds of the No. 1 pick. — Kram
The worst record in the league could be on the line in Sacramento on March 10, as the 15-win Pacers visit the 14-win Kings. The two teams have a rich history, with trades involving Tyrese Haliburton, Domantas Sabonis, Ron Artest, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller, and now they could add to that legacy by battling for pole position in the lottery.
The Pacers won the first meeting between the two teams, thanks in part to a big game from the since-departed Bennedict Mathurin. — Kram
Consecutive Sunday matchups on March 22 (at Sacramento) and 29 (at Brooklyn) against the similarly woeful Kings could determine lottery positioning for June’s loaded incoming draft class.
The Kings are three games ahead in the loss column, which would currently give them the extra bump, even with the flattened lottery odds. It’s clear this has been a developmental season for the Nets, and they hope to obtain a top collegian at the end of it, so these games could be the ugliest “tank-offs” yet. — Goodwill
Flattened lottery odds have lessened the benefit of finishing with the NBA’s worst record, but there’s still incentive. The league’s worst team gets a guaranteed top-five pick. The Kings currently have an NBA-low 14 wins, but the Nets and Pacers have 15 wins, presenting some important upcoming matchups in the tankathon.
The Kings face the Pacers in Sacramento on March 10 and still have both remaining matchups with the Nets — March 22 in Sacramento and March 29 in Brooklyn. — Slater