The two teams at the top of the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings square off on Wednesday night, as Kevin Durant is back to help the Brooklyn Nets take on the Philadelphia 76ers. In the Western Conference, Phoenix has won 11 of 13, including a thrilling overtime win over the West-leading Utah Jazz. The top four teams in each conference are starting to build some separation from the rest of the league, and it will be interesting to see how the playoff races shake out down the stretch.
Check out our latest basketball power rankings as you consider your online NBA betting strategy going forward.
NBA News: Updated Power Rankings
#1 Utah Jazz (40-13)
Donovan Mitchell put up at least 35 points in three consecutive games, the first member of the Jazz to do that since Karl Malone. When Utah beat Portland and Sacramento to push their home winning streak to a franchise best 24 games, Mitchell took at least 25 shots in each game. Before those games, the team had gone 0-5 when he had jacked up that many attempts.
#2 Phoenix Suns (37-15)
Phoenix is guaranteed their first winning season for the first time since their 48-34 campaign in 2013-14. That year, they missed the playoffs even though they won 48 games, because the West was so loaded. This year, though, they have the #2 slot in the West standings.
#3 Brooklyn Nets (36-17)
KD went 5 of 5 from the floor on Wednesday, returning from a two-month absence due to a hamstring injury against New Orleans. Now if the team can get Kyrie Irving back from his latest absence due to personal matters, the Nets can start building postseason chemistry.
#4 Philadelphia 76ers (36-17)
This will be the third and final meeting between Brooklyn and Philadelphia, and the teams split the first two, so the winner would snag the tiebreaker. Philadelphia demolished Dallas on Monday, as Joel Embiid is emphatically back from injury.
#5 L.A. Clippers (37-18)
The Clippers won four games last week, but they lost Patrick Beverley to a hand fracture. Rajon Rondo and Reggie Jackson will run the point in his absence, and Serge Ibaka (back) remains on the shelf.
#6 Denver Nuggets (34-19)
Denver went 7-1 in their first eight games with Aaron Gordon, and going back further, the team has won 17 of 21. Losing Jamal Murray for the season to an ACL tear is an incredible blow, given the deep nature of the West.
#7 Milwaukee Bucks (33-20)
It looks like Milwaukee would have to beat both Brooklyn and Philadelphia to get to the NBA Finals. That’s a hard task as it is, but it would be even harder without Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose knee soreness has kept him out of the last few games.
#8 L.A. Lakers (33-20)
LeBron and AD are getting closer to a return, but the Lakers didn’t need them in a 25-point whipping of the Nets in Brooklyn.
#9 Dallas Mavericks (29-24)
The Mavericks have an elite offense with Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis on the floor, putting up 123.4 points per 100 possessions in the last 20 games that both have played and in which both players were on the floor. The Mavericks’ biggest problem right now? Their clutch defensive rating (127.2), which is dead last in the league.
#10 Portland Trail Blazers (31-22)
Damian Lillard had to carry the squad for two months, and in the first six games of April, the fatigue showed, as he shot just 38.3 percent from the floor and the team went 2-4, beating Oklahoma City and Detroit. Lillard needs to get his legs back for this team to contend.
#11 Miami Heat (28-25)
Miami has won six of seven, thanks to Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, who combined to put up 41 points and 14 boards on Thursday and 42 points and seven boards on Sunday. Victor Oladipo’s knee injury has the team concerned, though.
#12 Atlanta Hawks (29-25)
Under Nate McMillan, the Hawks have gone 15-5, with the fourth best record in the NBA since March 2. Injuries have been a huge factor, with Danilo Gallinari, John Collins, Tony Snell and Trae Young missing Sunday’s game, but the Hawks were able to beat the Hornets anyway, thanks to 32 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic.
#13 Boston Celtics (28-26)
The Celtics keep pairing winning streaks with periods of awful play, but they just beat Portland on Tuesday to make it six wins in seven games. Next up is a matchup with the Lakers at Staples Center on Thursday.
#14 Charlotte Hornets (27-25)
No LaMelo? No Hayward? No problem. Miles Bridges has put up 17 points and six boards per game in April, playing over 33 minutes per night. Can they deal with Brooklyn on Friday night?
#15 Memphis Grizzlies (27-25)
Jonas Valanciunas has led the team in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and plus-minus since the All-Star break. He put up 34 points and 22 boards in a loss to Indiana on Sunday, which was just the second 30-20 game for any player this season. Can the team get him some help and climb the standings?
#16 New York Knicks (27-27)
This team has scraped its way to cling to a playoff spot — at least for the play-in tournament, thanks to some heroic plays from R.J. Barrett. They wouldn’t go more than one round, but they’ve already come a long way.
#17 San Antonio Spurs (25-26)
In the 22 seasons between 1997-98 and 2018-19, the Spurs went to the playoffs every year and spent just a combined 65 days with a losing record. However, the past two seasons have seen them have a sub-.500 record for 147 days.
#18 Indiana Pacers (25-27)
T.J. McConnell is a strong candidate for Sixth Man of the Year. On Wednesday, he had 19 points and 15 assists off the bench in a win over Minnesota. That was the first time since starts became a tracked stat in 1970-71 that a player had had more than one 15-15 game off the bench in one season.
#19 New Orleans Pelicans (24-29)
Zion Williamson has averaged 32.9 points per game in his last seven games, with 37 or more points in four of those games. He had his eighth 30-point game this season on Sunday in which he had all his field goals in the paint. The rest of the NBA has done that a combined seven times.
#20 Golden State Warriors (25-28)
The Warriors had a nice comeback win to beat MIlwaukee last week…and then fell apart against Washington on Friday. Stephen Curry because the team’s all-time leading scorer earlier this week…but big man James Wiseman looks done for the season. One step forward, two steps back.
#21 Chicago Bulls (22-30)
The Bulls thought center Nikola Vucevic would jump-start their team, but they have gone just 3-6 since the acquisition. They wasted another brilliant night from Zach LaVine, who dropped 50 on the Hawks on Friday…in a losing effort.
#22 Sacramento Kings (22-31)
The Kings are taking on water fast. They had a losing streak hit six games against Utah, and five of them were by double-digits.
#23 Toronto Raptors (21-33)
Toronto was 17-17 on February 28. Since then, they have gone 4-16 and are two games out of the tenth spot in the East.
#24 Washington Wizards (19-33)
Bradley Beal looks finally ready to return, and Daniel Gifford is back as well. The team can definitely use some help for Russell Westbrook.
#25 Cleveland Cavaliers (19-34)
The Cavaliers are showing signs of life, with Darius Garland going 14 of 22 to score 37 in a win over the Spurs. However, Garland and Collin Sexton both had to miss the next game, a loss to New Orleans, and the Cavs gave up 87 points to Toronto in the first half — and the Raptors did not have Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet or Kyle Lowry.
#26 Oklahoma City Thunder (20-33)
The Thunder are settling into the lottery stretch run, but we are seeing rookies Aleksej Pokusevski and Theo Maledon grow.
#27 Detroit Pistons (16-38)
Isaiah Stewart went 8 of 10 to score 16 points and pulled down 13 boards in a win over Sacramento, continuing to show promise in his rookie campaign.
#28 Orlando Magic (17-36)
Rookie Cole Anthony is back from a rib injury that kept him out for two months. However, he is only 13 of 42 in his first three games back, and the Magic have dropped five in a row.
#29 Minnesota Timberwolves (14-40)
D’Angelo Russell is finally back after being out for over a month, and he played well in four games last week, as the team beat Sacramento and Chicago while pushing Indiana and Boston hard in losses.
#30 Houston Rockets (14-39)
In seven of their last eight games, Houston has allowed at least 118 points. When the team has both Kelly Olynyk and Christian Wood on the floor, things are particularly bad as the team permits 121.9 points per 100 possessions.
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