Power Rankings, Week 24: East leaders set to clash with 2 weeks left

While injuries to Stephen Curry and Ja Morant have made the last two weeks of the regular season a little less meaningful in the Western Conference, things are getting pretty interesting out East.

With the Miami Heat seemingly imploding on the brink of the postseason, we now have four teams tied in the loss column at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Each has seven or eight games remaining, and there are three games left within the group. Two of those – Milwaukee-Philadelphia on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, League Pass) and Miami-Boston on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) – are this week.

Of course, it’s not clear if seeding really matters at this point. These teams (especially the Sixers given their most recent experience) might see the Brooklyn Nets as a serious first-round threat, but they can’t know (at this point or maybe even at the end of the season) where the Nets will land in the bracket.

Either way, the Eastern Conference playoffs are going to be great, and there are going to be some very good teams losing in the first round.

Of course, the first round is still 19 days away. There are 110 regular season games left to be played, and most of them mean something.

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Plus-Minus Players of the Week

• Right Way: Desmond Bane (MEM) was a plus-70 in three games last week.
• Wrong Way: Brandon Williams (POR) was a minus-66 in four games last week.

Teams of the Week

• Make It Last Forever: Memphis (3-0) — Ja Morant’s got a pretty good supporting cast.
• Something Just Ain’t Right: Miami (0-4) — Who knew that the biggest Eastern Conference battle on last week’s schedule would be Jimmy Butler vs. #HeatCulture?

East vs. West

• The West is 218-214 (.505) against the East in interconference games after going 12-11 last week. There are 18 interconference games remaining.

Schedule strength through Week 23

• Toughest: 1. Houston, 2. Portland, 3. Oklahoma City
• Easiest: 1. Phoenix, 2. Memphis, 3. Boston
• Schedule strength is based on cumulative opponent record, and adjusted for home vs. away and days of rest before a game.

Movement in the Rankings

• High jumps of the week: Chicago (+2), Houston (+2)
• Free falls of the week: Miami (-6), Cleveland (-3), Portland (-2)

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Week 24 Team to Watch

• Milwaukee — In that mix at the top of the Eastern Conference, the Bucks have a big week ahead. They visit the similarly 46-28 Sixers on Tuesday and then the closer-to-full-strength Nets on Thursday. Then they head home to face two Western Conference playoff teams, facing the Clippers on Friday and the Mavs on Sunday.

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Previous Power Rankings

• Last week: Playoff races heating up with 3 weeks left

• Thursday’s notebook: Sixers’ offense with James Harden + best teams since All-Star

• This time last year: Jazz climb to No. 1 after NBA’s active trade deadline — The Magic traded Evan Fournier (after he beat the Suns in the final seconds), Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic at the deadline. The Raptors and Blazers swapped wings, while the Heat acquired Victor Oladipo. Harrison Barnes beat the Cavs at the buzzer and Ja Morant had a ridiculous, lefty finish on an alley-oop.

• The archive: NBA.com Power Rankings

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Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)

The league has averaged 98.7 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 111.0 points scored per 100 possessions this season.

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NBA.com’s Power Rankings, released every Monday during the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail or contact him via Twitter.

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