NBA Power Rankings: 76ers rising fast behind a rejuvenated Joel Embiid

Pistons
Detroit has won three of four and Cade Cunningham (wrist contusion) didn’t play in the loss to the Clippers on Saturday. The Pistons are a worse offense by almost 10 points per 100 possessions without Cade, so it’s no surprise they only scored 92 points against L.A. But given his absence it’s hard to hold that loss too heavily against them, and considering nobody has done all that much to demand the No. 1 spot of late, Detroit stays on top for another week. — 28-10
2

Timberwolves
Minnesota has quietly climbed into a top-four seed by winning six of their last seven. Anthony Edwards has been a clutch god (how about that game-winner over Wemby?) and Rudy Gobert is vying for his fifth Defensive Player of the Year trophy. 7 27-14
3

Thunder
Well, we know the Thunder are capable of beating the Spurs now, and they’ve won five straight since getting throttled by the Hornets. But it’s still been touch and go. They beat the Jazz and Grizzlies by a total of five points. Over the last month, which dates back to the first Spurs loss, OKC ranks 27th in 3-point percentage. 3 34-7
4

Nuggets
Denver has won four of its last five and has managed to go 5-3 since Nikola Jokić went down. Jamal Murray has averaged over 27 PPG on 45/41 shooting splits since Joker’s injury and Peyton Watson has gone nuts with at least 20 points in seven of his last eight games including a pair of 30-pieces. 3 27-13
5

Celtics
Tough little stretch for the Celtics, who have lost three of their last four. Want to know how valuable Jaylen Brown is to this team? They lost to the Pacers without him, putting up just 96 points against a bottom-10 defense. Still, you can’t drop too far when you’ve won 10 of your last 14. 2 24-15
6

Suns
The Suns are 1-5 against the Rockets and Thunder and 23-11 against everyone else. Top-five defense. They’ve won nine of their last 12. Dillon Brooks continues to play at a legit All-Star level season. 2 24-16
7

76ers
Philly is on the rise. They’ve won six of their last eight and the two losses were by one point each to the Nuggets and Raptors, both in overtime. Tyrese Maxey or Joel Embiid has led the team in scoring in the last 13 games. That’s how it has to be if the Sixers are going to make real noise, which it’s starting to look like they might be able to do in the East. Embiid is back to dominating. 7 22-16
8

Spurs
San Antonio is coming back to earth a little bit. The Spurs have lost four of six (they had Minnesota down 19 and never trailed over the first 46 minutes until Anthony Edwards took them apart in closing time) and were manhandled in the second half by OKC on Tuesday. Victor Wembanyama hasn’t played more than 28 minutes in a game since mid-November. 3 27-13
9

Clippers
Kawhi Leonard has made 16 of his last 30 3-pointers and is making an All-NBA case. Meanwhile, the Clips bounced back from a loss to the Knicks with three straight wins and have now won 10 of their last 12 with the league’s No. 1 offense over that stretch. 1 16-23
10

Knicks
Josh Hart returned on Sunday and the Knicks won. Coincidence? Probably not. New York is now 21-9 (if you include the NBA Cup championship over the Spurs) with Hart in the lineup and 5-5 without him. All told, they’ve lost five of their last seven. 2 25-14
11

Raptors
Toronto has won four of its last six and one of those losses was to the Celtics without Scottie Barnes, and they still played them tough. 2 24-17
12

Rockets
Houston finally got back in the win column (against the Bulls, but they’ll take it right now) after three straight losses (two to the Blazers and another to the Kings; yikes) following Kevin Durant’s game-winner vs. Phoenix. In fact, Houston’s last seven losses have all come against teams with losing records. It doesn’t get any easier with OKC on Thursday. 10 23-14
13

Lakers
The Lakers ended a three-game skid with a win over Atlanta on Tuesday. It was the first time this season that LeBron James has played in both ends of a back-to-back. The loss to Milwaukee stung. Luka and LeBron almost outscored the entire rest of the team (51-50) and when the Bucks sold out to double Dončić the Lakers just couldn’t make them pay enough. 5 24-14
14

Warriors
The Warriors have used a home-heavy slate since last December to somewhat steady the ship. They’ve won nine of their last 13 and still have a top-10 defense, but if the season ended today they’ve right back in the spot they were last year: having to go through the play-in. 1 22-19
15

Cavaliers
Cleveland has won five of eight but the loss to Utah on Monday is a momentum killer. Tough stretch with two against the Sixers and then Oklahoma City coming up. This team feels like it needs a trade to sort of give this season a restart. Jarrett Allen feels like a decent candidate to go. 4 22-19
16

Trail Blazers
Portland has lost two straight (how much can you count the Golden State loss against them without Deni Avdija), but the Blazers won seven of their previous eight with victories over Houston, Boston and San Antonio. To this point, Portland has played the league’s second-toughest schedule, per ESPN. Let’s see if they can hang around long enough to make a run when things eventually lighten up and they get Jerami Grant back (if they don’t trade him). 1 19-22
17

Magic
Orlando hasn’t won or lost two straight games since Dec. 18. The Magic have only beaten one team with a winning record in the last month. They have a bottom-10 offensive, defensive and net rating since Franz Wagner went down in early December. Still, they are hanging onto a top-six spot in the East for the moment. 2 22-18
18

Hornets
Super fun fact: The Hornets are a tenth of a point away from having the best offensive rating in the NBA, and the defense is actually middle of the pack. That’s like a Denver Nuggets profile from the championship year. They beat the Jazz by 55 freaking points. They’ve still lost eight of their last 13, but there are some things to really be excited about in Charlotte. 2 14-26
19

Heat
The Heat managed to stay above .500 with a win over the Suns on Tuesday after and 0-3 road trip. They could very well be below .500 after their next three (vs. Boston and OKC and at Golden State to start a five-game trip through the West). 1 21-19
20

Mavericks
After it was initially reported that Anthony Davis was headed for hand surgery, which could’ve effectively ended his season, it now looks like he’ll avoid going under the knife. The Mavs would be smart to play the “he can come back this season” card to trade him as soon as possible. — 15-25
21

Bulls
Make it four losses in their last five (with one postponement for a wet court) for the Bulls, who are tied with the Hawks for the East’s 9-10 play-in spot. Real heavyweight battle that is. 3 18-21
22

Bucks
The Bucks lost by 33 on Tuesday to the Timberwolves, who were playing without Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. Can Giannis just please push the trade button? 1 17-23
23

Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are reportedly listening to offers for Ja Morant. It feels like his time in Memphis is done, if not at the deadline then definitely this summer. Memphis has lost six of its last eight. 2 17-22
24

Hawks
For anyone who was riding the “Atlanta’s defensive issues weren’t just about Trae Young” train, giving up 81 to the Lakers in the first half on Tuesday was some vindication. That said, the Hawks did win three straight after the deal was made (it didn’t hurt getting to play the Nuggets, and hold them to 87 points, with Jokić and Murray out). 2 20-22
25

Wizards
The Wizards can’t score a lick since C.J. McCollum left town and who knows when Trae Young will actually suit up. Washington had won five of seven before the trade for Young. 3 10-28
26

Jazz
You want NBA unpredictability in a nutshell: Utah lost to the Hornets by 55 points on Saturday and then turned around two days later and beat the Cavs by double digits. Utah has lost 10 of its last 14. 3 14-25
27

Nets
The Nets keep a decent amount of games close but they’re 3-12 in Clutch games. Perfect for a tank job. Are they going to sell high Michael Porter Jr.? — 11-26
28

Kings
The Kings snapped a seven-game skid this week with back-to-back wins over the Rockets and Lakers, which says more about those two teams right now than it does the Kings. 1 10-30
29

Pacers
Indiana has won three straight but is still tied with New Orleans for the fewest wins in the league with nine. 1 9-31
30

Pelicans
Make it 11 losses in their last 12 for the Pels, who have just one win this entire season against a team with a winning record. 2 9-33