Week 13 of NBA Power Rankings marks the midseason, copious shuffles in the tiers and the OKC Thunder holding steady on the playoff ladder.
With the completion of week 13, the OKC Thunder and their counterparts have all reached the midseason mark. The trade deadline is 17 days away and the All-Star break is a little over three weeks away. Players are anxious to hit the break and franchises are crossing fingers rosters remain or get healthy.
The midseason has witnessed some separation with a Bucks squad who is on pace for 70 wins and the Lakers have a 4.5 game cushion in the West.
Typically at the quarter pole, the top 16 seeds are the same teams who’ll be playing beyond mid-April. However, with so many teams in the mix in the Western Conference chase pack specifically, this year may be the exception to the rule.
There are a few other notable benchmarks that reflect my power ranking placement and offer some insight on which teams are making the cuts on several fronts.
One harbinger is net rating, but again this season is an outlier with only 13 clubs owning a positive differential. The seven teams in the West are the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Jazz, Mavericks, Rockets and OKC Thunder. In the East, the six teams are the Bucks, Heat, Raptors, Celtics, Pacers, and 76ers.
In terms of how the conferences fare versus each other, ten Western teams and six Eastern clubs have winning records against their opposite coast foes. All of the same teams above plus the Suns, Blazers, and Wolves.
While the chase pack offers excitement for who’ll finish in those bottom seeds the other equally intriguing race exists in the two through six seeds in both conferences and the constant jostling of position.
This week’s power ranking reflects those shifts along with one young squad that should be on everyone’s NBA League Pass must-watch list.
For those who prefer to keep track on a week by week basis each is linked below:
- Week 1: click here
- Week 2: click here
- Week 3: click here
- Week 4: click here
- Week 5: click here
- Week 6: click here
- Week 7: click here
- Week 8: click here
- Week 9: click here
- Week 10: click here
- Week 11: click here
- Week 12: click here
And with that I give you my NBA Power Rankings for week 13 of action: