The Boston Celtics didn’t look like a first-place team for most of last week with three losses to lower-tier teams in the New York Knicks, Miami Heat and even a lopsided defeat to the Orlando Magic. They were on the verge of dropping their fourth straight to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, but a controversial no-call on a LeBron James shot in the final seconds allowed the Celtics to escape in overtime.
So the Celtics remain the best team in the NBA, but by a smaller margin as their contending rivals in the Eastern Conference are gaining some ground. The Milwaukee Bucks have won five straight and are just 2.5 games behind Boston, while the Philadelphia 76ers have won eight of their past 10, and even the Kevin Durant-less Brooklyn Nets are stringing some wins together behind Kyrie Irving‘s leadership. Brooklyn will have their own chance to cut into Boston’s lead on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies are still vying for first place in the Western Conference, but the Sacramento Kings are looking more and more like a sneaky contender behind them. The Kings are one of the feel-good stories in the NBA this season, but they might prove to be more than just a fun underdog based on how they’ve been shooting the ball.
Note: Throughout the regular season, our panel (Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) is ranking all 30 teams from top to bottom, taking stock of which teams are playing the best basketball now and which teams are looking most like title contenders.
Previous rankings: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Week 14 | Week 15
1. Boston Celtics
2022-23 record: 36-15
Previous ranking: 1
Even after seeing their offense fall off over the past couple months following an incandescent start to the season, the Celtics enter Wednesday’s game against Boston as the only team to reside within the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency — placing fourth in each. — Bontemps
2. Philadelphia 76ers
2022-23 record: 32-17
Previous ranking: 3
Although Philadelphia saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end at the hands of the Orlando Magic on Monday, there’s still plenty to be excited about in The City of Brotherly Love, where the 76ers arguably have the best team of the Joel Embiid era — a view Embiid himself endorsed to ESPN after…
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