NBA Playoff Power Rankings: It’s time for the Celtics to show and prove

The NBA playoffs are finally here. Well, almost, since the NBA doesn’t count the play-in tournament as part of the playoffs. Regardless, we’ve arrived at the moment where the games matter the most. It’s a race to 16 wins. Whoever manages to get there by June’s arrival will be crowned your NBA champion.

Nobody has more at stake this year than the Boston Celtics. If there were ever a year for the Jayson Tatum-era Celtics to get over the hump finally, this one is it.

After losing in the Conference Finals in such a pitiable way to an 8-seed Heat team last season and losing in the NBA Finals after building a 2-1 lead against Golden State, Boston needs to get the job done this year.

This is the best team in the NBA by far. The Celtics’ 11.7 point differential is the best in the NBA by far. There’s All-Star talent across the team’s starting lineup. These Celtics are the closest thing we’ve had to a super team in years. Nobody should beat Boston.

Yet, nobody seems completely convinced that Boston will win this year. That starts with the West’s contenders, who all look incredible. Denver, Oklahoma City, Minnesota and L.A. are all extremely good. The Celtics have a 3-5 record against the West’s top four teams this season. They didn’t get a win at all against the reigning champion Nuggets.

Plus, on the other side, there’s some tough competition between the Knicks, Bucks and maybe even the 76ers with plenty of star talent on the roster. The path to a championship for Boston won’t be an easy one. But this team should still get the job done. It’s that good.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens down the line. In the meantime, here’s a power ranking for all the teams left in the NBA’s big dance so far ahead of the play-in tournament.

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The Hawks being the last play-in team in the East is definitely not where the team wanted to be when this season began. Atlanta thought it could be one of the best teams in the East. Now, it faces offseason questions about how to move forward with Trae Young — or if Atlanta should move forward with him at all. A good play-in run would help with that tremendously.

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The Chicago Bulls might be the most Jekyll & Hyde team in the NBA. One day, Chicago looks like a world-beater. The next day, the team seems as if it hasn’t played a single game together before. DeMar DeRozan finished the season on a bit of a tear, so that should help the team’s play-in chances.

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Doubt the Miami Heat at your own peril. It’s easy not to believe in this team. It hasn’t been healthy, essentially, all season long. But Jimmy Butler always saves his best basketball for the playoffs. Just ask the Bucks and the Celtics at the top of the East.

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The Sacramento Kings being in the play-in this season is quite a big step down considering this team was the No. 2 seed in the West last year. But this team is still dangerous. It’s offense isn’t quite as potent as it was last year, but nobody wants to play in a winner-take-all game against De’Aaron Fox.

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Much of what was just said about the Kings above can be said about the Warriors. When healthy and rolling, this is an impressive team. Golden State lost a ton of games in the clutch early on in the season but caught its stride as the year went on and Draymond Green played more. This might be about as strong as a 10 seed can possibly be in a conference.

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When the Pelicans aren’t playing the Lakers, the team looks incredible. Just a few weeks ago it seemed like New Orleans might be playing for a series as the home team as a potential No. 4 seed. Brandon Ingram’s late injury changed the team’s trajectory a bit. He’s healthy now, but it’s a bit too late. The Pelicans will have to scratch and claw to the top of the West.

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The Lakers have been rolling over these last few weeks. The schedule has been a bit light, but you have to play who you have to play. LA has won seven of its last 10 games to position itself as the West’s No. 8 seed. This is a dangerous team. And, no, LA shouldn’t tank to get out of a matchup with the Nuggets.

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Now we’re starting to get into the teams who’ve locked up their playoff positioning and don’t have to worry about single-elimination games. The Magic have the Cavaliers in the first round and Orlando probably couldn’t have asked for a better matchup.

Cleveland won’t be easy to beat, but Orlando has so much size and versatility on both ends of the floor. It’ll be fascinating to see how that works against the speed and quickness of the Cavs’ backcourt.

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The Pacers are in an interesting position. Indiana gets Milwaukee in the first round after the Bucks fell to the 3rd seed in the conference. On paper, you’d think that a matchup against Indy would be better than one against Joel Embiid and the 76ers. However, Indiana has already beaten Milwaukee five times this season. This won’t be as easy as the Bucks might think.

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When the Phoenix Suns traded for Bradley Beal this offseason the team certainly couldn’t have pictured itself just narrowly avoiding the play-in tournament. That’s where Phoenix is, though. It’ll matchup against the Timberwolves, which could be fun. Phoenix has beaten the Wolves in all three of their matchups this season.

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The Bucks, man. I don’t even know what to say about this team anymore. It’s so easy to count Milwaukee out. This team is 19-20 through 39 games with Doc Rivers in the saddle. Giannis Antetokounmpo will probably be out for quite a bit here and the Bucks also have to match up against the Pacers.

I don’t think you should trust this team at all. They’ll have to prove it to us.

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The Cavaliers finished the season with a limp, going 4-6 in their last 10 games with an opportunity to grab the No. 2 seed in the East right there. But this is still a good team when it’s clicking. Cleveland is healthy again. All it takes is for Donovan Mitchell to catch his stride and this could be a championship contender.

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The Clippers may have fallen quite a bit since battling with the Thunder, Nuggets and Wolves at the top of the conference. But the big three of Kawhi Leonard, James Harden and Paul George is still one of the most potent combinations in the NBA.

L.A. just has to hope James Harden can shake his playoff woes so this team can thrive.

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The Mavericks’ matchup against the Clippers is going to be interesting. There’s obviously a history there between these two squads with playoff matchups in the past. But I also just generally think this is one of the best opportunities for an upset we have in these playoffs. The Clippers love to switch defensively, which plays right into Dallas’ hands. We’ll see how things work out.

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You were probably wondering where that last East play-in team was. Here they go — the 76ers are the No. 6 team in this power ranking.

I know this is a play-in team, but Philly has won eight straight games. Joel Embiid is back and this team should be able to make the playoffs pretty easily with the way he’s been playing. I don’t think either of the top two seeds in the conference wants to see a healthy Philly team right now.

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The Timberwolves aren’t a popular pick to make it out of the West. It’s understandable considering the team’s offensive struggles and the fact that nobody on this team has experience making a deep playoff run. But, man. That defensive is elite. And that travels extremely well in the playoffs.

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The Knicks have found something special in Jalen Brunson, who legitimately might be the best point guard in the NBA this year (unless, of course, you’d count Luka Doncic as a point guard). This team is short on top-end talent with Julius Randle out of the lineup for the season, but everyone plays their roles so well. That’s exactly what you need during playoff time.