NBA Power Rankings: The Pelicans have soared into contender territory

A nightmare season continues to get worse for the Wizards. Rookie Bilal Coulibaly is out for the season after fracturing his wrist. Meanwhile, the team is on pace for a 70+ loss season. Bad times in D.C.

This season isn’t about winning for the Spurs – it’s about figuring out how far along Victor Wembanyama is and how to build around him moving forward. If his incredible game against the Nets is any indication, he’s ahead of schedule. The dude is a walking 5-by-5.

Brandon Miller’s season would be more than good enough to win Rookie of the Year in a normal year despite the team’s failures. He’s won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month twice so far this year and, while it won’t get him headlines, he seems to be on a steady path to stardom.

It’s been a pretty tumultuous season in Portland so far. Much of the calamity has been driven by Scoot Henderson’s up-and-down play all season. It’s hard to blame him – between injuries and his different roles, consistency has been hard to develop. But his offensive game isn’t where it needs to be right now. That will be Portland’s focus this offseason.

The Raptors are losers of seven straight games and have gone 4-9 since the NBA All-Star break. This team is certainly not where it wants to be right now. Luckily, it looks like Toronto will have two solid draft picks between their own selection and the Pacers’ pick from the Siakam trade to work with this offseason.

The Grizzlies are finally healthy again with Desmond Bane recently returning to the lineup. This is a lost season in Memphis, but the Grizzlies have managed to stumble upon some new building blocks for their team once the trio of Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant are back and healthy again next season.

The Nets have lost four straight games, including a blown lead to the Spurs behind a simply phenomenal performance from Victor Wembanyama. This team is in shambles right now. Sean Marks and crew will have some decisions to make this summer.

Utah is right where it wants to be. No, this team isn’t competitive right now – the Jazz sit 6.5 games back of the 10-seed. There’s a sliver of hope for the Play-In Tournament, but it’s probably not happening. Despite that, Utah is getting some tremendous play from Keyonte George as of late, with the rookie scoring at least 20 points in each of his last four games.

Speaking of lost seasons, the Atlanta Hawks are in a precarious spot right now. They’re at the bottom of the Play-In Tournament as the 10-seed in the Eastern Conference, but they’re also without Trae Young for the immediate future as he recovers from hand surgery. I’m just not sure where this is going.

Chicago is floating around .500 and, surprisingly, only four games back on the 76ers for the No. 6 seed in the East. It’d take a lot to get there and probably won’t happen, but Chicago has been playing some competitive basketball. This is a solid play-in team.

The Rockets are the hottest team in the NBA, folks. Even after Alperen Sengun went down for the season with an ankle injury, Houston has kept the wheels turning. The Rockets have won six in a row and four without Sengun. Jalen Green has simply been incredible during this stretch, including a 42-point outburst against the Wizards.

Every time you feel like Golden State is getting ready to go on a run, this team gets humbled. The Warriors have lost four of the last six games, including two stinkers against the Knicks and the Spurs. It’s hard to map where this team truly is and that’s been the case all season long. It seems they’re just destined for the play-in.

The Lakers are in the same boat the Warriors are in. Just when things start to simmer up a bit, something cools things down. Injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis have flared up this season, but that’s not the problem here. The Lakers just aren’t good enough.

Miami typically plays its best basketball as the season goes on. That’s not the case right now. Miami is 4-6 in its last 10 games and it’s taken some absolute miracles from Bam Adebayo to get the Heat there. I get that all bets are off on Jimmy Butler and Erik Spoelstra once they get into the postseason. But, man. Now would be a great time to flip that switch.

Tyrese Haliburton is going through the worst slump of his life right now, according to him. He’s shooting 17 percent from 3-point range in March so far, which has bogged down Indiana’s usually high-powered offense quite a bit. Despite that, the Pacers are 5-5 in the last 10 games. Once he finds his shot again things should be fine.

The Phoenix Suns have actually played pretty well lately – the team’s net rating over the last 10 games is a healthy +2.5, and its defense has held steady. But Phoenix has also run into the Boston Celtics twice and the Bucks once over the last five games. If not for them, we’d probably be talking about the Suns as a dark horse out West today.

Kyrie Irving’s incredible game-winner over Nikola Jokic might propel the Mavs in the direction the team needs to go. Dallas is 6-4 in its last 10 games and has won two straight, including a solid win over Wembanyama’s Spurs.

Sacramento is just three games behind the Clippers for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. There’s an upcoming matchup with L.A. on April 2 that could get very interesting if the Kings can gain a bit more ground here.

Joel Embiid doesn’t have an exact date for a return quite yet, but there is a target time period. The 76ers are hoping to get the big man back for the second week of April, which is right before the playoffs start. That’d be perfect timing for Philly.

A few weeks ago the Clippers were right there in the thick of things at the top of the West playing for the No. 1 seed. Now, it feels like the No. 4 seed is probably the team’s best-case scenario after dropping four of the last five games. Things have been going haywire between Kawhi Leonard’s injury flare up and Paul George’s contract talk. The Clippers need to get right.

After falling down as far as the No. 8 seed in the East, the Magic are back up to No. 5 and only 3.5 games back on the Milwaukee Bucks for the No. 2 seed. With eight wins in the last 10 games, it certainly feels attainable for Orlando.

Just when we thought the Knicks were finally healthy again, OG Anunoby has to go back on the mend because of an elbow tweak. It’s also unclear when Julius Randle will return after dislocating his shoulder. In the meantime, though, Jalen Brunson has held things together – just as he has all season long.

With Donovan Mitchell out for at least the next week after nasal surgery, it’s fair to wonder how the Cavaliers will hold up over these next few games. Cleveland will play Miami twice over the next three games and also has a matchup against the Timberwolves as Minnesota tries to reclaim the West. Losing your best player – even for a bit of time – down the stretch is tough. We’ll see if the Cavs are good enough to get through it.

Anthony Edwards has held down the fort as best as he can in the absence of Karl-Anthony Towns. But the truth for the Wolves is that the offense was already a struggle with the All-Star big man in hand. Now that it’s unclear when he’s coming back after a meniscus injury, it’s hard to believe the Wolves’ offense will hold up in the long run.

While Minnesota is slowing down a bit, the Pelicans seem to be peaking. As I mentioned in the lead, the Pelicans are playing their best basketball right now. New Orleans is 8-2 in the last 10 games and Zion Williamson looks like one of the best five or so players on the planet. Watch out for the Pels.

After a slow start to the Doc Rivers era, the Bucks have managed to find some stability. Milwaukee is 7-3 in its last 10 and Damian Lillard is playing his best basketball of the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s nagging injuries are a bit worrisome, but it doesn’t seem as if they’re anything to worry about long-term. At least for now.

The Thunder are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and certainly feel like a threat to win it all this year despite the lack of playoff experience on the roster. Shai Gilgeious-Alexander is playing good enough to win MVP this season.

The reason the Nuggets are here ahead of the Thunder despite being behind them is the standings is simple: It’s championship pedigree. We can trust the Nuggets a smidge more than we can trust OKC at this point. These two teams are neck and neck, though.

The Celtics have been the creme of the crop in the NBA all season long and that hasn’t changed. Shift the lineup around however you want. Take someone out because of injury. Do whatever. It doesn’t matter. These Celtics are just that goo