By Sean Wright

With All-Star weekend wrapping up teams’ are now heading the home stretch of the season. Each team has under 30 games left and the playoff picture gets clearer and unclearer by the day. Ok let’s get into it. 

1. Boston Celtics (43-12) 1st in East

The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the NBA for the entire season and them having the best overall record reflects that. Jayson Tatum has been on a terror for most of the season. Though Tatum has been an elite scorer since he stepped on the court as a rookie, his ability to make plays for others has especially been on display this season. Veteran guard Jrue Holiday and veteran center Kristaps Porziņģis have proven to be elite additions on both ends. Nothing to see here, the Celtics are rolling. 

2. Minnesota Timberwolves (39-16) 1st in West

The Timberwolves are done being the little brother in the West. The Wolves are one of the best all around teams in the NBA. That feat can mostly be attributed to the ascension of guard Anthony Edwards. He’s been a top ten player this season and has picked it up as a playmaker and defender. The Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Gorbert duo looks much more compatible in year two. Furthermore, the Wolves finally possess good depth from top to bottom. Expect the Wolves to be major players in the West come playoff time. 

3. Los Angeles Clippers (36-17) 3rd in West

The Clippers acquired James Harden and opted to bring Russell Westbrook off the bench and the rest is history. Tyronn Lue deserves much more than the Coach of the Year Award for the way he’s managed the star studded roster. Kawhi Leonard has played in 48 of the teams 53 total games. Leonard has been efficient all season shooting 53 percent from the field and 45 perfect from three. There’s only one question surrounding the Clippers: Can they stay healthy? 

4. Denver Nuggets (36-19) 4th in West

Let’s pump the brakes. The Denver Nuggets are still reigning champions. Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray are still the best duo in the league. Enough said. 

5. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-17) 2nd in West

The Oklahoma City Thunder just keep getting better. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is clearly the driving force, but every night he has a different Robin by his side. The Thunder are poised to make a solid playoff run. In order to do so, second year phenom Chet Homgren must be more consistent. I’ll leave it at that. 

6. New York Knicks (33-22) 4th in East

The New York Knicks have been blazing for awhile now. The Knicks roster is packed with talent from top to bottom. They have two stars at the top and a host of solid to good players. Even without Julius Randle over a stretch, the Knicks have remained in striking distance of a top seed in the East. The Knicks will be major players in the East. (Jalen Brunson should’ve been an All-Star starter). 

7. Philadelphia 76ers (32-22) 5th in East

The Sixers are seventh pending an update on Joel Embiid’s health and his time table for returning. That’s it. Otherwise the Sixers would be no lower than third on this list. The addition of Buddy Hield has already paid dividends and Tyrese Maxey is continuing to impress. We’ll see. 

8. Milwaukee Bucks (35-21) 3rd in East

The Bucks have one of the best rosters in the NBA. The Bucks have two top 10-15 players in the NBA in Damien Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks don’t play defense. Once they begin to defend, they’ll potentially shoot up to the top two on this list. 

9. Dallas Mavericks (32-23) 7th in West

Hear me out. The Dallas Mavericks were flirting with mediocrity until the trade deadline. The additions of PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford will absolutely change life in Dallas. Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving have been meshing well as of late and Dallas will be a tough out for any team out West. 

10. Miami Heat (30-25) 7th in East

The Miami Heat have consistently shown that they should never be counted out. They’ve made repeated deep playoff runs since 2020. The addition of Terry Rozier has finally given Miami a much needed distributor. Rozier has long been a shoot-first guard but has definitely fit the distributor role in Miami. As long as Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler are healthy, the Heat have a chance.