Just eight teams, four from each conference, remain in the hunt for the NBA’s greatest prize and our NBA Power Rankings has sorted through each of them to put them in their place.
The Sixers have the biggest fall from grace, dropping from 1st to 6th, but where do the other seven teams end up? The East has claimed three of the top four spots, with none of the Western Conference teams taking the floor so far in the second round!
Here’s where the remaining eight teams stand in our NBA Power Rankings, as we get stuck into the Conference Semifinals of the Playoffs for the 2020-21 NBA season:
1. Utah Jazz
NBA Championship Odds: +310
Second Round Series: 0-0 (Los Angeles)
Postseason Seed: 1st – West
Previous Ranking: 4
The Utah Jazz reclaim top spot of the NBA Power Rankings thanks to their four straight wins over Memphis, two of which were last week. A tough seven points win in Memphis in game four allowed the Jazz to return home with a 3-1 lead. They then put an end to the Grizzlies’ season in emphatic fashion, winning by 16, the largest margin of the entire series.
Given their comfortable First Round win, the Jazz haven’t played since Wednesday, and won’t play again until tomorrow, a massive five day break from action. This break has been very beneficial as Mike Conley lasted just 12 minutes of their game five victory due to a hamstring complaint, so any extra time off will allow him to recover. It has also been beneficial as the Clippers, who Utah beat two out of three times this season, had a grueling seven game series and only has one day off between series.
2. Brooklyn Nets
NBA Championship Odds: +160
Second Round Series: 1-0 (Milwaukee)
Postseason Seed: 2nd – East
Previous Ranking: 3
This was a very tentative placing for the Brooklyn Nets, as James Harden playing just 43 seconds before leaving with a hamstring complaint is extremely worrying for the side. This is the same hamstring that kept him from playing in 21 of the last 24 games of the regular season.
Luckily for Brooklyn, the combination of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving was still the best two man combo in the game, while Blake Griffin had one of his best performances of the last two seasons. It will just be interesting to see how the Nets go deep into this series if Harden is unable to go, but realistically they still looked that much better than the Bucks on Saturday and should feel confident in their ability to at least defend home court.
3. Atlanta Hawks
NBA Championship Odds: +2600
Second Round Series: 1-0 (Philadelphia)
Postseason Seed: 5th – East
Previous Ranking: 7
It only took two games but the first upset of the Conference Semifinals has already occurred. The Atlanta Hawks, on the back of their 4-1 series win over the Knicks, went into Philadelphia, against a full strength Sixers side, and smacked them. While the end result was just four points, the Hawks held a comfortable 74-54 halftime lead, with Trae Young dominating the evening.
Game 1 ✅#BelieveAtlanta pic.twitter.com/rfA0Znxq0F
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 6, 2021
After averaging 29 and 10 in the first round, Young was hitting shots from everywhere in game one of this series, finishing with 35 points and 10 assists. This was the first time in Atlanta franchise history that a player has had a 35/10 game in the playoffs, and the way he is playing at the moment, this is becoming a regular occurrence for the star. The big question is, now that the Hawks have stolen home court advantage, can they defend their own like they did against the Knicks.
4. Milwaukee Bucks
NBA Championship Odds: +650
Second Round Series: 0-1 (Brooklyn)
Postseason Seed: 3rd – East
Previous Ranking: 2
While they may have lost their opening game to the Nets, the Milwaukee Bucks remain in the top four of our NBA Power Rankings due to James Harden’s injury scare. Harden has already been ruled out of game two and this presents as the perfect opportunity for the Bucks to steal a game in Brooklyn and had back home with a split.
There was plenty of talk surrounding Jeff Teague’s terrible minutes, especially in crunch time, but Jrue Holiday and PJ Tucker both finished with game high net ratings of -13, while Giannis Antetokounmpo’s was -7. However, the person that will turn things around for Milwaukee is Khris Middleton. The 2x All Star shot a miserable 6/23 (26.1%) from the field and 0/5 from deep, finishing with just 13 points, something that needs to and should improve.
5. Phoenix Suns
NBA Championship Odds: +1000
Second Round Series: 0-0 (Denver)
Postseason Seed: 2nd – West
Previous Ranking: 6
After falling into a 1-2 hole against the Lakers in the opening round and many doubting their chances to advance, the Phoenix Suns turned things around and are now a smokey to win the West. Their 30 point thumping of LA in game five was a statement making performance and shows that this team has what it takes, both personnel wise and mentally, to go far in these playoffs.
In the first quarters of games five and six, Devin Booker scored a combined 40 points, totalling 77 across the two games overall. His 47 points in the closeout game six was absolutely incredible, announcing himself as a superstar in this league and it is hard to see how Denver will be able to slow him down.
6. Philadelphia 76ers
NBA Championship Odds: +1400
Second Round Series: 0-1 (Atlanta)
Postseason Seed: 1st – East
Previous Ranking: 1
While Joel Embiid was just questionable heading into game one against the Hawks yesterday, he played and the Philadelphia 76ers still lost. While the end result was just four points, the Sixers found themselves down by 20 at halftime and showed no ability to slow down Trae Young or any of the Hawks’ perimeter shooters.
For a side that finished the regular season with the second best defensive rating in the league, Philly has now given up an average over 120 points per game over their last three. The 20 made threes by Atlanta is seriously worrying for the Sixers, especially when they could only manage 10 of their own, with Tobias Harris and Danny Green combining to go 1/8 from deep.
7. Los Angeles Clippers
NBA Championship Odds: +460
Second Round Series: 0-0 (Utah)
Postseason Seed: 4th – West
Previous Ranking: 5
While it took till the seventh game of the series, the home side finally won and the Los Angeles Clippers prevailed. While there was talk over tanking at the end of the regular season, and worries after falling into a 0-2 hole then a 2-3 hole, the Clippers did what they needed to in order to advance. Kawhi Leonard’s game six performance in a win or go home scenario, in Dallas, was absolutely incredible and something that LA will now rely upon to continue their quest towards this season’s NBA Title.
The @LAClippers‘ 20 threes today were the most in a Game 7 in @NBAHistory. (@EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/VnWY6l6FKP
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) June 6, 2021
The massive positive for the Clippers moving forward is that game seven saw their role players come to life, notably Marcus Morris Sr who had 23 points on 7/9 shooting from deep, something that will be important against the best team from the regular season, Utah, who they meet after getting just one day’s rest.
8. Denver Nuggets
NBA Championship Odds: +2600
Second Round Series: 0-0 (Phoenix)
Postseason Seed: 3rd – West
Previous Ranking: 9
The Denver Nuggets round out our NBA Power Rankings due to our inability to trust them when it matters most. While they ended up dispatching Portland relatively comfortably, this Phoenix side that they are about to face is much, much better than the Blazers and they also lose home court advantage.
The positive for Denver is that Will Barton could return as early as game one, helping give a scoring boost to take some of the weight off Nikola Jokic’s shoulders. Jokic shot 52.8% for the series, finishing with averages of 33 points and 10.5 rebounds. Another scorer added to the mix will only benefit his game and the team, but whether they are good enough against Phoenix is a whole different story.
*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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