Here’s my mashup of NBA Power Rankings and Playoff forecast for Round One.
I mentioned I was planning to run a modified version of the Power Rankings – and here it is. I’ve listed the eight teams I believe will survive the first round of the NBA Playoffs, in the order of their strength. Then I’ve got another slide with the teams who will be gone, also from best to worst.
In other words, here’s my combination of Power Rankings and playoff forecast for the first round. I have a few upsets in mind. So many strong teams have been weakened by injuries to top players, which may lead to some surprising upsets.
More and more players are wearing armoured gear which provides padding for knees and elbows, a trend destined to continue. Will pro hoopsters be wearing leather helmets next, in the manner of football players a century ago? I won’t be surprised.
Let’s go.
Note: “Last week” refers to each team’s chunk of games since my last Power Rankings.

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11
Oklahoma City thunder 48-34
Last week: 3-1
Last rank: 10

The Thunder couldn’t nudge past the Blazers to avoid Utah. Now they must defeat one of the NBA’s best defensive teams to advance. Rudy Gobert is one of the few humans on the planet capable of slowing down Russell Westbrook. That’s the key for Utah – control the pace, which they will. Carmelo’s defense will be exposed by gunslingers like Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles.
Out in: 6