NBA Power Rankings: Lakers, Pistons among biggest climbers - ESPN

We are in the final full month of the NBA's regular season — and that means the playoff picture will get clearer by the day ahead of the campaign's final date on April 13.

It's also been nearly one month since the Feb. 6 trade deadline that sent shock waves across the league. Since then, Luka Doncic has found his groove with the Los Angeles Lakers while the Dallas Mavericks are facing a tough road ahead because of injuries to Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. Predictably, the Lakers have shot up the Western Conference standings while the Mavs are likely fighting for just a play-in spot.

In the Eastern Conference postseason race, the Detroit Pistons are revving up toward their first playoff appearance since 2019. How far up the standings could they move? Keep an eye on the middle of the East pack with the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers pushing for the No. 4 spot.

Let's dive into this week's updated Power Rankings for all 30 NBA teams.

Note: Team rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN's Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Michael Wright, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Ohm Youngmisuk and Chris Herring) think teams belong this season.

Previous rankings: Preseason | Oct. 30 | Nov. 5 | Nov. 13 | Nov. 20 | Nov. 27 | Dec. 4 | Dec. 11 | Dec. 18 | Dec. 25 | Jan. 1 | Jan. 8 | Jan. 15 | Jan. 22 | Jan. 29 | Feb. 5 | Feb. 12 | Feb. 26

Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTA | WAS

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

2024-25 record: 51-10

Previous ranking: 1

Next games: vs. MIA (Mar. 5), @ CHA (Mar. 7), @ MIL (Mar. 9), vs. BKN (Mar. 11)

The Cavaliers have taken Phil Jackson's 40-20 rule to another level this