{"id":21803,"date":"2022-03-20T13:55:39","date_gmt":"2022-03-20T17:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=21803"},"modified":"2022-03-20T13:55:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T17:55:41","slug":"nba-power-rankings-update-march-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nba\/nba-power-rankings-update-march-19\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Power Rankings Update – March 19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Phoenix Suns are even bigger favorites<\/a> to win the NBA Championship than they were last week. Phoenix has shrugged off the loss of Chris Paul and will lock up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference in the next few days. They are 57-14 and have been the best team in the NBA all year, although most people doubted the defending West champions until recently. Golden State\u2019s woes and a crowded Eastern Conference race have more people jumping on Phoenix now that the path to the NBA Finals is easier in the West than it is in the East for the first time in over a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Phoenix Suns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Week\u2019s Odds: +350
Last Week\u2019s Odds: +400<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Paul hasn\u2019t taken the court since just before the All-Star Break, but the Suns keep winning games. Devin Booker is thriving with 25.9 PPG, and he is knocking down 45.8% of his field goals and 37.6% of his threes. Deandre Ayton is one of the most efficient shooters in the league, knocking down 64.5% of his two-point shots and holding a 1.452 scoring efficiency mark. The role players on the Suns have been outstanding too as Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Cam Payne would all be second or third options on most other teams.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Golden State Warriors<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Week\u2019s Odds: +550<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last Week\u2019s Odds: +500<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Golden State just can\u2019t stay healthy. Draymond Green finally returned to the lineup earlier this week, but the Warriors had their starting five for just two games before Steph Curry went down with an injury. Curry is dealing with a sprained ligament in his left foot that will keep him out for at least two weeks, and he may miss the rest of the regular season. The Warriors need him healthy for the playoffs, and if he is unable to play in the first round, there is a serious chance that Golden State only lasts one series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Brooklyn Nets<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Week\u2019s Odds: +650 (No Change)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s becoming increasingly unlikely that Ben Simmons will play a regular season game with the Nets. Simmons is still dealing with back pain, and while he is traveling with Brooklyn, he has yet to take the court or even practice. However, it\u2019s still going to be tough to beat the Nets with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving playing at an elite level. Seth Curry adds a much needed perimeter shooter, but the overarching question is whether or not New York City will lift its COVID requirements so that Irving can play at home during the playoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Milwaukee Bucks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Week\u2019s Odds: +700 (No Change)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defending champions are rounding into form. Milwaukee has its rotation fully healthy now that Brook Lopez has finally returned from injury, but the Bucks are being careful with their center. They have won eight of their last ten games and are currently 2.5 games behind the Miami Heat for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. We said this team was the best bet on the board<\/a> last week, and that continues to be the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Philadelphia 76ers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Week\u2019s Odds: +800
Last Week\u2019s Odds: +700<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Philadelphia is 7-3 over its last ten games, people are jumping off the Sixers\u2019 bandwagon. Philadelphia was the favorite to win the East after the James Harden trade, but it\u2019s become apparent that the 76ers struggle with teams that play up tempo. Kevin Durant said as much after the Nets dominated the Sixers last week, and that seems unlikely to change at this point given who Philly has on the roster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Miami Heat<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Week\u2019s Odds: +950
Last Week\u2019s Odds: +1200<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best team in the Eastern Conference is the Miami Heat. They have the second-best home record in the NBA, and they are 2.5 games ahead of the pack for the top spot in the East. Miami clinched the Southeast Division title earlier this week, but this team wants to avoid having to play Brooklyn in the first round. The Nets would be the best No. 8 seed in league history, as they have been much better on the road than at home due to the Kyrie Irving situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Boston Celtics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Week\u2019s Odds: +1000
Last Week\u2019s Odds: +1400<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boston has been the best team in the Eastern Conference since the start of the new year. The Celtics are one game behind Philadelphia for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, and they lead the East in point differential. They went on the road and hammered Golden State earlier this week, so this team will be a tough out given the recent play of Jayson Tatum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow our <\/em>Twitter account<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news and wagering odds, and come to our <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for more useful betting info too.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Phoenix Suns are even bigger favorites to win the NBA Championship than they were last week. Phoenix has shrugged…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":17675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21808,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21803\/revisions\/21808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}