NBA Playoff Power Rankings: Suns on top, T’Wolves stun Grizzlies, Heat holding strong

The Playoffs are underway and each of the first round series are through Game 1. It’s very early, but here’s our early impression of each of final sixteen teams left in the NBA Playoffs. For our Playoff Power Ranking we will take each team’s recent form heading into the postseason while evaluating their early performance in the opening game of the series.

1) Phoenix Suns (lead New Orleans 1-0)

There is no secret that the Phoenix Suns are the best team in the league. They showed that throughout the regular season and, they continued to show that in Game 1 of the Western Conference Playoffs. They were up by 20 for most of their game against the Pelicans and even though there was a minor scare at the end of the their quarter, Chris Paul took over. Paul scored 19 points in the fourth on his way to a 30 point, 7 rebound and 10 assists night to get the Suns started on the right foot.

2) Miami Heat (lead Atlanta 1-0)

There were a few question marks coming into the post season surround South Beach. Sure, the Heat closed out the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Sure, they have home court advantage in the East, and have proven this is a team that can get the finals when they did it in the bubble two years ago. But there were some signs of trouble briefly before the end of the regular season that seems to have been brushed off. If Sunday’s Game one is any sign of things to come then the Heat should be just fine. Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson led Miami to a comfortable win in a game that saw them lead by as many as 32 in the third quarter. Butler had 21 while Robinson hit eight three pointers and finished with a playoff career high 27 points.

3) Philadelphia 76ers (lead Toronto 1-0)

Phllly is the sexy pick to take the title in the NBA after James Harden joined the Sixers linking up with the odds on favorite for the MVP trophy, Joel Embiid. It was neither Embiid nor Harden who lead the 76ers in the Game 1 match up against the Raptors in the 4 vs. 5 matchup. Tyrese Maxey set a new playoff career high 38 points in the 131-111 win over Toronto while Harden had 22 points and 14 assists while Embiid put in 19 points and had 15 rebounds. Joel and James are expected to lead the Sixers deep into the playoffs, but if they get role player contribution like Maxey had on Saturday night this team will be unstoppable.

4) Boston Celtics (lead Brooklyn 1-0)

What a tip off to the post season for the Boston Celtics who finished the regular season hotter than any team in the league. They were 27-8 in their final 35 games and earned the two seed in the East. That was the good news for Boston. The bad news is they drew the KD, Kyrie and the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. It’s the most anticipated series of this year’s first round and and maybe the the most anticipated first round series ever. Game 1 did not disappoint and neither did Jayson Tatum. There were 19 lead changes in the game, 17 in the first half, but the final change was the one that mattered most. Tatum’s game winning layup as time expired secured the C’s 115-114 win as the Boston superstar finished the game with 31 points and 8 assists.

5) Golden State Warriors (lead Denver 1-0)

Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are finally on the same court together again. They had played just eight quarters together coming into the postseason since Thompson got injured in the 2019 Finals. By now you have probably heard that the Warriors have never lost a series in which all three of their stars play in every game. That’s bad news for Denver who were helpless against the Warriors after keeping Golden State close in the first half. Curry came off the bench in his return after missing the last 12 games and had 16 points, but it was Jordan Poole who led the second half charge that saw the Warriors stretch the lead out to more than 20 points. Poole had 30 in the 123-107 win and Golden State will love to see more of their role players having big games we saw in Game 1.

6) Milwaukee Bucks (lead Chicago 1-0)

The defending champions know that they are coming into this post season with a target on their backs. They came out strong in the first quarter of Game 1 from the Fiserv Forum, taking a 16 point lead over the Chicago Bulls early in the first half. While the Bulls battled back and kept the game close for most of the night in Milwaukee surrendered the lead for just a few minutes at the end of the third into the fourth quarter. It was a 3 point game with 30 seconds to go in the fourth, but the Greek Freak hit two clutch free throws to secure the opening game win for the Bucks. Giannis had 27 and 16, while Brook Lopez had 18 and 5 rebounds in the 93-86 win in Game 1.

7) Memphis Grizzlies (down 0-1 to Minnesota)

The surprise of the opening games of the first round was the second seeded Memphis Grizzlies being upset by the Minnesota Timberwolves at the FedEx Forum. As strange as it sounds, the Grizzlies getting Ja Morant healthy for the playoffs may have just thrown them out of rhythm a bit. Ja sat all but one of the final ten games of the regular season as he nursed a knee injury, and in that time the Grizzlies won seven of those ten games. Long term getting Ja Morant will only help the Grizz, but there were signs of struggle in Memphis’ Game 1 loss to the T’Wolves.

8) Minnesota Timberwolves (lead Memphis 1-0)

It was easy to tell just how much making the playoffs meant to Patrick Beverly, Karl-Anthony Towns and the rest of Minnesota. This young cast of stars had one of the hottest restarts in the league after the All-Star Break, but fell down the standings towards the final stages of the season meaning they had to play in the Play-In Tournament. They beat the Clippers in the Play-In and partied like it was 1999, but the party didn’t stop there. They carried that momentum into the first game of the playoffs and knocked off the second seeded Grizzlies. Anthony Edwards had 36 points in his playoff debut to give the T’Wolves a 130-117 win over Memphis.

9) Brooklyn Nets (down 0-1 to Boston)

One thing can be said about the Brooklyn Nets after Game 1. This is not a team that plays like a seven seed. They are one of the favorites to make it through the Eastern Conference even though they had a disappointing regular season which left them having to battle for a spot in the first round in the Play-In Tournament. Once they defeated the Cavs in the 7 vs. 8 game, the attention turned to Boston. Brooklyn proved in Game 1 they are going to be a handful for the hottest team over the last two months to deal with. Kyrie had a fantastic game with 39 points and 6 assists, while Kevin Durant was contained for 23 points. They were milliseconds away from a road victory to start the series, but Tatum broke the Nets hearts with the final shot of the game. Don’t be surprised if this series goes the distance.

10) Utah Jazz (lead Dallas 1-0)

The Jazz got a big win on the road to start the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Bojan Bogdanovic Utah started off in the right direction with 20 first half points while Donovan Mitchell took a little longer to get going. After a low scoring first half the Jazz climbed out to a double digit advantage thanks to Mitchell’s 19 in the third quarter. Mitchell finished with 32 points, 30 of which came in the second half, but Royce O’Neal had the biggest shot of the ball game when he put the Jazz up four with a corner three to silence the Dallas crowd. Utah will be happy to have taken one on the road, but weary when Luka Doncic comes back for the Mavs.

11) Denver Nuggets (down 0-1 to Golden State)

Nikola Jokic knows the success of the Nuggets lies on his big Serbian shoulders as two of his most important supporting cast is unlikely to around for the playoffs. Jamal Murray is a sure thing to miss the series against the Warriors, but Michael Porter Jr. could be making his comeback before the end of the series. Jokic did a fantastic job keeping the Warriors close in the first half, but the longer Draymond, Curry and Thompson have on the court together, the more dangerous they become, especially against a wounded team like the Nuggets. Jokic was below average for his standards, with 25, 10 and 6 and he will need help from guys like Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green and Will Barton who had 24 on Saturday.

12) Dallas Mavericks (down 0-1 to Utah)

The Dallas Mavericks a bittersweet end to the regular season as they secured the four seed in the West, locking up home court for at least the first round of the playoffs. The bad news was Luka Doncic was injured on the final game before the playoffs and had to sit out Game 1 against the Jazz. Even though they were without their one time MVP candidate, the Mavs played Utah tight. They fought back after letting the game slip away from them in the third quarter, and had the deficit to within one in the final minute of the fourth. The name of the game right now for the Mavs is holding on until their star comes back from his calf strain, but reports out of Dallas is that Luka will be out for Game 2.

13) Chicago Bulls (down 0-1 to Milwaukee)

The Chicago Bull were guilty of coming out flat against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in the opening game of the playoffs. Billy Donovan’s side looked out of synch and lacking motivation much like they looked for large portions of the final stretch of the regular season. Let’s not forget that this was a team that was at the top of the Eastern Conference only a couple months ago, but dropped to the sixth seed by season’s end. The Bulls trailed for almost the entire game, but did show that they are ready to put up a fight after going down 16 in the first quarter. The Bulls were within striking distance in the final few minutes of the game, but looked like a team that didn’t know who to turn to with the game on the line. Despite their slow start and the disappointing end to the game, they look like they may give the reigning champs a handful.

14) Toronto Raptors (down 0-1 to Philadelphia)

The Raptors did well to end the regular season out of Play-In position in the Eastern Conference, but their fifth seed finish was met with a first round match up against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors were surely focused on containing MVP favorite Joel Embiid, and limiting James Harden, but what they probably weren’t expecting was for Tyrese Maxey to go off for 38 points in Game 1. The news went from bad to worse in the 131-111 loss to the Sixers as Scotty Barnes went down with an ankle injury after being stepped on by Joel Embiid and is listed as doubtful for Game 2 in Philadelphia.

15) New Orleans Pelicans (down 0-1 to Phoenix)

The Pelicans ran into a brick wall on Sunday night. They made it through the Play-In Tournament, but didn’t make it look easy, and their reward was a date with the top team in the league. They were outclassed from the very start against last year’s NBA Finalists. New Orleans scored just 34 points in the first half but did show signs of life at the end of the third quarter when the lead was cut down 8 points. In the end this is a very inexperienced team that is still working out how to play together after a trade shook up the core of the Pelicans. CJ McCollum, who was brought in during that trade, had 25 and 8 rebounds, but will need more help on the offensive end.

16) Atlanta Hawks (down 0-1 to Miami)

Last year’s Eastern Conference finalists are just a shade of the team that they were this time last year. A dreadful regular season for Nate McMillan’s side meant they would have to win two games in the Play-In Tournament after finishing ninth in the East. Trae Young and the Hawks were visibly worn out in Game 1 vs. the Miami Heat after playing two do-or-die games over the course of the last week. Trae Young had just 8 points on 1/12 shooting while the defense allowed the Heat open look after open look. One thing is for sure, Trae Young is unlikely be held in check like he was in the first game of the series, but not having Clint Capela down low after injuring his knee in the final Play-In game will make a tough task nearly impossible.