In Week 18 of 2017-18 NBA Power Rankings, the Cleveland Cavaliers look ready to turn their season around after the trade deadline.
One game isn’t enough to declare that the Cleveland Cavaliers have fixed all their problems, but when that game is a rout over the “top” team in the Eastern Conference, on the road, in their first game with four new players, on a night where everyone’s smiling and looks happy for the first time in weeks … well, that kind of matters.
Again, we need to see consistency from the new-look Cavs before deciding they’re out of the woods just yet, but a happy LeBron James should terrify the rest of the East, and the depth that Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr. and George Hill will provide should too.
Around the league, the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline created some ripple effects, but some things remain the same as the Houston Rockets continue their reign at the top and the Toronto Raptors still look as complete as ever. Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz are streaking their way back into the playoff picture with 10 straight wins.
The question is, what does the lay of the land look like after the trade deadline and how is the playoff picture shaping up in each conference? In order to sort it all out, here are the latest NBA Power Rankings.