In Week 23 of 2017-18 NBA Power Rankings, the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors desperately need to get healthy leading up to the playoffs.
Heading into the 2017-18 NBA season, the Golden State Warriors were viewed as the sovereign rulers of the Western Conference, while most expected the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics to duke it out for Eastern Conference supremacy.
While those expectations could very well hold true come playoff time, those three contenders need to get healthy first.
The Dubs are dealing with nagging injuries to Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green that could threaten their chemistry and momentum entering the home stretch. The Cavs barely just got Kevin Love back and are still missing Larry Nance Jr. and Rodney Hood. The Celtics have coped with Gordon Hayward‘s absence all year, but lingering injuries to Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart could make it one of those “next year” seasons.
Trailing the mighty Houston Rockets by four games for the 1-seed out West, the Warriors will have to win a potential playoff series against the MVP frontrunner and the best offense in NBA history without home-court advantage. Meanwhile, the Celtics have no shot at catching the deep Toronto Raptors for No. 1 in the East, and the Cavs have no chance of catching either of them for a top-two seed.
As the Rockets, Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers begin to look like real threats, the Warriors, Celtics and Cavs need to get healthy. In order to sort out where everyone stands with less than a month until playoff time, here are the latest NBA Power Rankings.