Welcome to the final edition of Sports Illustrated’s weekly NBA championship power rankings.
Since the All-Star break we’ve kept close track of the teams that seemed most capable of competing for this year’s title. With each passing week we eliminated the contenders that revealed weaknesses significant enough to wipe away any belief (or even irrational hope) they could realistically compete into June this year—from the 76ers and their injury problems to the Rockets and their ugly late-game execution.
