The NBA's 2023-24 stretch run is here.

And with just a couple weeks left in the campaign, there's still plenty to be decided. The race for first in the Western Conference is heating up. The same goes for which eight teams will be in both conferences' play-in tournaments.

As various squads from all over the league jockey for position up and down the standings, we'll sort out the entire NBA the same way we do every week.

Based on team and individual numbers, recent performance, championship chances and plenty of subjectivity, here's where all 30 teams stand.

30. Detroit Pistons (12-61)

Previous Rank: 28
Net Rating: -9.0

After a brief dalliance with competitiveness earlier this month, the Detroit Pistons have lost eight straight and once again have the worst record in the league.

But somehow, they might still be in a better position than a team like the Brooklyn Nets. They should have their own first-rounders for the next several years, and they have a couple of potential stars on the roster.

This season, Cade Cunningham is averaging 22.3 points and 7.5 assists, while Jalen Duren is at 13.8 points and 11.9 rebounds per game.

If they can surround that two-man game in the middle of the floor with some young, high-end shooters over the next few years, they should be in decent shape.

29. Charlotte Hornets (18-54)

Previous Rank: 29
Net Rating: -10.8

At this point, the Charlotte Hornets pretty much have the league's worst net rating locked up.

Even after Wednesday's win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, they're almost two full points clear of 29th place. But that doesn't mean this season is completely devoid of hope.

Against Cleveland, rookie forward Brandon Miller went for 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting. And since January 29, he's played 27 games and averaged 20.1 points and 2.9 threes, while shooting 37.1 percent from deep.

As he continues to improve and LaMelo Ball hopefully finds some way to stay consistently healthy, Charlotte should be more competitive next season.

That may not be too bold for a team with a point differential this bad, but improvement is improvement.

28. Washington Wizards (14-59)

Previous Rank: 30
Net Rating: -9.0

The Washington Wizards have shown some spunk of late. In their last four games, they have three wins and one overtime loss.

And even with this little surge, they're almost certainly not in danger of giving up their 14 percent shot at the No. 1 pick. The three-gamer was a perfect winning streak for a tanking team. And it isn't the only source of some hope for Wizards fans.

After taking plenty of heat for his struggles early in the season, Jordan Poole is showing signs of life lately. Over his last 20 games, Poole is averaging 20.8 points, 4.9 assists and 3.3 threes, while shooting 37.6 percent from deep.

27. Portland Trail Blazers (19-54)

Previous Rank: 27
Net Rating: -8.3

The Portland Trail Blazers' 2023-24 is nearly (and mercifully) over. And while it hasn't doled out many reasons for optimism, there are at least a couple on the roster.

After scoring 31 points in Wednesday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks, 24-year-old Dalano Banton is averaging 19.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.7 threes, while shooting 38.6 percent from deep over his last 12 games.

And though there may not be much upside left to discover from 27-year-old Duop Reath, his rookie season has been intriguing too. The 6'11" big man is averaging 1.4 threes and 0.6 blocks in just 18.3 minutes, while shooting 37.6 percent from three on the season.

26. Toronto Raptors (23-50)

Previous Rank: 25
Net Rating: -5.5

The Toronto Raptors' recent plummet toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings has been thorough and aggressive.

After losing at home to the New York Knicks by 44 points on Wednesday, Toronto has lost 12 in a row.

And all three of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett have missed the bulk of that losing streak.

It's almost certainly too late for the Raptors to join the bottom three and get a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick, but slightly better lottery odds are in play if this keeps up.

25. San Antonio Spurs (17-56)

Previous Rank: 26
Net Rating: -7.1

Victor Wembanyama isn't just running away with the Rookie of the Year award (you can't even get odds on it on FanDuel anymore). He's putting together one of the best rookie seasons we've ever seen.

After going for 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five blocks in Wednesday's win over the Utah Jazz, Wemby is now averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 3.5 blocks and 1.2 steals.

Hakeem Olajuwon and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (who did it twice) are the only players in NBA history who matched or exceeded all five of those averages for an entire season.

24. Memphis Grizzlies (24-49)

Previous Rank: 23
Net Rating: -6.9

It's tough to have many lasting positive takeaways from a season as injury-riddled as this one from the Memphis Grizzlies, but there are a few.

The emergence of GG Jackson and Vince Williams Jr. are certainly two. Jaren Jackson Jr. has had a chance to be a No. 1 option more often. And Desmond Bane's playmaking could make the team far less predictable upon Ja Morant's return next season.

Bane had 16 assists in Wednesday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and is now averaging a career-high 5.5 dimes.

23. Brooklyn Nets (28-45)

Previous Rank: 24
Net Rating: -2.5

The Brooklyn Nets had a 2-9 stretch earlier this month, but they ended their week with back-to-back road wins over the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards.

And when the long-term situation is as dire as Brooklyn's—there isn't a single surefire star on the roster and most of the future draft assets have already been spent—even wins over tanking teams are worth celebrating.

In Wednesday's victory over Washington, Cam Thomas went for 38 points on 14-of-27 shooting. He's now averaging 26.3 points and 4.1 assists in March.

The Nets are still losing his minutes in those games, but again, you take the positives where you can.

22. Utah Jazz (29-44)

Previous Rank: 22
Net Rating: -4.4

After spending much of the first half of the season playing competitive basketball, the Utah Jazz are 7-24 since mid-January.

But unfortunately, several teams got pretty healthy head starts on Utah in the tank race, and this slide has just barely moved the Jazz into the top 10 in odds for the No. 1 pick.

And there really isn't much of a chance for Utah to get closer to that top selection. It can drop below the Brooklyn Nets in the leaguewide standings, but it probably isn't catching the Memphis Grizzlies.

This, of course, is the danger of perhaps struggling to commit to one path or another. The Jazz may have waited a bit too long to trade Mike Conley last season. And they may have waited a bit too long to move Kelly Olynyk this season. And it may have cost them a shot at a top-three to -five pick both times.

21. Chicago Bulls (35-38)

Previous Rank: 19
Net Rating: -1.6

Right when it looked like the Chicago Bulls might finally get back to .500, they rattled off a three-game losing streak that extended into this week.

The slide may not be all that big a deal, though. Chicago seems more or less locked into ninth place and home-court advantage in the bottom half of the play-in tournament.

So, instead of bemoaning those three losses, we'll shine a little light on Andre Drummond's renaissance campaign.

He was a plus-23 and had 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals in Wednesday's win over the Indiana Pacers. The Bulls' point differential is better when he's on the floor. And he has, by far, the highest rebounding percentage of any player with at least 500 minutes this season.

20. Atlanta Hawks (34-39)

Previous Rank: 21
Net Rating: -1.2

The Atlanta Hawks hovered from bad to mediocre for enough of the season that this current four-game winning streak they're on hasn't made a huge difference.

Still, there's at least some value in being at home for the first play-in game, and they're now within a game of the Chicago Bulls and the ninth-place spot that would give them that advantage.

Gaining a little momentum before entering that one-and-potentially-done tournament doesn't hurt, either. And after beating the Boston Celtics on both Monday and Thursday—and doing so with a buzzer-beater for the latter game—Atlanta certainly has some of that.

There's still an uphill climb between the Hawks and an actual playoff spot, but they've taken the first few steps.

19. Philadelphia 76ers (39-34)

Previous Rank: 20
Net Rating: +2.1

The Philadelphia 76ers have had to scrape and claw for each of their 13 wins without Joel Embiid this season, so it should come as no surprise that Kelly Oubre Jr. and coach Nick Nurse were, to put it mildly, miffed over a missed foul call that would've sent Oubre to the line with a chance to tie or take the lead at the end of the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

Instead of getting free throws, the Sixers added another tally to the loss column, and the play-in tournament now feels like a likelier outcome than a top-six finish.

Fortunately, it sounds like they may not have to survive it without Embiid.

Assuming the big man is at or near full strength, it's easy to imagine Philadelphia getting the one win it would need to secure a playoff spot. Prior to Embiid's injury, the Sixers trailed only the Boston Celtics in net rating.

18. Golden State Warriors (38-34)

Previous Rank: 16
Net Rating: +1.7

The Golden State Warriors closed out their week with back-to-back wins over the banged-up Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, but going 4-7 over the 11 games before those two opened the door for the surging Houston Rockets.

Golden State's next two games are on the road, but they're against the Charlotte Hornets and San Antonio Spurs. And at this point, those are starting to feel like must-wins.

The Warriors have the most expensive roster in the league. Not even making the play-in would be a legitimate disaster.

17. Miami Heat (39-33)

Previous Rank: 14
Net Rating: +0.5

We've seen the Miami Heat transform from one thing to another when the playoffs start in at least three of the four seasons prior to this one. Just last year, they went from the play-in to the NBA Finals.

So, it's hard to know what to make of their regular-season struggles. They got blown out on Tuesday, pushing them to 4-7 in their last 11 games, but Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro both missed that game.

When those two are both on the floor with Bam Adebayo, Miami is a solid (though unspectacular) plus-5.7 points per 100 possessions, but that trio has logged fewer than 1,000 possessions.

Every plus with this team can easily be countered with a minus. Maybe that's just the nature of being around an average regular-season team. And maybe it makes it hard to buy into them as a postseason threat.

But again, we've seen this play before. Miami's regular-season net rating in 2022-23 was minus-0.5.

16. Indiana Pacers (41-33)

Previous Rank: 15
Net Rating: +1.9

It felt like the Indiana Pacers were starting to shake free of their post-All-Star break malaise, and then they got smacked by 26 points by the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.

Indiana is 8-7 in its last 15 games, and Tyrese Haliburton is shooting 27.3 percent from deep in those contests.

Perhaps more concerning than all that, though, is the fact that Indiana isn't even winning its minutes when its two best players are on the floor. For the entire season, the Pacers are minus-0.2 points per 100 possessions when Haliburton shares the floor with Pascal Siakam.

It's not hard to wrap your head around the logic for adding Siakam, but there was clearly something to the previous Indiana model (which also included Buddy Hield). Having Haliburton surrounded by as much shooting as possible made the offense unstoppable, and he's struggled to adjust to life with a little less three-point firepower.

15. Houston Rockets (37-35)

Previous Rank: 18
Net Rating: +1.7

The Houston Rockets' winning streak swelled to 10 games this week, and the most recent W came on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but it was still a solid victory, and this stretch almost certainly has to be changing perceptions of Jalen Green.

Earlier this season, it was easy to paint him as a low-efficiency, shoot-first guard, but the 22-year-old is now showing star upside.

All the "but it's March and teams aren't being serious" caveats apply, but Green is averaging 29.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 threes, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 45.9 percent from deep during the streak.

14. Los Angeles Lakers (41-32)

Previous Rank: 17
Net Rating: +0.2

It took way too long for coach Darvin Ham to rely on the players and lineups that helped the Los Angeles Lakers surge to the 2023 conference finals, but Rui Hachimura doesn't appear to be holding that tardiness against him.

Hachimura moved into the starting five for good on February 3, and the Lakers are 16-7 since then (they were 25-25 before).

After scoring 32 in Wednesday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Hachimura is now averaging 15.7 points and 1.7 threes, while shooting 45.3 percent from deep since he was promoted to his current role.

And for the entire season, L.A. is plus-10.2 points per 100 possessions when LeBron James shares the floor with Hachimura (compared to plus-1.0 when LeBron plays without Rui).

13. Sacramento Kings (42-30)

Previous Rank: 13
Net Rating: +1.1

This week, Domantas Sabonis broke the post-merger record for consecutive double-doubles. After securing another in Tuesday's loss to the Dallas Mavericks, he's registered one in 55 straight games, now two better than Kevin Love's 53 straight in 2010-11.

But his production hasn't quite held off the surging Mavericks (who pushed Sacramento into play-in range this week) or given the Kings much separation from the teams behind them.

In early April, Sacramento has a road trip that includes games against the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder. It has home games that'll likely be crucial against the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns after that.

With one of the league's hardest remaining schedules, the Kings suddenly have an outside chance of finishing in the bottom half of the play-in.

12. Orlando Magic (42-30)

Previous Rank: 12
Net Rating: +2.1

Paolo Banchero is almost certainly going to be a star. You don't have to venture too far out on a limb to say that. Catch-all metrics suggest he's already a top-50 player.

But if something besides youth is going to hold this team back during its return to the postseason, it's a bottom-10 offense that's a product, at least in part, of Banchero's struggles as a scorer.

He was 5-of-17 in Wednesday's loss to the Golden State Warriors, giving him 40 games with a below-average field-goal percentage. He's one of the least efficient scorers in the NBA this season. And Orlando scores 3.0 more points per 100 possessions when Banchero is off the floor.

He's only 21. And his versatility still makes him a plus player. But he's going to have to find a way to connect on more shots (or rely more heavily on his playmaking) if the Magic are going to make some noise in the playoffs.

11. Cleveland Cavaliers (44-29)

Previous Rank: 8
Net Rating: +3.4

These rankings have been giving the Cleveland Cavaliers the benefit of the doubt for weeks, but Wednesday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets eliminated the last of that. Cleveland is 3-7 in its last 10.

Injuries certainly have a lot to do with this stretch (Donovan Mitchell has missed eight of those 10 games). And Cleveland deserves a ton of credit for the resilience it has shown in response to a season-long wave of injuries.

But at a certain point, we might have to accept that this simply might not be a healthy season for the Cavs.

10. Los Angeles Clippers (45-27)

Previous Rank: 7
Net Rating: +3.5

The Los Angeles Clippers need all the breaks they can get, and officials missing a foul call on a last-second drive by Kelly Oubre Jr. to seal L.A.'s win on Wednesday certainly counts as one.

The Clippers had lost two straight prior to that game, are 11-12 in their last 23 and hardly inspired new confidence by needing every last second of a game and a missed call to beat the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers.

Concern remains for Los Angeles, particularly on the defensive end, where they're 28th in points allowed per 100 possessions since the All-Star break.

If they remain this disengaged defensively heading into the postseason, whatever team winds up facing them in that 4-5 matchup (whether it's the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks or Phoenix Suns) could send them packing in Round 1.

9. New York Knicks (44-28)

Previous Rank: 11
Net Rating: +5.2

The New York Knicks got one member of their long-injured frontcourt back on Wednesday, when Mitchell Robinson came off the bench to score eight points in a 44-point rout of the Toronto Raptors.

If the guards who've had to step up in Robinson, Julius Randle and OG Anunoby's absences continue to play as well as they have while those bigger bodies are reintroduced to the rotation, New York is going to be one of the toughest outs in the Eastern Conference.

Since January 29 (the start of Anunoby's first extended absence), Jalen Brunson is averaging 28.8 points and 6.6 assists, Donte DiVincenzo is adding 21.4 points and 3.4 assists and Miles McBride is at 11.4 points and 2.1 threes, with a 39.7 three-point percentage.

8. Phoenix Suns (43-30)

Previous Rank: 10
Net Rating: +3.1

We got a glimpse of both ends of the 2023-24 Phoenix Suns spectrum this week.

On Monday, they lost to the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs in a game in which all five starters were available. Two days later, they controlled all 48 minutes on the road against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets to move to 4-1 in their last five.

In the playoffs, assuming everyone's healthy, expect more of the latter. Thanks in large part to injuries and developing continuity, Phoenix has mostly been in survival mode this regular season, but Wednesday was a reminder the Suns may have as much one-on-one shotmaking ability as anyone in the league.

Denver couldn't keep the Suns away from their spots in the mid-range, and KD finished with 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting. Getting at least one hot shooting performance from him, Devin Booker or Bradley Beal in four out of seven games won't be surprising.

7. Dallas Mavericks (43-29)

Previous Rank: 9
Net Rating: +2.0

After he averaged 29.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists over the four seasons prior to this one, it was hard to imagine there was some other level for Luka Dončić to get to, but he found one anyway.

After another week of eye-popping individual performances, Luka is up to 33.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.1 rebounds in 2023-24. And this is the first season in his career in which he has at least a league-average percentage from two, three and the free-throw line (he'd previously been above average in one or two categories in various seasons, but this is the first time he's cleared all three).

And as the rest of the team has gotten healthier around him, and the front office made some upgrades in the frontcourt by adding Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington, the Dallas Mavericks' record is starting to reflect their superstar's production.

Dallas is 9-1 in its last 10 games and suddenly within striking distance of a top-four finish in the West.

6. Milwaukee Bucks (46-27)

Previous Rank: 5
Net Rating: +3.4

The Milwaukee Bucks hammered Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, but they then closed out the week with back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Lakers (who were without LeBron James) and New Orleans Pelicans.

Those aren't necessarily bad defeats, but the up-and-down nature of the week was sort of indicative of how things have been since Doc Rivers took over.

Milwaukee is now 14-13 since the coaching change, and while that hasn't bumped them from the No. 2 spot in the East, the Bucks and their fans would like to develop a little momentum prior to the playoffs.

5. New Orleans Pelicans (45-28)

Previous Rank: 6
Net Rating: +5.4

They coughed up a late fourth-quarter lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, but history did not repeat itself in a tight finish against the Milwaukee Bucks two days later.

With an opponent again charging back from a big Pelicans lead, New Orleans did a better job of continuing to attack the paint against the Bucks on Thursday. And when Zion Williamson is putting pressure on the rim, defenses collapsing elsewhere becomes far more likely.

Over his last 19 games, the 23-year-old is averaging 24.3 points and 5.6 assists while shooting 59.6 percent from the field.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves (50-22)

Previous Rank: 4
Net Rating: +6.5

The balance of the season seemed to be in some danger when Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a knee injury, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are 7-3 since he left the rotation, and Naz Reid is a big reason why.

Since the start of KAT's current absence, Reid is at 19.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.2 threes, while shooting 43.3 percent from deep.

And for the entire season, Minnesota is plus-12.7 points per 100 possessions when Reid is on the floor with Anthony Edwards.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder (50-22)

Previous Rank: 3
Net Rating: +7.1

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed Wednesday's game with a quad injury, and the Oklahoma City Thunder moved to 0-2 without him in the lineup this season.

But one of the reasons the Thunder are in the hunt for the West's top seed is how good SGA's supporting cast is, particularly Jalen Williams.

They're at least competitive when Williams is on the floor without the MVP candidate. And in those situations, he averages 26.5 points and 6.3 assists per 75 possessions, with a 61.0 true shooting percentage.

2. Boston Celtics (57-16)

Previous Rank: 2
Net Rating: +11.7

With the Denver Nuggets ending their week with a loss, the No. 1 spot in the power rankings was sitting there, waiting for the Boston Celtics to take it back.

However, after Dejounte Murray cashed a mid-range buzzer-beater on Thursday, the Atlanta Hawks secured a mini two-game winning streak over the team with the best record in the league.

And so, for now, the Celtics remain at No. 2.

Still, they're almost certainly going to be the only team with 60-plus wins this season. They have more than enough cushion in the net rating leaderboard to think they'll finish first there too.

The post-All-Star break portion of the schedule has now featured a pair of two-game hiccups, but Boston is still cruising toward the league's best regular season.

1. Denver Nuggets (51-22)

Previous Rank: 1
Net Rating: +4.9

This shouldn't come as some shock, but the Denver Nuggets are going to need a healthy Jamal Murray to repeat as champions.

The star guard has missed Denver's last three games with an ankle and knee injury, and his absence was a crucial part of Wednesday's loss to the Phoenix Suns. Murray's replacement, Reggie Jackson, was a minus-11, while every other starter had a positive plus-minus.

On the season, the Nuggets are 11-8 (.579) when Murray doesn't play and 40-14 (.741) when he does.

As the two-time NBA MVP and reigning Finals MVP, Nikola Jokić understandably gets the bulk of the attention, but Murray's perimeter shotmaking and competitiveness, particularly in tight games, transforms the Nuggets into an entirely different team.

Stat of the Week

Michael Porter Jr. for the Denver Nuggets, Paul George for the Los Angeles Clippers and D'Angelo Russell for the Los Angeles Lakers have all already set their teams' franchise records for most threes made in a season.

And with just a couple of weeks left, several players are on (or near) pace to accomplish the same feat.

The marks are in sight for Jayson Tatum for the Boston Celtics, Coby White for the Chicago Bulls, Luka Dončić for the Dallas Mavericks, Damian Lillard for the Milwaukee Bucks and Donte DiVincenzo for the New York Knicks.

If they all get there, that would mean just over a quarter of the league had their records set in 2023-24.