On Monday, the most recent version of the NBA Power Rankings was made public. Every week, John Schuhmann of NBA.com creates the rankings, which list all thirty teams in the league in order of strength.

It was reasonable to question if the Nuggets would drop in the rankings following their devastating defeat to Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at the buzzer. They had jumped ahead of the Celtics to take the top spot in the rankings last week after defeating them to win the season series.

What position are the Nuggets in?

However, despite the setback in Dallas, the Nuggets managed to maintain their top status in the power rankings for a second consecutive week. Since the All-Star break, Denver has maintained a league-best 11-2 record, is totally healthy, and is receiving strong play from their bench.

The Celtics have won five straight games, all by double digits, after falling to Denver. They have also become the first NBA team to guarantee a postseason berth. However, according to Schuhmann, at least, that was unable to overtake the Nuggets for the top slot; they continued to be ranked second.

It’s a reasonable appraisal, in my opinion. The Celtics have fallen short against the Nuggets in two close games this season, despite their impressive record and statistics. Denver is marginally superior, according to the eye test, and a close defeat to the desperate Mavericks on the road shouldn’t alter that assessment.

The remaining five spots in the rankings

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks, who finished third and fourth behind the Nuggets and Celtics, respectively, maintained the same order in the top four. With a half-game advantage over the Nuggets, the Thunder are presently holding onto the top spot in the Western Conference. The Bucks have taken a commanding 1.5-game lead over the Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference’s second seed.

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ ascent to fifth place was the lone alteration to the top five. The Clippers were in first place last week, but they have dropped to seventh following a string of poor performances. These power rankings appear to be quite informative about which teams are the favorites to win it all, though a lot can change in the next few weeks.