NBA Power Rankings: Washington Wizards Third In The East? DC Playoff Breakthrough Last Year Makes Them Second Most Improved Team Behind Cleveland!

Some teams in the NBA Power Rankings improve with the changes they made. Some teams improve by simply gaining experience. The Washington Wizards have the backcourt model for the future in John Wall and Bradley Beal, and they finally got their best bigs healthy.

And that was enough to let them barge into the playoffs after missing out for years, the Wizards are now at their loftiest projected rank at third.

Of course, they did get some help. Southwest Division titan Miami Heat drops heavily after the departure of the world's best player. Their rivals, the Indiana Pacers also lost their best player to a gruesome injury he incurred in Team USA.

The Wizards are now the favorites in the Southwest, and ranked below two teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls.

Sheridan Hoops had the story:

"The backcourt has an extra year of experience and the confidence knowing that they could succeed at a high level. The Gortat and Nene tandem stayed relatively healthy last season and provided veteran stability for the emerging Wall-Beal backcourt."

But the subtle changes they made with their bench might be the clincher as to whether they'll have homecourt advantage in the playoffs:

"At just over $4.6 million, Andre Miller is a bargain at the backup point guard position at a combined $6.3 million for next season, Kris Humphries and DeJuan Blair replace Trevor Booker and seriously bolsters its depth at the four and five positions."

With all their young players, adding veteran mentors and their stabilizing presence were right moves. So they continued the trend by signing Paul Pierce away from the Brooklyn Nets. Pierce led the Boston Celtics to their only title in the new millennium in 2008.

Sheridan Hoops' conclusion: "With Wall and Beal now more mature and Pierce's leadership added to the starting lineup alongside veterans Gortat and Nene, it could be a while before Washington (for a change) is not among the best four or five teams in the Eastern Conference."