Power Ranking Every NBA Playoff Team Early in the Second Round

We are nearing the halfway point of the NBA conference semifinals and it's become a lot more interesting than we expected.

That certain Miami Heat sweep through the Eastern Conference? It's taken a big hit with Chris Bosh out indefinitely with an abdominal strain. The Heat were able to survive in the second half of Game 1, but Games 2 and 3 have been a completely different story.

The Indiana Pacers have the tools to beat the Heat, but they have yet to see their opponent play with any sort of urgency.

As a result of the Heat taking that hit, the Boston Celtics are being looked at as the new favorite in the East. They're currently leading the Philadelphia 76ers 2-1, with their most recent victory coming by way of a 16-point victory on the road. Kevin Garnett is playing like he was a Timberwolf again, while Rajon Rondo is continuing to prove why he's arguably the league's top facilitator.

In the West, the series haven't been as suspenseful.

The San Antonio Spurs have beaten the Clippers by at least 16 points in their first two games and it doesn't appear that L.A. has enough to recover.

Chris Paul has struggled to get going, while the Spurs' balanced and deep attack has worn the Clippers down. They're playing like a team that just went through an extremely physical seven-game series.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had their way with the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 1, yet they saw their offense regress heavily in Game 2. The Thunder scored only 77 points, but it was still enough to defeat a Los Angeles Lakers team that made all the necessary mistakes to blow a game they should have won.

We take a look at these teams in the NBA playoff power rankings.

8. Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers could have used some recovery time after their physical first-round series with Memphis.

Instead of some needed rest, the Clippers were given the assignment of taking on a San Antonio Spurs team that had been done with their series a week prior.

It's turning out exactly how you thought it would. The Clippers defense was scrappy and physical enough to fend off the Grizzlies, but it has seemed that they are constantly a step behind the Spurs offense. The efficiency and constant ball movement San Antonio's offense has been deadly: 49 percent shooting in Game 1 and 53 percent in Game 2.

On the other hand, the Clippers shot 45 and 49 percent. Respectable, but it's only produced a total of 180 points to the Spurs' 213. The Clippers defensive woes of the regular season are showing up at the worst possible time, as the Spurs are getting help from just about every player on the roster.

The balanced attack of the starting lineup and bench of San Antonio has been too much for L.A. to handle over 48 minutes. The Spurs have broken both wins open in the third quarter.

Los Angeles isn't getting much offensive support from anybody in particular. Chris Paul has 16 points on 21 shots in his team's two losses, and has hardly appeared to be the player that tore up the Grizzlies defense only a week ago.

His backup, Eric Bledsoe, currently has the most points scored in the series for the Clippers with 23 points in Game 1.

Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans have made hardly anything close to the impact they had against Memphis. Evans played only eight minutes in Game 1 and 11 minutes in Game 2. Martin has settled back down to earth after a monstrous series against Memphis where he made a constant showing on defense.

The series shifts to Los Angeles, but will it matter against a Spurs team that has won 16 games in a row?

7. Philadelphia 76ers

Right when we think they have a legitimate chance, the Philadelphia 76ers decide to let their fans down with a performance like their Game 3 loss.

After stealing home-court advantage behind a valiant defensive effort in Game 2, the Sixers found themselves with the ball in their court and a chance to take over. They had seen regular-season success against the Celtics and could have very easily been going into Philadelphia with a 2-0 series lead if not for some incredibly clutch shooting by Boston in Game 1.

The Sixers had no answer for Boston's efficient offense in Game 3. Behind Rajon Rondo's 14 assists, Paul Pierce's 24 points and 12 boards, and Kevin Garnett's 27 points and 13 rebounds, the Celtics decimated the Sixers in Philadelphia with a 107-91 victory. That score doesn't even come close to reflecting how bad Philadelphia was and how good Boston played.

Philly had a huge game from Thaddeus Young, who finished with 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting, but not even four other players scoring in double figures could match the effort of the Celtics.

Elton Brand was shut down, once again, and held to only three points on 1-of-6 shooting. The $80 million man has recorded a grand total of 14 points and nine boards the entire series thus far. He's played in 18 minutes or less in each game because of his inability to score against Garnett, as well as his inability to defend Garnett, who has been having an excellent 2012 postseason.

The Sixers must get more from Brand. There are no go-to scorers on this Sixers team, which means getting as many points as possible from a team that relies on balance is essential. Brand is supposed to be the team's leading threat in the post, yet he's offered nothing for Philadelphia thus far. With Brand ineffective, it's left to Young and Spencer Hawes to pick up the pieces.

Philadelphia is probably ailing from that embarrassment of a loss, but it shouldn't be too discouraged. The Sixers could very well be up 2-1 had they made some shots in Game 1 and it's extremely possible that the Celtics don't shoot above 50 percent against one of the league's stingiest defenses.

However, I would be extremely discouraged by the lack of consistent production from guys like Brand, Louis Williams and Evan Turner, who shot 1-of-10 in the Game 3 loss.

6. Los Angeles Lakers

Well, that truly couldn't have gone any worse.

If there's anything that can be looked at in a positive light after those two games for the Lakers, it's Andrew Bynum going for 20 and 14 followed up with 20 and nine.

After dropping Game 1 of their semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder by 29 points, the Los Angeles Lakers still found themselves two minutes away from stealing home-court advantage in Game 2. With a seven-point lead and only two minutes remaining, it only seemed obvious that a Lakers team with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum could hold onto that lead.

The Lakers would have held that lead, had they not thrown the ball away twice, missed several key jumpers and given up a game-winner to Kevin Durant with 22 seconds remaining. Their final play of the game had a legitimate chance to give the Lakers a victory, but Steve Blake missed a wide-open corner three.

Kobe Bryant walked off the court with a look of disgust towards Metta World Peace, who had inbounded the ball to the open Blake.

It's a huge missed opportunity for the Lakers, who will now be going home down 2-0 to a Thunder team that made them look JV in Game 1. While OKC shot 53 percent and committed only four turnovers, the Lakers hardly looked like themselves, only shooting 43 percent and giving the ball away 15 times.

Los Angeles could not slow down the Thunder's lightning-quick offense, and it resulted in Oklahoma City breaking the game open with a 39-point third quarter.

The Lakers showcased some resilience in Game 2 by forcing the Thunder into 13 turnovers and allowing them to shoot only 42 percent. However, too many miscues late in the game would ultimately overshadow an otherwise impressive defensive effort by Oklahoma City.

Up until the fourth quarter, Durant had actually shot just as much as Serge Ibaka—a testament to Metta World Peace's defense.

Bryant and the Lakers should be ecstatic that they're going home. They'll look to feed off their home crowd much like how the Thunder feed off of theirs.

5. Miami Heat

Needless to say, I didn't expect the Miami Heat to play as badly as they played in Game 3.

Usually, the Heat are excellent at playing resilient and making the necessary adjustments to contend and improve from previous mistakes.

Instead, I was most surprised to see the Heat making the same mistakes they made in Game 2 multiplied by about 1,000. In the end, a 94-75 loss seemed about right for how awful they played.

Mario Chalmers played fantastic with 25 points; it's just a shame that nobody else did. LeBron James had 22 points and seven boards, but saw the majority of that production come in either the first half or when the game was already well out of reach. Joel Anthony added in 10 points, while Ronny Turiaf contributed seven boards off the bench.

Dwyane Wade? Five points on 2-of-13 shooting to accompany five turnovers. Shane Battier? He played 23 minutes, missed all six of his three-point attempts and all seven of his shots. A large number of those shots weren't contested, either.

Battier was receiving the ball in the corner, the spot where he's comfortable, yet he couldn't even get the ball to hit both sides of the rim.

Should we be more disappointed that Wade scored five points? Or the fact that the Heat shot a collective 4-of-20 from deep to continue this embarrassing display of jump shooting? Honestly, it could go either way and you'd have strong arguments for both sides.

In a time where everybody needs to step up, the Heat simply are not getting that from anybody outside of Mario's Game 3 performance.

It's just a shame that the Heat couldn't get half those points from Chalmers or Miller to shoot 2-of-3 from deep in Game 2. Otherwise, they'd still have a 2-1 series lead and we wouldn't have to listen to ESPN ramble on about how the Heat's season is over after three games. Alas, now we get a solid day's worth of Skip Bayless talking about how this game is LeBron's fault.

The Heat aren't going to win if their second-best player is checking out at halftime and a top perimeter shooter is going 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. This is the time where the entire roster is supposed to unite and come together, not argue with each other or pout and complain to the officials.

Miami, it's time to start looking at yourself and not point fingers at outside forces. Chris Bosh isn't coming back, which means the time for guys like Wade, Battier and Miller to step up is right now. If not, then I hope the Heat are looking forward to an even longer summer where there actually might be some personnel moves.

4. Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers knew they escaped with a win in Game 2.

They didn't want that to be the case in Game 3. Instead of missing free throws and playing stagnant offense, the Pacers decided it would be best to make eight of their 14 three-point attempts while holding the Miami Heat to 37 percent shooting in their 19-point win in Game 3.

Once again, it was a completely balanced effort by the Pacers who got at least 14 points from four different players. George Hill had 20 points on only eight shot attempts, Roy Hibbert had a tremendous 19 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks, and Danny Granger sort of snapped out of his funk to hit 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.

It wasn't the best shooting day for the Pacers, but it was more than enough to beat a bewildered Heat team. Indiana is simply taking advantage of the situation that lies before it.

Without Bosh, the Pacers finally allowed Hibbert to put his size to use by shutting down the lane on defense and hitting short hooks throughout the night over the undersized Heat. That was a much different change of pace after being held out for a large part of Game 1 due to foul trouble.

Hibbert still had four fouls, but he only needed 33 minutes to put up stats similar to Dwight Howard on a good night. As long as he is producing on both sides of the ball, the Pacers are going to continue giving the Heat a ton of problems. Miami has nobody that can match up with Hibbert, and it took until Game 3 for coach Frank Vogel to finally realize this.

The hapless shooters of Miami are making it easy for the Pacers to play defense. However, they do deserve a significant amount of credit for frustrating LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and making them take ill-advised jump shots. Without Bosh on the floor, the Pacers are allowed to focus their defensive attention on those two without having to pay for it.

Face it: Would you rather double-team Wade and James or have a defender shadow a Heat shooter? None of the shooters are hitting, so it's become easier to frustrate Wade into 2-of-13 shooting while making LeBron feel that he had it easier in Cleveland.

Miami is a game away from essentially handing this series over to Indiana. However, that doesn't mean it's time for Indiana to take its foot off the gas pedal. The Heat will find ways to score and Dwyane Wade isn't going to shoot as horrendously as he did in Game 3. Indiana needs to continue pounding it inside to Hibbert and closing off the lane on defense.

3. Boston Celtics

Crisis averted. It's compelling to think that the Boston Celtics could have easily been down 2-0 going into Philadelphia for Game 3.

Boston needed a frantic fourth-quarter comeback to take Game 1 by one point and then fell in Game 2 by one point after another frantic comeback that fell short this time around.

When Game 3 in Philadelphia came around, the Celtics decided that they no longer wanted the games in this series to be constantly decided near the end of the fourth quarter.

So they decided to end it in the second. After giving up 33 points to the Sixers in the first quarter, the Celtics allowed their opponent to score 33 points over the next two quarters. In the meantime, Boston scored 61 in those quarters. The Celtics blew their opponent out of the water behind huge games from Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Ray Allen only scored three points; Boston could have easily won this if he was still in a suit on the end of the bench. The efficient Celtics offense returned after two consecutive games of looking anemic.

For a while, it actually appeared that they were going to need the 35-year-old Kevin Garnett to continue bailing them out. Luckily, they had Paul Pierce produce this time around with 24 points on only six made field goals.

Rajon Rondo has also been huge this series. In fact, he's probably the most significant player on both sides. He's the reason why Garnett is receiving so many good looks within the perimeter and is the key to why his teammates are getting open. When he's able to penetrate, Rondo is able to do whatever he pleases.

His ability to score around the rim combined with his ability to see the court and make quick decisions has made him nearly unguardable when he's given the lane.

The Sixers have yet to find a way to stop him, as Rondo has 44 assists and only nine turnovers in the first three games of the series. Those stats become even scarier when you realize that seven of those nine turnovers came in one game.

As long as Rondo is able to continue picking and choosing his targets, the Celtics still possess the advantage of a Philadelphia team that won't be looking to pack its bags after one dismal game.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

Is it too early to say that I can't wait for an Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs matchup?

I think it might be best to let this one play out. After the Thunder annihilated the Lakers in Game 1 thanks to a fast-paced offense that L.A. couldn't slow down, Oklahoma City looked vulnerable in Game 2 after scoring only 77 points.

Usually, when a team like the Thunder scores only 77 points, you'd assume that it was a blowout in other team's favor. That wasn't the case this time.

The Thunder found themselves down by seven with only two minutes to play and appeared to be ready to head to L.A. with the series tied and home-court advantage a thing of the past.

Instead of losing, they were gift-wrapped a pair of turnovers and a few other fortunate circumstances that gave them a chance to win it in the end. Kevin Durant hit a short jumper over Pau Gasol with 22 seconds remaining to give them the lead for good.

The Thunder held the Lakers to just 12 points in the fourth quarter. It wasn't much better than their 17 points in the final frame, but it's still a well-deserved win for the Thunder, who simply hit their shots and took advantage of the constant miscues the Lakers made late in the game.

Oklahoma City could have easily lost this game with the way its offense was running, yet persevered thanks to that young mindset with a never-give-up attitude.

It certainly was a change of heart from Game 1, where the Thunder scored 119 points and shot 53 percent. Russell Westbrook and James Harden combined for 44 points in the Game 1 win, but scored a mere 28 combined points in the much more competitive Game 2.

In both games, Harden, Westbrook and Durant were the only players to score in double figures. It's dangerous to be reliant on only three players, but these three are all young, athletic and have been in good health.

Either way, they could still look towards Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka chipping in some mid-range jumpers, as well as Kendrick Perkins possibly putting in a few near the basket.

The Thunder found themselves struggling in Game 2 because of their nature of being a jump-shooting team. Harden, Durant and Westbrook may all be athletic and capable of driving, but they are much more comfortable when they are shooting the ball.

In the postseason, that may not always work out when you're involved in a seven-game series where jump shooting can become streaky.

The Thunder's offense was momentarily exposed in Game 2. Will the Lakers attempt to exploit thatfor the rest of the series? We'll just have to wait and see.

1. San Antonio Spurs

They've won their first six games by an average margin of victory of 16.

Enough said.