NBA Rankings - 14 Mar

It's amazing how quickly things can turn around in the NBA. A team can look totally dead one week and snap out of it a week later. That is the case with this week's number one team, which had lost every game just a week ago, but turned that around to pound some good teams this week. They may have blown their shot at the top record in the East, but they just might be the best team. Here are this week's rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

Contenders

1. Miami (2-1) (45-21) -6.92 (3)

2. San Antonio (3-0) (54-12) -6.83 (2)

3. LA Lakers (2-1) (47-20) -6.55 (1)

4. Boston (1-2) (47-17) -6.50 (4)

5. Chicago (4-0) (47-18) -6.47 (5)

6. Orlando (2-2) (42-25) -5.69 (6)

Average Teams

7. Denver (2-0) (39-27) -4.27 (8)

8. Dallas (2-2) (47-19) -4.06 (7)

9. Oklahoma City (3-1) (42-23) -3.34 (9)

10. New Orleans (2-1) (39-29) -2.41 (10)

11. Houston (1-2) (33-34) -1.77 (12)

12. Memphis (1-2) (36-31) -1.52 (11)

13. Portland (2-2) (37-29) -1.00 (14)

14. Philadelphia (2-2) (34-32) -0.89 (13)

15. New York (2-2) (34-31) -0.39 (15)

16. Atlanta (1-2) (38-28) -0.36 (17)

17. Phoenix (1-2) (33-31) 0.34 (16)

18. Indiana (1-3) (28-38) 1.04 (19)

19. Utah (1-3) (34-33) 1.14 (18)

20. Milwaukee (3-1) (26-39) 1.23 (20)

21. LA Clippers (3-1) (26-41) 1.80 (21)

22. Golden State (3-1) (30-36) 1.96 (22)

In Limbo

23. Charlotte (2-2) (28-38) 3.19 (23)

Crappy Teams

24. Detroit (0-3) (23-44) 4.27 (24)

25. Minnesota (2-2) (17-51) 5.05 (26)

26. New Jersey (2-0) (21-43) 5.28 (27)

27. Sacramento (0-4) (15-49) 5.39 (25)

28. Toronto (1-2) (18-48) 5.69 (28)

Even Worse

29. Washington (0-2) (16-48) 7.31 (29)

Cleveland

30. Cleveland (0-3) (12-53) 9.55 (30)

With the Clippers and Warriors getting hot and Detroit going cold, the Occasional Competitors category was dissolved this week, with only Charlotte not sure which way to go (before last night's win they would have been with the Crappy Teams). Washington proved themselves unworthy even to associate with the Crappy Teams, but they still aren't as bad as Cleveland.

Drunk With Power

The Denver Nuggets followed up a 19-point win in Phoenix with a 30-point blowout of the Detroit Pistons, improving their record to 7-2 since Carmelo was traded away, while the Knicks are just 6-5 in that same time. The #4 seed might not be out of reach for the Nuggets.

The Clippers just went 3-1 on a 4-game East Coast road trip, including one very impressive win in Boston on Wednesday. They are now 5-1 in March and moved up into the Average Teams this week for the first time.

The Golden State Warriors kept pace with the Clippers this week, going 3-1 and losing to the same New Jersey team that knocked off the Clippers in overtime. The Warriors' signature win this week was over Orlando in a game that featured a huge comeback from an early 21-point deficit.

Green With Envy

Memphis had been one of the hotter teams in the league for a while, until they lost a game they should have won against New York. They followed that one with a blowout loss to a Miami team that had been ice cold entering this week, and you can be sure that the Suns, Jazz, and Rockets are thankful that they still have a chance to catch the Grizzlies.

Speaking of the Jazz, they are becoming regulars on this list thanks to a 7-20 record over the past 2 months. They were 27-13 back then, and they had everyone talking about all of their great comebacks. They could use a few now.

The Washington Wizards got blown out by Milwaukee, Detroit, and the Clippers this week, and it's been years since a blowout against any one of those teams would be considered acceptable. Maybe they're trying to pass the Cavaliers for the worst record so they can have a better chance at the lottery again.

NBA Player of the Day

Stephen Curry - GSW - 24 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 8-15 FG, 4-6 3P, 4-4 FT

Curry led the Warriors in points, rebounds, and assists last night from the point guard position and the Warriors beat up on Minnesota 100-77. It was the first time in 54 games that Minnesota forward Kevin Love did not record a double-double.

Predictions - 14 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Celtics at Nets - Celtics by 9

Thunder at Wizards - Thunder by 8

Nuggets at Hornets - Hornets by 1

Spurs at Heat - Heat by 3

Clippers at Grizzlies - Grizz by 6

Suns at Rockets - Rockets by 5

76ers at Jazz - Jazz by 1

Warriors at Kings - Warriors by 1

Magic at Lakers - Lakers by 4

Prediction Results - 13 Mar

NBA: 4-2 (.667) 567-239 overall (.703)

College Basketball: 3-0 (1.000) 577-150 overall (.794)

Upsets: 1-1 (.500) 149-103 overall (.591)