This week was the hardest one of the entire season to predict, with the unexpected emergence of Jeremy Lin and the Knicks along with the collapse of the Denver Nuggets, with a lot of other surprising results in between. The best team and worst team remain the same, but nearly every team in between moved one way or the other. Here are the updated rankings, including the first two games from today, with gaps between groups of teams representing different levels of performance.
TW. Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (LW)
1. Chicago (3-1) (23-7) -7.90 (1)
2. San Antonio (3-0) (19-9) -6.19 (6)
3. Philadelphia (2-2) (19-9) -5.28 (4)
4. Miami (2-1) (20-7) -5.04 (3)
5. Portland (1-3) (15-13) -4.49 (2)
6. Oklahoma City (3-1) (21-6) -4.44 (7)
7. Dallas (3-0) (17-11) -2.75 (13)
8. Houston (3-0) (16-11) -2.50 (16)
9. LA Clippers (3-1) (17-8) -2.29 (11)
10. Denver (1-3) (16-12) -1.91 (5)
11. Memphis (2-1) (14-13) -1.87 (12)
12. LA Lakers (2-2) (16-12) -1.73 (9)
13. Atlanta (2-1) (18-9) -1.67 (10)
14. Indiana (1-3) (17-10) -0.83 (8)
15. Boston (2-2) (15-12) 0.42 (15)
16. Orlando (2-2) (17-11) 0.49 (19)
17. Minnesota (1-3) (13-15) 0.80 (14)
18. New York (4-0) (13-15) 1.46 (20)
19. Golden State (1-1) (9-14) 2.27 (21)
20. Utah (0-3) (13-12) 2.38 (17)
21. Phoenix (3-1) (12-15) 2.75 (23)
22. Milwaukee (2-2) (12-15) 2.80 (18)
23. Cleveland (1-3) (10-16) 4.64 (22)
24. Sacramento (2-2) (10-17) 6.17 (27)
25. Toronto (1-3) (9-20) 6.59 (25)
26. New Orleans (0-3) (4-23) 6.75 (24)
27. Detroit (2-0) (8-20) 8.01 (28)
28. New Jersey (0-4) (8-21) 9.34 (26)
29. Washington (1-2) (5-22) 12.04 (29)
30. Charlotte (0-3) (3-24) 16.13 (30)
Hot
The hottest state in the league right now is definitely Texas, where the three teams that call the Lone Star State home went a combined 9-0 this week and all moved into the top 10 of my weekly rankings. The Spurs, with 7 straight wins, own the league's longest active winning streak, and are now ranked as the best team in the West, and Tony Parker is now getting some serious consideration as a potential MVP candidate.
Sacramento also deserves at least a mention for the recent run they've had, winning 4 of 5 to start the month of February, including a huge upset of the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder in their only nationally televised game of the season. They are spending the next two weeks in the East, and they are facing some of the hottest teams around, so they probably won't be seen here again next week.
Cold
The Nuggets, who just two weeks ago were sitting in second place in the Western Conference, chose a horrible time to go cold, losing 7 of their past 9 games, including a couple to teams that don't have much of a chance at making the playoffs. If they don't get the ship righted soon, they may find themselves on the outside looking in when the playoffs start, even though they were the talk of the Western Conference at the end of January.
You know you're in a slump when you lose to the other team that is considered cold, which is exactly what the Pacers did last night when they brought the ice-cold Nuggets to town, looking to break out of a slump of their own, but they were unable to continue Denver's slide, and now Indiana has lost three in a row and has Miami up next. Maybe Indiana didn't deserve an All-Star after all.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Sunday
Washington at Detroit - Pistons by 7
Miami at Atlanta - Heat by 1
Houston at Golden State - Rockets by 2
Utah at Memphis - Grizzlies by 7
Monday
Minnesota at Orlando - Magic by 3
Philadelphia at Charlotte - 76ers by 18
Utah at New Orleans - Jazz by 1
Miami at Milwaukee - Heat by 5
LA Clippers at Dallas - Mavericks by 3
Phoenix at Golden State - Warriors by 3
Tuesday
Miami at Indiana - Heat by 1
New York at Toronto - Knicks by 2
San Antonio at Detroit - Spurs by 11
Sacramento at Chicago - Bulls by 17
Utah at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 10
Houston at Memphis - Grizzlies by 2
Phoenix at Denver - Nuggets by 8
Washington at Portland - Trail Blazers by 20
Atlanta at LA Lakers - Lakers by 3
Wednesday
Philadelphia at Orlando - 76ers by 3
San Antonio at Toronto - Spurs by 10
Detroit at Boston - Celtics by 11
Indiana at Cleveland - Pacers by 2
Memphis at New Jersey - Grizzlies by 8
Sacramento at New York - Knicks by 8
Oklahoma City at Houston - Rockets by 1
New Orleans at Milwaukee - Bucks by 7
Charlotte at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 18
Denver at Dallas - Mavericks by 4
Atlanta at Phoenix - Hawks by 1
Portland at Golden State - Trail Blazers by 4
Washington at LA Clippers - Clippers by 17
Thursday
New Jersey at Indiana - Pacers by 13
Boston at Chicago - Bulls by 11
LA Clippers at Portland - Trail Blazers by 5
Friday
Milwaukee at Orlando - Magic by 5
Charlotte at Toronto - Raptors by 13
Miami at Cleveland - Heat by 7
Sacramento at Detroit - Pistons by 1
Minnesota at Houston - Rockets by 6
New Orleans at New York - Knicks by 8
Dallas at Philadelphia - 76ers by 6
Golden State at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 10
Denver at Memphis - Grizzlies by 3
Washington at Utah - Jazz by 13
Phoenix at LA Lakers - Lakers by 7
Saturday
San Antonio at LA Clippers - Spurs by 1
New Jersey at Chicago - Bulls by 20
Golden State at Memphis - Grizzlies by 7
Atlanta at Portland - Trail Blazers by 6
Sunday
Dallas at New York - Mavericks by 1
Orlando at Miami - Heat by 9
Prediction Results
NBA: 26-27 (.491) 136-81 overall (.627)
Upsets: 4-8 (.333) 23-23 overall (.500)
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