NBA Rankings - 5 Feb

The Clippers, Lakers, and Heat each had two players named All-Star starters this week, and the residual momentum seemed to have a positive effect on all 3, each of which was among the biggest movers of the week, all in a positive direction. Also, there is a new top team in the West, even though they are only #6 in the standings at this point. This week the rankings also include all games played today, since they all ended early. Here are the updated rankings, with gaps between groups of teams representing differing levels of performance.

TW. Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (LW)
1. Chicago (3-2) (20-6) -7.38 (1)
2. Portland (2-2) (14-10) -7.13 (5)
3. Miami (4-1) (18-6) -6.72 (6)
4. Philadelphia (3-1) (17-7) -6.40 (4)

5. Denver (1-4) (15-9) -5.23 (2)
6. San Antonio (4-1) (16-9) -5.01 (8)
7. Oklahoma City (2-2) (18-5) -4.68 (3)

8. Indiana (4-1) (16-7) -3.77 (14)
9. LA Lakers (3-1) (14-10) -3.37 (17)
10. Atlanta (2-2) (16-8) -3.31 (7)
11. LA Clippers (4-1) (14-7) -3.29 (16)

12. Memphis (2-3) (12-2) -2.27 (11)
13. Dallas (2-3) (14-11) -2.19 (9)

14. Minnesota (3-2) (12-12) -1.47 (13)
15. Boston (4-1) (13-10) -1.01 (12)
16. Houston (1-3) (13-11) -0.87 (10)

17. Utah (2-2) (13-9) 0.40 (19)
18. Milwaukee (2-2) (10-13) 0.68 (15)

19. Orlando (3-2) (15-9) 1.90 (20)
20. New York (2-2) (9-15) 2.23 (21)
21. Golden State (2-1) (8-13) 2.98 (24)

22. Cleveland (2-2) (9-13) 3.71 (26)
23. Phoenix (2-2) (9-14) 4.26 (22)
24. New Orleans (0-5) (4-20) 4.72 (18)
25. Toronto (2-3) (8-17) 5.52 (25)

26. New Jersey (1-4) (8-17) 6.47 (23)
27. Sacramento (2-1) (8-15) 6.80 (28)

28. Detroit (2-3) (6-20) 8.39 (27)

29. Washington (0-4) (4-20) 11.24 (29)

30. Charlotte (0-3) (3-21) 14.71 (30)

Indiana's 4-1 week started with a big win over the Orlando Magic, then ended with a close loss to those same Magic yesterday, but with three road wins over teams in the playoff race, the Pacers showed that their record and standing near the top of the East are not flukes, and that they are a team that should make some noise in the playoffs, although it is unlikely that they will be able to get through the Heat and Bulls, with their MVP's and playoff experience, but they are definitely building a strong team that should stay strong for years.

The Lakers won three games this week, two on the road against possible playoff opponents, and one blowout against the Charlotte Bobcats, who have seen nothing but losses for weeks now. Losing to Utah yesterday hurt their momentum a little, but it appears that the Lakers have recovered from the slide that saw them lose five of seven, and they are back in the hunt for a good playoff spot.

The Clippers, meanwhile, won three games in four days, all against good teams, including wins over Oklahoma City and Denver, who had been ranked #1 and #2 in the West entering the week. They were obviously worn down the next night, playing for the fourth time in five days, so they went down against Denver, but they rebounded nicely against the Wizards and avoided a second straight letdown.

Dallas went from looking strong early in the week, beating the Spurs and Suns, to becoming the disappointment of the week, losing their last three to Oklahoma City, Indiana, and Cleveland, the first two coming on their home court. They don't have another easy game coming up for a few weeks, so they're going to have to step up their game if they don't want to become the second defending champ to miss the playoffs.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

Monday

LA Clippers at Orlando - Clippers by 1
LA Lakers at Philadelphia - 76ers by 7
Toronto at Washington - Raptors by 2
Phoenix at Atlanta - Hawks by 12
Chicago at New Jersey - Bulls by 10
Utah at New York - Knicks by 2
Sacramento at New Orleans - Hornets by 6
San Antonio at Memphis - Grizzlies by 1
Houston at Denver - Nuggets by 8
Oklahoma City at Portland - Trail Blazers by 6

Tuesday

Utah at Indiana - Pacers by 8
Charlotte at Boston - Celtics by 20
Cleveland at Miami - Heat by 14
Phoenix at Milwaukee - Bucks by 8
Sacramento at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 12
Oklahoma City at Golden State - Thunder by 4

Wednesday

LA Clippers at Cleveland - Clippers by 3
Miami at Orlando - Heat by 5
San Antonio at Philadelphia - 76ers by 5
New York at Washington - Knicks by 5
Milwaukee at Toronto - Bucks by 1
Indiana at Atlanta - Hawks by 3
Detroit at New Jersey - Nets by 6
Chicago at New Orleans - Bulls by 8
Minnesota at Memphis - Grizzlies by 5
Dallas at Denver - Nuggets by 7
Houston at Portland - Trail Blazers by 10

Thursday

LA Lakers at Boston - Celtics by 2
Houston at Phoenix - Rockets by 1
Golden State at Denver - Nuggets by 12
Oklahoma City at Sacramento - Thunder by 8

Friday

Atlanta at Orlando - Hawks by 1
LA Clippers at Philadelphia - 76ers by 7
Miami at Washington - Heat by 14
Boston at Toronto - Celtics by 3
Chicago at Charlotte - Bulls by 18
Milwaukee at Cleveland - Cavaliers by 1
New Jersey at Detroit - Pistons by 2
Portland at New Orleans - Trail Blazers by 8
Dallas at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 3
LA Lakers at New York - Lakers by 2
Indiana at Memphis - Grizzlies by 2
Oklahoma City at Utah - Thunder by 1

Saturday

Denver at Indiana - Pacers by 3
LA Clippers at Charlotte - Clippers by 14
Philadelphia at Cleveland - 76ers by 6
New York at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 8
San Antonio at New Jersey - Spurs by 8
Portland at Dallas - Trail Blazers by 1
Orlando at Milwaukee - Bucks by 5
Phoenix at Sacramento - Kings by 1

Sunday

LA Lakers at Toronto - Lakers by 5
Chicago at Boston - Bulls by 3

Prediction Results

NBA: 38-20 (.655) 110-54 overall (.671)
Upsets: 7-8 (.467) 19-15 overall (.559)