Tuesday, April 3, 2012

NBA Rankings - 3 Apr

The Oklahoma City Thunder have beaten both of the top teams in the East within the past 10 days, which has caused a power shift among the top teams in the league. Either Chicago or Miami has held the top spot every week this season since January 22nd, but that streak has come to an end as the Thunder rolls through the West. Here are the current rankings, with gaps between groups of teams representing different levels of performance.

TW. Team (Week) (Overall) Rating (LW)
1. Oklahoma City (3-1) (40-13) -6.71 (3)
2. Chicago (2-3) (42-13) -6.68 (1)
3. Miami (2-2) (37-14) -6.38 (2)

4. San Antonio (3-0) (36-14) -5.47 (5)

5. Philadelphia (2-1) (29-23) -4.73 (4)

6. New York (3-1) (27-26) -2.95 (8)

7. Indiana (3-2) (31-21) -2.27 (6)
8. LA Lakers (3-1) (33-20) -2.22 (7)
9. LA Clippers (5-0) (32-21) -2.01 (13)
10. Boston (4-0) (30-22) -1.65 (17)
11. Memphis (3-1) (29-22) -1.46 (11)
12. Orlando (1-3) (32-21) -1.39 (9)
13. Milwaukee (3-2) (25-28) -1.33 (14)
14. Atlanta (1-3) (31-23) -1.02 (10)
15. Houston (3-2) (29-25) -0.72 (18)
16. Denver (3-1) (29-24) -0.48 (20)
17. Utah (2-3) (28-26) -0.38 (15)
18. Dallas (2-2) (30-24) -0.28 (12)
19. Phoenix (1-2) (26-26) 0.04 (16)
20. Portland (2-3) (25-29) 0.44 (21)

21. Minnesota (1-4) (25-30) 1.30 (19)

22. Golden State (0-4) (20-31) 3.53 (22)
23. Toronto (2-2) (18-35) 4.13 (23)
24. New Orleans (1-4) (13-40) 4.24 (25)
25. Detroit (3-1) (19-33) 4.79 (26)
26. Sacramento (2-3) (19-34) 4.79 (24)

27. Washington (1-4) (12-41) 5.73 (28)
28. New Jersey (3-1) (19-35) 6.19 (29)

29. Cleveland (0-4) (17-33) 7.26 (27)

30. Charlotte (0-4) (7-43) 12.47 (30)

Oklahoma City is the first Western Conference team to top my rankings this season, and they did it with a 6-game winning streak, which included wins over Chicago, Miami, and both Los Angeles teams, all by at least 9 points. A huge rematch with Miami is coming up tomorrow, and the Heat would desperately like to tie the season series.

Since Vinny Del Negro received a vote of confidence from Clippers management, the Clippers have gone on a tear, winning 6 in a row and beating 5 potential West playoff foes in the process. They play the Lakers tomorrow night on national television, and a victory would pull the Staples Center foes into a tie with each other for the Pacific Division lead.

Boston's huge jump this week has a lot more to do with last night's win over Miami than with the other 4 wins in their current 5-game streak. Ho-hum victories over Charlotte and Washington don't impress anybody, but a 19-point beatdown of the sizzling Heat and a spot on top of the Atlantic Division for the first time all season have them feeling pretty good right now.

Orlando's hot streak ended this week with three straight losses to marginal playoff teams, but they are still in strong position for the playoffs in an Eastern Conference race that is pretty diluted after the top two teams. The Magic face both New York and Philadelphia this week on TV, and while both have been pretty good lately, they do have some flaws that could allow Orlando to rebound and start another winning streak.

Predictions

Upset picks are in italics.

Tuesday

San Antonio at Cleveland - Spurs by 10
New York at Indiana - Pacers by 2
Charlotte at Toronto - Raptors by 11
Orlando at Detroit - Magic by 3
Philadelphia at Miami - Heat by 5
Golden State at Memphis - Grizzlies by 8
Phoenix at Sacramento - Suns by 2
New Jersey at LA Lakers - Lakers by 11

Wednesday

Toronto at Philadelphia - 76ers by 12
Indiana at Washington - Pacers by 5
Charlotte at Atlanta - Hawks by 16
San Antonio at Boston - Spurs by 1
Denver at New Orleans - Nuggets by 2
Oklahoma City at Miami - Heat by 3
Cleveland at Milwaukee - Bucks by 12
Golden State at Minnesota - Timberwolves by 5
Memphis at Dallas - Mavericks by 2
Phoenix at Utah - Jazz by 3
New Jersey at Portland - Trail Blazers by 9
LA Lakers vs. LA Clippers - Lakers by 1

Thursday

New York at Orlando - Magic by 1
Washington at Detroit - Pistons by 4
Boston at Chicago - Bulls by 8
LA Clippers at Sacramento - Clippers by 4

Friday

Oklahoma City at Indiana - Thunder by 2
Detroit at Atlanta - Hawks by 9
Memphis at Miami - Heat by 8
Washington at New Jersey - Nets by 2
Cleveland at Toronto - Raptors by 6
Portland at Dallas - Mavericks by 4
Charlotte at Milwaukee - Bucks by 17
New Orleans at San Antonio - Spurs by 13
Golden State at Utah - Jazz by 7
Phoenix at Denver - Nuggets by 3
Houston at LA Lakers - Lakers by 4

Saturday

Boston at Indiana - Pacers by 4
Minnesota at New Orleans - Timberwolves by 1
Orlando at Philadelphia - 76ers by 6
Dallas at Memphis - Grizzlies by 4
Atlanta at Charlotte - Hawks by 11
Portland at Milwaukee - Bucks by 5
LA Lakers at Phoenix - Suns by 1
Denver at Golden State - Nuggets by 1
Sacramento at LA Clippers - Clippers by 10

Sunday

Chicago at New York - Bulls by 1
Philadelphia at Boston - 76ers by 1
Detroit at Miami - Heat by 14
Cleveland at New Jersey - Nets by 4
Utah at San Antonio - Spurs by 8
Toronto at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 14
Houston at Sacramento - Rockets by 3

Prediction Results

NBA: 41-17 (.707) 352-183 overall (.658)
Upsets: 6-4 (.600) 55-45 overall (.550)

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