Only two teams went undefeated this week, so that means that there was no team that could clearly be labeled as dominant this week. That leaves a lot of room for movement in all parts of the rankings, but it resulted in the same team remaining at the top. Here are my current rankings, with teams grouped by similar levels of performance.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) (Overall)
1. (1) Memphis (3-1) (9-2)
2. (4) Miami (3-0) (9-3)
3. (3) LA Clippers (2-2) (8-4)
4. (5) San Antonio (3-2) (10-3)
5. (2) New York (3-3) (8-3)
6. (12) Denver (3-2) (7-6)
7. (6) Oklahoma City (3-1) (9-4)
8. (11) Houston (2-3) (6-7)
9. (9) Brooklyn (3-2) (7-4)
10. (15) Atlanta (4-0) (7-4)
11. (8) Utah (3-1) (7-6)
12. (10) LA Lakers (3-2) (6-7)
13. (20) Golden State (3-2) (7-6)
14. (7) Milwaukee (1-2) (6-4)
15. (14) Dallas (2-2) (7-6)
16. (16) Chicago (0-3) (5-6)
17. (27) Indiana (3-2) (6-8)
18. (26) Phoenix (2-2) (6-7)
19. (22) Philadelphia (3-1) (7-5)
20. (13) Boston (2-3) (7-6)
21. (17) Minnesota (0-3) (5-6)
22. (19) Portland (3-1) (6-6)
23. (25) Orlando (3-2) (5-7)
24. (21) Detroit (2-2) (3-10)
25. (28) Cleveland (1-3) (3-9)
26. (23) Toronto (1-4) (3-10)
27. (30) Sacramento (1-3) (3-9)
28. (18) New Orleans (0-5) (3-8)
29. (24) Charlotte (2-2) (6-5)
30. (29) Washington (0-3) (0-10)
Denver's week started out with some struggles as they fell to the Heat and Spurs, but then they turned things around, taking down the Memphis Grizzlies and ending their 8-game winning streak in the process. Memphis rebounded from that loss well enough to retain the top spot in the rankings, and Denver followed up the upset with two more victories, which moved the Nuggets into the top 10 for the first time this season.
The Phoenix Suns started the week with a couple of rough losses to the Lakers and Heat, but were able to change things around when the quality of the competition dropped significantly. The blew out the Portland Trail Blazers by 27 points, then came back to beat the New Orleans Hornets in overtime last night, giving them back-to-back wins for the first time in 2 weeks.
Milwaukee was 6-2 and looking pretty good heading into a matchup with Charlotte, but they got caught looking ahead to a date with the Heat and blew their winning streak against the Bobcats. They followed that up with another loss in Miami, and now their status as a top 10 team is in the rearview mirror, and a home-and-home series with the Bulls is looming this weekend.
The Washington Wizards became the 13th team in history to open a season 0-10, but they nearly avoided it on Wednesday, when a last-second layup that was initially ruled as good ended up coming just a split second after the final buzzer, sending the Wizards to another loss and putting them in the kind of company no team wants to keep. The streak could end tonight, though, as Washington is hosting the Charlotte Bobcats, who set the record last season for the worst winning percentage in history.
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
Oklahoma City at Philadelphia - Thunder by 4
Charlotte at Washington - Wizards by 2
LA Clippers at Atlanta - Clippers by 2
Cleveland at Miami - Heat by 15
LA Lakers at Dallas- Mavericks by 2
Chicago at Milwaukee - Bucks by 5
Utah at Sacramento - Jazz by 3
Minnesota at Golden State - Warriors by 7
College Basketball
(5) Duke vs. (2) Louisville - Cardinals by 1
VCU vs. (13) Missouri - Rams by 5
(14) Creighton vs. Arizona State - Bluejays by 14
Iowa State at (18) UNLV - Rebels by 3
(19) Memphis vs. Northern Iowa - Tigers by 4
(22) Cincinnati vs. Oregon - Bearcats by 10
Charleston at (24) Baylor - Bears by 30
Belmont vs. Oral Roberts - Bruins by 15
Texas Southern at Middle Tennessee - Blue Raiders by 48
Illinois State vs. Northwestern - Redbirds by 11
Wisconsin vs. Arkansas - Badgers by 24
Southern Illinois at Saint Louis - Salukis by 10
Western Illinois at Savannah State - Tigers by 18
Prediction Results
NBA: 8-4 (.667) 120-61 overall (.663)
Upsets: 3-1 (.750) 26-15 overall (.634)
College Basketball: 13-4 (.765) 142-30 overall (.826)
Upsets: 1-2 (.333) 10-13 overall (.435)
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