The Western Conference is getting interesting, to put it lightly.
Just look at the top end of the conference, if you want to make your inferences. The Utah Jazz, who many didn’t even anticipate having this good of a record through seven weeks of the season, seriously look like they could contend for a title, as the eye test and the stats say so right away. The Lakers and Clippers are both being impacted by health concerns right now, with teams like the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets both creeping up on the conference lead. As for the East, there’s a clear and definite contender that’s growing more synergetic on a nightly basis: the Brooklyn Nets.
It took a while for them to calculate each and every person’s role in the halfcourt but if their Saturday Night Primetime scalping of the Golden State Warriors served any indication, it’s that these Nets, compact with three of the best scorers the game has ever seen in the same starting five, are ready to flex and show that they’re serious about making it to the Finals for the first time in Franchise history.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee, Boston, and Philadelphia are seeing their conference and division leads slip through their fingers, and best believe some of the teams mentioned could be heavy buyers and sellers come time for the Trade Deadline later this month.
It’s time for another Power Rankings list as it’ll kick off another week of exciting NBA action, so let’s get into it.
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1. Utah Jazz (22-5, Last Week’s Ranking: 2)
Move aside, L.A. There’s a new No. 1 in town. A lot of back and forth discourse surrounding the Jazz is their early-season success and if it will be sustainable enough throughout the rest of the season and if they can be taken seriously as a threat to the Lakers and Clippers in a saturated Western Conference, and while most of those questions have yet to be answered, the one thing you cannot subjectively doubt is the objective fact that Quin Snyder’s Utah Jazz are the hottest team in the NBA. Their 22-point beatdown and 11th home win of the season over Miami made their fiery 2021 even better, as they won 18 of their last 19 games and are in the midst of a seven-game win streak.
They’re still holding strong defensively as the second-best defensive rating in all of Basketball through seven weeks of the new year and recently joined the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks and 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers as the only teams in NBA History to record double-digit wins over a 19-game span, as their current streak of bludgeoning opponents is at 16 straight games.
They’re winning games convincingly, Donovan Mitchell is shutting all doubters of his “inability” to lead as a superstar all the way up, and more importantly, the defensive improvement of Royce O’Neale has catapulted this team over the top this year, who at a point last season was one of the worst defenders in the NBA (per on/off team net rating) as he took on the arduous responsibility of guarding the likes of Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo (on certain occasions this past Friday), and Jimmy Butler in the span of a week.
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2. Los Angeles Lakers (21-7, Last Week’s Ranking: 1)
Forget the sobering 122-107 road loss to the Denver Nuggets for a minute; there’s no pertinent reason for the Lakers to panic at all right now, since they’re still No. 1 in the column of defensive rating (holding opponents to an average of 105.1 points per 100 possessions), and were on a seven-game winning streak until Sunday night’s loss to Denver occurred. More importantly, staying healthy and conditioned for the real push come playoff time is perhaps the most important thing for Frank Vogel and Rob Pelinka’s Lakers at the moment, especially with the recent news concerning the result of Anthony Davis’ impending MRI on his Achilles Tendinosis.
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3. Los Angeles Clippers (20-8, Last Week’s Ranking: 4)
Just like the Lakers, the Clippers have a bunch of guys banged up, off the floor and on the bench, and the injury report is starting to pile up, to their chagrin. Patrick Beverley came back Sunday night against the Chicago Bulls at home, but as he returned, out went Kawhi Leonard to a left leg contusion during their 125-106 win and 20th win of the season. They’re streaking in the win column, and are steadily climbing the ranks in the West, with the opportunity to overtake the Lakers in the conference standings with another win and Laker loss. Yet, they’re going to have to potentially do so without Leonard and Paul George, who is still suffering from an injured, swollen toe. That may not be an issue and concern altogether, considering that the Clips are prioritizing health over Conference supremacy a quarter of the way through the season as winners of 14 of their last 18 games.
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4. Brooklyn Nets (16-12, Last Week’s Ranking: 6)
Following Brooklyn’s fearsome domination of the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, where they literally looked as if they were playing playground street ball against a top-heavy Dubs team in a 42-point third quarter of a 134-117 road win, some things were seen as confirmation: any role that Kyrie Irving and James Harden want to run and exchange amongst each other can certainly be done, as Irving pointed himself out to be the shooting guard of the offense while James Harden exhibited his stellar, exceptional passing skills as the point guard, as Irving explained Harden would be for the night.
Harden filled the position and passed with flying colors, exploding for a game-high 16 assists to go along with his 19 points. Kevin Durant returned from Health and Safety protocols following his bizarre in-game expulsion due to him having contact with an individual who had an inconclusive COVID-19 test one hour prior to their game against Toronto last week. He was the second-highest scorer on Brooklyn’s side in his return back to the hardwood of the Bay for the first time since the Western Conference Semifinals back in May of 2019 against James Harden’s Rockets, scoring 20 points in 33 minutes. Their chemistry is building, and quickly, but recently, more setbacks have arisen: Durant will be sidelined for two games due to a hamstring strain.
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5. Philadelphia 76ers (18-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 3)
A 1-2 week for the Sixers drops them two spots in this week’s rankings, as they finished their seasonal two-game series against an undermanned Portland squad 0-2 on the year following their seventh road record on the year. It seems that the plaguing road woes that followed the 76ers all of last year left lingering effects on the team since they’re a pedestrian 7-7 away from the Wells Fargo Center. They’re an average 6-4 in their last 10 games, and while still leaders in the Eastern Conference entering the second week of February, that accolade of being the East’s best could soon be slipping away with a tedious two-game interconference spot on their schedule coming up next. A showdown of the two best teams in basketball occurs Monday as the 76ers head out to Salt Lake City to battle the Utah Jazz in what should be a duel between Defensive Player of the Year favorite Rudy Gobert and MVP favorite Joel Embiid, and following that, they’ll have to play the high-effort Houston Rockets at home.
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6. Phoenix Suns (17-9, Last Week’s Ranking: 7)
Chris Paul’s veteran influence has become such a reliable tool for Monty Williams’s Phoenix Suns this year, and should never, under any circumstances, be taken for granted or undervalued. Last week, it was five of six games that these Phoenix Suns have won, and now this week, make it nine of 10 games that the Suns have won. They allowed Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic to only score 14 points just two nights after he went off for 43 points against the Sacramento Kings during their 109-90 home win, as Devin Booker led all scorers with 27 points in the victory.
This seven-game winning streak they’re on marks the second-longest winning streak in the franchise’s last 10 seasons, as Booker has looked as if he’s ready to finally qualify for the postseason for the first time of his career. Now 26 games into the season, he’s averaging 24.5 points, 4.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals, and during the past four games, has been averaging 32.3 points off of 56.3 percent shooting from the field.
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7. Milwaukee Bucks (16-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 5)
Milwaukee took a bit of a step back this past week, now in the middle of a three-game losing streak. However, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and quite honestly the rest of the roster can admit that the overarching goal of this season is their health and being as synergetic as possible as head into the months of March and April. It’s better to win the war and lose the current battle of getting ahead in the East, and that seems to be a general consensus amongst Mike Budenholzer’s Bucks at the moment.
“My goal is to play the best basketball at the end,” said Antetokounmpo following Friday’s loss to Utah, but his focus has shifted from that to just being at his healthiest and most prepared when the moment comes. “I want to improve each game,” Antetokounmpo said after Milwaukee’s third-straight loss. They’ll have to reconsider pushing the envelope, and will likely have difficulty doing that anyway as they’ll be without Jrue Holiday for an undisclosed amount of time due to the guard having to go through Health and Safety protocols.
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8. Denver Nuggets (15-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 9)
Following a three-game losing streak of their own, as the Nuggets looked as if the magic of the Bubble had completely worn off, a win against the 2nd-seeded Lakers might be all it takes for them to get back on the winning track, now that they’re on a three-game winning streak with a very favorable spot on their schedule up next. They face the struggling Celtics to start the week, with the Wizards, Hornets, and Hawks all being a part of their Eastern voyage this week. Nikola Jokic looked like the MVP candidate we know him to be, as he acquired his sixth triple-double of the season against the Lakers on Sunday night. They’re still one of the more banged-up teams in basketball at the moment, as their current record would suggest. Gary Harris continues to rehabilitate a left adductor strain, and the Nugs lost Paul Millsap to a left knee sprain on the same Sunday night against Los Angeles.
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9. Portland Trail Blazers (16-10, Last Week’s Ranking: 11)
It doesn’t matter if multiple guys aren’t able to get on the floor for Portland: when it’s Dame Time, it’s Dame Time. And there’s nary a thing anyone can do once the nine-year veteran makes his mind up to put a game away. While in the clutch against Dallas this past Sunday night, Lillard saw the play clock ticking down at 33.8 seconds remaining in a tight 116-116 game with Dorian Finney-Smith poking his hands in a size-up dribble Lillard was performing, forcing him to throw in a dribble counter that successfully shook the defender off of him, and as Lillard opted to play hero with the game on the line, a signature one-legged stepback and fadeaway three-ball coated the nylon and the nylon only.
I mentioned Lillard’s worrying usage last week in the Week seven rankings, but it’s doubtful Lillard sees the challenge of an increasingly difficult workload as problematic and overwhelming. Their season truly has been a battle of attrition with all the guys that haven’t been fully healthy all year, but Lillard has taken the challenge head-on, now as the fourth-highest scorer in all of the NBA. Those positive attributes usually garner MVP votes at year’s end.
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10. San Antonio Spurs (16-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 8)
The aging LaMarcus Aldridge and the worrisome preseason expectations of his difficulty in remaining as an available, healthy part of this roster are, sadly starting to grow in prominence, even with the Spurs going 4-0 in the past week. They’re finding some luck by upping the pace of the offense with some new lineup combinations, now that Derrick White is fully recovered from a toe injury as he’s been plugged into defensively-savvy lineups with DeJounte Murray, DeMar DeRozan, Keldon Johnson, and Jakob Poetl assisting the Colorado guard.
This five-man combination creates an advantage for the Spurs, who when they put them on the floor together, are prone to going on long scoring runs and defensive stifling of opponents with a combined plus-18.4 net rating. They’ll be able to further test the legitimacy of the new lineup in a soft spot in the season against the likes of Detroit, Cleveland, and New York this week.
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11. Golden State Warriors (14-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 12)
Golden State saw a 2-2 week, which by their standard, was effective enough to keep their eighth seed and spot in the playoff picture, but nonetheless, the cracks are starting to show through Golden State’s armor, and several truths are being realized about a team that’s severely lacking star power aside from Stephen Curry. Those insufficiencies were exacerbated during their second-straight loss to Brooklyn in their season series, as the Dubs lost by 17 and gave up 42 points in a third-quarter that was absolutely taken over by Brooklyn’s big three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. While Stephen Curry continues to play the best basketball of his career, the Dubs are above average expectations on defense, now ranking as the eighth-best defensive team in basketball.
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12. Indiana Pacers (14-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 13)
It turns out having Domantas Sabonis back and healthy on the floor does good things for your offense if you’re Nate Bjorkgren and the Pacers, who are currently getting back into the swing of things with a productive 2-1 record in a three-game stretch. And moving him to different spots on the floor as an active cutter and not just a low-post floor spacer helps in a multitude of ways as well. He’s averaging 21.6 points off 52 percent shooting from the field while grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing 5.6 assists while surveying defenses on the low block. An easy part of their schedule is up next, as they’ll duel with Chicago, Minnesota and Houston this week.
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13. Boston Celtics (13-13, Last Week’s Ranking: 10)
For the first time this season, the Celtics fall out of the top-10 in the weekly Power Rankings and are in an absolute free fall with no clear resolution to the plaguing issues they’re facing in clear sight. Things aren’t peachy in Beantown, and roster inadequacies many had predisposed notions about are showing themselves more than they ever have at any point this season. Since their upset win over the Clippers last week, the Celtics have dropped all momentum built up from their last victory, losing out on the rest of their Western road trip against the likes of Sacramento and Phoenix, only acquiring one win against the Raptors this past week.
They’ve gone on to lose embarrassingly to the likes of a 7-18 Detroit Pistons team in which they would give up a career-high 30 points and 12 rebounds to a rookie in Saddiq Bey in a 108-102 home loss, and would follow that up with an ugly 13-point loss against an underachieving 6-17 Washington Wizards team as supposed “superstar” Jayson Tatum would only score 6 points against the NBA’s 26th-ranked defense. They look nothing like a contender at the moment, and this roster is in dire need of a makeover to its appearance, as guys not named Tatum, Kemba Walker, or Jaylen Brown have combined to shoot 25-for-76 in the past two losses. Expect Boston to be heavily in the department of deal-making once the Trade Deadline approaches.
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14. Charlotte Hornets (13-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 21)
The Charlotte Hornets are a playoff team? No reason to even question it at this point; take these Hornets seriously, because what they’re growing into should be taken into account. Rookie of the Year runaway LaMelo Ball is one of the most exciting players in the NBA right now and realistically, should be garnering All-Star votes in his first season in the NBA. Just this past week, the 19-year-old showcased his organic feel for the game, averaging 19.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists during Charlotte’s last four contests, and as a team, the rookie is making a significant impact as the Hornets are 6-4 in their last 10 games.
As the sixth seed in an Eastern Conference that’s starting to see teams like Boston slip in the ranks, these Hornets are intent on making a legitimate run to be a viable threat once the playoffs roll through. Consistency and depth are detrimental to them just like any other rebuilding young team, but with the core of Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward, Ball, DeVonte Graham, Miles Bridges, and Malik Monk off the bench, there is a solid foundation that Michael Jordan has built in the Queen City.
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15. New York Knicks (13-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 19)
Dominant victories over the Rockets and Wizards this past week have the Knicks slowly rising in this week’s Power Rankings. They’re currently a playoff team in the Eastern standings and have been producing, which is something that cannot be refuted. Derrick Rose became a new part of this rotation and his role as their sixth man while Tom Thibodeau’s young guys continue to get earned minutes will increase as they begin to open talks about moving several parts of the team to acquire draft capital and get several other veteran players to increase the likelihood of playoff qualification this season.
The loss of Mitchell Robinson from a broken hand will be injurious to a team that’s, impressively, third in the NBA in total defensive rating, but this means that an opportunity will arise for rookie Obi Toppin to be a prominent shot-blocker and rim protector with starting minutes in Thibs’ rotation.
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16. Dallas Mavericks (13-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
The offense doesn’t seem to be Dallas’ issue, since they’re scoring an average of 126.5 points per game off 52.6 percent shooting from the field. And, obviously, a large component of their offensive firepower is the all-world effort from Luka Doncic, who, if Dallas’ record was better than it is now, would have been an MVP candidate this season. The reason it hasn’t been as adequate as people expected it to be this season is because of how abysmal their defense has been. Through this four-game stretch, the Mavs have given up 125.4 points per 100 possessions, making that the worst defensive effort in the NBA through four games this season.
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17. Toronto Raptors (12-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 17)
Toronto doesn’t move an inch in this week’s rankings, though you have to believe they might be turning a corner if they decide not to move certain pieces like Kyle Lowry once the Trade Deadline rolls by. Still, it’s almost like the minute you think they’re taking one step forward, there they go falling three steps back. They opened the week with a double-digit loss to the Celtics on the road and finished the week with an uncharacteristic loss to the Timberwolves, who hadn’t had D’Angelo Russell back in more than a week. It’s yet to be determined if All-Star Pascal Siakam has indeed started down a path of regression, but if there is any certainty, this is not the same competitive team that was a game away from going back to the Conference Finals a season ago.
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18. Sacramento Kings (12-14, Last Week’s Ranking: 15)
Following last week’s success in winning seven of their last eight games, Sacramento fell back down to earthly expectations, going 0-3 on the week, capping off the drop in progression with a blown lead to the Philadelphia 76ers and MVP candidate Joel Embiid, as well as giving up 43 points to Nikola Vucevic and the visiting Orlando Magic. The main point of emphasis this season has to do with developing the core of De’Aaron Fox-Tyrese Haliburton-Marvin Bagley III, so it’s not the end of the world since all three looked capable of being competitive in the future.
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19. Memphis Grizzlies (11-11, Last Week’s Ranking: 18)
After being out for a few weeks due to health and safety protocol, Jonas Valunciunas came back strong, averaging 21.8 points and 12.6 rebounds since his return. Health is a major benefactor to the Grizzlies’ lack of success (or playing time) but having the interior presence of a Valunciunas has done wonders for an offense missing some floor spacing and help for Ja Morant. Valunciunas, after his return, is scoring at an efficient rate, making around 68.3 percent of his field attempts.
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20. Miami Heat (11-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 22)
The Miami Heat are starting to feel the brunt effect of a short offseason, evident in their lack of being able to stay consistently healthy and available to roll out a starting lineup that mirrored the team that made it to the NBA Finals this past October. While they’re steadily climbing out of the hole that the early-season mishaps had them in with a considerably big win over Houston (now winners of four of their last five), they’re getting back to what created the whole “Heat Culture” slogan: hard, gritty halfcourt defense. They’re only letting opponents score an average of 100.5 points per game in their last four games.
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21. New Orleans Pelicans (11-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 20)
So, to start out with a few positives: Stan Van Gundy can have all the confidence in the world that he wants in running the offense entirely through Zion Williamson. The difference the second-year behemoth out of Duke makes on the floor is noticeable and undeniable. It’s their defensive mistakes that are doing them in, keeping them below the surface in an increasingly difficult Southwestern division. Take their loss to the Bulls, for example: they allowed Chicago to splash 25 threes on them, and then a few nights later, allowed the Mavericks to also hit 25 three-pointers and finish the week allowing 17 threes to Detroit. They’re 29th in total defensive efficiency, and with things not improving as quickly as they’ve needed to, the Pels will likely be sellers come Trade Deadline time.
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22. Houston Rockets (11-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 14)
Shortly following their winning of seven of their last eight games, the Rockets have failed to build on their momentum, now on a five-game losing streak. Christian Wood’s importance to this team should not ever go understated, since they haven’t won a game without him on the floor. It’s been a rough stretch for Stephen Silas’ spacious offense, and with Victor Oladipo and John Wall underperforming as they’ll likely not stay with the Rockets before the season ends, Houston has only scored an average of 98.8 points in the span of the Christian Wood-less losing streak.
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23. Atlanta Hawks (11-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 16)
It’s a conceivable thought that Lloyd Pierce might not make it through the length of the rest of this season as the Hawks’ head coach, as Atlanta is going through a three-game losing streak, as losers of seven of their last 10 contests. Injuries to a majority of their big splashes in free agency have certainly made their 2020-21 campaign that much more difficult, as guys like Danilo Gallinari and Rajon Rondo have not played to the best of their ability. Trae Young (23.3 ppg., 11.3 apg., 2.8 rpg. in Atlanta’s last four games) is doing all he can to keep the ship afloat, but even with three and a half months left to go in the season, that ship is nearing the bottom of the proverbial ocean.
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24. Oklahoma City Thunder (11-15, Last Week’s Ranking: 24)
OKC is another team that won’t move a muscle in these rankings this week. But even though, however, it’s quite commendable how well Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been developed by the player development staff in Oklahoma City. This season as the true No. 1 option, SGA has been averaging 22.6 points, 5.5 rebounds while shooting 50.6 percent from the field as well as a little under 40 percent from deep, which is right at the league average for 3PT shooters on the season. This is a team deep in rebuilding and reconstructing, as they’ve been so since last season, so whatever they do this year is more of just desserts considering Sam Presti is taking the process of building through the draft and free agency in the coming years more seriously.
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25. Chicago Bulls (10-15, Last Week’s ranking: 26)
Zach LaVine and Coby White’s collaboration this season has been something to watch, as, during their win over the Bulls, they both hit eight threes in the same game. It’s been a topic of debate on whether or not their play styles could coincide on the basketball court in the same offense, but that doubt is quickly being dispelled. LaVine, if all goes well, should be receiving his first All-Star selection, as the seven-year veteran has averaged 18.4 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 25 games this season, while shooting around 45 percent from the field and 38 percent from deep this year.
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26. Cleveland Cavaliers (10-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 23)
Cleveland drops a whole three spots after an 0-3 week, and a grotesque record of 1-9 in their past 10 games. facing elite competition like Denver will make that losing streak expand, as they gave up 34 points in the first quarter to Nikola Jokic and the rest of the Nuggets even with both centers Andre Drummond and Jarrett Allen on the floor. And it seems that their difficulties will grow that much more, as they have the Warriors to open the week.
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27. Orlando Magic (10-18, Last Week’s Ranking: 27)
The Magic are going through it right now, and are anemic as ever when it comes to the point guard department. During their loss to the Warriors, Frank Mason III went down, and he was practically the last guard Orlando had on the roster that wasn’t impacted by injuries. The All-Star Break will be sorely needed for a team that needs some roster completion, but do not be surprised if the Magic decide to chalk up this season and sell high on everyone not named Cole Anthony or Nikola Vucevic once the Trade Deadline approaches soon.
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28. Detroit Pistons (8-19, Last Week’s Ranking: 30)
Detroit is starting to see some particular improvements in their play, but not a whole lot that will stand out. They’ve reportedly begun to look for Blake Griffin suitors as it’s apparent to Pistons fans that Griffin has played his last game in a Detroit uniform, but are looking to the future where they can play the role of the team that is always in a hard-fought contest with something to build and develop at the end of the day. Just them getting by Brooklyn, and New Orleans this past week was telling enough that they’re putting their trust in their young guys.
In what was probably their biggest win of the season. Saddiq Bey, their first-round selection out of Villanova, went 7-of-7 from downtown and scored 30 points against the Celtics. Games like that are what Detroit was aiming for, and what they’ll continue to aim for in a season that’s designed to see the strengths and weaknesses of the new guys they’re in the process of building.
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29. Washington Wizards (7-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 29)
If there was ever any silver lining to this past week, it’s that the Wizards have won around 50 percent of their last nine games, now with 4 wins in their last nine contests. Moreover, for the first time this season against Boston, they kept an opponent under 100 points for the first time this season in a 13-point upset over the East’s current fifth-seeded team. With Houston, Denver, and Portland all looking for wins against them this week, consistency and the vehement mentality of getting stops on defense will have to be key if they’re serious about making the play-in tournament this year.
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30. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-20, Last Week’s Ranking: 28)
Karl Anthony-Towns returned for the Timberwolves this past week and helped end a four-game losing skid for the T’Wolves, even with D’Angelo Russell being out and tending to a sore leg. This season, however, hasn’t been the best for the Wolves, who selected first in last year’s draft, but wins against the Raptors and the 2-2 record they have this year when Towns and Russell are partnered are reason enough to be hopeful about the future of the growth of the young core that Ryan Saunders has the responsibility of developing.
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