30. Toronto Raptors (4-17, Last Week’s Ranking: 29): The Raptors lost all four of their games since our last power rankings, and were crushed by the Clippers last night, 102-83.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (4-17, Last Week: 28): The Cavs have lost five games in a row and have a horrible record. Not much else to say here.
28. Washington Wizards (2-19, Last Week: 30): The Wizards still have the worst record in the league, but they somehow managed to beat the Miami Heat. That, in my book, deserves a slight jump in the rankings. We have to give Washington some kind of hope, right?
27. New Orleans Hornets (5-14, Last Week: 26): The Hornets are having a bad season. On top of that, first overall pick Anthony Davis has been sidelined since November 20. The Hornets even made the bi-polar Lakers look good on Wednesday.
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26. Detroit Pistons (7-15, Last Week: 25): Well, the Pistons actually went 2-2 last week, but both victories came against the Cavaliers.
25.Phoenix Suns (7-15, Last Week: 22): The Suns have lost seven games in a row! Giving up over 103 points per game isn’t helping, either.
24. Charlotte Bobcats (7-12, Last Week: 20): Well, NBA fans can feel at ease now. The Bobcats have lost seven games in a row, and dropped out of the top 20. All joking aside, the Bobcats may be playing bad once again, but Kemba Walker is surely a bright spot for Charlotte fans as he’s averaging 17.4 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game.
23. Sacramento Kings (7-12, Last Week: 27): The Kings won all three of their games last week.
22. Portland Trailblazers (8-12, Last Week: 23): The Trailblazers are still struggling. They appear to have balanced scoring–as their starting five all average double-digits–but their defense isn’t there. Giving up 102.0 points per game likely causes Portland fans reminisce about Nate McMillan’s defensive teams.
21. Los Angeles Lakers (9-12, Last Week: 17): The Lakers continue to drop. I wanted to place the Lakers last out of anger and frustration last week, but I came to my senses. However, this week’s poor play justifies the Lakers’ continually dropping rank. Losing four of five games–two of which came at home to average teams–is simply unacceptable. Certain players are playing well in certain games, but there appears to be no continuity on offense and especially not on defense. It will get better…eventually.
Next Page: The middle of the pack