NBA Power Rankings – Lakers still top of the food chain
There isn’t much change near the top of the NBA power rankings this week, as the NBA betting favorites for the championship have stayed essentially the same, although Cleveland is hot on the Lakers’ heels.
(Last week’s ranking in brackets)
1. (1) Los Angeles Lakers (49-12): Back-to-back losses in Denver and Phoenix are a bit worrying, but they’ve beaten the Cavs in their two meetings this year, which is why they’re still No.1.
2. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers (48-12): The Cavs are on a roll ahead of their showdown in Beantown on Friday night against the Celtics, winning nine of their last 10.
3. (3) Boston Celtics (48-14): The Stephon Marbury experiment should be a success in Boston, as their locker room is too strong to let him be a cancer. Now, to get KG healthy.
4. (6) Orlando Magic (44-16): Dwight Howard showed a lot of heart by responding to Shaq with a big performance in a win over Phoenix. It’s his coach, Stan Van Gundy, who should’ve kept his mouth shut.
5. (4) San Antonio Spurs (40-20): The Spurs have lost three of their last four, but they look to be on the verge of snagging Drew Gooden for a playoff run. These guys are a perennial sportsbook favorite when the going gets tough.
6. (12) Portland Trailblazers (38-22): The Trailblazers are the week’s big movers, but tonight’s game in Denver could cause them to drop for next week.
7. (5) Denver Nuggets (39-22): Losses in Indiana and Detroit, plus another suspension for Carmelo Anthony caused this drop. Tonight’s Portland game will be huge, from an NBA betting standpoint as well as for momentum.
8. (8) Utah Jazz (38-23): Yes, they’ve won nine in a row, but only two of those have come on the road, and those were at Minnesota and Golden State. Let’s see how this five-game road trip goes before we start putting them among the online betting favorites.
9. (7) Houston Rockets (39-23): The Rockets need to step up their game on the road to be considered an elite team. Still, their success without T-Mac is writing the oft-injured forward’s ticket out of town.
10. (13) Miami Heat (32-28): Has one player meant more to any team’s hoops betting chances than Dwayne Wade? D-Wade may mess around and find himself with an MVP award.
11. (10) New Orleans (37-22): How do you win five straight, yet drop a spot? Only one of those opponents has a winning record, and that’s Detroit by one game. David West is putting up almost 29 points over that period, but he needs to do it against big teams.
12. (9) Atlanta Hawks (34-27): A first-round matchup between the Hawks and the Heat would be so entertaining to watch…let’s hope the standings stay the same.
13. Dallas Mavericks (37-24): A tirade by their owner sparked a win over the Spurs. Does Mark Cuban have to publicly tear into the team before every game to raise their NBA betting chances?
14. (16) Detroit Pistons (30-29): Allen Iverson gets hurt, Rip Hamilton goes back in the starting five, and Detroit wins three in a row, including in Orlando and Boston. Coincidence? We think not.
15. (11) Phoenix Suns (34-27): Their Florida trip yielded a pair of losses, and the Suns have games in Houston and San Antonio up next. But Shaq has been insanely entertaining lately, hasn’t he?
16. (14) Philadelphia 76ers (29-30)
17. (22) Milwaukee Bucks (29-35)
18. (17) Chicago Bulls (28-34)
19. (24) Charlotte Bobcats (26-35)
20. (18) New Jersey Nets (25-35)
21. (21) Indiana Pacers (27-37)
22. (26) Oklahoma City Thunder (16-45)
23. (19) New York Knicks (25-35)
24. (20) Golden State Warriors (21-40)
25. (23) Toronto Raptors (23-39)
26. (27) Memphis Grizzlies (16-44)
27. (25) Minnesota Timberwolves (18-42)
28. (28) Los Angeles Clippers (15-47)
29. (30) Washington Wizards (14-47)
30. (29) Sacramento Kings (13-49)
Big moves by the Thunder and Bobcats among the league’s bottom-dwellers, but Oklahoma City still finds itself in a vicious battle with Memphis, Minnesota Sacramento and Washington to get the most ping-pong balls for the draft lottery. NBA betting players should have a field day with that.
