NBA power rankings: Sixers fall out of top 10
Milwaukee, which has won five in a row since losing to the Sixers on Christmas Day, remains No. 1.
The 76ers lost both their games last week, extending their losing streak to four and dropping out of the top 10 in The Inquirer’s NBA power rankings.
The Sixers, seventh last week, are No. 12, while Milwaukee remained the No. 1 team.
Like the Sixers, several other top-10 teams lost in the past week and some had worse losses than the Sixers, whose two defeats came at Indiana and Houston. For instance, Miami, which was second last week, lost at Washington and Orlando. And the LA Clippers, who were third, lost by 26 at home to Memphis.
Since losing to the Sixers on Christmas Day, Milwaukee has won five in a row and former Sixers swingman Kyle Korver is heating up. During that five-game win streak, he is shooting 66.7% from three-point territory (12-for-18).
Another team that keeps moving up is Utah, which is No. 3 after winning nine of its last 10 games. What is impressive is that point guard Mike Conley has missed 13 of the past 14 games with a hamstring injury and the Jazz are 10-3 in those games.
Houston, with Friday’s impressive 118-108 win over the Sixers, returned to the top 10 at No. 4. James Harden, the 2018 NBA MVP, is making another MVP run.
Denver, which was eighth last week, lost Saturday at Washington. Michael Porter Jr., who missed last season because of injury, has recently been a big part of the rotation, averaging 13.8 points in his last five games.
Oklahoma City, winner of nine of its last 10 and five in a row, makes its first appearance in the top 10 at No. 10. Veteran point guard Chris Paul has been a steadying force for the Thunder.
Here are the rankings, with previous rankings in parentheses.
The contenders
1. Milwaukee 32-5 (1)
2. LA Lakers 29-7 (4)
3. Utah 23-12 (5)
4. Houston 24-11 (11)
5. Boston 25-8 (9)
6. Miami 26-10 (2)
7. LA Clippers 26-12 (3)
8. Toronto 24-12 (10)
9. Denver 24-11 (8)
10. Oklahoma City 20-15 (13)
The next 10
Don’t look now, but the Memphis Grizzlies are making a playoff push. Point guard Ja Morant looks to be running away with the Rookie of the Year award.
Dallas, which was impressive in an earlier victory at the Sixers, continues to have trouble winning at home. The Mavs fell to 10-8 at home by losing in overtime Saturday to Charlotte.
Another team that could be moving up to contend for a playoff spot is New Orleans, 6-4 in its last 10 games. The Pelicans are just three games out of the final Western Conference playoff spot.
11. Indiana 22-14 (12)
12. Sixers 23-14 (7)
13. Dallas 22-13 (6)
14. Memphis 15-22 (17)
15. San Antonio 14-20 (14)
16. Brooklyn 16-18 (15)
17. Orlando 16-20 (16)
18. Minnesota 14-21 (22)
19. New Orleans 12-24 (20)
20. Phoenix 14-22 (21)
Wait till next year
Atlanta finally moved out of the cellar. The Hawks won at Orlando and beat Indiana at home. Trae Young has played in seven of the Hawks’ eight wins and has averaged 34.7 points in those games, scoring 41 Saturday during a 116-111 win over Indiana.
21. Sacramento 13-23 (23)
22. Portland 15-22 (19)
23. Charlotte 15-23 (29)
24. Chicago 13-23 (18)
25. Detroit 13-24 (24)
26. Washington 11-23 (27)
27. New York 10-26 (28)
28. Golden State 9-28 (25)
29. Atlanta 8-28 (30)
30. Cleveland 10-26 (26)