Red, White, and Blue Power Rankings: 2/26-3/3
By Dante Nelson
Oh boy. Last week the site, as well as FanSided itself, was having some “growing pains” We here at The Sixer Sense thank you for hanging in there. Seems everything is back to normal for the most part. Shout out to a new writer to the site, Stephane Hardinger. I’m not the new guys anymore! Ha. You can check out his first post here if you didn’t already. It’s a good one. We have a game tonight so let’s get these rankings out of the way. And if you’re feeling uneasy about facing the Bulls, well the Sixers have won 3 straight against them. Remember, this is the Bulls as the elite team in the league. Last year’s MVP. So, the Bulls are a big deal. It won’t be easy but there must be a reason the Sixers have won 3 straight. More than luck for sure.
News
The Clippers of course. You hear about it? Clippers have told a big fan of theirs to quit using their name for his own personal gain. Here’s the link. To me, the Clippers are entitled to keep their stuff to themselves. The only thing fishy about this thing is that Clips knew about this for years but are just now shutting it down? Now that the Clippers are actually a basketball team, they want to act all high class. You should have ended it in the beginning. It’s more of a moral thing than legal. the Billups injury and this are reasons why people really believe that team is cursed. Let’s get an interview with Elton Brand…
Stats
FG%—Sixers 46
3P%—Wizards 43
FT%—Clippers 86
APG—Sixers 23.0
RPG—Hawks 47.3
SPG—Sixers 10.6
BPG—Wizards 6.67
TO’s—Clippers 9.3
PPG—Wizards 104.67
Well, well, well we have two teams missing in action: Nets, and Pistons. Wizards and Sixers both lead 3 categories. An honorable mention should be made for Clippers though. They had 6.3 blocks so they just missed the Wizards.
Week Review
Sixers 1 (3)
Week Record: 2-1 (my prediction was 2-1)
Sixers made it back to first place! Their play was like January all over again. Their loss to the Thunder prompted me to say this. But, hey, they got themselves back on track for the moment.
Hawks: 2 (5)
Week Record: 2-1 (my prediction was 1-2)
What a pleasant surprise! Hawks are back in the top 3 if only for a moment. They lost to the Warriors but beat the Bucks and Thunder. Hawks and Sixers switched results there as Sixers beat Warriors and lost to Thunder. Just when you think Hawks are finally cooling off, they keep fighting. Good for them. Also, Jerry Stackhouse. That is all.
Clippers: 3 (1)
Week Record: 1-2 (my prediction was 2-1)
Well Clippers fall back to 3rd place but it’s not that bad. Their only win this week came against the Kings. Lost to the Suns and T-Wolves. Would have liked to see win over Suns but too bad. I would expect this team to always be in the top 3 along with the Sixers.
Nets: 4 (4)
Week Record: 1-1 (my prediction was 0-2)
Nets beat the champs. Brook Lopez is a beast. And like I’ve been saying all along, Nets are a decent team once Lopez is playing again. I’m not calling playoffs, but this team will be much better from now on (with their current roster). I hope things work out for my home state team soon to be not home state team. Actually, Nets were originally in NY to match the NY Jets and Mets. As you may have seen in the picture at the beginning of the article, they were red, white, and blue then too. So it works out. They did get blown out by the Celtics though. Again. Yikes.
Wizards: 5 (6)
Week Record: 1-2 (my prediction was 1-2)
Well…they pretty much matched my prediction head on. They beat the Cavaliers and lost to Bucks and Magic. Doesn’t give them favor in my rank decisions though. Too bad. I might have said this in a previous post but at least the Wizards are not the Bobcats.
Pistons: 6 (2)
Week Record: 1-2 (my prediction was 1-2)
Speaking of Bobcats, the Pistons’ only win this past week was against the Cats. They lost to Grizzlies and Sixers in blowout fashion. How? Try a combined 46 points. 23 points per game to lose by is probably not good. But they beat the Bobcats remember? So, they don’t quite suck. (yes they do!)
Week Preview: 3/4-3/10
Sixers got back into 1st place but this week is quite the test. Bulls, Celtics, Bucks, and Jazz. I want to say beat the Bucks and Jazz. I’ve been saying a win over Celtics is very possible. And the Sixers are riding a 3 game winning streak over the Bulls. Sixers have chance in each game but let’s go with 2-2. My heart tells me 3-1 but I’m not ready to go there yet with this team. 2-2.
Hawks are in the same boat as Sixers. Will they hang on to 2nd place? Pacers, Heat, and Pistons will give a test for sure. Obviously, Heat is toughest match-up. Pacers will be a pain. So 1-2.
Clippers need to take advantage of their “easy” week in comparison with Sixers and Hawks. They have Rockets, T-Wolves, Nets, and Spurs. Beat the Nets and Rockets. Lose to Spurs and T-Wolves. 2-2.
Nets have 5 games this week. God bless ’em! They face Bobcats twice though. Lucky. So let’s say two wins right there. The other 3 teams? Heat, Clippers, and Rockets. Sticking with my prediction for the Clippers, they lose to the Clips. Lose to Heat. The tie-breaker is the Rockets. I. Will. Say. Win. 3-2.
Wizards will just have to get comfortable down here. Good news: at home for all 3 games this week. Bad news: Warriors, Lakers, and Blazers. Oh joy. Maybe beat the Warriors. I guess. Do you think it’s wrong I’m going to go with a sweep this week? Yes? Well then you’ll be pleased to know I see 1-2. I swear if they get swept…
Pistons are like the Wizards. All 3 games are home. But, they’re just like the Wizards. Lakers, Hawks, and Raptors. Already said Hawks would beat them. Lakers win. Raptors lose. that was easy. 1-2.
Another week down. The big match-up I’m waiting for is next Sunday vs the Knicks. And, with the divisional championship on the line, this game just got that much bigger. It feels good to say that. It’s no longer a question of “can we make the playoffs?” It’s more of “how far can we go into the playoffs.?” Get excited folks. With Andre Iguodala, and Elton Brand’s contracts coming to a close soon, changes will be made. I just hope the team moves in the right direction.