Red, White, and Blue Power Rankings: 3/18-3/24

Half of the teams on this list are still fighting to find out what seed they will be come playoff time. The other half will probably end up in the lottery. There’s quite a bit a diversity in the teams that are covered in these rankings. Oh hey, can you guess which 3 teams most likely will make the playoffs? Sixers, Clippers, and Hawks. Nets, Pistons, and Wizards most likely will see the lottery. Who is the beast team here though? If you went by record alone, it would be Hawks. Here’s the actual standings of each of the teams by winning percentage:

1. Hawks
2. Clippers
3. Sixers
4. Pistons
5. Nets
6. Wizards

Sixers and Clippers were tied but in accordance to NBA rules, since Clippers won season series on Sixers, Clippers get the nod. Let’s get to the rankings I guess.

News

Nets have received some bad news. Brook Lopez’s foot wasn’t fully healed and he’ll have to sit out a couple of more weeks. On one hand, did they rush Lopez back on the court? Maybe to bump up trade value to go get Dwight Howard? I guess that would make some sort of sense. On the other hand, not like Net fans would really be that upset. This upcoming draft seems to be filled with talent and the Nets will help their chances to get a high pick. It’s not a guaranteed success type thing but not like Nets were going to make noise with Lopez anyway.

Doug Collins has won his 400th game of his career. And it was against the Celtics on Friday night. So…congrats to him.

Week Review

Hawks: 1 (2)

Week Record: 4-1 (I predicted 3-2)

Hawks had a nice week for sure. even though they went 4-1, it’s not like they had to work very hard for it. They beat the Cavaliers twice, Nets, and Wizards. They lost to the Celtics. Still, Hawks have been battling injuries so it’s nice to see they are still hanging on. As previously mentioned, they have the best record in this “division”.

Sixers: 2 (3)

Week Record: 2-1 (I predicted 3-0)

Sixers lost a game to the Knicks this week because they did not try to win that game. They were able to hang on to first in their division by beating the Celtics and they also beat the Bobcats.

Clippers: 3 (1)

Week Record: 2-3 (I predicted 2-3)

Clippers went 2-3 like I said but not how I said it. I thought they would beat Pacers and Pistons but they beat the Grizzlies instead of Pacers. Still, they lost all three of their back-back-back games. So tough break there. They lost to Thunder and Hornets as well.

Wizards: 4 (5)

Week Record: 1-3 (I predicted 1-3)

Well I said last week that I didn’t know where the win would come from, but it was coming. Wizards ended up beating the Nets. Lost to the Grizzlies, Pacers and Hawks. But they only lost by an average of 3 points so it’s not like they got blown away. And their win over the Nets was by 19. Not their best week but the losses could have been worse.

Nets: 5 (6)

Week Record: 1-3 (I predicted 2-2)

So I thought they would go 2-2. Their one win came over the Bobcats. They lost to Cavaliers, Nets, and Hawks. Brook Lopez and down again. Welp I hope the Front Office is keeping an big eye on the March Madness. Oh wait…Nets traded a first rounder for Gerald Wallace. Oh ok.

Pistons: 6 (4)

Week Record: 0-4 (I predicted 1-3)

Well I’m not too surprised at the sweep. I didn’t want it to happen. They lost to Clippers, Nuggets, Heat and Knicks. They started the week off “good” by only losing by a combined 5 points in their first two games. Not bad. But then they lost the next two games by a combined 37 points. Um…ouch.

Week Preview: 3/25-3-31

This will be the last week of March. April will bring a lot of “they need this many wins to make playoffs” or “they can move a couple of spots” from the teams.

Hawks have Jazz, Bucks, Bulls, Knicks, and Sixers. They can beat the Jazz and Bucks. I see loss to Bulls. Knicks and Sixers could go either way. End result would be 2-3. Hmm…last week I said they would go 2-3 that week and they ended up 4-1…

Sixers will look to add some cushion to their division lead. And it’s possible. Spurs, Cavaliers, Wizards, and Hawks. Better beat the Cavaliers and Wizards. Problem with Sixers is that 30 days ago, I would say sweep. Now, I go 3-1. Could lose to Spurs tonight (although I have predicted otherwise).

Clippers have Hornets, Suns, Blazers, and Jazz. Clippers lost to Hornets just this past week but I blame it on back-back-back. This time should be a win. Beat the Suns. Blazers have been…well they…Blazers suck. Clippers really should go 4-0 but I’ll go 2-2. Yup.

Wizards may be in 4th now, but will it hold up. Wait a moment while I check the schedule…Celtics, Pacers, Pistons and Sixers. Oh. Well, lose to Celtics and Sixers. Beat Pistons. I guess lose to Pacers too. 1-3.

Nets have a tough week. Jazz, Pacers at home then they travel to California to face Warriors and Kings. They can beat Warriors and Kings I guess but let’s go 1-3.

Pistons may be down here for a while. Wizards, Cavaliers, Bulls, and Bobcats. I already said Wizards win but it could either way. Lose to Cavs and Bulls and beat the Cats.