Red, White, and Blue Power Rankings: 1/8-1/14

Today, we see a new leader in the rankings. Hawks lost one of their stars to injury and Sixers continue to blow out teams. I made one big mistake that I semi-regret. JaVale McGee should have won the 2010 slam dunk competition and there is video evidence to back up why Blake’s “car” dunk wasn’t all that. Also, some extra puns in here too. Don’t have to laugh…just smile and shake your head in slight agreement but with a little of “what is he talking about!?” too. It’s that, and more in our power rankings!

Week Review: Current Ranking (Previous Ranking)

Sixers: 1 (2)

Week Record: 4-1 (my prediction was 4-1)

Sixers were very impressive vs the Knicks in the 3rd game in 3rd nights. While coach Collins called the “no excuse” card, I have to disagree. You could tell Sixers were trying out there. They gave their all to win that game. Problem was, their all was limited from playing for so long. Don’t get me started on the officiating. My God. But Sixers convinced me in that game that they are better than the Knicks. They can beat them. Sixers now stand at the top of their division head (not quite shoulders) above the rest. Last time they won the division…was a trip to the Finals. Not saying they will but it’s great to see. Sixers also continued to dominate the competition. They play like this all season, and they’ll be fine.

Clippers: 2 (3)

Week Record: 2-1 (my prediction was 2-1 but I wasn’t too confident on that one)

I never would have though Clippers would beat the Heat. I saw them beating the Blazers, which did not happen. Figure they could take Lakers. Didn’t think they would beat Heat. Oh well, my record prediction was right so I’ll take it. Okay so the week was quiet but tough. But, Clippers are showing why they deserve a chance to be the better team in L.A. Will so many years of ridicule for that team come back to haunt us? Probably not, but perhaps now, things are finally looking up. I don’t feel bad for the city; they can watch the Lakers play. So it’s really more for the players. Good for them. The battle for L.A. looks to be exciting. Then again, Lakers are getting old and unless they can get Howard, they will not be great for long. And Clippers are young. This switch of power may come by quickly.

Hawks: 3 (1)

Week Record: 3-1 (my prediction was 3-1)

Hawks lost Al Horford this past week. And while the Hawks did survive the week, I’m not too sure they will stay on the top four teams in the league. Magic, Heat, and Bulls take the top three. According to the rules for conference standings, the leaders of each division as well as the next best record of the remaining teams, take up the top four spots. Sixers look to be a lock so far, Magic currently winning theirs and Bulls on top of theirs. So Hawks now have to either beat the Magic and take over division, or have a good enough record to hang around. So it’ll be interesting to see if Hawks hang on. The ranking may be a bit too severe, but it seems like Clippers had the better week.

Pistons: 4 (4)

Week Record: 1-3 (my predictions was…oops I didn’t make one!)

I gave the Pistons the 4 spot because I failed to give my week preview of them. I messed up bad and I apologize to any Pistons fans out there. But, looking at how the week went, I think I would’ve been able to guess that record. Still, I can’t take any credit for that. They kinda sorta hung with the Mavs and Bucks but got blown out by the Bulls and Bobcats. Not a good week for them. Injuries have taken their toll too, but this team is just not good overall.

Nets: 5 (5)

Week Record: 1-3 (my prediction was 1-3)

My streak of correct predictions continues as the Nets managed a win over the Steve Nash and Grant Hill-less Suns. They made a game out of the Hawks but couldn’t face the music in a loss to the Jazz and only had fool’s gold against the Nuggets. All poor puns aside, Nets had better get Howard or they will be moving to New York with nothing. I still stand by the opinion that Deron Williams is one of the best PG’s in the league. But everybody needs help. And Williams had better get some or he may just leave altogether. Even though I’m losing my home state team, the Nets actually started out in New York. Neat-O stat here: Nets were suppose to lineup with the New York Mets of baseball and the Jets of football. Neat right? But you probably knew that or could’ve figured that out on your own. So Nets better not change their name. I don’t want them to.

Wizards: 6 (6)

Week Record: 1-4 (my prediction was 2-3. Not sure what I was smoking last week)

Yeah contradicting myself here. I said Sixers would lose to either Knicks or Pacers last week, but then when I talked about Wizards, I said they could beat the Sixers. Putting all of my problems aside, Wizards…are just not good. Sixers lead by as much as 36 points on Friday before deciding to let Wizards come back all the way to a 21 point game. And the next night they looked like they tried, but Sixers proved too much to handle. JaVale McGee is a bright spot on this team. On a personal note, I think he should have won the dunk competition last year. He dunked 3 BALLS! More than what he was born with! It’s not natural. Blake dunked over the hood of a car, but I’ve seen people dunk over the top of the car. You can watch this. Or this. Or even this. Youtube is your friend. Plenty more where that came from. I’m calling you out Blake.

Week Preview:1/15-1/21

As some of you have seen, I am not convinced yet that Sixers are ready to be the “it” team. But, we’ll all see what these guys are capable of this week. Sixers face

Bucks, Hawks, Heat and Nuggets. The matchup I’m most excited about is the Nuggets. They are just like the Sixers when it comes to “team” ball. No superstar, but still get things done. So both defenses will have to spread their attentions all around. Of course, the Heat beat our Sixers in the playoffs and I would love for Sixers to beat them. They might have a better chance since Wade had an injury this last week in a loss to…the Nuggets. If Nuggets can beat the Heat, I think Sixers could potentially too. I see victory vs Hawks and Bucks. Possible win on Nuggets. I think if the Wade injury is too serious, then Sixers could sweep week. Not too sure of that possibility though so I’ll say they go 3-1 with the Nuggets game in the air. Worse they go is 2-2.

Clippers got into second place in our rankings but will they stay there? Clippers face decent opponents this week. Nets, Mavs, Jazz and T-Wolves. The catch? The games vs the Nets, Jazz, and Mavs are all back-back-back. I can see Clippers beating the Nets. I can see them beat the Jazz. I see a loss to the Mavs and T-Wolves. It’s been really odd though because the teams who have played their 3rd game in 3rd night have been relatively successful. Not sure how so I’m sticking to my gut that Clippers will be tired like Sixers were on their 3rd game. The game vs the Wolves should be fun. Chris Paul vs Ricky Rubio. Blake Griffin vs Kevin Love. Inside and outside battles going on there. Clippers go 2-2 but game vs Wolves could go either way.

Hawks lost their Center but they should have a decent week. 2-2. Sixers, Blazers, Raptors and Cavaliers are who the Hawks face. Most likely, they lose to Blazers and Sixers. Hawks will be at home for all except Sixers, who are still undefeated at home. Considering how tough the schedule can be, Hawks have it easy this week. Again, let’s see how long they can hang on with out Horford. It’s not so much they would miss his skill, it’s more of a depth thing. And in this season, you need depth big time. They are second place in their division ahead of the Heat. That may not stay that way for long.

Pistons (yay I remembered!) have a long week. 5 games coming up. None of them look winnable. They face Warriors, Rockets, Wolves, Grizzlies  and Blazers. Okay so I’ll say they go 1-4 beating the Warriors. That’s their only hope.

Nets have 3 games. Good. They face Clippers, Warriors and Thunder. Bad. As I mentioned before, I believe that Deron Williams is one of the best PG’s in the league. He’s not getting a lot of hype since his team is losing. But with all of his greatness, Nets seemed bound to lose to the Thunder and Clippers. 1-2 for the week. I have the Pistons and Nets beating the Warriors this week. Too bad for them.

And then the Wizards. My oh my. During the Sixers’ extermination of the Wizards, there were comments on how Sixers started out slow and pulled themselves together from the 3-13 start to finish 41-41. Wizards kinda used the Sixers as an example of hope for the season. And maybe they can bounce back. Maybe they will get to 10 wins. It’s possible. Oh but maybe not this week. Thunder, Warriors and Rockets. Ouch. Well it’s really down to can they win a game this week. The best and maybe only chance is…once again…the Warriors. I’m not saying the Warriors are the sacrificial lamb here but Warriors are not that good, even with a victory over the Heat last week. I still have hope for my former sports team cover. 1-2. They are all home games so there’s that…

So a good week for the teams in the top 3 spots at least. My predictions have been pretty good. That is the result of three things: 1) I actually know basketball. I have basketball sense, with a dash of Sixer Sense, which is much better than Spider-Sense (I love Spidey!) 2) I’m just getting lucky. or 3) It’s not rocket science. Anybody can predict these records. Well, no matter what it is, it’s working pretty good so far. Looking forward to a great week of Sixers basketball. Follow me on twitter for during game commentary. Also, you may or may not see a post describing how Spencer Hawes started playing well this season. My favorite theory: Sean said:

"Spencer Hawes, as I mentioned during the game, Space Jammed someone out of his talents. It’s the only explanation. Hopefully his roll continues into 2012."

You think that’s possible? That, and more may come this week.