Red, White, and Blue Power Rankings: 11/11-11/17

It was quite a week for the Sixers. All they did was piss me off! Pistons had a week. Hawks are Ha-you know what? Let’s just get through the rankings.

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Team News

Let’s start with the Sixers. It was announced that Andrew Bynum had a setback in his knee. It was announced a few days ago that Bynum was to be practicing with the team on Dec 10th and after 1-4 weeks, he would be playing a game. But even Bynum thinks it’ll be a miracle to pull that off with the current setback. It doesn’t help that this is his final year on his contract. Sixers may have a tough off-season.

The Hawks are dealing with Josh Smith trade rumors. This has really been going on for a couple of years but with Joe Johnson gone, maybe folks figure the Hawks should just blow it up. Right now, Hawks may or may not make the playoffs so unless they figure to get a star to rocket them into contention, the Hawks probably should just trade their franchise star. He hasn’t been playing very well lately.

The Wizards signed Shaun Livingston. I remember Livingston’s career altering injury as one of the most gruesome injuries I have ever seen in all of my sports watching days. Not sure what he’ll bring to the still winless Wizards but…well I don’t know.

Week Review (last week rankings in parenthesis)

Clippers: 1 (1)

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

Overall Record VS RWB Teams: 1-0

A little side note: That overall record thing is keeping track of the record RWB teams have against each other. So any match-up between Clippers, Sixers, Hawks, Wizards, and Pistons are recorded.

The Clippers took a step in the right direction by sweeping their week beating out the Hawks, Heat, and Bulls. Oh yeah they beat the Heat. The Heat are the reigning champs. Now I’m not convinced that the Clippers are close to contending. But, they are a team that, as I said last season, would eventually be able to challenge the Lakers for LA. But hey, the Clippers won by an average of 13.67 points this week. Not bad.

Hawks: 2 (3)

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

Overall Record vs RWB Teams: 0-1

Hawks move up in our rankings with a solid week. They lost to the Clippers as we all figured they would. I was on the fence with the Blazers but Hawks won that. They lost to the Warriors and blew out the Kings. All four games were on the road so I’m sure they’re probably a little homesick.

Sixers: 3 (2)

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

Overall Record vs RWB Teams: 0-1

I said the Sixers could possibly lose a game vs the Bucks. I was at that game. It was frustrating. But then they lost to the Pistons in which our very own Jason Quint accurately described the game as Eddie Jordan era type game. I didn’t see that one until replay. I gotta say, I was pissed. I’d be pissed if I paid to see that. They managed to bounce back with a solid win over the Jazz but this week showed that they are as far away from contending like I thought they’d be. I knew this roster without Bynum would be pretty average like what we’ve been seeing during the Iguodala era. So until Bynum comes back, I’m almost expecting the team to hover around .500.

Pistons: 4 (4)

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

Overall Record vs RWB Teams: 0-1

Pistons got their first win of the season but it wasn’t against who I thought it would be. The Pistons destroyed the Sixers to get win number one after losing by only 2 points vs the Thunder. They almost went 2-1 for the week vs the Magic but lost a double digit lead and ultimately lost by 4. I would imagine this week as a week of optimism for Pistons fans.

Wizards: 5 (5)

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

Overall Record vs RWB teams: 0-0

Wizards are the only team to not face a RWB team yet. But I’d doubt they would get their first win of the season vs any of those teams anyway. At this point, they’re making history with two seasons in a row of starting out at least 0-7. Right now they’re 0-8. They got blown out by the surprising Bobcats, lost by 6 vs the Mavericks, and lost to a Jazz team that lost the night before, by 7. It’s just not their season. Fellow FanSided site, Wiz of Awes, comments on how the franchise is in trouble. I’ve already rambled about how I’m connected to the Wizards so you can understand why I’m feeling a little down about the whole thing.

Week Preview: 11/18-11/24

Clippers were at home all last week. This week, all four of their games are on the road. This will be a nice little test to see if they were for real with their victory over the Heat. Spurs, Thunder, Nets, and Hawks all this week. So yeah, we’re gonna see what this team is made out of. They beat the Spurs already but can they repeat? I say yes. Now I don’t see them beating the Thunder. I say beat the Nets and Hawks (again). So Clippers go 3-1 for the week.

Hawks have a week to behold. They are going against the bottom of the East in the Magic and Wizards. They also face the Bobcats and Clippers. Hawks win over Wizards and Magic. Bobcats have just been unpredictable for me so Hawks lose. And then a loss to the Clippers. My guy says 3-1 (and that it’s hungry) but I’ll go with an even 2-2.

Sixers have a scary week. They face the Cavaliers twice, as well as a rematch with the Raptors and a first look vs the Thunder. Easy to see Sixers beat Raptors and lose to Thunder. It’s the two Cavs games I’m scared of. I think Sixers can beat them, but twice in one week? I just can’t say yes to that. So we’ll go 2-2 for the week. I hope they do go 3-1 though. Heck, give me 4-0!

Pistons have one win under their belt now. Now, it’s time for more. And with the Celtics, Raptors, and Magic on their list, you know at least one win is coming. I would imagine Pistons putting up a heck of a fight vs the Celtics but ultimately falling short of victory. I also think Pistons beat the Raptors. But there is a game in the middle: Magic. Oh you know the Pistons want that game back that they blew just last week. I fully expect the Pistons to pull that thing out. I’m going bold and Ima say 2-1. Yeah, that’s right, I said it.

And then the Wizards. They are wounded, and they are still looking for that first win. Can they do it? *looks at schedule* Um…Pacers, Hawks, and Bobcats. Um…lose to Pacers, lose to Hawks…lo…be…I don’t know about those darn Bobcats. You know what? Wizards will be home vs the Cats so I’ll say the Wizards get win number one of the season vs the Bobcats. Wait…I said that last week…

Another week down! Yeah baby. Sixers have a game tonight so look for a preview by me on that soon. Thank you for reading this post and visiting this site. Are you new here? How about you look around? Answer the poll question. Read the about page, and the sub page “Staff Spotlight”. Heck, fill out an application to write for the site!

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