Here at the ICT Zone, our power rankings are based on a very simple philosophy. "To be the man you gotta beat the man", if a lower ranked team beats a higher ranked team, then the two teams automatically swap spots regardless of results from prior weeks. Welcome to week 14 of the the NBA season.
The Rockets enter the post-All-Star break portion of the regular season on top of our rankings, and they lead all teams so far by being first three times already this season. Houston has seen mixed results after fully committing to small ball by trading away Clint Capela and getting back Robert Covington. This will lead to an even more lethal offense, but they will have trouble against teams with size AND speed, such as the Lakers with Anthony Davis or even the Mavericks with Kristaps Porzingis. Time will tell whether James Harden and Russell Westbrook have what it takes to finally get the Rockets back to the NBA finals.
The Pistons have leaned further into their rebuild, following the trading of Andre Drummond and the buyout of Reggie Jackson. Detroit has some intriguing pieces in Luke Kennard, Christian Wood, and Sekou Doumbouya, but it still remains to be seen if any of those players can become franchise centerpieces. Regardless, the team will be in a bit of a holding pattern until it can get rid of Blake Griffin and his monster contract. Griffin is good enough to keep the team from getting a top pick, but not quite able to get the team to the playoffs by himself.
Teams that have been first: Sacramento Kings (1x), Houston Rockets (3x), Memphis Grizzlies (1x), Boston Celtics (1x), Oklahoma City Thunder (2x), Philadelphia 76ers (1x), Dallas Mavericks (1x)
Teams that have been last: Memphis Grizzlies (2x), Golden State Warriors (2x), Minnesota Timberwolves (2x), Sacramento Kings (1x), Los Angeles Clippers (1x), Charlotte Hornets (1x). Detroit Pistons (1x)
1. Houston Rockets +14
(35-20)
2. Los Angeles Lakers +14
(41-12)
3. Denver Nuggets +11
(38-17)
4. Philadelphia 76ers +2
(35-21)
5. Brooklyn Nets +16
(25-29)
6. Sacramento Kings +5
(22-33)
7. Phoenix Suns -4
(22-33)
8. San Antonio Spurs +14
(23-31)
9. Orlando Magic +19
(24-31)
10. Charlotte Hornets +20
(19-36)
11. Indiana Pacers +8
(32-23)
12. Oklahoma City Thunder -11
(33-22)
13. Dallas Mavericks -11
(33-22)
14. Toronto Raptors -9
(40-15)
15. Utah Jazz -2
(36-18)
16. Portland Trail Blazers -4
(25-31)
17. New York Knicks -9
(17-38)
18. Boston Celtics -9
(38-16)
19. Minnesota Timberwolves -2
(16-37)
20. Atlanta Hawks -10
(16-41)
21. Memphis Grizzlies -3
(28-27)
22. Los Angeles Clippers -15
(37-18)
23. Miami Heat -15
(35-20)
24. Cleveland Cavaliers +5
(14-40)
25. Washington Wizards -2
(20-33)
26. Chicago Bulls +1
(19-37)
27. Golden State Warriors -3
(12-44)
28. Milwaukee Bucks -24
(47-8)
29. New Orleans Pelicans -4
(23-32)
30. Detroit Pistons -10
(19-39)
Guys, I am devastated. I let you all down last year. It was right under my nose that UConn would win the championship, but I missed it due to poor data collection. I began last year's prediction by saying a team with eight losses would win March Madness, and in listing all the teams that qualified, I somehow missed...
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