Posted on
3/14/2008 12:47:53 AM
NBA Power Poll Week 20 Part 1
By Mike Rose
(CURRENT) (TEAM) (W/L OVERALL & W/L FOR WEEK) (ATS RECORD) (LAST WEEKS RANK)
1) Boston Celtics (51-12/4-0) (38-23-2 ATS) (LW: 2) Another perfect week at 4-0 SU for KG and crew, and they made their backers very happy in the process by cashing in ATS in all four contests. This improves their ATS mark to 7-6-1 ATS their L/14 overall, and they’re now the proud owners of a 10-game winning streak after dropping three in a row right after the break. They’ll host Utah Friday night before hitting the road to face Milwaukee and the bulk of the Southwest Division this week.
2) LA Lakers (45-19/2-1) (39-23-1 ATS) (LW: 1) The Lakers put forth another positive week by knocking off the Raptors and Clippers, but lost at home for the first time since late January when Lebron and the Cavs got the best of them. The loss also snapped their 6-game win streak in the Staples Center. LA has taken advantage of a pretty anemic schedule of late, but they’ll be tested mightily over the next seven days with road match-ups slated to go against New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, and Utah.
3) Detroit Pistons (46-18/2-1) (34-29-1 ATS) (LW: 4) Another 2-1 SU mark for the men from Motown this past week, but they failed to cover any of those three games and now sit at 5-8 ATS their L/13. They, much like the Spurs, have had a tough time against the Vegas line losing five in a row. A rough week awaits the Pistons as they host San Antonio, Denver, and New Orleans before hitting the road to take on Cleveland and Washington.
4) Utah Jazz (43-23/3-1) (33-29 ATS) (LW: 5) Solid week for the Jazz as they put forth a 3-1 SU and 2-2 ATS mark by taking care of Phoenix, Denver, and Milwaukee, but losing at Chicago. Still, a 2-1 SU mark for this club is fantastic considering they’ve only managed 15 wins in their 35 games as a visitor this season.
They’ll finish off their 4-game road trip this week at Boston and New Jersey before returning home to host the Lakers and Raptors.
5) Houston Rockets (44-20/3-0) (39-24-1 ATS) (LW: 7) Posted last week: Can they extend the streak to 20? The answer to that question is most definitely yes!!! It’s simply unreal what Head Coach Rick Adelman’s club has been able to do since Yao went down. Their win over Atlanta on Wednesday night allowed them to tie the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks for the second-longest single-season streak in NBA history (20). However, most impressive is the fact that the Rockets covered 12 in a row throughout this stretch and 16 of their L/17 overall. This is a feat that’s few and far between, so ride the wave for as long as it lasts. A huge correction is certainly in the not too distant future.
6) New Orleans Hornets (43-20/2-1) (38-24-1 ATS) (LW: 6) CP3 and Hornets continue to plug along after putting forth another winning week at 2-1 both SU and ATS. Since losing three in a row at the end of February, the Hornets are both 6-2 SU and ATS their L/8 overall contests and only a half game in back of the white-hot Houston Rockets for the top spot in the Southwest. Four of their next five come in the comfy confines of the New Orleans Arena, but they’ll have to bring their “A” game with them since they’ll be squaring off against the Lakers, Bulls, Rockets, and Celtics in those games.
7) San Antonio Spurs (44-20/1-3) (28-34-2 ATS) (LW: 3) It had to happen sooner or later, but the Spurs hoped it would have happened later than as early as last week. The defending champs tripped and stumbled all over themselves last week and only managed 1 win SU and none ATS. Still, they’re 16-5 SU their L/21, but a poor 9-10-1 ATS their L/20. Spurs backers take note, SA is 2-7-1 ATS their L/10 overall, and losers of six in a row to the Vegas number. That streak could stay intact this week with tough games slated to go against Detroit, Philly, Boston (home), and Chicago.
8) Golden State (40-23/3-0) (28-35 ATS) (LW: 8) Golden State fans and backers couldn’t have asked for a better week from the Warriors as they went a perfect 3-0 SU and ATS against Toronto, Orlando, and Miami to reach the 40-win plateau on the year. However, they need to keep their solid play going knowing full well that any prolonged losing streak can find them on the outside looking in to the playoffs. Tricky schedule this week with road games slated to go against Phoenix, Sacramento, and the Clippers while hosting the Grizzlies.
9) Phoenix Suns (42-22/2-1) (29-33-2 ATS) (LW: 9) The Suns have certainly gotten a number of mixed reviews since they brought the big man in from Miami, and they’ve been criticized in this poll as well. That said, they closed out last week brilliantly by winning a half-court slugfest vs. San Antonio and blowing the ever-living snot out of Memphis. Now that this club has had a solid three weeks to get used to its new style of play, maybe we’ll see why GM Steve Kerr thought the “Diesel” was the missing ingredient towards getting the Suns their first ever NBA Championship.
10) Dallas Mavericks (42-23/3-0) (28-33-4 ATS) (LW: 10) After putting forth a miserable 1-4 SU and ATS effort last week, Dirk and company rallied to win all three of their games this week both SU and ATS over Charlotte, New York, and New Jersey. Granted, all three of those teams aren’t worth their weight in gold, but their average margin of victory in those games was close to 25 PPG. The Mavs will get to feast upon both Indiana and Miami before closing out the week with the Lakers at home.
11) Orlando Magic (42-24/2-1) (42-23-1 ATS) (LW: 11) The Magic continues to plug along winning week after week and making their backers money hand over fist. They picked up two wins in three tries this week both SU and ATS, but the loss to the Warriors at home was really ugly. That said, they still hold the top spot in the Southeast Division by 9.5 games over Washington, and they should clinch that division in the coming weeks.
12) Denver Nuggets (38-26/2-2) (33-31 ATS) (LW: 12) The Nuggets made their backers happy by covering three of four against Utah, Memphis, and the Spurs twice this week, but playing .500 ball won’t allow them to grab one of the playoffs spots. They currently sit a couple games in back of Golden State for the #8 seed, and get two at home this week before hitting the road for five where they’ve struggled all season long.
13) Cleveland Cavaliers (37-28/2-1) (31-34 ATS) (LW: 13) The Cavs looked seemingly on the right track after getting rolled in Chicago with home wins and covers over Portland and Indiana, but then they went out and lost to the NJ Nets for the third time this season on Wednesday night. Injuries have once again started to plague them again as well, but hopefully they’ll be at full strength once the second season rolls around. They’re once again on the road for a TNT Thursday night extravaganza vs. Washington, and then close out the week with contests slated to go at home vs. the Bobcats and Pistons and on the road vs. Orlando.
14) Philadelphia 76ers (31-34/3-1) (35-27-3 ATS) (LW: 15) The Sixers continue to play winning ball with every passing week, and that’s exactly what they have to do in order to hold on to the 7th seed they currently own. They opened up the week with a pair of covers both SU and ATS vs. Seattle and Milwaukee before they lost their only game of the week in “The garden” against the Red-hot Celtics. However, they picked their play up once again in Detroit and upended the Pistons by an 83-82 final count to pick up their 13th win in their L/17 tries. Tough week lies ahead with a road date in Chicago followed by home match-ups with both the Spurs and Nuggets.
15) Washington Wizards (31-32/2-1) (37-26 ATS) (LW: 16) The Wizards are exactly where they want to be right now. They hold the 6th seed in the East with a 31-32 SU mark and look to be getting both of their top guns back into their line-up in the coming weeks. Head Coach Eddie Jordan has done a masterful job with this club in his superstars absence, and they’ve been one of the better teams against the spread all season long. Keep an eye on this club as it could make some serious noise in the Playoffs with a healthy Gilbert and Caron in the line-up.
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