NBA Power Rankings: Rockin’ and Rollin’ in Memphis

I was hesitant to move the Grizzlies up the charts earlier in the season, as I thought they were a cute team but not true contenders. But they kept winning. And winning. Then winning without their best player. So I had to give them their due, but yet, I still wasn’t a true believer. Not to say that I am fully on board now, but I have to give them the proper respect in the regular season. Over the last five games, they have defeated the Suns and Bucks, so to the top they go. The Suns were at full strength while the Grizzlies weren’t. DK Sportsbook has Memphis at +1500 to win it all, the eighth-best odds, so they are hesitant as well, but the Grizzlies have performed admirably up to this point, so credit must be given.

The Mavericks continue to climb up the mountain methodically. They are dead-last in offensive pace, so that makes sense. Their marquee win was over the Bucks last week. On the season, they have the sixth-best defense. With Luka Doncic at the helm, singing of HalleLuka may be reverberating through the streets of Dallas soon.

The Hawks made a nice little jump up the rankings. They’ve won six of the last seven games with a win over the Nets. Over that span, they’ve had the top-ranked offense and 11th-best defense. On the season, Atlanta is second in offensive rating but 26th in defensive rating. If, and it’s a big if, they can play defense, then the Hawks can soar.

Shoutout to the Lakers, who were clinging to a play-in spot but then proceeded to lose seven straight, locking them out of the playoffs. Over that span, they were 21st in offensive rating and 28th in defensive rating. Yuck.

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