Initially, there were fears that Washington Wizards center Nene Hilario would miss the rest of the season after sustaining a knee injury on Sunday against the Cavs.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Monday's MRI shows that Nene has a sprained left MCL and he will miss four to six weeks with the injury.
Based on the longer end of that range, that would put Nene's return roughly on or before April 7th. The regular season concludes for the Wizards on April 16th.
Only John Wall (19.7) and Bradley Beal (16.8) are averaging more points per game than Nene (14.2), who is tied with Trevor Ariza for third on the team in scoring. Nene is also third on the team in rebounding behind Marcin Gortat (8.9 rebounds per game) and Ariza (6.5). In addition, he ranks second on the team in blocks (0.92 per game) and third in steals (1.24).
With Nene sidelined, both Trevor Booker and Kevin Seraphin will see more minutes.
Showing posts with label Washington Wizards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Wizards. Show all posts
Monday, February 24, 2014
Friday, March 15, 2013
John Wall scores season-high 29 points
After posting back-to-back games with 20-plus points and double-digit assists, Wizards point guard John Wall missed repeating that feat by just one assist.
In tonight's win over the Hornets, Wall finished with a season-high 29 points and nine assists.
Over his past three games, Wall is averaging 26.3 points, 11.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. In addition, it's only the third time in his career that he has scored 20-plus points in three consecutive games.
Without Wall for the first 33 games of the season, the Wizards were 5-28 during that stretch. Since Wall has returned, the Wizards are three games above .500 (17-14).
In tonight's win over the Hornets, Wall finished with a season-high 29 points and nine assists.
Over his past three games, Wall is averaging 26.3 points, 11.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. In addition, it's only the third time in his career that he has scored 20-plus points in three consecutive games.
Without Wall for the first 33 games of the season, the Wizards were 5-28 during that stretch. Since Wall has returned, the Wizards are three games above .500 (17-14).
Saturday, February 4, 2012
2012 NBA Mock Drafts and Mock Draft Database Updated
The 2012 NBA Draft will be held in New York City on June 28th, which is exactly two months after Day 3 of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Not only did we update our 2012 NBA Mock Draft Database this morning, but we also released our first two NBA Mock Drafts for 2012.
For draft order, we used the inverse of our NBA Consensus Power Rankings.
Brendan Donahue's top five picks are:
1. Charlotte Bobcats: Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
2. New Orleans Hornets: Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina
3. Washington Wizards: Michael Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
4. Detroit Pistons: Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas
5. Toronto Raptors: Andre Drummond, C, Connecticut
See all of his first-round mock here.
Kevin Hanson's top five picks are:
1. Charlotte Bobcats: Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
2. New Orleans Hornets: Andre Drummond, C, Connecticut
3. Washington Wizards: Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina
4. Detroit Pistons: Michael Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
5. Toronto Raptors: Perry Jones, PF, Baylor
See all of my first-round mock here.
Not only did we update our 2012 NBA Mock Draft Database this morning, but we also released our first two NBA Mock Drafts for 2012.
For draft order, we used the inverse of our NBA Consensus Power Rankings.
Brendan Donahue's top five picks are:
1. Charlotte Bobcats: Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
2. New Orleans Hornets: Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina
3. Washington Wizards: Michael Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
4. Detroit Pistons: Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas
5. Toronto Raptors: Andre Drummond, C, Connecticut
See all of his first-round mock here.
Kevin Hanson's top five picks are:
1. Charlotte Bobcats: Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
2. New Orleans Hornets: Andre Drummond, C, Connecticut
3. Washington Wizards: Harrison Barnes, SF, North Carolina
4. Detroit Pistons: Michael Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
5. Toronto Raptors: Perry Jones, PF, Baylor
See all of my first-round mock here.
Monday, January 30, 2012
NBA Power Rankings, Week 5
Not only is there a new No. 1 team, but there is also a new No. 30 team in our NBA Consensus Power Rankings.
The Oklahoma City Thunder moved up to No. 1 this week from No. 2 last week. The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat keep the top three unchanged in terms of teams at the top.
Meanwhile, the Charlotte Bobcats have been absolutely horrible. How horrible?
They got a triple-double out of rookie Kemba Walker this weekend and still lost to the Wizards, who were the 30th-ranked team in rankings last week.
Here are some more stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:
- Biggest jump from last week: Indiana Pacers (+4.00)
- Biggest drop from last week: Orlando Magic (-6.25)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Pacers, Mavericks Clippers (6)
[See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]
Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question: Will the New York Knicks make the playoffs?
John (follow on Twitter): While I no longer have any confidence that the Knicks will win the division, I do still believe they will make the playoffs. About a week ago, it was looking as though the Celtics would be a sub-500 team and that they may miss the playoffs. Right now, they've won four in a row and leveled their record at 9-9. It is still plenty early, but with the talent that they have, I expect them to make the playoffs. The Knicks have been awful of late, just 1-9 in their last 10 games. However, like the Celtics, I expect the Knicks to figure a few things out and make the playoffs. Right now, the Knicks are in tenth in the East, but are in the mix with Milwaukee, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Toronto for the last seed. Each of those teams are within 2.5 games of one another, and it is far too early to pronounce the Knicks dead. They have been disappointing, for sure, but there is still too much talent on that team to not make the playoffs in the East, where the bottom of the conference is less than impressive to put it kindly. I think the Knicks and Celtics will be the 7/8 seeds come playoff time.
Sean (follow on Twitter): The Knicks will make the playoffs this year, just because the Eastern Conference is filled with garbage teams. I think D'Antoni should be fired, and will be soon and then the new regime will straighten this team out and they will finish with the 7th or 8th seed this year. Melo/Amare combo is not working. I think they will need to split the duo to compete with the big boys in the East.
Dan (follow on Twitter): The Knicks will make the playoffs this year, as per usual the East is a weak field from teams 5-8. The Knicks have not been playing well as of late, but they just have too much talent to be on a prolonged losing streak. Right now the Knicks would be in a dogfight for the 8th and final spot, but I know that Boston and New York will make the playoffs over these reamaining teams, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Cleveland, and Toronto.
Kevin (follow on Twitter): While I do think the Knicks will ultimately make the playoffs, I think they sneak in with a .500 (to slightly sub-.500) record. Not only are the Knicks off to a horrible start, but their only win against a team with a winning record was at home against a Spencer Hawes-less 76ers team. Five of their other six wins this year have come against teams ranked 25-30 in our Power Rankings: Sacramento, Washington, Detroit and Charlotte twice. Baron Davis can't return too soon for these woeful Knicks.
To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going through Week 5, click here.
Follow HitTheBoards.com: Twitter | Facebook
Related: Our End-of-season NFL Consensus Power Rankings
The Oklahoma City Thunder moved up to No. 1 this week from No. 2 last week. The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat keep the top three unchanged in terms of teams at the top.
Meanwhile, the Charlotte Bobcats have been absolutely horrible. How horrible?
They got a triple-double out of rookie Kemba Walker this weekend and still lost to the Wizards, who were the 30th-ranked team in rankings last week.
Here are some more stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:
- Biggest jump from last week: Indiana Pacers (+4.00)
- Biggest drop from last week: Orlando Magic (-6.25)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Pacers, Mavericks Clippers (6)
[See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]
Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question: Will the New York Knicks make the playoffs?
John (follow on Twitter): While I no longer have any confidence that the Knicks will win the division, I do still believe they will make the playoffs. About a week ago, it was looking as though the Celtics would be a sub-500 team and that they may miss the playoffs. Right now, they've won four in a row and leveled their record at 9-9. It is still plenty early, but with the talent that they have, I expect them to make the playoffs. The Knicks have been awful of late, just 1-9 in their last 10 games. However, like the Celtics, I expect the Knicks to figure a few things out and make the playoffs. Right now, the Knicks are in tenth in the East, but are in the mix with Milwaukee, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Toronto for the last seed. Each of those teams are within 2.5 games of one another, and it is far too early to pronounce the Knicks dead. They have been disappointing, for sure, but there is still too much talent on that team to not make the playoffs in the East, where the bottom of the conference is less than impressive to put it kindly. I think the Knicks and Celtics will be the 7/8 seeds come playoff time.
Sean (follow on Twitter): The Knicks will make the playoffs this year, just because the Eastern Conference is filled with garbage teams. I think D'Antoni should be fired, and will be soon and then the new regime will straighten this team out and they will finish with the 7th or 8th seed this year. Melo/Amare combo is not working. I think they will need to split the duo to compete with the big boys in the East.
Dan (follow on Twitter): The Knicks will make the playoffs this year, as per usual the East is a weak field from teams 5-8. The Knicks have not been playing well as of late, but they just have too much talent to be on a prolonged losing streak. Right now the Knicks would be in a dogfight for the 8th and final spot, but I know that Boston and New York will make the playoffs over these reamaining teams, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Cleveland, and Toronto.
Kevin (follow on Twitter): While I do think the Knicks will ultimately make the playoffs, I think they sneak in with a .500 (to slightly sub-.500) record. Not only are the Knicks off to a horrible start, but their only win against a team with a winning record was at home against a Spencer Hawes-less 76ers team. Five of their other six wins this year have come against teams ranked 25-30 in our Power Rankings: Sacramento, Washington, Detroit and Charlotte twice. Baron Davis can't return too soon for these woeful Knicks.
To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going through Week 5, click here.
Follow HitTheBoards.com: Twitter | Facebook
Related: Our End-of-season NFL Consensus Power Rankings
Monday, January 16, 2012
NBA Consensus Power Rankings Through Week 3
While the same three teams are in the top three spots of our NBA Consensus Power Rankings, they are in reverse order from last week: (1) Chicago Bulls, (2) Oklahoma City Thunder and (3) Miami Heat.
With an ankle injury sidelining Dwyane Wade indefinitely, things may continue to get worse for the Heat before they get better. Miami has lost three straight games and their next three games are against teams in the top seven in our rankings: Spurs (9-4), Lakers (9-5) and Sixers (9-3).
"I've got to step it up a little more offensively and defensively," James said (via Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel), "revert back to some of the ways when I was back in Cleveland, when I knew for the most part I had to be the No. 1 option offensively."
On the other hand, the bottom four teams in our rankings have remained exactly the same: (27) Charlotte Bobcats, (28) New Jersey Nets, (29) Detroit Pistons and (30) Washington Wizards.
Here are some stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:
- Biggest jump from last week: Houston Rockets (+4.50)
- Biggest drop from last week: Portland Trail Blazers (-7.00)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Dallas Mavericks (9)
[See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]
Over the past four seasons, the Celtics have finished first in the Atlantic Division and finished with at least 50 wins and a .610 winning percentage in each season. During that four-year span, the Celtics have a combined record of 234-94 (.713 winning percentage). This year has not gone nearly as well so far as the Celtics have lost seven of their first 11 games.
Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question: Will the Celtics finish above or below .500 this season?
John (follow on Twitter): The Celtics are off to a slow start, and I certainly found it amusing when Pacer fans started chanting "AARP" when they had the ball in a recent game in Indiana. The Celtics will get better, though. They don't look to be a real threat to win it this year, but they still have enough talent to be a playoff team. I won't put them much over .500, as they will likely only play hard enough to get into the playoffs. They are a team that will benefit more from resting than they would trying to move up a spot or two. Still, I have them finishing somewhere over the .500 mark, good enough for third in the division behind the Knicks and Sixers.
Sean (follow on Twitter): I believe Boston will finish above .500, but I am starting to think they will not finish as high as I thought they would originally. The Celtics are 4-7 this season, and the only four wins they have are versus the Wizards (twice), Nets and Pistons, who are the bottom three teams in my power rankings. The 4th-worst team in my rankings, the New Orleans Hornets, beat the Celtics this year. Jason Terry hit the nail right on the head during his halftime interview this week when he basically said Rondo is the only player playing with any energy. Later that game, Jeff Van Gundy was ripping the Celtics for the same thing. The Celtics have too much talent not to finish above .500 especially in the Eastern Conference where there are a lot of teams worse than them.
Dan (follow on Twitter): The Celtics will not finish this season above .500, as the compressed format goes against their age. The Celtics big three have all missed time this year, and they have no depth off of the bench to speak of. The Celtics starting rotation right now consists of (when healthy) Garnett, Allen, Pierce, Rondo, and Jermaine O'Neal, and they can only maybe go 7-8 deep with Bass, Wilcox, and Dooling. The Celtics are just too old to string back-to-back nights and three games in four nights trips into multiple wins. I do expect the Celtics to grab one of the final playoff spots, but they will need to add depth at the trade deadline.
Kevin (follow on Twitter): Through 11 games, all four of the Celtics wins have come against the bottom three teams in our Power Rankings. With the Thunder up next on their schedule (Monday), let's count that as a loss, which would drop the Celtics to 4-8. Their schedule in April is tough: only four of their 15 opponents have a losing record. In those four games against teams with a losing record, the Celtics are on the road in three of them. Let's say they go 6-9 in April (although you could argue that's optimistic). Assuming a loss to the Thunder on Monday and a 6-9 April record, that puts their record outside of January 17th to March 31st at 10-17. In other words, the Celtics need to win 24 of those 39 games to finish above .500. Long story short: Celtics will NOT finish above .500 this year.
To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going through Week 3, click here.
Follow HitTheBoards.com: Twitter | Facebook
Related: Our End-of-season NFL Consensus Power Rankings
With an ankle injury sidelining Dwyane Wade indefinitely, things may continue to get worse for the Heat before they get better. Miami has lost three straight games and their next three games are against teams in the top seven in our rankings: Spurs (9-4), Lakers (9-5) and Sixers (9-3).
"I've got to step it up a little more offensively and defensively," James said (via Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel), "revert back to some of the ways when I was back in Cleveland, when I knew for the most part I had to be the No. 1 option offensively."
On the other hand, the bottom four teams in our rankings have remained exactly the same: (27) Charlotte Bobcats, (28) New Jersey Nets, (29) Detroit Pistons and (30) Washington Wizards.
Here are some stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:
- Biggest jump from last week: Houston Rockets (+4.50)
- Biggest drop from last week: Portland Trail Blazers (-7.00)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Dallas Mavericks (9)
[See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]
Over the past four seasons, the Celtics have finished first in the Atlantic Division and finished with at least 50 wins and a .610 winning percentage in each season. During that four-year span, the Celtics have a combined record of 234-94 (.713 winning percentage). This year has not gone nearly as well so far as the Celtics have lost seven of their first 11 games.
Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question: Will the Celtics finish above or below .500 this season?
John (follow on Twitter): The Celtics are off to a slow start, and I certainly found it amusing when Pacer fans started chanting "AARP" when they had the ball in a recent game in Indiana. The Celtics will get better, though. They don't look to be a real threat to win it this year, but they still have enough talent to be a playoff team. I won't put them much over .500, as they will likely only play hard enough to get into the playoffs. They are a team that will benefit more from resting than they would trying to move up a spot or two. Still, I have them finishing somewhere over the .500 mark, good enough for third in the division behind the Knicks and Sixers.
Sean (follow on Twitter): I believe Boston will finish above .500, but I am starting to think they will not finish as high as I thought they would originally. The Celtics are 4-7 this season, and the only four wins they have are versus the Wizards (twice), Nets and Pistons, who are the bottom three teams in my power rankings. The 4th-worst team in my rankings, the New Orleans Hornets, beat the Celtics this year. Jason Terry hit the nail right on the head during his halftime interview this week when he basically said Rondo is the only player playing with any energy. Later that game, Jeff Van Gundy was ripping the Celtics for the same thing. The Celtics have too much talent not to finish above .500 especially in the Eastern Conference where there are a lot of teams worse than them.
Dan (follow on Twitter): The Celtics will not finish this season above .500, as the compressed format goes against their age. The Celtics big three have all missed time this year, and they have no depth off of the bench to speak of. The Celtics starting rotation right now consists of (when healthy) Garnett, Allen, Pierce, Rondo, and Jermaine O'Neal, and they can only maybe go 7-8 deep with Bass, Wilcox, and Dooling. The Celtics are just too old to string back-to-back nights and three games in four nights trips into multiple wins. I do expect the Celtics to grab one of the final playoff spots, but they will need to add depth at the trade deadline.
Kevin (follow on Twitter): Through 11 games, all four of the Celtics wins have come against the bottom three teams in our Power Rankings. With the Thunder up next on their schedule (Monday), let's count that as a loss, which would drop the Celtics to 4-8. Their schedule in April is tough: only four of their 15 opponents have a losing record. In those four games against teams with a losing record, the Celtics are on the road in three of them. Let's say they go 6-9 in April (although you could argue that's optimistic). Assuming a loss to the Thunder on Monday and a 6-9 April record, that puts their record outside of January 17th to March 31st at 10-17. In other words, the Celtics need to win 24 of those 39 games to finish above .500. Long story short: Celtics will NOT finish above .500 this year.
To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going through Week 3, click here.
Follow HitTheBoards.com: Twitter | Facebook
Related: Our End-of-season NFL Consensus Power Rankings
Monday, January 9, 2012
NBA Consensus Power Rankings, Week 3
The Miami Heat are still the unanimous No. 1 team in our NBA Power Rankings by all four of our rankers.
While the top three teams in our power rankings remain unchanged (Miami, Oklahoma City and Chicago), the Thunder and Bulls are no longer the unanimous No. 2 and No. 3 teams, respectively.
At the bottom of our rankings, the Wizards are still the league's worst team and it's unanimous. Washington remain the league's only team yet to win a game this season.
Although the Kings were the first team to fire their head coach this season, it may not be long for the Wizards fire coach Flip Saunders, especially in light of comments by Andray Blatche.
"Flip is definitely doing his job," Blatche said, per Ken Berger of CBS Sports. "I just don't feel like guys are listening and following behind what he says and what he wants us to do."
"Guys want to try to do it their own way, and it's not working," Blatche said. "The record shows that. I feel like everybody should go home and focus and think and take consideration for what Flip is saying, because it can't hurt. It damn sure ain't helping us our way."
Here are some stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:
- Biggest jump from last week: Utah Jazz (+10.0)
- Biggest drop from last week: Golden State Warriors (-7.5)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Indiana Pacers (9)
[See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]
Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question:
The Sixers have finished first in the Atlantic Division only once (2000-01) since they did in the 1989-90 season. Where will they finish in 2011-12?
John (follow on Twitter): Early in the season, the Sixers are off to a good start. At 6-2, they're on top of the division and hold a two-game lead over the Celtics and Knicks. With New Jersey unable to land another big name to go along with Deron Williams in the offseason and Toronto not expected to be very good this year, it looks like a three-team race. The Celtics are aging and already injury-plagued, while the Knicks still don't play a shred of defense. The division appears to be wide open, and with a solid young team in Philadelphia, some are predicting them to win the East. While I do think they will make the playoffs, I expect the Knicks to buckle down a bit defensively and win the division. I think the Sixers will finish second.
Sean (follow on Twitter): I think they finish third in the Atlantic division behind the Knicks and Celtics. The Knicks aren't playing too well right now, but I think Tyson Chandler is the difference. We have already seen what the loss of Chandler has done to the Mavericks this year. Philly will end up with the No. 5 seed and I think will win their first-round playoff series versus the Celtics, and then fall short to the Heat in the Eastern Semis. The 76ers have one of the deepest teams in the league in my opinion, and that will come into play this season especially with so many games jam packed together.
Dan (follow on Twitter): The 76ers have been a great story so far, as they have a great infusion of youth and inspired play by Andre Iguodala, and the dual point guards of Lou Williams and Jrue Holliday. The 76ers have been spreading the ball around, as they are fourth in the league in points per game; however, Lou Williams leads the team with 17.6 PPG. I don't think they will win the division though. I think they will finish second in the division to the Knicks, yet ahead of the Celtics, and put them in the No. 6 seed for the weak Eastern Conference playoffs.
Kevin (follow on Twitter): As a Sixers fan, I think it's fair to say that I'm partially biased. But the stats also speak a bit for themselves: Philadelphia ranks first in the NBA in scoring differential (+15.3). The only other team in the league to have a double-digit differential is Miami (+11.7). Philadelphia currently ranks first in the NBA in team defense (85.6 points per game allowed) and opposition field goal percentage (39.5 percent). In addition, they have good depth as eight players are averaging at least 23 minutes per game with their young and athletic nucleus. Although I'm used to suffering as a Sixers' fan, they will win the Atlantic this season and finish as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference after Miami and Chicago.
To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going into Week 3, click here.
Follow HitTheBoards.com: Twitter | Facebook
Related: Our End-of-season NFL Consensus Power Rankings
While the top three teams in our power rankings remain unchanged (Miami, Oklahoma City and Chicago), the Thunder and Bulls are no longer the unanimous No. 2 and No. 3 teams, respectively.
At the bottom of our rankings, the Wizards are still the league's worst team and it's unanimous. Washington remain the league's only team yet to win a game this season.
Although the Kings were the first team to fire their head coach this season, it may not be long for the Wizards fire coach Flip Saunders, especially in light of comments by Andray Blatche.
"Flip is definitely doing his job," Blatche said, per Ken Berger of CBS Sports. "I just don't feel like guys are listening and following behind what he says and what he wants us to do."
"Guys want to try to do it their own way, and it's not working," Blatche said. "The record shows that. I feel like everybody should go home and focus and think and take consideration for what Flip is saying, because it can't hurt. It damn sure ain't helping us our way."
Here are some stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:
- Biggest jump from last week: Utah Jazz (+10.0)
- Biggest drop from last week: Golden State Warriors (-7.5)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Indiana Pacers (9)
[See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]
Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question:
The Sixers have finished first in the Atlantic Division only once (2000-01) since they did in the 1989-90 season. Where will they finish in 2011-12?
John (follow on Twitter): Early in the season, the Sixers are off to a good start. At 6-2, they're on top of the division and hold a two-game lead over the Celtics and Knicks. With New Jersey unable to land another big name to go along with Deron Williams in the offseason and Toronto not expected to be very good this year, it looks like a three-team race. The Celtics are aging and already injury-plagued, while the Knicks still don't play a shred of defense. The division appears to be wide open, and with a solid young team in Philadelphia, some are predicting them to win the East. While I do think they will make the playoffs, I expect the Knicks to buckle down a bit defensively and win the division. I think the Sixers will finish second.
Sean (follow on Twitter): I think they finish third in the Atlantic division behind the Knicks and Celtics. The Knicks aren't playing too well right now, but I think Tyson Chandler is the difference. We have already seen what the loss of Chandler has done to the Mavericks this year. Philly will end up with the No. 5 seed and I think will win their first-round playoff series versus the Celtics, and then fall short to the Heat in the Eastern Semis. The 76ers have one of the deepest teams in the league in my opinion, and that will come into play this season especially with so many games jam packed together.
Dan (follow on Twitter): The 76ers have been a great story so far, as they have a great infusion of youth and inspired play by Andre Iguodala, and the dual point guards of Lou Williams and Jrue Holliday. The 76ers have been spreading the ball around, as they are fourth in the league in points per game; however, Lou Williams leads the team with 17.6 PPG. I don't think they will win the division though. I think they will finish second in the division to the Knicks, yet ahead of the Celtics, and put them in the No. 6 seed for the weak Eastern Conference playoffs.
Kevin (follow on Twitter): As a Sixers fan, I think it's fair to say that I'm partially biased. But the stats also speak a bit for themselves: Philadelphia ranks first in the NBA in scoring differential (+15.3). The only other team in the league to have a double-digit differential is Miami (+11.7). Philadelphia currently ranks first in the NBA in team defense (85.6 points per game allowed) and opposition field goal percentage (39.5 percent). In addition, they have good depth as eight players are averaging at least 23 minutes per game with their young and athletic nucleus. Although I'm used to suffering as a Sixers' fan, they will win the Atlantic this season and finish as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference after Miami and Chicago.
To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going into Week 3, click here.
Follow HitTheBoards.com: Twitter | Facebook
Related: Our End-of-season NFL Consensus Power Rankings
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)