Piston Powered NBA Power Rankings: Week 4

team. 93. The Philadelphia 76ers have to win eventually, right? Maybe. It’s most likely, because nobody has ever played a full 82 game schedule in the NBA and gone winless. If anybody can do it, though, it might just be these Sixers. They had their best shot Monday night in a tight 100-95 road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and they haven’t won a game in eight months. There’s no end in sight for the 76ers.. 0-14. Previous: 30th. Philadelphia 76ers. 30

Los Angeles Lakers. 29. team. 20. Nobody is quite sure if the Los Angeles Lakers realize that they’re bad. Head coach Byron Scott is eschewing playing rookie point guard D’Angelo Russell in favor of playing the veterans heavy minutes in the hopes of getting meaningless wins, which is only hindering Russell’s development. Hopefully Scott shifts gears on his philosophy, because it is currently a self-defeating one.. 2-12. Previous: 27th

Previous: 29th. Brooklyn Nets. 28. team. 147. There seems to be a glimmer of pride in the Brooklyn Nets. Not hope, mind you, because they have very little of that for the next few years at the very least, but the Nets have shown no quit. In the past seven games, the Nets have three wins, and a close 116-111 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, a 111-109 to the Sacramento Kings, and a 107-99 overtime loss at the Golden State Warriors. The unmentioned game in the past seven is a 120-95 disaster against the Boston Celtics, but hey, you can’t win them all or lose them all closely.. 3-11

69. Speaking of signs of life, now we come to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans have a two-game winning streak over the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns, and a close 110-103 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anthony Davis is finally rounding into form, or so it seems. Against the Spurs, Davis recorded 20 points and 18 rebounds, and against the Suns he went off for 32 points, 19 rebounds, four blocks and two steals. The Pelicans have some serious work to do if they want to climb back into the playoff picture given their health status, but getting Davis back on track was one of the first pieces to the puzzle.. 3-11. Previous: 28th. New Orleans Pelicans. 27. team

169. The most frustrating team of all, the Houston Rockets lost three games and a head coach last week. The so-called dead-cat bounce that tends to follow the firing of a coach happened for the Rockets, but its effect was short-lived. The Rockets took advantage of a fourth-quarter meltdown by the Portland Trail Blazers (Pistons’ fans are familiar with Portland’s ability to do this) to rally from 18 down in the second half to win 108-103 in overtime in the first game after Kevin McHale’s firing, but they’ve dropped the last two games since and six out of the last seven games overall.. 5-9. Previous: 24th. Houston Rockets. 26. team