Piston Powered NBA Power Rankings: Week 5

30. team. 93. There is no good news coming out of Philly. The Philadelphia 76ers share the record for the worst start in NBA history, and have sole possession of the longest losing streak in major professional American sports with 28 straight losses going back to last season. To make matters worse, rookie big man Jahlil Okafor decked a guy outside a Boston bar last Wednesday, and reports have surfaced that he had a gun pulled on him at Philadelphia bar in October, and he was pulled over going 108 m.p.h in a 45 zone across the Ben Franklin Bridge. The Sixers play the Lakers at home on Tuesday, and that is their next best chance at a win this season. If they can’t get that one, it’s hard to predict just when it might come.. 0-18. Previous: 30th. Philadelphia 76ers

2-14. Previous: 29th. Los Angeles Lakers. 29. team. 20. Mercifully, Kobe Bryant will call it quits for the Los Angeles Lakers after this season. He’s been one of the worst players in the NBA this season, jacking up shots relentlessly in spite of his 30.5% shooting percentage. Kobe is taking 16.9 shots per game and scoring just 15.5 points on average, which is just the definition of inefficient. It’s all for the best in the long run, though, assuming that Kobe’s overuse doesn’t spoil the development of the Lakers’ young guys. The Lakers need to lose as much as they can this year if they want to keep their draft pick, which is top-three protected, and the best way to assure defeat is to let Kobe launch 20 bricks per game.

69. After a three-game winning streak that brought some hope to the New Orleans Pelicans, they followed it up with a two-game losing streak to the Los Angeles Clippers and Utah Jazz. In the coming week, the schedule gets no easier. They face the Memphis Grizzlies, the Houston Rockets (let’s be honest, nobody knows what to expect in that one), the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics. Anthony Davis seems to be back to his super-human self, which is going to be essential for the Pelicans to try to get back into the playoff race. Over the last five games, including one in which he left with a knee injury in the loss to the Clippers, Davis is averaging 26.2 points and 14.2 rebounds per game on 53.8% shooting. The Pelicans are almost certainly done, but Davis is one of very few players on the planet who can maybe keep them in the mix.. 4-13. Previous: 27th. New Orleans Pelicans. 28. team

The Brooklyn Nets are the most competitive bad team in the NBA so far this season. The Nets have won three of their last seven games, which is a fairly reasonable rate for a team of this stature. Even better, two of those losses were close, with one being a 116-111 defeat against the Charlotte Hornets and the other being a 90-88 last-second loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They put a scare into the Golden State Warriors, forcing them to overtime a couple of weeks ago, and they defeated your Detroit Pistons on Sunday in a game that was far from aesthetically pleasing. A team like this would normally tank, but considering the Boston Celtics own their first round draft pick, there isn’t even any solace in that.. 4-13. Previous: 28th. Brooklyn Nets. 27. team. 147

team. 73. The Denver Nuggets have lost their last seven games, including a dismal 92-74 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and their awful defense on Monday. The Bucks entered that game with the worst defensive rating in the NBA, and jumped up to third-worst as a result of the Nuggets awful performance. The Nuggets turned the ball over 22 times and shot just 37.3% from the floor. They had better get their act together soon, because after games against the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors, the Nuggets will face the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. Nobody wants to be the first team to take a loss against the Sixers, and the Nuggets are prime for the taking right now.. 6-12. Previous: 21st. Denver Nuggets. 26