Piston Powered NBA Power Rankings: Week 5

team. 89. The Milwaukee Bucks jumped up and bit the reeling Denver Nuggets at home on Monday night. The Bucks are one of the more perplexing teams in the Eastern Conference at this point. They were expected by many to at least challenge for a playoff spot, and their defense was supposed to be the edge that gave them a chance to get there. Through 18 games, the Bucks’ defense is atrocious, and answers are few and far between. They play the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, and then travel to Detroit to face the Pistons on Friday.. 7-11. Previous: 24th. Milwaukee Bucks. 25

169. The Houston Rockets are the kings of the NBA underachiever this season. They struggled to beat the woeful 76ers at home in Houston even with a 50 point effort from James Harden, and then needed overtime to beat the New York Knicks on a night where Carmelo Anthony missed the game due to illness. To top it off, they let the Detroit Pistons drop 116 points on them on the second night of a back-to-back, the first of which they only scored 83 points against Brooklyn. The Rockets have fired head coach Kevin McHale, benched and then unbenched Ty Lawson, and seem no closer to solutions. This might be the first team with high preseason expectations to get blown up this season.. 7-11. Previous: 26th. Houston Rockets. 24. team

84. Rajon Rondo has been a surprisingly pleasant surprise for the Sacramento Kings so far this season. He’s averaging 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and an NBA-best 10.7 assists per game and shooting 44.2% percent from the floor and a remarkable (by Rondo’s standards) 35.4% from three-point range. The Kings aren’t good and they aren’t getting better this season, but Rondo gambled on himself by signing a one-year, $9.5 million deal with the Kings in the offseason, and if his production keeps up it looks like he made a good bet. In the ongoing uncertainty surrounding DeMarcus Cousins’ availability, Rondo has been the most reliable guy the Kings have.. 7-12. Previous: 25th. Sacramento Kings. 23. team

team. 34. The Portland Trail Blazers have shown what they are, and that is in fact one of the worst teams in the Western Conference, just like we thought. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are giving it their all and trying to will the Blazers to victory, but that duo just isn’t quite enough in spite of the 44.2 points per game that they average between them. They were clobbered by the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, and will face the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night.. 7-11. Previous: 23rd. Portland Trail Blazers. 22

team. 142. The Washington Wizards had themselves a week to forget. They’re on a four-game losing streak, having gotten run out of the gym by the Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets and Boston Celtics, and losing a close 84-82 decision to the Toronto Raptors. The Wizards have the worst offensive rating in the NBA over the course of their last four games, scoring just 87.4 points per 100 possessions, and have the worst net rating in the NBA over that span at -17.8. Only the Pistons have shot worse than the Wizards over that stretch, and only the Sixers have rebounded worse. It may be a bit early to discuss this topic, but Randy Wittman might not be able to feel too comfortable in his current role as head coach for long if this keeps up.. 6-8. Previous: 14th. Washington Wizards. 21