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Piston Powered NBA Power Rankings: January 2016

By Duncan Smith

Jan 4, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (right) and center Andre Drummond (middle) celebrate from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson (right) and center Andre Drummond (middle) celebrate from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 115-89. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 4, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) high fives fans after scoring against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 109-99. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Ish Smith (1) high fives fans after scoring against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. The 76ers won 109-99. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Philadelphia 76ers. 30. team. 93. There is a bit of life in the city of Brotherly Love for the Philadelphia 76ers these days. With the additions of <a href=. 4-33. Previous: 30th

team. 66. That’s right, the Phoenix Suns lost at home to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Suns are a disaster, losers of their last nine games. In that stretch, they have lost 97-77 against the Los Angeles Lakers, a final score that actually makes the Suns look better than they played. They also lost 142-119 against the Sacramento Kings, and of course took an L to the Sixers by a 111-104 mark. The Suns <a href=. 12-25. Previous: 18th. Phoenix Suns. 29

team. 147. The Brooklyn Nets keep on fighting, but it’s all for naught. Starting point guard <a href=. 10-24. Previous: 27th. Brooklyn Nets. 28

team. 20. It pains me to not stick the Los Angeles Lakers as low as possible in these power rankings, but alas, somehow this dreadful team has won three straight games. Kobe Bryant has put up somewhat respectable numbers over his last 12 games, as well, scoring 19 points per game on 41 percent shooting, and 32.9 percent from long range. These aren’t remarkable numbers, but they aren’t the historically bad numbers that he had been posting over the first two thirds of the season or so. That said, the Lakers won the last two games without him, so take that for what it’s worth. He’s not good, and the Lakers are terrible.. 8-28. Previous: 29th. Los Angeles Lakers. 27

New Orleans Pelicans. 26. team. 69. Gone are those heady days when we extrapolated the kind of record and performance the New Orleans Pelicans would have to put together to salvage their wretched start to the season. Now the season is lost as a foregone conclusion, and the only thing left to do is to tank and try to rebuild as quickly as possible so as to not waste more than a single year of Anthony Davis’s career. The Pelicans should count their blessings that Davis signed a five-year extension this past offseason, because if they had let it linger through this debacle of a season, he may just have been willing to take his talents elsewhere.. 11-22. Previous: 28th

Next: Nos. 25-21

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