NBA Power Rankings, Dec. 12 Edition: Some Shuffling In The Top 5
By Phil Watson
The Indiana Pacers won Round 1 against the Miami Heat this season with a 90-84 victory Tuesday night. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The top five in the HoopsHabit.com NBA Power Rankings remained the same, just with the order shuffled a bit, with a defending champion that won’t be named sliding a bit after a 2-2 week.
Elsewhere, one of the teams thought to be residing in Tankville entered the top 10, while another team was the big mover up the rankings this week despite winning just one of three games (numbers don’t lie, remember, but they might try to pass off some really interesting theories as truth now and again).
But, yes, one team moved up three spots in the rankings to qualify as the upwardly mobile club of the week, while a pair of others took a four-spot drop.
One interesting trend from the last seven days—the 1960s called, they want their shooting percentages back. The shooting league-wide was about as cold as the weather in most parts of the country. Five teams hit less than 40 percent from the field last week, while more than half the league—16 teams—were at or worse than the 3-point shooting Mendoza line (33.3 percent).
When citing team statistics (which come from NBA.com), any team that is in the top or bottom five of the league for the last seven days will be noted. Player stats are also just for the last week.