NBA Power Rankings, Jan. 9 Edition: A New Face At The Top

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Jan 8, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol (16) is defended by Houston Rockets power forward Dwight Howard (12) during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports /

22. Los Angeles Lakers (14-22)

Last Week: 1-3
Previous Ranking: 22

Kupchak Not Ready To Cash In 2013-14: The Lakers have lost nine of their last 10 games and are closer to last in the Western Conference than they are to the No. 8 position, but general manager Mitch Kupchak isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel. “I know the coaches are never, ever going to give up and no matter who is on the court, everybody has something invested in this team—the players and the staff,” Kupchak told ESPNLosAngeles.com. “The players, this is their legacy. Some of them are going for contracts. Some of them are defined by win-loss records. And I would expect them to play hard, as hard as they can possibly plan, no matter what our record is.” The Lakers play eight of their next nine games on the road and Pau Gasol’s name was featured heavily once again in trade rumors, this time with the Cavaliers in a potential deal for Andrew Bynum, before the Cleveland dealt the center to Chicago.

The Week That Was: The Lakers beat the Jazz 110-99 on Friday, lost to the Nuggets 137-115 on Sunday, lost at Dallas 110-97 on Tuesday and lost at Houston 113-99 on Wednesday.

The Numbers: 45.4% FG, 31% 3PT, 75.9% FT, 44.3 RPG, 16 TOPG, 105.3 PPG
The Opponents: 49.3% FG (29th), 32% 3PT, 63.4% FT, 47.8 RPG, 11.8 TOPG (28th), 114.8 PPG (29th)

The Leaders: Jodie Meeks 21.5 PPG, Pau Gasol 13 RPG, Kendall Marshall 11.5 APG, Meeks 2.3 SPG, Gasol 2.5 BPG, Gasol 25-for-50 (50%) FG, Shawne Williams 4-for-9 (44.4%) 3PT (2 games)
Don’t! Shooters: Meeks 25-for-58 (43.1%) FG, Nick Young 3-for-18 (16.7%) 3PT