NBA Power Rankings, Jan. 9 Edition: A New Face At The Top
By Phil Watson
1. San Antonio Spurs (28-8)
Last Week: 3-1
Previous Ranking: 3
Ma-No: Manu Ginobili sat out the win over Dallas on Wednesday with tightness in his left hamstring. Ginobili was a late scratch, but has been relatively healthy this year while averaging 12.5 points, 4.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game, while sitting out one other game at Golden State earlier this year simply for rest. The Spurs are also without Tiago Splitter, who will miss three to five weeks with a shoulder injury.
The Week That Was: The Spurs lost to the Knicks 105-101 on Thursday, beat the Clippers 116-92 on Saturday, won at Memphis in overtime 110-108 on Tuesday and beat the Mavericks 112-90 on Wednesday.
The Numbers: 52.1% FG (2nd), 36.2% 3PT, 75.6% FT, 43.8 RPG, 15.5 TOPG, 109.8 PPG (5th)
The Opponents: 46.4% FG, 36.8% 3PT, 75% FT, 36.3 RPG (2nd), 12.8 TOPG, 98.8 PPG
The Leaders: Marco Belinelli 18.3 PPG, Tim Duncan 12 RPG, Manu Ginobili 8 APG (3 games), Ginobili 2 SPG (3 games), Duncan 1.8 BPG, Belinelli 28-for-45 (62.2%) FG, Belinelli 11-for-17 (64.7%) 3PT
Don’t! Shooters: Ginobili 13-for-34 (38.2%) FG (3 games), Ginobili 2-for-15 (13.3%) 3PT (3 games)