Milwaukee Bucks remain atop NBA Power Rankings by taking care of business
By Phil Watson
11-24. Previous: . Washington Wizards. 27. team. 142.
Last week: Beat Miami 123-105, lost to Orlando 122-101, lost to Portland 122-103, beat Denver 128-114
This week: Monday vs. Boston, Wednesday at Orlando, Friday vs. Atlanta
Just another plain old ordinary week for the Washington Wizards, who posted double-digit wins at home over both of their opponents playing better than .500 and who got pasted by 21 and 19 points, respectively, by the two opponents playing below the .500 line. When you figure out how that all works, let me know. Thanks.
The Wizards were fueled by unlikely heroes in their two wins, getting 29 points from Jordan McRae and 25 — on 10-of-11 shooting — from Ian Mahinmi in their blowout win Monday over the Heat. In their win over the Nuggets on Saturday, Ish Smith and Troy Brown Jr. combined for 57 points off the bench, which outscored Denver 92-32 … yes, a plus-60 … in the 14-point win.
Smith had a good week when all was said and done, averaging 19.3 points, 5.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 31.6 minutes per game, working off the bench in all four games. He shot 51.5 percent overall and was 5-for-15 from 3-point range. The 32 points against Denver Saturday night was a new career-high for Smith, whose previous best had been 28.
10-25. Previous: . New York Knicks. 26. team. 27.
Last week: Beat Portland 117-93, lost at Phoenix 120-112
This week: Sunday at Clippers, Tuesday at Lakers, Wednesday at Utah, Friday vs. New Orleans
After a 1-1 week, the New York Knicks are now a surprising 6-7 under interim coach Mike Miller, so maybe some of the blame for New York’s god-awful 4-18 start does lie at the feet of former coach David Fizdale after all.
The most noticeable change has been at the offensive end, where the Knicks were dead last in the NBA with an offensive rating of 101.9. Since the coaching change, New York is 18th in that category at 108.2. Defensively, the Knicks have gone from a rating of 112.9 (23rd in the NBA) to 109.2 (16th in the NBA over that span).
Marcus Morris continues his terrific production, scoring 43 points with 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals in New York’s two games, shooting 15-for-36 (41.7 percent) overall and hitting 6-of-15 from deep. His 45.4 percent clip from 3-point range is not only a career-high, it’s the sixth-best mark in the league right now.