NBA Power Rankings: Rudy Gobert leads Utah Jazz up the charts
By Phil Watson
27. team. 27. . 11-32. Previous: . New York Knicks
Last week: Beat Miami 124-121, lost at Milwaukee 128-102, lost to Phoenix 121-98, lost to Philadelphia 90-87
This week: Monday at Cleveland, Wednesday vs. Lakers, Friday vs. Toronto
The good news for the New York Knicks is they recovered from a pair of blowouts to give the 76ers all they wanted Saturday night. The bad news is that they came up just short, taking their third consecutive loss and their eighth in their last nine games. The lone win came last Sunday, a stunner over the Heat at Madison Square Garden.
Julius Randle put up some numbers in four games last week, but efficiency is still a concern. He averaged 22.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 32.4 minutes per game, shooting 46.2 percent overall and making 8-of-20 (40 percent) from 3-point range. But he also averaged 3.3 turnovers a game, including five in the loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.
team. 170. . 15-29. Previous: . Charlotte Hornets. 26
Last week: Lost at Phoenix 100-92, lost at Portland 115-112, lost at Denver 100-86
This week: Monday vs. Orlando, Friday vs. Milwaukee at Paris
The Charlotte Hornets wrapped up an 0-4 Western trip by dropping all three of their games last week before getting four days off. After a game Monday at home, the Hornets will head across the Atlantic for the NBA’s first-ever regular-season game to be played in France, taking on Milwaukee Friday at Paris’ AccorHotels Arena.
That will be a big deal for Nicolas Batum of Charlotte, one of 12 French players currently in the NBA. It would have been an even bigger deal for the Hornets had they retained Tony Parker in the offseason.
Batum is third all-time for the most NBA games played by a French player at 787, behind only Parker (1,254) and Boris Diaw (1,064). The next-closest active player is Ian Mahinmi of Washington with 601.
Back on the court, Devonte’ Graham stabilized himself a bit this week after a rough stretch of shooting, averaging 21.0 points, 7.3 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 36.3 minutes per game, shooting 43.5 percent overall and 42.9 percent on 11.7 3-point attempts per night. Graham had 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting in the loss at Portland, but was 11-for-29 the rest of the week.