NBA Power Rankings Week 15: Concerns for Milwaukee Bucks, other contenders
By Phil Watson
25. team. 142. . 15-29. Previous: . Washington Wizards
Last week: Beat Detroit 106-100, lost at Miami 134-129 (OT), won at Cleveland 124-112
This week: Sunday at Atlanta, Tuesday at Milwaukee, Thursday vs. Charlotte, Saturday vs. Brooklyn
A pretty good week for the Washington Wizards, who picked up two wins and nearly got a third by giving Miami all it wanted at home on Wednesday night before falling in overtime. At the time, the Heat were an NBA best 19-1 at home, so even if you don’t count moral victories, it was a terrific effort from Washington.
Not surprisingly, it was Bradley Beal who led the charge on South Beach with 38 points and nine rebounds on 16-of-24 shooting. For the week, he put up 34.3 points, 6.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds in 33.7 minutes per game, hitting a smoking-hot 61.2 percent overall while making 34.8 percent on 7.7 3-point attempts per game. Beal hit 75.0 percent (33-for-44) from inside the arc.
16-29. Previous: . Sacramento Kings. 24. team. 84.
Last week: Lost at Miami 118-113 (OT), lost at Detroit 127-106, won at Chicago 98-81
This week: Monday at Minnesota, Wednesday vs. Oklahoma City, Thursday at Clippers, Saturday vs. Lakers
A lineup change by the Sacramento Kings helped them snap a six-game losing streak with a dominant performance at Chicago on Friday. The 81 points they surrendered were the second-fewest the Kings have given up this season and the win was just their fourth in 19 games. Buddy Hield went to the second unit and Bogdan Bogdanovic started against the Bulls.
It was a very good week, however, for veteran Nemanja Bjelica, who put up 22 points and six rebounds in the overtime loss at Miami on Monday. For the week, he averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 32.7 minutes per game, shooting 52.8 percent overall while going 4-for-13 from 3-point range.