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Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz are on an 8-game winning streak to start the week.
This is week 6, the point where we have reached half of the first-half schedule (Wednesday) and 25% of the full 1080-game 2020-2021 schedule will have been played. It will be Friday, unless several other games are postponed.
The quarter-pole is usually when teams can actually determine their position. But things are obviously different this season. Not only have there been postponements and extended absences due to the coronavirus, but this is the first season of the new rules of the game.
So instead of pulling a single line after the top eight teams in each conference, we need to imagine two lines: one that separates the top six from the rest of the group, and another for the play-in teams from the seventh to the last. tenth place. That makes everything cloudier, especially in the East, where the reigning conference champions currently sit 13th at 6-9. Only five teams in the East have winning records and the Miami Heat, 13th, is only a game and a half behind the Cleveland Cavaliers, sixth.
The situation in the West is a bit clearer and perhaps a lot more disappointing for the New Orleans Pelicans 5-10, 14th. Where things are really interesting is at the top, where the LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, and Utah Jazz all have just four losses.
All three teams lead this week’s standings, with the champions remaining in the lead for the sixth week in a row after a big win in Milwaukee. They will play the other two leading teams in the East this week, while the Jazz will have some big games in the conference.
Over-Under Players of the Week
Teams of the week
- Make it last forever: Philadelphia (3-0) – The Sixers are 9-0 when they had Seth Curry and Joel Embiid available, and the Lakers are coming to town.
- Something is wrong: New Orleans (0-3) – The Pelicans lost two games to the Scorching Jazz, but they ended their six-game trip with a loss to Minnesota, trailing up to 18 points against a 3-11 team and missing his two former All-Stars.
East vs. West
Program the strength until week 5
- The hardest: 1. Charlotte, 2. Oklahoma City, 3. Memphis
- The easiest: 1. Orlando, 2. Philadelphia, 3. Atlanta
- Schedule strength is based on the opponent’s cumulative record, and adjusted for home versus away and days off before a match.
Movement in the rankings
- High jumps of the week: Denver (+6), five teams (+5)
- Free falls of the week: New Orleans (-9), Phoenix (-6), Three teams (-4)
Team of the week 6 to watch
- Dallas – The ninth-place Mavs are expected to recover some bodies this week as they face the most important part of their first half schedule. They host the Nuggets on Monday before heading to a pair of games in Utah on Wednesday and Friday. Then they’re back home for two games against the Suns on Saturday and next Monday.
Previous power rankings
Statistics key
Pace: Possessions every 48 minutes (league rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (league rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (league rank)
NetRtg: Points differential per 100 possessions (league rank)
The league has averaged 100.7 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 109.8 runs scored per 100 possessions this season.
NBA.com’s Power Rankings, published every Monday of the season, are just one man’s opinion. If you have a problem with the ranking, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an email or contact him via Twitter.
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