Feb 7, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) is defended by Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Blake (5) during the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
In this special edition of RWB Power Rank, we’ll focus more on the all-star weekend. Are ya ready? Let’s see who’s representing the RWB this weekend. Nobody had a winning record this past week, with one team hitting the .500 mark. Here’s the list of teams and who is representing them this weekend:
Sixers: Michael Carter-Williams (Rising Stars, Skills Challenge)
Pistons: Andre Drummond (Rising Stars)
Hawks: Paul Millsap (All-Star game)
Wizards: Bradley Beal (Rising Stars, Three Point contest) John Wall (Dunk contest, All-Star game)
Clippers: Blake Griffin (All-Star game) Chris Paul (All-Star game)
As you can see, each team has somebody. The Wizards are in the most events, with four. They also are the only team to be active each night. Except for the Shooting Stars, each event has somebody from this division.
Los Angeles Clippers: 1 (1)
Week Record: 1-2 (I predicted 2-1)
RWB Record: 4-1
The Clippers are are about to be even more serious. They slumped this past week but, with Chris Paul set to return today against RWB rival Sixers, the Clippers should be fine. Folks said Paul looked good in practice so that’s a good sign. This week, they have the Sixers, and Blazers. Remember, we have All-Star weekend. The NBA doesn’t play games from Thursday on to the end of the week. So, we only have Sunday-Wednesday to have games. Anyway, I think the Clippers beat the Sixers. Not think. Know. Paul gets his rust off and then the Clippers take it to the Blazers. So, 2-0.
Washington Wizards: 2 (2)
Week Record: 1-2 (I predicted 2-1)
RWB Record: 5-6
The Wizards finally made it over the .500 mark. They hadn’t done that in four years. But, they then lost two in a row so they end the week on a losing record. This week isn’t promising for them to get back on top. They have the Kings and then visit the Grizzlies and Rockets. Yeah. I would imagine a win over the Kings while losing to the Rockets. As for the Grizzlies? I’m going to give it to the Wizards. 3-1
Atlanta Hawks: 3 (3)
Week Record: 0-3 (I predicted 1-2)
RWB Record: 6-1
The Hawks…sigh. They lost all of their games this past week. But, they were close. They lost by 4, 5, and 3 points in their games. They’ll meet the Bulls and Raptors this upcoming week. First thought is losses all around. However, I think the Hawks win a game this week. Both games are on the road, where the Hawks don’t soar quite as high. I guess they beat the Raptors. 1-1.
Detroit Pistons: 4 (4)
Week Record: 2-2 (I predicted 2-2)
RWB record: 5-5
The Pistons had the best record for the week in the division. And they sort of matched my prediction. They lost their games in Florida, which leads me to believe that maybe they weren’t so happy down there. Also, they beat the Nets and Nuggets which leads me to believe that they had something with teams starting with the letter “N”. Who knows? They face the Spurs and Cavaliers. Easy. Lose to the Spurs and beat the Cavs. 1-1
Philadelphia 76ers: 5 (5)
Week Record: 0-3 (I predicted 0-3)
RWB record: 1-8
The Sixers are dropping on the league standings on their tanking quest. Trade rumors are the hottest out of all of the teams here. Anyway, they lost to the Nets, Celtics, and Lakers. This week, they get to visit the Clippers as they welcome back Paul. The next night? They visit the Warriors. Yay. And then they finish it off with a trip to Utah to face the music. I would imagine that the Sixers lose all three. 0-3
Okay, enjoy the week and weekend!