The San Antonio Spurs' strength of schedule wasn't enough to push them to the top of the Power Rankings for a second consecutive week, as they've given way to the Lakers in the weekly standings.
The defending NBA champs jumped from third to No. 1 despite a 2-1 week that included a loss to Dallas. In their last 10 games Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are a solid 8-2 SU, but they haven't been too kind to bettors during that run with a 4-6 record ATS.
The Spurs' ranking this week is actually a bit higher than it was last week, but their strength of schedule wasn't enough to get them past the Heat and Lakers again. San Antonio finished off last week with a rough 96-72 loss to New Orleans in which they were a 1.5-point road favorite. That loss snapped the Spurs' eight-game winning streak, during which they were 4-3-1 ATS. Totals bettors are still adding to their bankroll if they stuck with the UNDER; in their last nine games the Spurs are 9-0 UNDER.
In between the Lakers and the Spurs remains the Heat, at No. 2 for the second week in a row. Injuries continue to plague the Heat, as Chris Bosh still isn't even able to jog on his sprained ankle, while Dwyane Wade has been out with an illness. Miami did snap their four-game losing streak on the weekend versus the Raptors; it was also their first cover in four games.
The biggest mover in this week's Power Rankings were the 76ers, who climbed seven spots. Philadelphia's week may not look that impressive, at 2-2 with losses to Orlando and Charlotte, but take a closer look and they were gold for bettors. The 76ers were 2-0 ATS in those losses, losing by only one point to the Magic as a 9-point underdog and three points to Charlotte as a 4.5-point underdog. It will be interesting to see if Philly can keep that up this week with Phoenix, Toronto, and Memphis on tap.
City Rank PowerRank StrengthOfSchedule AdjustedPower
LA Lakers 1 (3) 434.99 0.47 205.23
Miami 2 (2) 425.98 0.47 201.87
San Antonio 3 (1) 399.65 0.5 201.1
Orlando 4 (5) 398.8 0.5 197.68
Chicago 5 (4) 412.87 0.48 196.86
New Orleans 6 (8) 371.52 0.49 181.49
Boston 7 (6) 368.99 0.49 180.07
Denver 8 (7) 341.33 0.5 171.89
Philadelphia 9 (16) 323.35 0.53 170.63
Indiana 10 (9) 318.81 0.53 168.46
Dallas 11 (10) 334.31 0.5 167.46
Houston 12 (13) 318.3 0.51 163.51
Milwaukee 13 (11) 315.49 0.52 163.05
New York 14 (15) 329.27 0.49 162.96
LA Clippers 15 (17) 305.43 0.53 162.46
Oklahoma City 16 (19) 326.27 0.49 161.05
Portland 17 (18) 314.18 0.51 159.48
Atlanta 18 (14) 333.82 0.47 157.63
Utah 19 (12) 315.77 0.49 154.51
Memphis 20 (22) 306.66 0.5 154.38
Minnesota 21 (20) 293.47 0.53 154.13
Golden State 22 (21) 303.54 0.5 151.5
Charlotte 23 (23) 275.18 0.51 139.63
Phoenix 24 (24) 280.12 0.5 139.16
Sacramento 25 (25) 262.9 0.5 130.72
Toronto 26 (26) 234.1 0.53 123.63
New Jersey 27 (27) 240.19 0.5 120.53
Detroit 28 (29) 234.79 0.49 115.73
Washington 29 (28) 229.3 0.5 114.33
Cleveland 30 (30) 172.18 0.51 88.38
