NBA Southwest Division Power Rankings: Mavs Starting to Flex Muscles

Previous: 5th. New Orleans Pelicans. 5. 69. The New Orleans Pelicans went through a tough week. The only team in the Southwest Division to not pick up a win, the Pelicans find themselves stuck at the bottom of arguably the NBA’s best division. Anthony Davis is trying to do his best to dig New Orleans out of its hole, leading the Pelicans in points, 24.9 per game, rebounds, 11.3 per game, steals, 2.1 per game, and blocks, 3.0 per game. It will be interesting to see how this young New Orleans team handles themselves this upcoming week with tough games against Oklahoma City, Golden State, and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pelicans are currently in the midst of a three game losing streak and a continued string of losses could really damage the confidence of such a young team. <p><strong>Up Next This Week:</strong> Dec. 2 vs. Oklahoma City, Dec. 4 @ Golden State, Dec. 6 @ Los Angeles Clippers, Dec. 7 @ Los Angeles Lakers</p>. 7-8 (1-2 DIV)

Previous: 3rd. Houston Rockets. 4. 169. The Houston Rockets fall for a third straight week in our Southwest Division power rankings, not because of poor performance, but because of outstanding performances from the teams above them. The Rockets played well this past week, going 3-1. Unfortunately, a blowout loss at home to the Los Angeles Clippers and wins against teams sitting close to .500 just isn’t going to cut it in this division. Even worse for Houston fans, the team almost lost to the New York Knicks at home. The good news is that the Rockets have a chance to jump up in the rankings next week if they can manage to win at home against the NBA’s best team, the Memphis Grizzlies. Some might say that is not a possibility, but, in such a competitive conference and even more competitive division anything is possible. <p><strong>Up Next This Week:</strong> Dec. 3 vs. Memphis, Dec. 5 @ Minnesota, Dec. 6 vs. Phoenix</p>. 13-4 (2-1 DIV)

3. 79. It looks like all those moves the Dallas Mavericks made in the offseason are finally starting to pay off. After a pedestrian 4-3 start to the season, the Mavs have won 9 of their last 11, find themselves very close to the top of the Southwest Division. An impressive road win over the Eastern Conference’s best Toronto Raptors was the highlight of a perfect 3-0 week. Dallas has a chance to potentially extend their current three game winning streak to seven if they can get pas their toughest game of the week on Tuesday on the road against the Chicago Bulls. Other than that the week seems pretty easy for a rolling Mavericks team. Shout-out to this unit for finally getting the talent on their roster to produce wins. <p><strong>Up Next This Week:</strong> Dec. 2 @ Chicago, Dec. 3 @ Milwaukee, Dec. 5 vs. Phoenix, Dec. 7 vs. Milwaukee</p>. 13-5 (1-2 DIV). Previous: 4th. Dallas Mavericks

Previous: 2nd. San Antonio Spurs. 2. 29. The San Antonio Spurs are just sitting, waiting to get the opportunity to overtake the Memphis Grizzlies in the Southwest Division. The Spurs are one of the hottest teams in the NBA right now, reeling off eight straight victories. San Antonio has feasted on a relatively easy schedule as of late and is slowly climbing up to the top spot in the Western Conference. While it seems unlikely that the Spurs streak will end in Brooklyn on Wednesday, there is a real possibility San Antonio could incur their first loss since November 15th on a Friday game in Memphis. The game the Spurs play against the Grizzlies this week will be very telling how good both teams are and whether or not San Antonio is actually in the mid-season form their record shows. <p><strong>Up Next This Week:</strong> Dec. 3 @ Brooklyn, Dec. 5 @ Memphis, Dec. 6 vs. Minnesota</p>. 13-4 (1-2 DIV)

Surprise, surprise, the Memphis Grizzlies are at the top of the Southwest Division power rankings. After another perfect week, the Grizzlies find themselves once again as the undisputed best team in the division. Not only did Memphis finish this week perfect, but the Grizzlies did it on the road as well, picking up victories at Portland and at Sacramento. The team is currently on a five game win streak but that could be in danger this week, not to mention their run atop these power rankings. The Grizzlies have a tough week ahead of them with games against the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Miami Heat. If they somehow end the week perfect, we will be looking at a team that will probably be considered the most likely to bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy. It’s definitely early but Memphis’ early season work cannot be understated. <p><strong>Up Next This Week:</strong> Dec. 3 @ Houston, Dec. 5 vs. San Antonio, Dec. 7 vs. Miami</p>. 15-2 (2-0 DIV). Previous: 1st. Memphis Grizzlies. 1. 211