Recent NBA News (Dec. 11th): Suns lose another

The Phoenix Suns are heading in the wrong direction. Last week, we had them in the third spot in our NBA power rankings. However, the Suns lost all of their games this week and that is going to send them south when we update the rankings following all of the games on Sunday.

The Suns lost their fourth straight overall when they fell in overtime to the New Orleans Pelicans 129-124. Devon Booker missed the game with hamstring tightness and Zion Williamson led all scorers with 35 points.

For every team that is heading south in the NBA, there is one that’s heading north. Look for the pundits to be singing New Orleans’ praises as the Pelicans have now won seven straight to surge to the top of the Western Conference’s standings.

Brooklyn Nets win Saturday despite severe attrition

The Brooklyn Nets won a strange one on Saturday night. They were up against the Indiana Pacers as +7.5 underdogs with practically every key Nets player out of action for one reason or another. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Royce O’Neal, and Nic Claxton all missed the game — those five players comprising the entire starting lineup for Brooklyn on a normal night. The Nets were also without some reserve players but managed to pull off a 136-133 victory over the Pacers.

Cam Thomas played 29 minutes for the Nets and he had a career-high 33 points in the game. The result saw the Nets improve to 16-12 on the season while the Pacers fell to 14-13 overall. As much as the Nets deserve credit for going deep into their reserves to pull a rabbit out of the hat in defeating Indiana, the Pacers have been a little sluggish of late. They have just four wins in their last eleven games and have really come back to pack after what was a pretty hot start for the team.

Golden State Warriors beat Boston Celtics

Home-court advantage means a ton for the Golden State Warriors. They improved to 12-2 at home on Saturday night when they beat the Boston Celtics 123-107. The Celtics are the top team in our NBA power rankings and they are generally a tough out. They remain 10-4 on the road this season.

But Golden State is about as bipolar as they come for home-and-away splits. Twelve of the team’s fourteen victories this season have been as hosts. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson led the way for the Warriors against the Celtics, scoring 32 and 34 points respectively.

Washington Wizards lost their sixth straight

The Washington Wizards are in possession of the worst losing streak that’s active in the NBA. They lost their sixth game in a row on Saturday night, falling to the Los Angeles Clippers 114-107. Their current slide has seen them fall from 11-10 to 11-16 on the season. Entering Sunday, the Wizards are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference.

The Wizards are one situation to watch but another one is with the Atlanta Hawks. There could be some problems with this club, especially with Dejounte Murray out. Furthermore, Trae Young and Nate McMillan had that little tiff last week and that could be a sign of some kind of breakdown this season with the club. Atlanta lost 120-116 on Friday night to Brooklyn, a result that saw the Hawks fall to 13-13. This seems to be a club that is heading south this season.

San Antonio win back-to-back games

The San Antonio Spurs put an end to their losing streak on Thursday night. They hosted and defeated the Houston Rockets to improve to 7-18 on the season. The Spurs were back to their winning ways on Saturday night when they defeated the Miami Heat 115-111. Despite the wins, the Spurs remain the second-last-place team in the Western Conference standings with an 8-18 record this season.

Orlando Magic beat LA & Toronto: Banchero watch

The Orlando Magic earned just their sixth win of the season on Wednesday night. They defeated the LA Clippers in a game that went to overtime, 116-111. Orlando has rarely won against a good team this season. The result was all the more surprising given that the Clippers had both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard at their disposal for the game. These are two players that have been sidelined a lot with injuries.

The Magic followed up the win over LA with a win over the Toronto Raptors on Friday. The final score in this game was 113-109.

The Rookie of the Year favorite (bet365), Paolo Banchero, played 38 minutes in the game against LA. He had 23 points and 5 rebounds while going -9 on point differential. On Friday against the Raptors,