Getty Gallery: 5/6
Tier 4: The World of the (Somewhat) Unknown
There are teams in the NBA who find a way to win games in impressive fashion, but then falter against lower competition, and in some cases, that would be this group. That's not always the case and there are many instances where the below teams just haven't proven themselves ready for the next tier.
We'll kick this section off with the Portland Trail Blazers and one of the most enjoyable players to watch in the league in Damian Lillard. They're joined by a team that virtually every general NBA fan has embraced as well, and another brutally tough team to figure out.
11. Portland Trail Blazers
Last week: 13
Aside from one slip-up, the Blazers had themselves a nice week all-around. Three of the four teams they faced were on last week's power rankings and the team proceeded to pick up wins over the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Dallas Mavericks. The lone loss came against the Utah Jazz and it was an ugly 30-point one, so that played a role in Portland jumping up too much.
Even prior to the most recent stretch, the Trail Blazers topped the Toronto Raptors to end last week and have been fueled by the excellent play of Damian Lillard (shocker). The star guard has led the team in scoring over the last five games and 10 of the last 11. Portland's a fun team to watch and center Jusuf Nurkic is having a strong all-around season as well.
Upcoming week's schedule: at Jazz, at Warriors, vs. Warriors, vs. 76ers
12. Sacramento Kings
Last week: 10
The Kings are such an enjoyable team to watch and have so much upside. Although they're probably still one season away from being a team who will wind up causing issues in the playoffs, it doesn't change their current play.
Sometimes it winds up being a bit of a mixed bag of results from the Kings, but De'Aaron Fox and company have flashed major upside with solid wins. They began last week with losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder but bounced back by knocking off the Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans.
Buddy Hield caught fire as of late, scoring at least 27 points in five of the last six games and 21 in the other game. He's just one of a handful of young weapons who have helped this Kings team on the NBA radar again.
Upcoming week's schedule: at Clippers, vs. Lakers, at Lakers
13. San Antonio Spurs
Last week: 16
It was a productive week for the Spurs, there's no denying that. Gregg Popovich's squad won three of four games including a dominant win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Honestly, they probably deserve to be higher than this, but it's hard to justify jumping them up a whole lot higher based on the resumes of the other teams.
Regardless, San Antonio won their first three games last week by 27, 39 and 26 points. They did fall to the Houston Rockets on Saturday, but it was a seven-point road loss that I'm not docking them many points for. The Spurs are trending in the right direction, but I'm still having an incredibly hard time buying this team as a contender.
Upcoming week's schedule: vs. Nuggets, at Nuggets, at Clippers
The final tier offers up a mixture of teams on the rise, but also a group which has a whole lot still to prove.
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