Last week’s NBA action saw multiple teams have more ups and downs than a Six Flags roller-coaster. Several middling teams made a move up the rankings, ( Memphis, Utah, Charlotte) while more than one league power ( Boston, Orlando, Dallas) took a slight step backwards for whatever reasons.

With a full slate of NBA matchups taking place in the BetUS locker room on Wednesday, this look at my weekly NBA power rankings should go a long way in helping pro basketball gamblers make some smart wagers over the course of the coming week.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 31-11 (up 1)

Cleveland went 2-1, losing a nail-biter on the road at Utah to remain on top heading into Week 13.

2. Los Angeles Lakers 32-9 (down 1)

Los Angeles recorded a respectable 2-1 mark last week. They bounced back from a bad loss to San Antonio by beating the Mavericks and Clippers. L.A. also beat Orlando on Monday as part of a 3-for-3 wagering day in the BetUS NBA sports book.

3. Denver Nuggets 26-14 (up 2)

Denver went 3-0 last week routing Orlando last Wednesday to highlight a fine week in which they got back superstar Carmelo Anthony.

4. Atlanta Hawks 26-14 (down 1)

Sure, Atlanta went a spotless 3- 0 in the week that just finished but the team’s 94-91 loss to Oklahoma City on Monday night and emphatic 113-81 loss to Orlando on Jan. 9, shows just why I don’t have much faith in Atlanta.

5. Oklahoma City 23-18 (up 2)

Oklahoma City went a respectable 2-2 but moved up two spots because of the amazing consistency they’ve shown since the beginning of the season. The Thunder recorded another fine win by beating Atlanta on Monday night.

6. Orlando Magic 26-15 (same)

Orlando went 1-2 last week and is mired in a nasty funk right now. Orlando got its current week started off with a loss to Kobe Bryant and Co. on Monday.

7. Boston Celtics 27-12 (same)

Boston went an uninspiring 1-2 last week, but has legitimate reasons for not playing very well as they are banged-up badly at the moment. The C’s lost to Dallas on Monday night just as I predicted.

8. Dallas Mavericks 27-14 (up 1)

Dallas went 1-2 last week and has absolutely no excuse for its poor play of late as the team is completely healthy. Dallas beat an under-manned Boston team on Monday but needs to get back to playing the type of ball they did at the start of the season.

9. Charlotte Bobcats 20-19 (up 4)

Charlotte went a blistering 3-0 last week, beating Houston, San Antonio and Phoenix to make a big jump up the board and into the top 10.

10. Memphis Grizzlies 22-18 (down 1)

Memphis went 3-0 last and now has my total respect as a team that clearly wants to win now. The Grizzlies have won eight of its last 10 and 12 of its last 15 games overall, beating San Antonio, Utah, Phoenix, Portland and Denver along the way to join the top 10 for the first time.

11. San Antonio Spurs 25-15 (up 2)
San Antonio went 2-2 last week, routing the Lakers and squeaking by Oklahoma City in overtime. The Spurs ruined their successes by losing consecutive games to Charlotte and Memphis.

12. Portland Trail Blazers 25-17 (down 8)
Portland went a spotless 2-0 but lost to the Washington Wizards 97-92 on Monday which ruined their whole week if you ask me.

13. Utah Jazz 23-18 (down 1)
The Jazz went 3-0 last week and scored an impressive home win over LeBron James and the Cavaliers to move up one spot from a week ago.

14. Toronto Raptors 21-20 (down 2)
Toronto has been playing much better recently and went a solid 2-1 last week, beating New York and routing Dallas after losing to Indiana to start the week.

15. Phoenix Suns 24-18 (up 2)
Phoenix went 1-3 last week and saw it lack of defensive effort come back to bite them in a big way as they allowed over 120 points in two of those losses. By the way, the Suns gave up another 125 in their Monday night loss to the revitalized Grizzlies.

16. Houston Rockets 23-18 (down 3)
Houston went a disappointing 1-2 last week but not for a lack of effort as they sandwiched losses to Charlotte and Miami around a win over lowly Minnesota.

17. L .A. Clippers 18-22 (up 2)
L.A. Clippers went 0-4 amid news that prized rookie Blake Griffin would be lost for the remained oh his rookie season. Sounds like things are back to normal in L.A.

18. New Orleans Hornets 21-19 (up 2)
The Hornets went 2-2 last week, but losses to Philadelphia and Detroit ruined what would have been a respectable week.

19. Chicago Bulls 18-21 (down 2)
Chicago went a robust 3-0 last week, beating Boston to highlight two otherwise ordinary wins over lowly Washington and Detroit.

20. Miami Heat 20-19 (down 2)
Miami has used a whole bunch of D-Wade to stay competitive this season and managed to record a respectable 2-2 record last week mostly because of their superstar leader, who will likely be worn down by the time the postseason rolls around.

21. Philadelphia 76ers 13-27 (down 1)
Philadelphia has been playing much better basketball recently and went a solid 2-1 last week, though their wins came over average teams in new Orleans and Sacramento.

22. Milwaukee Bucks 16-23 (up 2)
Milwaukee lost shooting guard Michael Redd for the second straight season to a torn ACL and went a dismal 1-3 last week. The only thing good going for Milwaukee these days is gifted rookie point guard Brandon Jennings and the solid but not outstanding play of Andrew Bogut.

23. Sacramento Kings 15-25 (same)
My adopted Kings went 0-3 lat week while failing to break the 90-point barrier in each contest.

24. Indiana Pacers 14-26 (down 1)
Indiana went a stellar 3-1 last week after getting back superstar forward Danny Granger, but ended the week with a poor loss to New Orleans.

25. Detroit Pistons 14-26 (down 3)
Detroit went 3-1 last week, but no one should be impressed as the Pistons beat the awful Wizards and Knicks along the way.

26. New York Knicks 17-24 (same)
New York outscored Philly before losing to Toronto and Detroit in a seemingly normal 1-3
week for the pedestrian Knicks.

27. Golden State Warriors 12-27 (up 3)
Golden State ’s high-scoring ways didn’t mean very much as the Warriors went a dismal 0-3 while allowing at least 113 points each time out.

28. Washington Wizards 14-26 (up 2)
Washington lost three straight games before ending their week with a win over Sacramento to record an uninspiring 1-3 mark last week. At least the Wiz didn’t have to deal with much fallout from the ongoing Gilbert Arenas gun case.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves 9-33 (same)
Minnesota went an awful 0-3 last week and allowed a whopping 135 points in a loss to Memphis (who else?) on Friday.

30. New Jersey Nets 3-37 (same)
New Jersey extended its absolutely pitiful season, losing to Boston and Indiana and now, I believe they are going to seriously challenge the Philadelphia 76ers’ all-time record in futility at 9-73.

This information is provided in partnership with BetUs Sportsbook

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