NBA Tank Rankings: Lakers ascend to the pinnacle

<p>The Pelicans appeared to be righting the ship to some degree, but a four-game losing streak isn’t the best way to save your season. To be fair to New Orleans, the losses came to a quartet of quality opponents including both the Clippers and Jazz on the road, but stretches like this happen in the NBA, and there is no pass for going winless. Fortunately, the Pelicans grabbed a hugely important win over Cleveland on Friday, leaping out of contention for a top-three spot.</p> <p>Having Anthony Davis on your team is (always) nice, but he hasn’t been able to fix the NBA’s worst defense and the Omer Asik contract looks as bad as some predicted it could. I am still a believer that a team with Davis as the centerpiece and a competent coach can recover, but a 5-5 record is a tough hole to emerge from, and things aren’t improving in the way that many assumed 10 days ago.</p>. (5-15). Previous: . New Orleans Pelicans. 4. team. 69

147. <p>The Nets were all set to potentially escape from the tank rankings entirely. Then, they played against the Knicks on Friday.</p> <p>Brooklyn put together an embarrassing performance that was far worse than the 108-91 final score indicated, and even with a two-win week, the Nets still deserve inclusion in this space. Lionel Hollins is the proud engineer of the second-worst offense in the NBA, scoring only 96.3 points per 100 possessions, and unless Brook Lopez or Thad Young have it cooking, the Nets are unwatchable. This team is undoubtedly playing better on the whole, but Friday was a cruel reminder of a hideous basement.</p>. (5-14). Previous: . Brooklyn Nets. 3. team