Run it Back! NBA Week in Review - Week 7

Untitled project from SquadCast === thepeachbasket_1_12-08-2024_122116: [00:00:00] Week number seven of the 2024 25 NBA season is over, which means it's time to run it back. This is Run It Back, NBA week in review. I'm Jose Salviati, Editor at thePeachBasket.net, and this is the show where we recap the week that was in the NBA and then highlight the marquee matchup for the week to come. We start like we always do with the only objective overall top 10 NBA power rankings anywhere. You can read more about how we get to these rankings and why they're objective, as well as see the entire list at thePeachBasket.net. Now let's take a look at the top 10 at the conclusion. of week number seven. First, we start by calling out the teams that have dropped out this week. Moving out of the top 10 are the Denver Nuggets, which dropped to number 13 after one and three week, and the Phoenix Suns that dropped four spots to number 11 after one and two week. All right, now let's see which teams cracked the top 10 this week. Moving up two spots [00:01:00] to number 10 are the New York Knicks. They were three and one in week number seven and getting strong contributions from Carl Anthony Towns. We'll hear his name again. Dropping one spot to number nine after two and one week are the Los Angeles Clippers. They had a rough start in their new billion, multi billion dollar arena. But they are now nine and five at the Intuit Dome and seem to enjoy playing games there. The Golden State Warriors have hit a road bump in the season. After a really promising start, they went one and two in week number seven. They're down two spots to number eight. They'll come up again when we discuss the marquee matchup for the week to come, by the way. A big mover this week are the Dallas Mavericks. They were in number 11 last week and move all the way to number seven after a perfect 4 0 week in week number seven. Going undefeated in the week will do that for you in these objective power rankings. They might be ready to make some noise in the Western [00:02:00] Conference. Number six belongs to the Orlando Magic. They went two and two in week number seven, dropping one spot to number six. The Memphis Grizzlies kick off the top five in the NBA at number five. They went three and one in week seven, moving up five spots. Are the Houston Rockets for real? Yeah. Yeah, they are. They didn't have a great week in week seven, but their one and two record was just enough to keep them at number four for the second week in a row. Now the best team in the West comes in at number three. The Oklahoma City Thunder were three and one in week number seven, which is objectively great. Most teams would love three and one weeks. But for the Thunder, it wasn't enough to keep them from dropping one spot to number three. The Boston Celtics had an underwhelming three and two week, but it was enough to leap over the Thunder. The Celtics move up one spot to number two after week number seven.[00:03:00] And the number one spot in the only objective NBA Power Rankings anywhere and goes once again for the fourth week in a row and the fifth time in seven weeks to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They were perfect again this week, beating every comer in week number seven to go 4 0 and maintain the top spot. That's the objective top ten list for week number seven. If you want to see where all 30 teams land this week, please visit TheBeachBasket. net. Now let's shift our focus to the players. These are the best to do it by average in week number seven of the 2024 25 NBA season. These are the best by average in shooting, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, points, and game score. Now his team is struggling a bit, we talked about them earlier, but Nikola Jokic is doing just fine. He led the Association in scoring in week number seven with a 37. 3 average in his four games played, but the Nuggets did fall out of the top ten. The Joker [00:04:00] also averaged the most field goals made at 15. 3, while Donovan Mitchell from the number one Cleveland Cavaliers led everyone by averaging 5. 3 made three point shots in week number seven. Karl-Anthony Towns was a monster on the boards for the Knicks in week number seven. His 16. 7 average led everyone. KAT also led in the defensive rebounds category, pulling down 14 on average, while Derek Lively II led the Association by averaging 5. 3 offensive rebounds in the week. Trae Young, for the third week in a row, was the best assist man by average. He played three games and handed out 14 assists. Young has been a key for the Hawks who are moving up in the West. Be interesting to see if they can crack that top two of Cleveland and Boston. Probably not likely, but they're in the bubble now, which is cool for them. Walker Kessler was big once again for the struggling Utah Jazz. He averaged three blocks per game over his three games played to [00:05:00] lead the Association for the second week in a row. The best thief this week was Andre Drummond. I know, I was just as surprised as you might be. He only played one game, but he was credited with four steals, and that's how averages work. So he earned the top stealer spot in week number seven. The top game score goes to the Joker with an impressive score of 32. 7 over his four games played. He is dominating. Unfortunately, his team is struggling a bit right now. Now looking ahead to week number eight, the marquee matchup may be in the West where the Surgeon and Young Houston Rockets take on the struggling and older Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. Will the Rockets keep the Dubs in a funk? Or will the home team remind the young up and comers that they still have some fight in them? I think it's going to be a good game, certainly a very interesting game, to see which team comes out on top. Finally, we're going to [00:06:00] end with a look ahead by asking the Qwiket AI chatbot what it sees as a key question or concern as we move into week number eight. I've mentioned before that AI is getting better and the Qwiket AI chatbot is phenomenal. if you have sports related questions. This week, the focus was once again on injuries and Qwiket just nails it and gets it right. Unfortunately, we're seeing that more and more in the NBA, but specifically it called out the importance of Joel Embiid and the unfortunate news out of New Orleans for Brandon Ingram. Let's start with Embiid. He's back for the Sixers, which is, of course, great news, but is there enough time? His Sixers just stumbled out of the gate. They're 6 15 as we record this at his return and have been at or near the bottom of the Peach Basket objective power ranking since week number two of the season. Now it's going to likely take a few games for Embiid to get his legs and for the team to adjust to having him back, but I do think that things will be okay [00:07:00] for the Sixers. They're just too talented a team. They're well coached to struggle for long. If this team can stay healthy for the duration of the 2024 25 NBA season, which obviously is true for every team in the NBA, I see them having a say in the Eastern Conference. I think they would be absolutely a top four or five team. Let's see how it plays out. The New Orleans Pelicans, however, man, they appear to be snake bit. They are 5 19 as we record this, and struggling. And now they've lost their leading score for an indefinite amount of time with a left ankle sprain. Their injury report for today's game has five people on it, which is about average for most NBA teams, but it's a tough pill to swallow for the Pelicans. I'm personally hoping that B. I. 's injury heals quickly and I'm sure all of you are as well, and that he returns in time to give the Pelicans a push. We want to see good basketball out of New Orleans, and B. I. is a big part of that. [00:08:00] That's it. Week number seven of the 2024 25 NBA season is in the books. Join us again next week, after week number eight, when we once again Run it Back!.