The Grizzlies Surge to the Top. NBA Week 10 Power Rankings

Here are your NBA Week 10 Power Rankings:

Biggest Positive Movers: Grizzlies and Nets

Biggest Negative Mover: Pelicans

Newcomers: 76ers and Trail-Blazers

Drop Outs: Kings and Pacers

10. Portland Trail-Blazers - Last Week: Unranked

This is a Blazers team that has been all over the map this season. Right now they are playing very well, and this past week they went 3-1 to push themselves to the sixth seed in the West. I did consider keeping the Kings at this spot and leaving Portland out all together, but since the teams have basically identical records I decided to go with the team who had the better week. With all of that said, this is a team that I still can't wrap my finger around how they are staying in the playoff picture. Obviously they have Damian Lillard and a half decent supporting cast, but they just don't do it for me. However, my personal opinion doesn't really matter, and as long as they're winning games they have a good chance of being on these rankings.

9. Philadelphia 76ers - Last Week: Unranked

All year the 76ers have been a team that I haven't truly believed in. With that said, you want to know who I do believe in? Joel Embiid. The guy is incredible every time he touches the floor, and we saw that in action this past week. They won all of their games on the week and moved into the fifth spot in the East. This week they play the Raptors, Pistons, Clippers, and Knicks, which all happen to be very winnable games. Do I think Philly will come away from this week unscathed? No. But I do think they will come away with a positive record on the week. As long as Embiid stays healthy and stays on the floor this team will be very formidable.

8. Phoenix Suns - Last Week: 8

The Suns did just enough this week to remain in the power rankings, but not quite enough to move up. They started their week with a loss to the Rockets to finish off their five game losing streak. They then picked up wins over the Clippers and Pelicans to finish their week on a positive note. That win over the Pelicans was huge after dropping two games to them the week prior, and was probably the biggest reason they didn't fall out of the rankings completely this week. This week they play the Lakers, Wizards, Grizzlies, and Nuggets, a slate of games that I believe they will go 2-2 in. They are a great team, but I do think they are on the down-slope of their past three years of semi-dominance.

7. New Orleans Pelicans - Last Week: 2

I can't say I saw this coming. If you had of asked me at the beginning of the week, "Where do you think the Pelicans will fall on the next power rankings?" I would've told have told you I think they will be first on the rankings. Of course that's not what happened. What happened is they went out and lost all three of their games this past week, including two games against the Utah Jazz. Honestly, if they hadn't had such a great previous two weeks the may have fallen out of these rankings all together. This week they have a tough matchup against the Bucks before being gifted two easy games against the Spurs and Thunder. I can't predict where this team will be next week, they've already shown us how unpredictable they can be.

6. Denver Nuggets - Last Week: 6

The Nuggets had a decent week, but it wasn't good enough to move them up these rankings. They got wins over the Wizards and Hornets, but also suffered a tough loss to the Lakers. In my eyes this is still a very middling team who somehow manage to stay on these rankings every week. Nikola Jokic is incredible, but the rest of the team has been subpar. On paper they should be great, but they haven't been. They have a tough week ahead of them with games against the Grizzlies, Blazers, and Suns, so we shall see how they do when their mettle is truly tested.

5. Boston Celtics -Last Week: 1

I did think the Celtics would drop down the rankings this week, but I did not see them dropping all the way down to five. They have been in the one spot for four weeks, but after a pretty abysmal week they find themselves dropping four spots. They started the week with a loss to the Clippers before getting a tight win over the Lakers. What really sealed their fate was back-to-back losses to the Magic. I don't exactly know how to explain this slump other than just to say that even great teams have down weeks. This week they play the Pacers, Timberwolves, and Bucks, which isn't exactly the easiest slate. I just have to assume they return to form sooner rather than later, so I project them moving up next week.

4. Brooklyn Nets - Last Week: 7

The Nets finally look like a scary basketball team, and I'm not talking burning sage around the arena pre-game kind of scary. They are currently on a six game win streak and have moved into the fourth spot in the East after being near the back of the playoff race for most of the season. Kyrie and KD have both looked great over this stretch, something that is incredibly frightening for the rest of the league. At the end of the day when these two guys are playing their best basketball they can beat anybody on any given night. This week they only have two games, one against the Warriors and another against the Bucks, not an easy two nights by any means. I'm not certain that the Nets can sustain this success, but for the time being they are playing great and it's nice to see.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers - Last Week: 5

Apart from a tough loss to the Spurs last Monday, the Cavaliers had a really good week. They are riding a three game win streak going into their game against the Jazz, a game that you already know the Cavaliers will try very hard to win. They are right on the tail of the Celtics in the East at the moment, a gap that was massive just a week ago. Other than tonight's game against the Jazz the Cavs play the Bucks and Raptors this week. I really like this Cavaliers team, and I think if they can figure out a way to get everyone involved on offense they could be a real powerhouse.

2. Milwaukee Bucks - Last Week: 3

Despite the Bucks playing very well this past week and taking the top seed in the East in the process they still weren't able to take the one spot in these rankings. They easily dispatched the Warriors and the Jazz, but they got absolutely crushed by the Grizzlies. Giannis, Middleton, and Lopez were all somehow shut down in that game, showing that it is possible to play very effective defense against this team. They have a very tough week ahead of them. They play the Pelicans tonight before facing a slate of the Cavs, Nets, and Celtics the rest of the week. This could go two very different ways for them, either they do well and stay at the top of these rankings or do poorly and drop for the first time this year.

1. Memphis Grizzlies - Last Week: 4

Up until Saturday the Grizzlies had been an absolute buzz saw, going on a seven game win streak before losing to the Thunder. This included an utter dismantling of the Bucks, which is the main reason why Memphis took the top spot on these rankings. They now sit at the top spot in the West, and I think they will continue to win games moving forward. They likely win the game against OKC if Morant isn't ejected early in that game, so I still believe they have momentum on their side. This week they play the Nuggets, Suns, and Warriors, and I think they finish the week with a positive record. They are playing like true contenders right now, and if they can keep it up they could definitely finish as the top seed in the West once again.