Hawks rise to fifth in power rankings

By Liam Santamaria

Every week this NBL season, I’m releasing my power rankings.

They drop each Tuesday on NBL Overtime and then run here the following morning.

Here’s my money-back guarantee: they won’t ever correlate with the ladder. They also don’t reflect where I think each team will finish. Instead, like most ‘power rankings’, they represent how each team is currently tracking when you consider form, injuries, illness, recent opponents, etc. In other words, the team on top is the one other teams do not want to be playing right now.

With that in mind, here are this week’s power rankings:

 

1. MELBOURNE UNITED

Previous rank: 2

United are back on top after knocking off the Wildcats in a roller-coaster clash in Round 11.

The defending champs had plenty of contributors against Perth but the guy who is really stuffing the stat-sheet is Jo Lual-Acuil. The MVP candidate is now ranked inside the top ten for scoring (16.6) while leading the league in both rebounding (9.9) and blocks (2.8). He’s having a spectacular season.

This week: vs South East Melbourne, vs New Zealand

 

2. PERTH WILDCATS

Previous rank: 1

The Wildcats solved their first quarter problem on the weekend but then strangely decided to no-show the second and the third.

That’s not going to work this week in the Harbour City against a team that’s riding a wave of momentum. They’ll also need to be better with their transition D and rebounding – two areas that let them down when they lost to Sydney two weeks ago.

This week: @ Sydney

 

3. SYDNEY KINGS

Previous rank: 4

The Kings pulled off a miraculous win on Saturday as Jaylen Adams dropped the hammer on the entire city of Brisbane.

Chase Buford’s men have now won five of their last six and are knocking on the door of the top four. Of course, they’re already inside when it comes to the power rankings and, by the looks of things, they’re making themselves comfortable.

This week: vs Perth

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We&#39;re going to call it. This could be the greatest Top 10 in NBL history.<br><br>Counting down some incredible plays from Round 11 of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> ?? <a href="https://t.co/lR8lAf2jV0">pic.twitter.com/lR8lAf2jV0</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1493737673655484416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

4. SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX

Previous rank: 3

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Phoenix as they’ve been managing COVID disruptions so, with all that considered, splitting their past two doubles has been a pretty good result.

They’ll still be a little below their best when they take on United, due to Xavier Munford stint in isolation, but it should be a cracking game nonetheless.

This week: @ Melbourne, vs Brisbane

 

5. ILLAWARRA HAWKS

Previous rank: 6

The Hawks grabbed a solid win over a plucky Cairns side in Round 11, which edges their record back above .500.

Duop Reath’s increased efforts on the glass and the crunch time playmaking from Xavier Rathan-Mayes were the big takeaways from that win as the Hawks look to steady their ship after some rocky recent form.

This week: vs Cairns, vs Tasmania

 

6. BRISBANE BULLETS

Previous rank: 8

It was a case of Lemony Snicket for the Bullets in Round 11 as a series of unfortunate events denied them a 2-0 result.

Nathan Sobey’s ongoing absence is not helping but their improved defensive efforts are definitely something for Brissy fans to feel good about.

This week: @ South East Melbourne

 

7. ADELAIDE 36ERS

Previous rank: 9

The 36ers went down to the Bullets last round but they rise in the rankings nonetheless, thanks to Will Magnay’s injury and some inconsistency creeping in for Cairns.

That said, they did let that game in Brisbane slip through their fingers. Up 7 with less than 4 minutes remaining, that loss would’ve been frustrating for Sixers fans. This week’s home game against the eighth-ranked team is a big one!

This week: vs Cairns

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The defending champs are on the move ?<a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnited?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnited</a> have jumped from third to the top spot on the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> ladder ?<a href="https://twitter.com/AAMI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AAMI</a> <a href="https://t.co/lF7DjwhA4j">pic.twitter.com/lF7DjwhA4j</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1493355706782990336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


8. CAIRNS TAIPANS

Previous rank: 7

Scott Machado is back in the line-up but the Snakes still slide in the rankings due to their lack of consistency from one quarter to the next. I mean, that first half against the Breakers was not ideal as they gave up 55 points to the bottom team on their own home floor.

That’s now five losses from their past six games for the Taipans, with that big-hearted win over Brisbane their only salute since prior to Christmas. These guys need to bring the venom from the opening tip.

This week: @ Illawarra, @ Adelaide

 

9. TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS

Previous rank: 5

It was fun while it lasted for the JackJumpers in the top half of the rankings with the news of Will Magnay’s injury sliding them all the way back to ninth.

Maybe that’s a little harsh, as Scott Roth has this team playing hard, but they just don’t have enough in the front court with the big man out of the line-up. The Ants are 0-2 without Magnay this season and you can expect that trend to continue this week.

This week: @ Illawarra

 

10. NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

Previous rank: 10

This is what I wrote about the Breakers last week:

“Here are the results from New Zealand’s past seven games: loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. They’re dangerous, there’s no doubt about that, but they also cannot be trusted.”

Add a win to that list, then rinse and repeat.

This week: @ Melbourne