LOS ANGELES – The Clippers lost in double overtime Tuesday to Brooklyn while playing without Blake Griffin (rest), then bounced back with wins in Cleveland and New Orleans on a back-to-back to finish their six-game road trip before falling in their first game home from that trip Sunday against Indiana.
Here are the resulting weekly power rankings from NBA.com, ESPN.com, SI.com and CBSSports.com, along with a brief explanation for the choices. Click on the link under each publication’s name to see the full explanations for each team.
NBA.com
Clippers No. 4 (Last week: No. 4)– “The Clippers beat the Cavs and will surely get up for their first meeting with the Warriors on Wednesday. But that game has lost a little luster with the Clips' post-Thanksgiving swoon that has included two losses to Indiana and two more to Detroit and Brooklyn...” – John Schuhmann
ESPN.com
Clippers No. 5 (Last week: No. 4) – “Turns out that halting their recent three-game slide with a stirring rout of the Cavs in Cleveland on TNT didn't completely fix the Clippers. Yet it seems safe to suggest Clips fans will be happy come Thursday no matter what happens Wednesday night in their first meeting of the season with the Warriors. Reason being: Thursday marks the five-year anniversary of David Stern blocking the three-way trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, which enabled the Clippers to acquire CP3 days later and change the course of franchise history.” – Marc Stein
SI.com
CBSSports.com
Clippers No. 10 (Last week: No. 6) – “The Cavaliers win was so good, but they've lost four of six and twice in big ways to the Pacers. I was ready to forgive the losing streak and declare it over after the two wins, but the Pacers loss set them back. That, coupled with the Cavs' struggles taking the shine off the Clippers' victory over them, drops them here...” – Matt Moore