Pelicans Finally Rise In Power Rankings

New Orleans, La- The New Orleans Pelicans rose in this week's power rankings thanks to a two-game winning streak. With victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings, the Pels ended a 10-game losing streak and started a winning streak of their own.

CBSSports writer Colin Ward-Henninger released his NBA power rankings for this week and New Orleans moved up three spots on the list. The Pelicans rose to No 17 after falling to No 20 a week ago. Here's a snippet of Henninger's rationale for the ranking.

The Pelicans went 2-2 this week, putting up 267 points combined in their wins over the Lakers and Kings -- the latter coming without Brandon Ingram, who had just put up 35 points in the win over his former team. New Orleans might make some moves around the fringes before the deadline, but the Pels have to be pleased with what they've seen from Ingram, Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum when healthy.

Injuries have continued to test the Pelicans' depth this season. Zion Williamson has missed the last 18 games recovering from his hamstring injury. Brandon Ingram returned to the lineup after missing 29 games with a toe injury that still continues to give him problems. Ingram missed the Sunday game against the Kings with soreness in that same toe.

Even Jonas Valanciunas missed his first game of the year after leaving the Lakers game with a knee injury. Still, New Orleans had nine players score in double-figures in at least one of the two games. The Pelicans should get another update on Zion Williamson soon, and with a healthy 'Big 3' plus this team's depth, New Orleans will be looking to continue to move up the power rankings.

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