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//  Saturday, July 31, 2010

NBA Power Rankings: Week 2

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Posted by Neil Conklin

It’s tough to argue against the Celtics being the best team in the league right now. A lapse against a Phoenix team that is better than people thought has been the only glitch so far. It may be too early to make bold statements, but their defense looks like it could be the best we’ve seen out of any NBA team in a long time.

Dwyane Wade and the Heat are making some heads turn with a strong start, giving Denver its first loss this weekend. Phoenix, as mentioned, has wasted no time reviving the offense that helped them win 60 games a year from 2004-2007. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the future Brooklyn Nets have yet to win a game or even turn a respectable performance for that matter.

This season is young, but we’re getting a look at who is for real and who isn’t. We’re also finding out that the top five might not just be the Celtics, Lakers, Magic, Spurs, and Cavs in some order every week.

 

1. Celtics (7-1): They’ve got the best starting lineup in basketball. The best defense. They can comfortably run 9 or 10 deep. They can run up and down the court with Rondo, or suffocate you with their half-court defense. There are no missing pieces. You may not even see them add a veteran free agent X before the deadline, simply because they don’t need anything. (Last week: 1)

2. Lakers (6-1): The wins are coming, but not in impressive fashion, with an average point differential of just 5 (the Celtics is 14). That will not translate into 60 wins. Of course, they are doing all of this without a healthy Bynum or Gasol, so nothing to be worried about yet. (Last week: 2)

3. Suns (7-1): Phoenix fans have something to be excited about again, but are the Suns title contenders? A recent win in Boston would lead one to say yes. History though, would say no, as even during the peak of their offensive firepower mid-decade, they failed to once make the NBA Finals. (Last week: 10)

4. Magic (5-2): If the Magic want to fight with the Celtics atop the East, they’re going to have to get healthy quick. Most people don’t understand how different this team is from last year with Vince replacing Turkoglu. There will be a learning curve, and the quicker Vince and Rashard Lewis get healthy and start playing together, the better. (Last week: 3)

5. Nuggets (5-2): Back to back losses look bad, but the truth is, they came on back to back nights on the road against two tough east coast teams. They played four games on the road in five days. It’s not going to get easier though, with two more road games against Chicago and Milwaukee, then returning home to play the Lakers. (Last week: 6)

6. Mavericks (4-2): A top-5 team does not lose games like Dallas lost in New Orleans on Wednesday. On the bright side, Josh Howard is back, and Jason Terry is making an early run at 6th man of the year, averaging 18 points per game off the bench. (Last week: 7)

7. Hawks (5-2): Handing Denver a beat-down at home on Saturday felt good, but you just can’t lose to Charlotte by 20 and expect to be an elite team. With the Cavs and Magic struggling to start the season, the Hawks need to look to capitalize and make run for the 2 and 3 seeds that everyone thought were locked up. (Last week: 9)

8. Cavaliers (4-3): Their performance thus far this season probably does not warrant this spot, but they’re still the Cavs and LeBron is still the most dominant player alive. The Cavs will win 55-60 games this year, and they will find a way to work with Shaq. (Last week: 5)

9. Heat (5-1): Unlike the Cavs, Miami’s play probably warrants a slightly higher spot then this, but they’ve got to see more out of Beasley, Chalmers, and the other young guns before they rise too high. Dwyane Wade can win 45 games alone. Anything above that will come from the supporting cast. (Last week: 11)

10. Bulls (4-2): The Baby Bulls followed up a home opener win against San Antonio with a win in Cleveland. Those two wins are as impressive as any time can boast thus far this season. They can prove themselves even more worthy with a win against Denver Tuesday at home. (Last week: 17)

11. Trail Blazers (4-3): Greg Oden is averaging 18 rebounds and 5 blocks per 48 minutes. The problem: 9 fouls per 48 minutes. This guy learning how not to foul might be a major x-factor this year. You’d think something that simple wouldn’t be a major concern, but he just isn’t showing improvement. (Last week: 8)

12. Rockets (4-2): Houston has suffered just two losses thus far, one in OT to the Lakers, and another to Portland which they would later avenge. If they manage to fight for a playoff spot without T-Mac and Yao, Daryl Morey needs to be a unanimous GM of the Year. Players on this team just always seem to mesh. (Last week: 12)

13. Spurs (3-3): It’s tough to figure out exactly what’s wrong with the Spurs right now. Age is a glaring issue that no one in San Antonio wants to talk about. Tim Duncan doesn’t quite look the same. McDyess, Finley, and Ratliff are all over 35. It’s tough to see a team this old peaking late in the season like the Spurs are known to do. (Last week: 4)

14. Raptors (3-4): Toronto hasn’t responded well to a tough early-season schedule, but they haven’t tanked it either. Chris Bosh is playing like a superstar, and Hedo will find his way. The pieces are there, but with teams like Miami and Atlanta looking stronger than expected, the Raptors have their work cut out for them to make a bid at a decent playoff spot. (Last week: 15)

15. Jazz (3-4): No reason to start panicking yet, but the Jazz need to wake up. Losses to Sacramento and a collapse against Dallas have this team under .500, staring at games in Boston and Cleveland this week. (Last week: 16)

16. Hornets (3-5): If it weren’t for a collapse by Dallas late in the fourth last Wednesday, this team would be staring at an awkward 2-6 start. Not that 3-5 is much better. The Hornets can’t win with Chris Paul scoring 27 points per game. They need more offensive threats. (Last week: 18)

17. Thunder (3-3): If LeBron and D-Wade can lead their teams to playoffs spots every year with mediocre supporting casts, why can’t Kevin Durant lead a young and dangerous Thunder team to 45 to 50 wins and an outside shot at a playoff spot? It’s a thought. The Thunder continue to climb. (Last week: 19)

18. Pistons (3-4): Ben Gordon has done well filling in for the injured Rip Hamilton, but will Detroit find enough minutes for the both of them when Rip gets healthy? We’ve yet to see what the new-look Pistons can do at full strength, but their defense has looked better than expected. (Last week: 20)

19. 76ers (3-4): Elton Brand returning to all-star form looks less and less promising as time goes on, as do the Sixers’ playoff hopes. The East is a deeper conference than it’s been in years, and spots might not be handed to .500 teams as has been the case in the past. (Last week: 14)

20. Bobcats (3-3): Gerald Wallace has been putting up monster numbers on the glass and has Charlotte sitting at .500, despite a tough early schedule. They rebound well and play tough defense. If the Bobcats can add a scorer down the road, they have a shot at the playoffs. (Last week: 21)

21. Wizards (2-5): Four straight losses and a couple of sour offensive performances out of Gilbert Arenas seem to indicate talks of Washington (and Arenas for that matter) returning to form were premature. They’ll have to win in Miami Tuesday to avoid a 5th straight loss. (Last week: 13)

22. Bucks (3-2): Brandon Jennings continues to turn in strong performances. Being a scoring point guard isn’t going to hurt him much on a team without a lot of offensive weapons, especially with Michael Redd sidelined with a knee injury. (Last week: 22)

23. Clippers (3-5): The Clippers play OKC twice this week, as the team everyone loves to see win and the team everyone loves to see lose square off. Seriously though, what happens if the Clippers somehow manage to turn their talented youth into a playoff team in the next couple of years? Who will actually enjoy that? (Last week: 24)

24. Kings (3-4): This week’s sign of the apocalypse: the Kings have won 3 out 4, including wins in Utah and against Golden State without Kevin Martin. Tyreke Evans has played great in Martin’s absence. (Last week: 29)

25. Pacers (2-3): TJ Ford is averaging just 2 assists per game thus far, and Danny Granger is battling an injured heel. Yet, like the Kings, the Pacers have managed to win their last two and avoid the dreaded bottom 5. (Last week: 30)

26. Warriors (2-4): It took a slaughter against Minnesota on Monday, but Anthony Randolph actually saw some quality minutes, scoring 23 points. Stephen Jackson nearly doubled his season assists total with 15 dimes. The result? 146 points. See what happens when you share the ball and give your most promising young player some minutes? (Last week: 26)

27. Grizzlies (1-6): Allen Iverson’s fall from the top happened so fast that it’s debatable whether or not people will even remember it in 5 years. Even if he’s still got anything left, this was just the wrong team to sign him. He needs to be in Charlotte, with Larry Brown, breathing whatever life he can into their sad excuse for an offense. (Last week: 23)

28. Knicks (1-7): Now, as mentioned earlier, everyone likes to see the Clippers lose. But seeing the Knicks lose can be almost as fun. They’ve been the butt of just as many jokes over the past 6 years. Their future actually looks gloomier than the Clippers’ does. See? Isn’t this fun? (Last week: 27)

29. Timberwolves (1-7): You know things are ugly when you continue to lose by double digits to teams that are supposed to be as bad as you are. Not even Al Jefferson, the one continuous upside for the organization, is playing well. (Last week: 25)

30. Nets (0-7): The Celtics managed to beat the Brooklyn Nets to be without a player scoring more than 16 points. Elias reports the Celtics haven’t done that in over 50 years. They should try sitting their starters next time just to see what happens. What would the Vegas line on that be? Even? Ok, ok, Celtics by 4 or 5. (Last week: 28)

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