NBA Power Rankings January 18th 2005

Here is the new edition of the NBA Power Rankings. Once again all comments, concerns,
cheerleading, and criticisms are welcomed. Oh and the Kobe pic will be back as soon as Kobe returns.

Rank(Pv)	Team	Record	Comments
1(2)		31-9	The Spurs didn’t do anything special to reclaim thenumber 1 spot. Losses to Houston and Utah last week overshadow their wins against Dallas and the Wizards. The Suns current losing streak forces a change at the top, so the Spurs are the beneficiaries.
2(3)		27-9	If it aint broke don’t fix it. All the Ray Allen trade rumors have to be thrown out. This team is playing great basketball and there is no need to screw with their chemistry. If they were losing, fine do what you will. But 27-9 is not losing, so let’s see how good they are and worry about the future when it gets here.
3(4)		28-11	They’ve lost 3 of 4 to wrap up their Western Conference road trip with a 2-3 record. That’s not terrible, considering they lost to Phoenix, Seattle, and the Clippers in doubleOT. As long as they maintain that 20-2 record vs. the East, they’ll be fine.
4(1)		31-8	Without Steve Nash this is the same team they had last year. Yeah, the team that won 29 games. The losing streak is making Nash look more and more like the MVP favorite every day.
5(7)		25-11	The Mobley deal is looking better and better every day. Cuttino appears to love his new team and scored 19 in abig win in LA the other night. He hit a few big 3’s andhad 3 steals. If the Kings get Bobby Jackson back for the playoffs, they will be the only team that will be able to score with the Suns.
6(9)		23-14	The champs are rolling now. Even though they haven’t defeated any elite teams (Nash-less Suns don’t count)during their streak, they’ve beaten everybody they’ve faced. That’s all one could really ask for.
7(6)		23-12	While Don Nelson is out from shoulder surgery, expect more of the same from the Mavericks. Avery Johnson will step right in and they shouldn’t miss a beat. That brings up the question though, how long before Avery wants his own team?
8(6)		22-14	The Cavs are currently tied with the Wizards and are numbers 4 and 5 respectively in the east. Hopefully they stay that way because a 1st round series of Cleveland vs. Washington would be better than any other 1st round match up in the East.
9(8)		21-18	Coach Fratello hasn’t been getting the credit he deserves. Granted they started slowly but he needed time to get his system into place. Now his record is 15-7 and they’ve won 9of 10. They currently have the number 7 spot and are eyeing the Lakers’ 6 spot.
10(12)		20-18	The Rockets beat the Mavs and the Spurs last week to stake their claim as the best in Texas. Not so fast, they’ve still a got a ways to go. But picking up Bob Sura and David Wesley could prove to be the best moves of the regular season.
11(10)		22-14	I guess we all should’ve seen the Hughes injury coming. I mean the Wizards have been playing too well this season. They won’t go completely in the tank without Hughes but they will definitely sink a little bit.
12(11)		20-16	The Kobe Bryant injury is a blessing in disguise. Their schedule the next couple of weeks isn’t really difficult and more importantly guys will step their game up while Kobe is out. When he gets back the Lakers will be better than they were before he got hurt.
13(13)		19-18	I know, I know, the Wolves are too high. They stopped their skid with 2 straight victories last week. They then lost at home to the Raptors. We’ll see how bad they really are if theylose to the Lakers Wednesday.
14(16)		17-17	Francis maybe upset that Mobley is gone, but Hedo Turkoglu has thrived since getting into the starting lineup. Turk scored 26 and 23 in wins in Minnesota and Indiana respectively.
15(17)		17-18	All I wanna say about the Bulls is that the last time they won 7 straight, 10 of their 14 players were in High School or Middle School. That was only 7 years ago. That says a lot about the youth of this team.
16(15)		18-17	Since his return, Jermaine O’Neal has been playing like he has a chip on his shoulder. He’s averaged 29.9 ppg in his 11 games back. Now that translates to only 6 wins but they’ll get better. With Stephen Jackson returning (Jan 27th vs. Detroit),the Pacers will be in good shape.
17(19)		17-20	The Celts have lost only one home game in 30 days. That good but on the flipside they haven’t won a road game during that same span. If they keep that up they will stay stuck in the log jam in this sad division.
18(14)		17-20	Lenny’s back on the hot seat again. And why not, the Knicks have one win this year bringing their 2005 record to 1-8. Isaiah Thomas won’t have that. The question I have is, was Wilkens ever off the hot seat?
19(21)		18-19	The Clips obviously aren’t good enough to beat the big dogs of the west, i.e. Suns, Spurs, and the Kings. As long as they continue to beat the western conference cellar dwellers and sneak one from the elite every now and then, they’ll have a great shot of making the playoffs.
20(20)		17-20	You gotta wonder what Cleveland and Washington think about the Sixers right now. If the playoffs started tomorrow the Sixers would be hosting a playoff series with a 17-20 record. Maybe the whole division winner thing should be looked at.
21(18)		15-21	I think Damon Stoudamire just had the most meaningless 50 point game in NBA history. He had 54 points with 1 assist and 0 rebounds. Not to mention they lost the game. That’s sad.
22(25)		16-23	Believe or not, the Raptors are better without Vince Carter. The trade has allowed Mo Peterson and Chris Bosh to thrive. Plus their record since the trade now stands at 8-7. With Vinsanity their record was 8-15. That’s says it all.
23(28)		14-26	The Jazz made a decent jump in rankings this week. Not because they beat the Lakers, but because AK-47 is due back this week. And somehow they found a way to beat the Spurs and the Suns during the same week.
24(24)		15-22	The Nuggets better get their act together real soon. They have 1 win in January and are going to finish the month with 6 of their 7 games on the road. That’s a recipe for the basement.
25(23)		13-24	Now that Kidd wants to stay in Jersey, Nets fans can breathe a little easier. They obvious wont be contending this year, but with a healthy RJ and motivated Kidd and Carter, the Nets future looks bright for next year.
26(22)		13-23	Not to take anything away from TJ Ford, but the Bucks need a lot more them him being healthy. At least they stopped the bleeding from their 4-game losing streak with their seemingly monthly road win.
27(26)		11-27	Jason Richardson looked happy to be back droppin 42 on the Nuggets, giving the Warriors their 1st win in 2005. That’s good to see the young guy not Vince Carter his way through a game on an obviously bad team.
28(27)		8-26	They still have the fight, but the wins are becoming more and more elusive. Hopefully they’ll keep the fight in them the rest of the season.
29(20)		5-32	The Hornets won 3 out 4 recently so that automatically moves them out of the bottom. As long as Davis is out, 3 out of 4 won’t happen again.
30(29)		7-28	It was only a matter of time before the Hawks found themselves at the #30. The Hornets had an excuse; they have injuries. What’s the Hawks’ excuse?