Here are the NBA Power Rankings. Late as usual. All comments and concerns are encouraged.
Rank(Pv) |
Team |
Record |
Comments |
| 1(1) |  |
37-10 | Even though the Spurs next 6 games are on the road, they are good enough to take 5 of them. They face LA(without Kobe), Charlotte, Washington(without Hughes), New Jersey, Miami and New Orleans. They took care of Seattle(minus Allen) and should do the same (excluding Miami) throughout the rest of the road trip. |
| 2(2) |  |
36-10 | Its pretty much a given that Steve Nash is the MVP so far this season, but how come nobody is talking about Mike D’Antoni for coach of the year? Granted Nash deserves most of the credit, but D’Antoni has this team playing is best basketball in almost a decade. |
| 3(4) |  |
33-13 | Miami has a difficult stretch this week. They go to Dallas, before hosting Cleveland and Chicago. Shaq said something a few weeks ago to the effect of “I’ll be impressed when we blow out a good team”. If the Heat blows out these teams, then I’ll be impressed. |
| 4(3) |  |
30-13 | The Sonics got waxed by the Spurs last night and will probably lose at home to the Kings tonight. Ray Allen is out again with the flu. The Sonics, like the Suns, are a different team with their leader on the court |
| 5(6) |  |
30-13 | With their 2 best players (Peja and C Webb) hurt, the Kings still handled the T’Wolves rather easily. And why not, they still have 3 more guys(Miller, Mobley, and Bibby), who can score 20-25 on any night. |
| 6(5) |  |
28-14 | The Mavs are playing decent ball right now. Not great ball but not terrible either. They might wanna check their rear view mirror because Memphis and Houston are only 4 and 5 games back respectively. Losses at home to Iverson-less Philly aren’t gonna help the cause. |
| 7(8) |  |
26-17 | The Cavs showed they weren’t just all Lebron during their 2 games without #23. They lost a close game to NY and beat Milwaukee. Both Gooden and Ilgauskas played great during that span. Their combined average was 53ppg and 21 boards. Hopefully they can keep some of that up when James gets back. |
| 8(9) |  |
26-20 | The Grizzlies finished January with a 12-3 record, but more importantly they are currently 3-1 without Gasol. They’ve given up an average of 93ppg during the 4 games he’s missed. That’s 3 points higher than their season average of 90ppg. They play the Suns tonight, so look for that average to increase, probably significantly. |
| 9(12) |  |
26-18 | Detroit got back on track last week with a 3 game winning streak. And they are doing it with (surprise!) defense. They gave up an average of 69 points during the 3 games, including a 61 point stifling of the Knicks. Just like that they are half a game back of division leading Cleveland. |
| 10(11) |  |
25-21 | You know the Rockets are a good team when they can get a win in Boston without McGrady taking one field goal attempt in the final frame. Always reliable Jon Barry handled T-Macs load with 15 4th quarter points. |
| 11(13) |  |
24-20 | I understand why Wally went to the bench. He doesn’t play great defense. But besides Garnett, he is their most consistent offensive performer. They’ve won 5 of 6, so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. |
| 12(7) |  |
26-17 | 2 straight losses and they play Detroit tonight. It looks like they are finally starting to miss Larry Hughes. |
| 13(15) |  |
22-20 | Ben Gordon might not be able to catch Emeka Okafor for the rookie of the yea, but he is a legitmate choice for 6th man so far this season. |
| 14(14) |  |
24-20 | The Magic have a 15-5 home record, and that’s impressive considering 4 of their 5 starters are new to the area. They might not actually own a home in Orlando, but when compared to their 9-15 road record, they don’t need one to have home court advantage. |
| 15(10) |  |
23-19 | Now that word has gotten out that Rudy T wants to leave the Lakers, how long before he blasts Kobe Bryant. Why not, everybody else did after they left. I bet that this time it isn’t Kobe’s fault. |
| 16(21) |  |
19-25 | George Karl might not have the reputation of a Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, etc. But he does bring one thing that those guys have, and that’s respect. The Nuggets could still give the playoffs a run during the 2nd half of the season. |
| 17(17) |  |
21-23 | New week and Philly still has the division lead(barely). They might not be the best team on paper in the Atlantic, but Allen Iverson goes hard every game and that’s starting to rub off on young guys like Korver and Iguodala. |
| 18(19) |  |
21-24 | Not only do the Celts give up 100 hundred points per game and have a 7-16 road record, they are 3-4 vs their own terrible division. If they could turn around one of those around they would be the clear cut #1 in the Atlantic. |
| 19(20) |  |
22-23 | Its time for the Clips to embark on that 9 game road trip. They won 4 of 5 to get close to .500, but after this nightmare trip I don’t expect them to be anywhere near that mark. |
| 20(22) |  |
18-26 | Need another sign that Vince Carter was loafing in Toronto? His highest scoring game this season before the trade was 26 points. Compare that to his 5 thirty point games for New Jersey and you’ve got legitimate proof. |
| 21(16) |  |
20-23 | Talk about plans backfiring. The Pacers were expecting to take off with the return of Stephen Jackson. In fact the exact opposite has happened. They are 0-4 since his return and are back below .500 for the 1st time since Jermaine O’neal came back on Christmas Day. |
| 22(18) |  |
18-27 | The Raptors have lost 3 straight and could be losing confidence. With their next 4 games vs. Indiana, Washington, Dallas, and Cleveland, its gonna get worse before it gets better. |
| 23(24) |  |
17-25 | I was looking at my calendar and said to myself “Its about that time of the year for the Portland to have some off the court issues”. Thanks for coming though D miles. |
| 24(26) |  |
18-26 | If they could ever get Houston and Crawford on the court at the same time, the Knicks might have something. Till then though, to the cellar they go. |
| 25(25) |  |
15-30 | The Jazz are definitely a mystery. They got smoked in Seattle but then beat Seattle in the rematch 3 days later. They followed that up with losses to the T’Wolves and the Nets. They’ve got scrubs coming to town(Bobcats, Hornets) this week and those games will tell they belong with those scrubs or the middle of the pack. |
| 26(23) |  |
15-27 | I like the fact that Michael Redd hasn’t given up on this team. Remember Mitch Richmond on the Kings in the 90’s? Same deal, except that the Bucks management has given them a better chance to win then the boneheads in Sacramento used to. |
| 27(27) |  |
12-32 | These guys don’t score, and cant defend. They finished January with 1 win. It is gonna be a long 2nd half in Oakland. |
| 28(29) |  |
8-36 | Not sure who Dickau is but he’s carried the load while injury prone Baron Davis is out again. He’s lead the Hornets in scoring in 5 of the 8 games Davis has missed. He’s making Davis expendable. |
| 29(28) |  |
9-34 | Does anybody care what I have to say about the Hawks? Lemme know if you do. |
| 30(30) |  |
9-32 | I’m glad that Emeka Okafor has worked out for them. Hopefully they’ll have the same luck next year because they are sure to have a ton of ping pong balls. |