Power Rankings - Week 3

The Way of the Hornets



Chris Paul and the Hornets move to the top after torching the Spurs Saturday night.
Who would have thought?







Hero Team of the Week: New Orleans Hornets (8 straight wins)
Zero Team of the Week: Seattle Supersonics (14 straight losses)

High Jumps of the Week: +5 Magic, +3 Knicks
Free Falls of the Week: -5 Blazers, -5 Warriors

1) New Orleans Hornets (3) - After a 24-point win over the home of the Spurs, I was thinking: The Hornets are the best team in the West. Tough schedule this week, as they fight 3 of the high-powered teams in the West.

2) Phoenix Suns (1) - Steve Nash and co. marred their perfect week at an ugly loss in Minnesota. That dropped them to the second spot.


3) Boston Celtics (2) - The Boston Celtics had lost to Toronto and Magic(w/o Garnett due to abdominal strain) this week, and a one-point win over Minnesota wasn't convincing on the part of the league's best team.


4) Dallas Mavericks (4) - After their most lop-sided loss of the season against the Wizards, they came back with three straight wins against Charlotte, LA, and Denver.


5) San Antonio Spurs (6) - The Spurs are still thinking about their latest loss. Maybe it's not the right time as they fight the Boozer-powered Jazz and the Nash-ty Suns this week.

6) Los Angeles Lakers (4) - Three straight losses to the league's most gifted teams, and the frontcourt needs more than a bunch of turnovers. And oh, passing when open is not good.

7) Detroit Pistons (9) - Detroit is regaining its veteran-team mentality as they held Orlando and Sixers under 100 points this week.

8) Orlando Magic (13) - Very tough games played this week, but they both won over Detroit and Boston.

9) Cleveland Cavaliers (12) - Winners of 8 of their last 10 games, the Cavs are bringing themselves up into the rankings again.

10) Denver Nuggets - They are 2-1 without Carmelo Anthony, the only loss coming against Dallas. But what's alarming is that they would lose another big man, Nene, who was known to have cancer.

11) Portland Trailblazers (6) - The Blazers are coming back down to earth and fighting Cleveland and New York won't help them to stay in the top next week.

12) Golden State Warriors (7) - Nothing could be more ugly than losing to Minnesota. Fighting the Rockets, New Orleans, and Charlotte would mean one word: "declination".

13) Utah Jazz - The Jazz are jelling very well and no one would want to face this team that's on a streak right now.

14) Washington Wizards (10) - Maybe they don't need Gilbert Arenas now, they are getting stronger and stronger and they are not afraid to play as a team. But the test this week is against Toronto and Utah.

15) Houston Rockets (16) - McGrady is back, and they are playing like the same team with energy this season. Expect the Rockets to play their best basketball of their lives.

16) Toronto Raptors (17) - A win against Boston proved to be the best win they had all season. This week would be another acid test for them as they square both the Arenas-less Wizards and the Bynum-less Lakers.

17) Charlotte Bobcats (17) - Saturday's loss to the Sixers made their coach question their hearts about basketball. Maybe it was the intangibles to blame?

18) New York Knicks (21) - If anyone would be a surprise next season, it would be this Knicks squad. They have been playing well since Marbury went out. And they don't need him, really.

19) Atlanta Hawks (18) - After an impressive first half start of the season, they are now on the brink of losing games again.

20) New Jersey Nets (19) - Nine-game losing streak. Make it 10, and expect re-shuffling of the team.

21) Sacramento Kings (20) - Kevin Martin, Mike Bibby, and Ron Artest are proving they can win against teams above .500. Charlotte and New Orleans would be a good test.

22) Chicago Bulls (20) - The Bulls are not doing much. Fire Boylan.

23) Philadelphia 76ers (25) - The Sixers are proving their worth, but not this year.

24) Milwaukee Bucks - It's very boring writing when you're in the bottom 10.

25) Indiana Pacers (23) - Like i said.

26) Memphis Grizzlies (27) - Refer to the 24.

27) Los Angeles Clippers (26) - *sleeps*

28) Minnesota Timberwolves (29) - The Wolves won 4 of the last 10 games. Maybe it seems ugly. But they already won half of their 1st ones.

29) Miami Heat (30) - At last they won. But right now, I think most Heat fans would like them to get the 1st pick.

30) Seattle Supersonics (29) - They are on pace to lose 60 games this season. Oh no. not another 1st round pick.

Power Rankings - Week 3

The Way of the Hornets



Chris Paul and the Hornets move to the top after torching the Spurs Saturday night.
Who would have thought?







Hero Team of the Week: New Orleans Hornets (8 straight wins)
Zero Team of the Week: Seattle Supersonics (14 straight losses)

High Jumps of the Week: +6 Suns, +5 Knicks
Free Falls of the Week: -5 Nets, -4 Mavs, -4 Pistons

1) New Orleans Hornets (3) - After a 24-point win over the home of the Spurs, I was thinking: The Hornets are the best team in the West. Tough schedule this week, as they fight 3 of the high-powered teams in the West.

2) Phoenix Suns (1) - Steve Nash and co. marred their perfect week at an ugly loss in Minnesota. That dropped them to the second spot.


3) Boston Celtics (2) - The Boston Celtics had lost to Toronto and Magic(w/o Garnett due to abdominal strain) this week, and a one-point win over Minnesota wasn't convincing on the part of the league's best team.


4) Dallas Mavericks (4) - After their most lop-sided loss of the season against the Wizards, they came back with three straight wins against Charlotte, LA, and Denver.


5) San Antonio Spurs (6) - The Spurs are still thinking about their latest loss. Maybe it's not the right time as they fight the Boozer-powered Jazz and the Nash-ty Suns this week.

6) Los Angeles Lakers (4) - Three straight losses to the league's most gifted teams, and the frontcourt needs more than a bunch of turnovers. And oh, passing when open is not good.

7) Detroit Pistons (9) - Detroit is regaining its veteran-team mentality as they held Orlando and Sixers under 100 points this week.

8) Orlando Magic (13) - Very tough games played this week, but they both won over Detroit and Boston.

9) Cleveland Cavaliers (12) - Winners of 8 of their last 10 games, the Cavs are bringing themselves up into the rankings again.

10) Denver Nuggets - They are 2-1 without Carmelo Anthony, the only loss coming against Dallas. But what's alarming is that they would lose another big man, Nene, who was known to have cancer.

11) Portland Trailblazers (6) - The Blazers are coming back down to earth and fighting Cleveland and New York won't help them to stay in the top next week.

12) Golden State Warriors (7) - Nothing could be more ugly than losing to Minnesota. Fighting the Rockets, New Orleans, and Charlotte would mean one word: "declination".

13) Utah Jazz - The Jazz are jelling very well and no one would want to face this team that's on a streak right now.

14) Washington Wizards (10) - Maybe they don't need Gilbert Arenas now, they are getting stronger and stronger and they are not afraid to play as a team. But the test this week is against Toronto and Utah.

15) Houston Rockets (16) - McGrady is back, and they are playing like the same team with energy this season. Expect the Rockets to play their best basketball of their lives.

16) Toronto Raptors (17) - A win against Boston proved to be the best win they had all season. This week would be another acid test for them as they square both the Arenas-less Wizards and the Bynum-less Lakers.

17) Charlotte Bobcats (17) - Saturday's loss to the Sixers made their coach question their hearts about basketball. Maybe it was the intangibles to blame?

18) New York Knicks (21) - If anyone would be a surprise next season, it would be this Knicks squad. They have been playing well since Marbury went out. And they don't need him, really.

19) Atlanta Hawks (18) - After an impressive first half start of the season, they are now on the brink of losing games again.

20) New Jersey Nets (19) - Nine-game losing streak. Make it 10, and expect re-shuffling of the team.

21) Sacramento Kings (20) - Kevin Martin, Mike Bibby, and Ron Artest are proving they can win against teams above .500. Charlotte and New Orleans would be a good test.

22) Chicago Bulls (20) - The Bulls are not doing much. Fire Boylan.

23) Philadelphia 76ers (25) - The Sixers are proving their worth, but not this year.

24) Milwaukee Bucks - It's very boring writing when you're in the bottom 10.

25) Indiana Pacers (23) - Like i said.

26) Memphis Grizzlies (27) - Refer to the 24.

27) Los Angeles Clippers (26) - *sleeps*

28) Minnesota Timberwolves (29) - The Wolves won 4 of the last 10 games. Maybe it seems ugly. But they already won half of their 1st ones.

29) Miami Heat (30) - At last they won. But right now, I think most Heat fans would like them to get the 1st pick.

30) Seattle Supersonics (29) - They are on pace to lose 60 games this season. Oh no. not another 1st round pick.

Power Rankings - Week 2

Welcome to the 2nd edition of NBA Power Rankings.
The teams' standings are based on how they've fared during the past week.





"Back into Action"

The Suns are back. And they've done it by outscoring their last 2 opponents by 20+ points.
The Suns are too hot to handle, again. Is this the time where the two-time MVP will win a title? Can happen.








Hero Team of the Week: Phoenix Suns (3 straight wins)
Zero Team of the Week: Miami Heat (13 straight losses)

High Jumps of the Week: +6 Suns, +5 Knicks
Free Falls of the Week: -5 Nets, -4 Mavs, -4 Pistons

1) Phoenix Suns (7) - The Suns' offense has made them one of the best teams in the West. Even with Grant Hill out, the high-powered Suns offense is still clicking. And oh, you may not want to fight them if you have a back-to-back game. Ask Jason Kidd and the Nets.

2) Boston Celtics - Ray Allen has been averaging 24.5ppg over the last 7 days. And he's doing it with 54.2% from the field, along with 2 steals. Now, who said Allen was old?


3) New Orleans Hornets (6) - The Hornets are playing unrelenting, merciless basketball since getting embarrassed by the Los Angeles Lakers on their home court last week. They've won four straight and have been blowing off teams by an average of 22.5 points. Yes, 22.5 points.


4) Los Angeles Lakers (3) - KB24 and co. is now 1-1 during Bynum's absence. Very tough schedule as they fight Denver, San Antonio, Dallas, and Cleveland all in this week. We need to call 9-1-1.


5) Dallas Mavericks (1) - The Mavs lost to a Bibby-less, Artest-less Kings. Now, that's nasty. But what's nastier is, they're going to fight four of the hottest teams in the league this week, Washington, Charlotte, Lakers, and Denver.

6) Portland Trailblazers (8) - They learned lessons during their 5-game road trip, and that is to close out games.


7) Golden State Warriors (10) - A loss at Indiana marred their almost perfect week, as they went 4-1. But nothing beats this ballclub when it comes to getting hot really fast, as they had a 41-point 3rd quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks last week.


8) San Antonio Spurs (4) - The Spurs suddenly looked old and sluggish as they were handed 2 losses by both the Cavaliers and the Rockets.

9) Detroit Pistons (5) - A 24-point loss to the Knicks, a 14-point win over the Raptors, a 7-point loss against the Kings, and a 16-point loss to the Bulls. What's wrong with this ball club?

10) Washington Wizards - A loss at New York marred this team's recent surge. But beating Boston was the most talked about. Why? They're the first team to beat the Boston, not once , but TWICE, I repeat, TWICE.

11) Denver Nuggets (9) - The Nuggets suffered Nene's loss. And it proved to be the pivotal point as to where the Nuggets will stay: as a mediocre team.

12) Cleveland Cavliers (15) - Coach Mike Brown went back to his lineup where they went to the NBA Finals last year. The result? The Cavs won 8 of their last 10 games.

13) Orlando Magic (12) - This team lost 4 of their last 10 games, including 4 straight on the road, to add to that misery, they will be fighting Detroit twice, and Boston once.

14) Toronto Raptors (13) - Chris Bosh is doing well by scoring loads of points, but it doesn't really help their record.

15) Utah Jazz (16) - On Thursday, the Nuggets beat them by 11 points. Maybe you don't want to fight them when they lose. Ask the Clippers, they got beat by 18 points.

16) Houston Rockets (17) - Now McGrady's back, they finally went back to the same old style they've been known, as defensive players, as they went wire-to-wire against the Spurs and won the game 83-31.

17) Charlotte Bobcats (18) - The Bobcats are maturing and are finally getting into grooved. What's more? There are two players that can give you 40 points per game there.

18) Atlanta Hawks (19) - The Hawks have lost 7 of their last 10. And the bad news is they're going to play Portland twice this week and square off against the Nuggets.

19) New Jersey Nets (14) - This team is not in a slump. It's just the fact that they don't play well together. Losers of 5 straight, you might be seeing one of their Big Three in another uniform by the end of the All-Star Break.

20) Sacramento Kings (23) - This is the first time the Kings are healthy the past 2 seasons, expect to see the late playoff push.

21) New York Knicks (26) - Isaiah regained the trust of his team. They might be heading to the playoffs this year. You may think I'm absurd. But seeing them play their last 5 games, especially when they beat 4 playoff teams last year, there is no doubt there will be a playoff push.

22) Chicago Bulls (20) - In a season of great disappointment, there is only one positive thing stuck in this Bulls team's head: They won 3 times this season against the Detroit Pistons

23) Indiana Pacers (22) - With Bibby returning this month, expect the Kings to get a boost from their offense.

24) Milwaukee Bucks (21) - The Bucks are still an inconsistent team, but who's to blame? 4 games in 5 days this week, including Phoenix, Raptors, and Hornets, nothing gets worse.

25) Philadelphia 76ers (24) - The Sixers showed a game against the Celtics. At least for a half.

26) LA Clippers (27) - The Clippers won against two of the league's premier point guards, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but at the end of the day, they're still a poor team.

27) Memphis Grizzlies (25) - Two Words: Top Pick 2008. Oh, that was three.

28) Minnesota Timberwolves (29) - I'm tired, really.

29) Seattle Supersonics (28)- There are two teams that have double digit losing streaks, one is this team.

30) Miami Heat - The other is this one *duh*.

Power Rankings - Week 2

Welcome to the 2nd edition of NBA Power Rankings.
The teams' standings are based on how they've fared during the past week.





"Back into Action"

The Suns are back. And they've done it by outscoring their last 2 opponents by 20+ points.
The Suns are too hot to handle, again. Is this the time where the two-time MVP will win a title? Can happen.








Hero Team of the Week: Phoenix Suns (3 straight wins)
Zero Team of the Week: Miami Heat (13 straight losses)

High Jumps of the Week: +6 Suns, +7 Bobcats,
Free Falls of the Week: -3 Pistons, -3 Miami

1) Phoenix Suns (7) - The Suns' offense has made them one of the best teams in the West. Even with Grant Hill out, the high-powered Suns offense is still clicking. And oh, you may not want to fight them if you have a back-to-back game. Ask Jason Kidd and the Nets.

2) Boston Celtics - Ray Allen has been averaging 24.5ppg over the last 7 days. And he's doing it with 54.2% from the field, along with 2 steals. Now, who said Allen was old?


3) New Orleans Hornets (6) - The Hornets are playing unrelenting, merciless basketball since getting embarrassed by the Los Angeles Lakers on their home court last week. They've won four straight and have been blowing off teams by an average of 22.5 points. Yes, 22.5 points.


4) Los Angeles Lakers (3) - KB24 and co. is now 1-1 during Bynum's absence. Very tough schedule as they fight Denver, San Antonio, Dallas, and Cleveland all in this week. We need to call 9-1-1.


5) Dallas Mavericks (1) - The Mavs lost to a Bibby-less, Artest-less Kings. Now, that's nasty. But what's nastier is, they're going to fight four of the hottest teams in the league this week, Washington, Charlotte, Lakers, and Denver.

6) Portland Trailblazers (8) - They learned lessons during their 5-game road trip, and that is to close out games.


7) Golden State Warriors (10) - A loss at Indiana marred their almost perfect week, as they went 4-1. But nothing beats this ballclub when it comes to getting hot really fast, as they had a 41-point 3rd quarted against the Milwaukee Bucks last week.


8) San Antonio Spurs (4) - The Spurs suddenly looked old and sluggish as they were handed 2 losses by both the Cavaliers and the Rockets.

9) Detroit Pistons (5) - A 24-point loss to the Knicks, a 14-points win over the Raptors, a 7-point loss against the Kings, and a 16-points loss to the Bulls. What's wrong with this ball club?

10) Washington Wizards - A loss at New York marred this team's recent surge. But beating Boston was the most talked about. Why? They're the first team to beat the Boston, not once , but TWICE, I repeat, TWICE.

11) Denver Nuggets (9) - The Nuggets suffered Nene's loss. And it proved to be the pivotal point as to where the Nuggets will stay: as a mediocre team.

12) Cleveland Cavliers (15) - Coach Mike Brown went back to his lineup where they went to the NBA Finals last year. The result? The Cavs won 8 of their last 10 games.

13) Orlando Magic (12) - This team lost 4 of their last 10 games, including 4 straight on the road, to add to that misery, they will be fighting Detroit twice, and Boston once.

14) Toronto Raptors (13) - Chris Bosh is doing well by scoring loads of points, but it doesn't really help their record.

15) Utah Jazz (16) - On Thursday, the Nuggets beat them by 11 points. Maybe you don't want to fight them when they lose. Ask the Clippers, they got beat by 18 points.

16) Houston Rockets (17) - Now McGrady's back, they finally went back to the same old style they've been known, as defensive players, as they went wire-to-wire against the Spurs and won the game 83-31.

17) Charlotte Bobcats (18) - The Bobcats are maturing and are finally getting into grooved. What's more? There are two players that can give you 40 points per game there.

18) Atlanta Hawks (19) - The Hawks have lost 7 of their last 10. And the bad news is they're going to play Portland twice this week and square off against the Nuggets.

19) New Jersey Nets (14) - This team is not in a slump. It's just the fact that they don't play well together. Losers of 5 straight, you might be seeing one of their Big Three in another uniform by the end of the All-Star Break.

20) Sacramento Kings (23) - This is the first time the Kings are healthy the past 2 seasons, expect to see the late playoff push.

21) New York Knicks (26) - Isaiah regained the trust of his team. They might be heading to the playoffs this year. You may think I'm absurd. But seeing them play their last 5 games, especially when they beat 4 playoff teams last year, there is no doubt there will be a playoff push.

22) Chicago Bulls (20) - In a season of great disappointment, there is only one positive thing stuck in this Bulls team's head: They won 3 times this season against the Detroit Pistons

23) Indiana Pacers (22) - With Bibby returning this month, expect the Kings to get a boost from their offense.

24) Milwaukee Bucks (21) - The Bucks are still an inconsistent team, but who's to blame? 4 games in 5 days this week, including Phoenix, Raptors, and Hornets, nothing gets worse.

25) Philadelphia 76ers (24) - The Sixers showed a game against the Celtics. At least for a half.

26) LA Clippers (27) - The Clippers won against two of the league's premier point guards, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but at the end of the day, they're still a poor team.

27) Memphis Grizzlies (25) - Two Words: Top Pick 2008. Oh, that was three.

28) Minnesota Timberwolves (29) - I'm tired, really.

29) Seattle Supersonics (28)- There are two teams that have double digit losing streaks, one is this team.

30) Miami Heat - The other is this one *duh*.

The Boston Thriller

"Kevin might put up the numbers, but Butler is the man of the moment."

Many of you probably have watched the games tonight.
And probably you were surprised.
A Charlotte team beat the Denver Nuggets.
A Sacramento team beat the Dallas Mavericks.
But probably the most shocking news: A Wizards team without their star player beat the team with the best record in the league, with the Big Three in it, the Boston Celtics.
Not once, twice.
I repeat, TWICE.

As weird as it is, the Celtics were handed their first back-to-back loss of the season.
And it happened because of the Washington Wizards.

BOSTON (AP) - After a successful sweep of the league-leading Boston Celtics, the Washington Wizards are starting to think big even without a healthy Gilbert Arenas.

Caron Butler scored 21 and Washington beat Boston 88-83 on Monday night for the Wizards' second victory over the Celtics in three days.

"Our eyes are on winning a championship," Butler said. "Hopefully we get Gilbert back by March and when he comes back we will be even more dangerous."

Antawn Jamison added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Wizards, who handed Boston its first two-game losing streak of the season.

Butler scored nine points during a 25-6 run over the final 6:24 of the fourth quarter to give the Wizards their fifth win in the last six games overall and against Boston.

"It's tough to lose at home," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "We let our guard down and had a chance to keep them down."

Boston also lost consecutive games at home for the first time all season and dropped to 30-6. The Celtics are 2-3 over their last five and have averaged 85 points a game over that span.

"As much as we preach defense, offensively I think we've hit a little snag," Celtics guard Ray Allen said.

Eddie House scored his only five points of the game to give the Celtics their largest lead at 77-63 with 6:24 remaining before the Wizards rallied.

Trailing by 14, the Wizards went on an improbable 19-4 run to take an 82-81 lead with 40.1 seconds remaining capped off by a Butler lay in and foul shot after being fouled by Kendrick Perkins.

On the ensuing possession, Kevin Garnett failed on a 3-pointer, but Paul Pierce was fouled on the rebound and sank both free throws to regain the lead for Boston at 83-82. Butler then responded with a high-arcing lay-up as he beat Pierce off the dribble with 19.6 seconds remaining.

Garnett failed on another chance to regain the lead for Boston when his turnaround jumper clanked off the back rim. Butler got the rebound and hit a pair of free throws for an 86-83 lead with 8.3 seconds remaining. After calling a 20-second timeout, the Celtics inbounded to Allen whose 3-pointer fell way short before DeShawn Stevenson clinched the game with two free throws.

"We always seem to come back strong when our backs are against the wall. We did it Saturday night and we did it tonight in a tough road game," Jamison said. "To beat these guys in back-to-back games considering how they've been playing is something special."

Washington shot a combined 37 percent in its two victories, but shut down the struggling Celtics offense. Brendan Haywood scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds and was very effective against Garnett.

Garnett led the Celtics with 23 points while Pierce added 18.

"We didn't stop playing, we just didn't hit our shots," Garnett said. "We need to fix things before Portland."

The Celtics struggled to a 37-35 halftime lead while shooting 43 percent. Stevenson led Washington with 11 while shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, despite the Wizards shooting 35 percent overall.

Point guards Rajon Rondo and House combined to score nine points while shooting a combined 4-for-15 for Boston.

OTHER GAMES PLAYED THAT NIGHT:

Denver 116 - Marcus Camby 20 points (7-14 FG), 23 rebs, 6 asts, 6 BS

Charlotte 119 - Gerald Wallace 40 points (13-24 FG), 8 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls, 2 BS


Portland 99 - LaMarcus Aldridge 20 points (9-18 FG), 7 rebs, 3 asts
New Jersey 73 - Malik Allen 17 points (8-14 FG), 8 rebs

Philadelphia 82 - W. Green 21 points (8-12 FG), 4 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl
San Antonio 89 - Tim Duncan 18 points (8-14 FG), 16 rebs, 6 asts, 2 BS

Milwaukee 87 - Andrew Bogut 23 points (9-12 FG), 10 rebs, 3 asts, 1 BS
Utah 98 - Deron Williams 33 points (8-14 FG), 5 rebs, 10 asts, 4 stls

LA Lakers 123 - Kobe Bryant 48 points (21-44 FG), 2 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl
Seattle 121 - Nick Collison 24 points (10-16 FG), 18 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 BS

Dallas 120 - Devin Harris 25 points (8-10 FG), 1 reb, 9 asts
Sacramento 122 - Kevin Martin 39 points (14-16 FG), 3 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl



For more NBA News and actions, go to: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba

Top 3 - Week 1

This is another "first" in my blog.
Every week, we'll look at the Top 3 things to watch around the NBA.
May it be a game, or just another "thing", I'm gonna provide you some of the highlights of the week.



THE TOP 3:















1) Portland vs Boston -
This bout is a must-see between two of the hottest teams in the league. The Boston have been in a recent slump, and it might not be the right time on Wednesday (Thursday in the Philippines), as they fight a young Blazers team who have won 17 of their last 19 games.

2) Lakers vs Suns -
With Bynum out at least two months, Mike D' Antoni might be happy, but that's not the case.
Because the Lakers' bench are averaging 40.5 against them, and that might be the factor again.

3) Cleveland vs San Antonio -
A matchup between last year's NBA Finals, where the Spurs swept the Cavs 4-0. The Cavs are a little bit of disappointing now, but they fare well against them. So let's see on Wednesday.

Power Rankings - Week 1

It's been a while since I blogged.
I've been busy.
But since then, I'm back as a Top Contributor in Yahoo! Answers, Basketball Section.
And now, every week I'll be posting this new section called, NBA Power Rankings.
I'll also be giving updates, rumors , and schedules, and even breakdowns as to where the teams are right now.

"Climbing and Crumbling into the Rankings"

The Lakers are doing a good job of getting up again, and again in the rankings, but with Bynum out, will there be happening another let-down?

Hero Team of the Week: Los Angeles Lakers (6 straight wins)
Zero Team of the Week: Miami Heat (10 straight losses)

High Jumps of the Week: +7 Mavericks, +7 Bobcats,
Free Falls of the Week: -3 Pistons, -3 Miami,

1) Dallas Mavericks - Nowitzki is back into his strength again, as a shooter and not a passer, and the MAvs are back into their winning ways again, winners of 7 straight.

2) Boston Celtics - losing 2 out of three against teams that were incapable of beating .500 teams is a very bad sign.


3) Los Angeles Lakers - the Lakers are on a 6-game winning streak and trying to go for 7, the last time they did that? they went to the Finals. With Bynum out for at least a week or two, will the Lakers continue to surge up the top spot? Besides, they're just a half game away.


4) San Antonio Spurs - the Big Three is getting into the groove, let's welcome them back.


5) Detroit Pistons - the Pistons suffered an embarrassing loss against the Knicks, nothing could have been worst than that.

6) New Orleans Hornets - Winners of 10 of their last 12 games, the Hornets have been firing on all cylinders so far.
But the bench might not be.


7) Phoenix Suns - With Nash and Marion back, the Phoenix won again, but they had let the Bucks hang on for such a long time.


8) Portland Trailblazers - The youngest team in the NBA have just had their 2nd loss in 19 games. Now, that's a pretty good record, but a heartbreaking loss at Toronto proved to be the toughest point.

9) Denver Nuggets - The question still remains as whether the Nuggets can really put up a great team, and that still bothers A.I.

10) Washington Wizards - A win over Boston is a very good sign, but it's just one win, so just focus.

11) Golden State Warriors - An impressive win over the past few weeks, including the win over Memphis, where Baron Davis handed out 19 assists, but still, the inconsistency is there.

12) Orlando Magic - After winning 16 of their 21 road games, the Magic had dropped their last three. And that isn't a good sign.

13) Toronto Raptors - A win over the Blazers might be enough for these Raptors ballclub to come alive again.

14) New Jersey Nets - New Jersey must learn how to keep big leads, especially the one they had at home over Boston.

15) Cleveland Cavaliers - Lebron James is capable of scoring points, but can his teammates?

16) Utah Jazz - Since that trade involving sharpshooter Kyle Korver, the Utah Jazz had now won three straight.

17) Houston Rockets - 7-3 without McGrady isn't bad, losing at home is.

18) Charlotte Bobcats - Very impressive performances against Boston and Detroit, but they need to learn how to close out games.

19) Atlanta Hawks - The Atlanta Hawks are doing fine this season... Ok. Maybe I was going too far, they have been better than last year.

20) Chicago Bulls - Since Boylan took over, the Bulls remained as an incomplete team. Adding to that is the benching of Joakim Noah.

21) Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks' have been sometimes great, and sometimes bad. Inconsistency is still the main factor.

22) Indiana Pacers - The Pacers have lost 11 of their last 13 games. There's no excuse Jermaine.

23) Sacramento Kings - With Bibby returning this month, expect the Kings to get a boost from their offense.

24) Philadelphia 76ers - After seeing them play, the Sixers are off to another run: The Run for the Top Pick in 2008.

25) Memphis Grizzlies - Marc Lavaroni mentioned how "Under their control or not under their control, they've proven to be real fighters", but that ends there.

26) New York Knicks - Who would have thought that the Knicks team with Isaiah Thomas as coach would beat the Detroit? Or maybe Detroit just beat themselves...

27) LA Clippers - This team had been hanging on against pretty good teams, the problem is they always lose.

28) Seattle Supersonics - Losers of 6 of 7, nothing could get more worst than losing your superstar by an injury.

29) Minnesota Timberwolves - They beat Miami.

30) Miami Heat - They beat no one.