Records as of Nov. 11, 2012
1. San Antonio Spurs (6-1) – Best record in the NBA earns the top spot in our first week of Power Rankings. But they’ve got five straight tough ones starting Tuesday on the road against the Lakers and ending on the road in Boston next Wednesday.
2. Miami Heat (5-2) – It looks like Ray Allen is fitting in just fine with the Heat. Sure, he’s still coming off the bench, averaging just 8.3 shots per game, and earning less money… WHY, Ray?! WHY!
3. Oklahoma City (5-2) – No big wins yet, but they’re “rolling” (thunder) over the bad ones. Do they miss James Harden? Maybe. But Kevin Martin is making it easier to forget him.
4. Memphis Grizzlies (5-1) – This team is tough as nails. They just manhandled the Heat over the weekend, too. Do they have enough power (joules per second) to top OKC Wednesday?
5. Los Angeles Clippers (5-2) – Big wins over the Spurs and Grizzlies (ranked ahead of them, I know). If Chris Paul and Blake Griffin didn’t whine so much maybe they’d crack the Top 5.
6. New York Knicks (4-0) – The Knicks are ranked 2nd in the NBA in points scored (104.5) and 1st in the NBA in points allowed (87.5). Here comes Amar’e Stoudemire to ruin it for everybody!
7. Denver Nuggets (4-3) – Kenneth Faried, also known as the “Manimal”, just won Player of the Week in the Western Conference. What you may not know is that he eats rebounds for breakfast.
8. Philadelphia 76ers (4-2) – Evan Turner and Jrue Holliday worked the Celtics last Friday. They’re young, they’re athletic, and they can play. It’s too bad they’ll never play with Andrew Bynum.
9. Dallas Mavericks (4-3) – I want to be careful with what I say here because Mark Cuban is an internet genius and my goal is to someday be on Shark Tank. They’re hanging around until Dirk Nowitzki comes back.
10. Minnesota Timberwolves (4-2) – They’re competing without Kevin Love, so hats off to them. Brandon Roy is already experiencing knee pain, which is odd because I thought he didn’t have knees anymore.
11. Chicago Bulls (4-2) – Derrick Rose is down for a while. Backup guard Kirk Hinrich also looks to be a bit banged up. The Nate Robinson era has begun in Chicago!
12. Brooklyn Nets (3-2) – Cool jerseys. Hip arena. But still waiting on Deron Williams to crack 20 points. And just because Kris Humphries married Kim Kardashian for a week doesn’t make it right to boo him. Wait, yes it does.
13. New Orleans Hornets (3-2) – Anthony Davis looks like the real deal. As a bonus, he actually seems to like being in New Orleans. That’s more than we can say about Eric Gordon.
14. Boston Celtics (3-3) – I fully expect them to climb up these rankings, but two wins over the winless Wizards and one over the Bucks certainly doesn’t scream “Power!”.
15. Milwaukee Bucks (3-2) – I’ll admit it: I never thought Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis could coexist, but they look decent together. Then again, it’s only been five games… give it some time.
16. Los Angeles Lakers (3-4) – So the Lakers have decided on Mike D’Antoni. Or should be say Mike “Antoni”. Get it? No D. Is this thing on?…
17. Atlanta Hawks (2-3) – The Hawks are strange. They’ve got talent, but either never had enough of it or never put it all together at another level. Either way, they’re just there.
18. Houston Rockets (3-3) – James Harden and Jeremy Lin make the Rockets watchable, but they just aren’t deep enough to beat any good teams.
19. Indiana Pacers (3-4) – The Pacers were healthy last season, but not this time. Danny Granger (knee) is gone for up to three months, which only means one thing: Gerald Green!
20. Orlando Magic (2-4) – Glen Davis is starting for Orlando and averaging 16.3 points and 7.8 rebounds. He probably has no idea what their record is. In other former C’s news, E’Twaun Moore is proving he belongs in the NBA.
21. Portland Trailblazers (2-4) – The Trailblazers are giving up over 104 points per game. That begs the question: How soon before Sasha Pavlovic is handed the keys to the team?
22. Golden State Warriors (3-4) – Seven games into the season and no major injuries to report? Oh, Andrew Bogut is missing time with an ankle injury. Knew it was too good to be true.
23. Utah Jazz (3-4) – The Jazz are more so the team that lost to the Nuggets by 20 than the one that beat the Lakers by 9. They’re in town tomorrow to play the C’s.
24. Phoenix Suns (3-4) – Their three wins have come against the Pistons, Bobcats, and Cavaliers. Congrats?
25. Cleveland Cavaliers (2-5) – Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters are going to be fun to watch together for years to come… or until they take their talents elsewhere.
26. Sacramento Kings (2-5) – The Kings have a slew of talented guards, but somehow rank last in assists. That’s the sign of a young – and also bad – team.
27. Charlotte Bobcats (2-3) – If the Bobcats win a home game, and nobody is there to see it, does it make a sound? The Bobcats may have already peaked in the power rankings, but we’ll give them credit for beating Dallas.
28. Washington Wizards (0-5) – The Wizards, although having not won a game yet, earn a spot ahead of Toronto for giving the Celtics a run for their money twice. They’re doing it without John Wall and Nene.
29. Toronto Raptors (1-5) – Our good friends north of the border look to be better than one win every six games, but they’ll need Kyle Lowrie (ankle) back for any chance at that.
30. Detroit Pistons (0-7) – The good news for the Pistons is that they got their brutal West Coast road trip over with early in the season. The bad news? They lost all six of those games. The NHL lockout can’t end soon enough.
