Darth_Pelican
11-29-2010, 03:27 PM
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Monday, Nov. 29
Two longtime Texas rivals, maybe harder than ever to separate, have taken over the upper crust of ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings.
The San Antonio Spurs couldn't avoid a loss at home Friday night to their old friends from Dallas, but the Spurs' hugely impressive wins to start and end the week -- over Orlando at home and Sunday's comeback in New Orleans to deal the Hornets their first home loss -- narrowly placed Team (CQ) Duncan ahead of the resurgent Mavs.
Dallas made its own strong claim for the top spot, sweeping four games in five nights for just the third time in the franchise's 108 attempts, highlighted by road wins in Oklahoma City and San Antonio before inflicting a defeat on Miami on Saturday that sent the Heat straight into a players-only meeting for more than 40 minutes. The streakbusting Mavs, after knocking New Orleans from the ranks of the unbeaten of Nov. 15, halted the Spurs' run of 12 consecutive victories and also rank as the only team this season to win in Denver.
Other notable movers this week -- and there were several -- include the rising Utah Jazz (No. 9 to No. 6), Indiana Pacers (No. 20 to No. 11) and New York Knicks (No. 21 to No. 16) … as well as the falling Hornets (No. 1 to No. 7), Los Angeles Lakers (No. 3 to No. 5) and tension-ridden Heat (No. 10 to No. 13).
Click here (http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/rank?versionId=8&listId=738) to rank the teams yourself or click here (http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/5862244) to comment on this week's fully non-automated pulse check of the league's 30 teams.
Also, check out John Hollinger's daily Power Rankings (http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings).
1 (2) Spurs (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/sa/san-antonio-spurs) 14-2 Stealing this edgy-but-effective comment concept from friend o' the committee Jemele Hill: How many Hollywood actresses does Tony Parker have to split up with to get the new high-octane Spurs some media spotlight?
2 (6) Mavericks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/dal/dallas-mavericks) 12-4 Historic week in Big D: Mavs sweep four games in five nights for just the third time in team history ... and The Sports Guy launches a passionate Dirk4MVP campaign on his podcast that sees us trying to calm him down.
3 (4) Celtics (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/bos/boston-celtics) 12-4 Delonte's injury is an undeniable blow, but Rondo's return puts our focus back on dimeage, with RR (14.2 apg) attempting to join John Stockton as the only other player in history to average 14 dimes for an entire season.
4 (5) Magic (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/orl/orlando-magic) 12-4 Time to start considering the possibility that those offseason tutorials from Hakeem Olajuwon did make some impact? Dwight has scored at least 20 points in six straight games, two games shy of his best-ever scoring run.
5 (3) Lakers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/lal/los-angeles-lakers) 13-4 Wondering why the Lakers can't crack the top two? Must have escaped you that the champs are in the midst of their second losing streak and have feasted on teams with a combined record of 83-131 in their 13 wins.
6 (9) Jazz (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/utah/utah-jazz) 13-5 Make that eight winning comebacks already this season after facing a double-digit deficit before Sunday's rally vs. the Clippers ... although the repeated need for comebacks still strikes us as equal parts worrisome and awesome.
7 (1) Hornets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/no/new-orleans-hornets) 12-4 Apologies to the Hornets, who are suddenly 4-4 since that 8-0 start and bookended the week with a loss to the Clips and a fall-from-ahead L to the Spurs for their first home defeat. Looks like the rankings' jinx still has some juice.
8 (7) Bulls (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bulls) 9-6 Not much more you have to say beyond running the final tab on the havoc D-Rose wreaked on the first winning Circus Trip (4-3) since MJ's last season running with the Bulls in 1997-98: 30.5 ppg, 6.5 apg and 5.7 rpg.
9 (8) Thunder (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder) 11-6 We're down to two players averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists: LeBron and Westbrook. Which means Durant, amazingly, wouldn't even be voted the first-month MVP on his own team. Right?
10 (12) Nuggets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/den/denver-nuggets) 10-6 Four straight wins. Four more to 1,000 lifetime for George Karl. A buzzer-beating dagger against Chicago -- and an attempt to play through illness -- from the allegedly detached Melo. Life's as tranquil as it ever gets in Denver.
11 (20) Pacers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/ind/indiana-pacers) 8-7 Road wins over the Heat and Lakers? Sandwiched around a gut-wrenching OT loss to OKC? Throw in the recent narrow L to Orlando and you get one the finest 3-2 stretches in the nine-season existence of this committee.
12 (11) Trail Blazers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/por/portland-trail-blazers) 8-8 Not the best start to Portland's four-game swing through the East: Nate McMillan announces that B-Roy is restricted to 30-to-35 mpg ... and a players-only meeting ensues after losing in New Jersey on the first stop.
13 (10) Heat (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mia/miami-heat) 9-8 The number of Cavs questions lobbed at LeBron this week in advance of his first game back in Cleveland just got slashed. A 9-8 start, rumblings of player dismay with Spoelstra and Bumpgate surely took care of that.
14 (13) Suns (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/phx/phoenix-suns) 8-9 You don't have to have your own rankings formula like Professor Hollinger to know that allowing 138 points to the Nuggets -- when Melo plays only two minutes -- sounds about as good to Alvin Gentry as trading Nash.
15 (14) Hawks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-hawks) 11-7We indefinitely suspend all "Highlight Factory" references. The Hawks boast all of two wins over teams with records of .500 or better (New York and Indy) and have five losses at home after seven all of last season.
16 (21) Knicks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/ny/new-york-knicks) 9-9 The Knicks' victims in this 6-1 run indeed have a combined record of just 44-75. But five of those wins came on the road ... and Landry Fields is one of only four rookies scoring in double figures. Let Spike Lee enjoy the moment.
17 (15) Grizzlies (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mem/memphis-grizzlies) 7-10 You can safely assume Mayo isn't thrilled with new sixth-man role, just as you can safely assume that the new job description will only increase outside trade interest in him. The Grizz, though, are 3-1 since the switch.
18 (16) Bucks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mil/milwaukee-bucks) 6-10 Probably not hugely surprising given the Bucks' standing as the NBA's least efficient team offensively, but they've lost all three games decided by three points or less. (Miami and Philly are also 0-3 in one-possession games.)
19 (24) Cavaliers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/cle/cleveland-cavaliers) 7-9 Think back to July -- or even October -- and tell me you would have dared to predict that the jilted Cavs would be starting the week of LeBron's return to the Q with the East's eighth seed and only two Ws fewer than Miami?
20 (23) Rockets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/hou/houston-rockets) 5-11 Durant's buzzer miss Sunday might have been Houston's first fortuitous bounce of the season. The Yao-less/Aaron Brooks-less Rockets took a perfectly blemished record of 0-7 into that game when held under 100 points.
21 (19) Warriors (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/gs/golden-state-warriors) 8-9 Surprising: Golden State is a heady 7-1 with D-Lee in uniform (1-8 without him). Stunning: Heat castoff Dorell Wright is tied with Jason Richardson for the league lead in most games with at least six 3-pointers (three).
22 (17) Bobcats (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/cha/charlotte-bobcats) 6-11 The next team they beat with a record of .500 or better will be the first. The Bobs are 0-8 against that group -- including last week's consecutive momentum-crushing losses to the Knicks -- and 6-3 against sub-.500 teams.
23 (18) Raptors (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/tor/toronto-raptors) 6-11 Losing the Rodmanesque rebounding of Reggie Evans also robs the Raps of their biggest post-Bosh personality ... but we'll get by on more of the brief flurries of 3s (and resultant ovations) Peja has delivered so far.
24 (26) Nets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/nj/new-jersey-nets) 6-11 If the rumors are true about Kris "Career Year" Humphries and Kim Kardashian, maybe Prokhorov wins that ring sooner than anyone thinks. As the Saints (Kim and Reggie Bush) and Lakers (Khloe and Lamar) could tell you.
25 (22) Pistons (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/det/detroit-pistons) 6-11 No matter what you think of what's left of his own game at this point, T-Mac's views on the "terrible" compatability of the LeBron/D-Wade tag team in Miami are relevant, candid and irresistible comment fodder.
26 (27) 76ers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/phi/philadelphia-76ers) 4-13 Funny thing about Philly: The same team beaten twice in overtime by the Wiz has cruised by double-digits in all four of its rare victories. Must be why Hollinger's rankings treat the Jrue Holiday Sixers kinder than we do.
27 (29) Wizards (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/wsh/washington-wizards) 5-10 J-Wall is averaging 18.0 points, 9.1 assists and 2.6 steals ... numbers no rook has managed for an entire season. What we didn't expect: Wall missing five of his first 15 games while his ROY co-favorite in L.A. has missed none.
28 (30) Clippers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/lac/los-angeles-clippers) 3-15 When Vinny Del Negro said he didn't regret taking the Clippers' job after a 1-13 start, it didn't take too many guesses to pinpoint why: If you have to leave Derrick Rose's side, Blake Griffin ain't a bad rebound rook.
29 (28) Timberwolves (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/min/minnesota-timberwolves) 4-13 The committee (of one) gets its first live look later this week at 'Sota's eclectic front-line triumvirate of K-Love, Beasley and Darko. We're probably more excited than we should be saying out loud but Ã& oops. Too late.
30 (25) Kings (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/sac/sacramento-kings) 4-11 Cousins, like the Knicks' Fields, is also on the four-man short list of rookies scoring in double figures along with Griffin and Wall. The defenseless Kings, though, can't enjoy it amid all the losing and Tyreke's soph slump.
ESPN.com
Monday, Nov. 29
Two longtime Texas rivals, maybe harder than ever to separate, have taken over the upper crust of ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings.
The San Antonio Spurs couldn't avoid a loss at home Friday night to their old friends from Dallas, but the Spurs' hugely impressive wins to start and end the week -- over Orlando at home and Sunday's comeback in New Orleans to deal the Hornets their first home loss -- narrowly placed Team (CQ) Duncan ahead of the resurgent Mavs.
Dallas made its own strong claim for the top spot, sweeping four games in five nights for just the third time in the franchise's 108 attempts, highlighted by road wins in Oklahoma City and San Antonio before inflicting a defeat on Miami on Saturday that sent the Heat straight into a players-only meeting for more than 40 minutes. The streakbusting Mavs, after knocking New Orleans from the ranks of the unbeaten of Nov. 15, halted the Spurs' run of 12 consecutive victories and also rank as the only team this season to win in Denver.
Other notable movers this week -- and there were several -- include the rising Utah Jazz (No. 9 to No. 6), Indiana Pacers (No. 20 to No. 11) and New York Knicks (No. 21 to No. 16) … as well as the falling Hornets (No. 1 to No. 7), Los Angeles Lakers (No. 3 to No. 5) and tension-ridden Heat (No. 10 to No. 13).
Click here (http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/rank?versionId=8&listId=738) to rank the teams yourself or click here (http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/5862244) to comment on this week's fully non-automated pulse check of the league's 30 teams.
Also, check out John Hollinger's daily Power Rankings (http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings).
1 (2) Spurs (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/sa/san-antonio-spurs) 14-2 Stealing this edgy-but-effective comment concept from friend o' the committee Jemele Hill: How many Hollywood actresses does Tony Parker have to split up with to get the new high-octane Spurs some media spotlight?
2 (6) Mavericks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/dal/dallas-mavericks) 12-4 Historic week in Big D: Mavs sweep four games in five nights for just the third time in team history ... and The Sports Guy launches a passionate Dirk4MVP campaign on his podcast that sees us trying to calm him down.
3 (4) Celtics (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/bos/boston-celtics) 12-4 Delonte's injury is an undeniable blow, but Rondo's return puts our focus back on dimeage, with RR (14.2 apg) attempting to join John Stockton as the only other player in history to average 14 dimes for an entire season.
4 (5) Magic (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/orl/orlando-magic) 12-4 Time to start considering the possibility that those offseason tutorials from Hakeem Olajuwon did make some impact? Dwight has scored at least 20 points in six straight games, two games shy of his best-ever scoring run.
5 (3) Lakers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/lal/los-angeles-lakers) 13-4 Wondering why the Lakers can't crack the top two? Must have escaped you that the champs are in the midst of their second losing streak and have feasted on teams with a combined record of 83-131 in their 13 wins.
6 (9) Jazz (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/utah/utah-jazz) 13-5 Make that eight winning comebacks already this season after facing a double-digit deficit before Sunday's rally vs. the Clippers ... although the repeated need for comebacks still strikes us as equal parts worrisome and awesome.
7 (1) Hornets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/no/new-orleans-hornets) 12-4 Apologies to the Hornets, who are suddenly 4-4 since that 8-0 start and bookended the week with a loss to the Clips and a fall-from-ahead L to the Spurs for their first home defeat. Looks like the rankings' jinx still has some juice.
8 (7) Bulls (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bulls) 9-6 Not much more you have to say beyond running the final tab on the havoc D-Rose wreaked on the first winning Circus Trip (4-3) since MJ's last season running with the Bulls in 1997-98: 30.5 ppg, 6.5 apg and 5.7 rpg.
9 (8) Thunder (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder) 11-6 We're down to two players averaging at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists: LeBron and Westbrook. Which means Durant, amazingly, wouldn't even be voted the first-month MVP on his own team. Right?
10 (12) Nuggets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/den/denver-nuggets) 10-6 Four straight wins. Four more to 1,000 lifetime for George Karl. A buzzer-beating dagger against Chicago -- and an attempt to play through illness -- from the allegedly detached Melo. Life's as tranquil as it ever gets in Denver.
11 (20) Pacers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/ind/indiana-pacers) 8-7 Road wins over the Heat and Lakers? Sandwiched around a gut-wrenching OT loss to OKC? Throw in the recent narrow L to Orlando and you get one the finest 3-2 stretches in the nine-season existence of this committee.
12 (11) Trail Blazers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/por/portland-trail-blazers) 8-8 Not the best start to Portland's four-game swing through the East: Nate McMillan announces that B-Roy is restricted to 30-to-35 mpg ... and a players-only meeting ensues after losing in New Jersey on the first stop.
13 (10) Heat (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mia/miami-heat) 9-8 The number of Cavs questions lobbed at LeBron this week in advance of his first game back in Cleveland just got slashed. A 9-8 start, rumblings of player dismay with Spoelstra and Bumpgate surely took care of that.
14 (13) Suns (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/phx/phoenix-suns) 8-9 You don't have to have your own rankings formula like Professor Hollinger to know that allowing 138 points to the Nuggets -- when Melo plays only two minutes -- sounds about as good to Alvin Gentry as trading Nash.
15 (14) Hawks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-hawks) 11-7We indefinitely suspend all "Highlight Factory" references. The Hawks boast all of two wins over teams with records of .500 or better (New York and Indy) and have five losses at home after seven all of last season.
16 (21) Knicks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/ny/new-york-knicks) 9-9 The Knicks' victims in this 6-1 run indeed have a combined record of just 44-75. But five of those wins came on the road ... and Landry Fields is one of only four rookies scoring in double figures. Let Spike Lee enjoy the moment.
17 (15) Grizzlies (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mem/memphis-grizzlies) 7-10 You can safely assume Mayo isn't thrilled with new sixth-man role, just as you can safely assume that the new job description will only increase outside trade interest in him. The Grizz, though, are 3-1 since the switch.
18 (16) Bucks (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/mil/milwaukee-bucks) 6-10 Probably not hugely surprising given the Bucks' standing as the NBA's least efficient team offensively, but they've lost all three games decided by three points or less. (Miami and Philly are also 0-3 in one-possession games.)
19 (24) Cavaliers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/cle/cleveland-cavaliers) 7-9 Think back to July -- or even October -- and tell me you would have dared to predict that the jilted Cavs would be starting the week of LeBron's return to the Q with the East's eighth seed and only two Ws fewer than Miami?
20 (23) Rockets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/hou/houston-rockets) 5-11 Durant's buzzer miss Sunday might have been Houston's first fortuitous bounce of the season. The Yao-less/Aaron Brooks-less Rockets took a perfectly blemished record of 0-7 into that game when held under 100 points.
21 (19) Warriors (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/gs/golden-state-warriors) 8-9 Surprising: Golden State is a heady 7-1 with D-Lee in uniform (1-8 without him). Stunning: Heat castoff Dorell Wright is tied with Jason Richardson for the league lead in most games with at least six 3-pointers (three).
22 (17) Bobcats (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/cha/charlotte-bobcats) 6-11 The next team they beat with a record of .500 or better will be the first. The Bobs are 0-8 against that group -- including last week's consecutive momentum-crushing losses to the Knicks -- and 6-3 against sub-.500 teams.
23 (18) Raptors (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/tor/toronto-raptors) 6-11 Losing the Rodmanesque rebounding of Reggie Evans also robs the Raps of their biggest post-Bosh personality ... but we'll get by on more of the brief flurries of 3s (and resultant ovations) Peja has delivered so far.
24 (26) Nets (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/nj/new-jersey-nets) 6-11 If the rumors are true about Kris "Career Year" Humphries and Kim Kardashian, maybe Prokhorov wins that ring sooner than anyone thinks. As the Saints (Kim and Reggie Bush) and Lakers (Khloe and Lamar) could tell you.
25 (22) Pistons (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/det/detroit-pistons) 6-11 No matter what you think of what's left of his own game at this point, T-Mac's views on the "terrible" compatability of the LeBron/D-Wade tag team in Miami are relevant, candid and irresistible comment fodder.
26 (27) 76ers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/phi/philadelphia-76ers) 4-13 Funny thing about Philly: The same team beaten twice in overtime by the Wiz has cruised by double-digits in all four of its rare victories. Must be why Hollinger's rankings treat the Jrue Holiday Sixers kinder than we do.
27 (29) Wizards (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/wsh/washington-wizards) 5-10 J-Wall is averaging 18.0 points, 9.1 assists and 2.6 steals ... numbers no rook has managed for an entire season. What we didn't expect: Wall missing five of his first 15 games while his ROY co-favorite in L.A. has missed none.
28 (30) Clippers (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/lac/los-angeles-clippers) 3-15 When Vinny Del Negro said he didn't regret taking the Clippers' job after a 1-13 start, it didn't take too many guesses to pinpoint why: If you have to leave Derrick Rose's side, Blake Griffin ain't a bad rebound rook.
29 (28) Timberwolves (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/min/minnesota-timberwolves) 4-13 The committee (of one) gets its first live look later this week at 'Sota's eclectic front-line triumvirate of K-Love, Beasley and Darko. We're probably more excited than we should be saying out loud but Ã& oops. Too late.
30 (25) Kings (http://espn.go.com/nba/team/_/name/sac/sacramento-kings) 4-11 Cousins, like the Knicks' Fields, is also on the four-man short list of rookies scoring in double figures along with Griffin and Wall. The defenseless Kings, though, can't enjoy it amid all the losing and Tyreke's soph slump.