Viva Las Espuelas
03-06-2006, 03:52 PM
Power Rankings: Mavs take steep three-spot slide; Spurs, Suns rise
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Harsh but fair.
NFL
That's the best way to describe developments at the top of ESPN.com's NBA Power Rankings, where the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns have moved into the top two spots after both toppled the No. 1-ranked Dallas Mavericks.
First came a Thursday reminder from the Spurs that, even though Dallas is younger and more athletic, veteran cool and smarts in a playoff-type atmosphere is a huge difference-maker. Then Sunday, with the Mavericks still recovering from their 98-89 defeat in San Antonio, Dallas' defense failed again in the fourth quarter to absorb a 115-107 setback to the hottest team in the league, extending the Suns' win streak to a league-best 10 games.
With the mighty Detroit Pistons also losing two games last week, San Antonio seized the No. 1 spot for the third time this season and Phoenix -- still without the injured Amare Stoudemire -- climbed to a season-best No. 2. Now to see if the Spurs (at the Los Angeles Lakers) and Suns (at New Orleans/Oklahoma City) can survive road games Monday that tend to be tricky after a headline-grabbing promotion in the rankings.
Read on to see where your team ranks, and click here to send me feedback. You can also click here for my latest around-the-league weekend edition of the Daily Dime.
# SportsNation: Rank them yourself!
Team Archives:
2005-06 Power Rankings: Week 18
RANK (LAST WK) TEAM REC. COMMENT
1 (3) Spurs 46-12 For all its big-game experience, Spurs still will get a confidence boost from beating Dallas -- and denting Mavs' confidence -- after losing two 'big' games to Pistons.
2 (4) Suns 41-17 I had the wrong Frenchman at Most Improved Player in my Weekend Dime. It should be Diaw, now a nightly triple-double threat at center, over Parker.
3 (2) Pistons 48-11 A 22-1 finish gets 'em to 70 wins, but weary Pistons would settle for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs (at any number) and some rest for the starters.
4 (1) Mavericks 46-13 Mavs were due for a couple Ls. The greater disappointment is that now, no matter what happened before SA and PHX, they'll be subjected to all the old criticisms.
5 (5) Heat 38-20 Can't overhype this win streak with Heat fed seven straight cupcakes after the Detroit breakthrough. But we don't want to be too downbeat on Shaq's 34th birthday.
6 (8) Pacers 30-26 Pacers are 9-5 with Peja, who's averaging 19.6 ppg as a Pacer. So they're not complaining that Artest-for-Maggette fell through, even with Maggette playing again.
7 (7) Nuggets 32-28 With a seven-game trip looming, Nuggets appear to be at their up-and-down best, following up a home spanking from Bucks by punishing Pistons.
8 (6) Nets 32-26 It might have been a bit premature to suggest in the Midweek Dime that Nets had cemented their top-six standing. They haven't, even with Kidd playing great.
9 (9) Clippers 33-25 A 3-7 slump should be alarming, especially after Clips trade for Radmanovic and regain Maggette, but let's be honest. Finishing sixth in the West is better anyway.
10 (13) Grizzlies 33-26 After dropping 13 of 18 in one stretch, worst appears to be over for Grizz. At least Jerry West thinks so, because The Logo apparently has guaranteed a playoff berth.
11 (11) Cavaliers 34-26 Yes, Cleveland. Looks like I was way out of line in recent weeks to suggest that your Cavs were possibly ripe for a third successive second-half slide. I take it all back.
13 (10) Hornets 31-27 Hornets are torn about Wednesday's emotional return to New Orleans because it takes a big away game away from their proven home-court advantage in OKC.
13 (15) 76ers 30-29 Like a lot of you, I'm saddened that Team USA didn't bring back its greatest patriot. But the snub is helping Sixers, with Iverson pouring it on in this 5-2 uptick.
14 (16) Lakers 31-29 Even after beating Pistons, Lakers have to be careful. They were also 31-29 last season after a big win over Dallas . . . and won three more games all season.
15 (12) Wizards 30-28 Here's a rare Wiz stat that doesn't involve Gilbert Arenas: Washington's recent nine-game home winning streak was its longest since a 15-gamer in (yikes) 1989.
16 (17) Kings 28-31 They're only 11-7 since Artest arrived, but Kings seem hotter than that given the pressure they're putting on Lakers at the bottom of the West playoff ladder.
17 (14) Rockets 27-33 Yao just strung together double-doubles in six consecutive games for the first time in his career . . . but T-Mac just tweaked his back for the third time this season.
18 (22) Timberwolves 26-32 I thought Wolves would be better than 7-11 with Ricky. Of course, I never thought I'd see the day that KG, at 29, misses the playoffs two seasons in a row.
19 (18) Bucks 29-30 As if a dwindling lead over No. 9 Bulls and a home loss to Knicks aren't enough, there's this for sub-.500 Bucks: Magloire just took a swipe at Stotts' rotation.
20 (20) Bulls 26-33 A playoff berth remains a maybe at best, even with Hinrich and Gordon scoring freely these days, but Bulls can bank on a thank-you note from Phoenix for T. Thomas.
21 (19) Jazz 28-31 I just don't know if this Jazz ever will be healthy enough to make a lasting playoff push. What I do know is that Kirilenko is the talk of the league.
22 (23) Raptors 21-38 After six straight excruciating defeats -- three in OT -- Raps cap a big week in franchise history by adding a W over Boston to success in the Colangelo tug-of-war.
23 (24) Hawks 19-39 Blowing that lead in Miami was a downer, but Hawks can comfort themselves with thoughts of a 6-6 February . . . and wins over Pistons, Nets, Lakers and Pacers.
24 (21) Celtics 24-35 Something else that's not Pierce's fault? Celts are still the only team in the league without a single three-game win streak this season.
25 (26) SuperSonics 23-37 Says Rashard: Schultz's reluctance to spend money and the franchise's uncertain future in town have, according to Lewis, put 'that Seattle rain' over Sonics' heads.
26 (25) Warriors 25-34 Anyone remember that 12-6 start? Warriors are 13-27 since, which is why Monty's name is bound to start coming up for college openings.
27 (27) Magic 20-39 Bleak as day-to-day life must be for a team that has dropped 17 of 19, Magic can honestly say that Dwight and Darko look better than OK together.
28 (28) Trail Blazers 19-40 With his last 11 losses coming by an average of 19.5 points, only solace for McMillan is that Blazers are only 3 1/2 games shy of Pacific Northwest bragging rights.
29 (29) Knicks 16-43 They have a 3-22 record since Larry's 1,000th victory, but don't fret. Dolan said -- 30-something times in one sitting -- that Knicks also do have a ''strategy.''
30 (30) Bobcats 16-44 Bobcats have racked up so many injuries and losses lately that no one even asks any more if Okafor (ankle) plans to come back for a few games.
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Harsh but fair.
NFL
That's the best way to describe developments at the top of ESPN.com's NBA Power Rankings, where the San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns have moved into the top two spots after both toppled the No. 1-ranked Dallas Mavericks.
First came a Thursday reminder from the Spurs that, even though Dallas is younger and more athletic, veteran cool and smarts in a playoff-type atmosphere is a huge difference-maker. Then Sunday, with the Mavericks still recovering from their 98-89 defeat in San Antonio, Dallas' defense failed again in the fourth quarter to absorb a 115-107 setback to the hottest team in the league, extending the Suns' win streak to a league-best 10 games.
With the mighty Detroit Pistons also losing two games last week, San Antonio seized the No. 1 spot for the third time this season and Phoenix -- still without the injured Amare Stoudemire -- climbed to a season-best No. 2. Now to see if the Spurs (at the Los Angeles Lakers) and Suns (at New Orleans/Oklahoma City) can survive road games Monday that tend to be tricky after a headline-grabbing promotion in the rankings.
Read on to see where your team ranks, and click here to send me feedback. You can also click here for my latest around-the-league weekend edition of the Daily Dime.
# SportsNation: Rank them yourself!
Team Archives:
2005-06 Power Rankings: Week 18
RANK (LAST WK) TEAM REC. COMMENT
1 (3) Spurs 46-12 For all its big-game experience, Spurs still will get a confidence boost from beating Dallas -- and denting Mavs' confidence -- after losing two 'big' games to Pistons.
2 (4) Suns 41-17 I had the wrong Frenchman at Most Improved Player in my Weekend Dime. It should be Diaw, now a nightly triple-double threat at center, over Parker.
3 (2) Pistons 48-11 A 22-1 finish gets 'em to 70 wins, but weary Pistons would settle for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs (at any number) and some rest for the starters.
4 (1) Mavericks 46-13 Mavs were due for a couple Ls. The greater disappointment is that now, no matter what happened before SA and PHX, they'll be subjected to all the old criticisms.
5 (5) Heat 38-20 Can't overhype this win streak with Heat fed seven straight cupcakes after the Detroit breakthrough. But we don't want to be too downbeat on Shaq's 34th birthday.
6 (8) Pacers 30-26 Pacers are 9-5 with Peja, who's averaging 19.6 ppg as a Pacer. So they're not complaining that Artest-for-Maggette fell through, even with Maggette playing again.
7 (7) Nuggets 32-28 With a seven-game trip looming, Nuggets appear to be at their up-and-down best, following up a home spanking from Bucks by punishing Pistons.
8 (6) Nets 32-26 It might have been a bit premature to suggest in the Midweek Dime that Nets had cemented their top-six standing. They haven't, even with Kidd playing great.
9 (9) Clippers 33-25 A 3-7 slump should be alarming, especially after Clips trade for Radmanovic and regain Maggette, but let's be honest. Finishing sixth in the West is better anyway.
10 (13) Grizzlies 33-26 After dropping 13 of 18 in one stretch, worst appears to be over for Grizz. At least Jerry West thinks so, because The Logo apparently has guaranteed a playoff berth.
11 (11) Cavaliers 34-26 Yes, Cleveland. Looks like I was way out of line in recent weeks to suggest that your Cavs were possibly ripe for a third successive second-half slide. I take it all back.
13 (10) Hornets 31-27 Hornets are torn about Wednesday's emotional return to New Orleans because it takes a big away game away from their proven home-court advantage in OKC.
13 (15) 76ers 30-29 Like a lot of you, I'm saddened that Team USA didn't bring back its greatest patriot. But the snub is helping Sixers, with Iverson pouring it on in this 5-2 uptick.
14 (16) Lakers 31-29 Even after beating Pistons, Lakers have to be careful. They were also 31-29 last season after a big win over Dallas . . . and won three more games all season.
15 (12) Wizards 30-28 Here's a rare Wiz stat that doesn't involve Gilbert Arenas: Washington's recent nine-game home winning streak was its longest since a 15-gamer in (yikes) 1989.
16 (17) Kings 28-31 They're only 11-7 since Artest arrived, but Kings seem hotter than that given the pressure they're putting on Lakers at the bottom of the West playoff ladder.
17 (14) Rockets 27-33 Yao just strung together double-doubles in six consecutive games for the first time in his career . . . but T-Mac just tweaked his back for the third time this season.
18 (22) Timberwolves 26-32 I thought Wolves would be better than 7-11 with Ricky. Of course, I never thought I'd see the day that KG, at 29, misses the playoffs two seasons in a row.
19 (18) Bucks 29-30 As if a dwindling lead over No. 9 Bulls and a home loss to Knicks aren't enough, there's this for sub-.500 Bucks: Magloire just took a swipe at Stotts' rotation.
20 (20) Bulls 26-33 A playoff berth remains a maybe at best, even with Hinrich and Gordon scoring freely these days, but Bulls can bank on a thank-you note from Phoenix for T. Thomas.
21 (19) Jazz 28-31 I just don't know if this Jazz ever will be healthy enough to make a lasting playoff push. What I do know is that Kirilenko is the talk of the league.
22 (23) Raptors 21-38 After six straight excruciating defeats -- three in OT -- Raps cap a big week in franchise history by adding a W over Boston to success in the Colangelo tug-of-war.
23 (24) Hawks 19-39 Blowing that lead in Miami was a downer, but Hawks can comfort themselves with thoughts of a 6-6 February . . . and wins over Pistons, Nets, Lakers and Pacers.
24 (21) Celtics 24-35 Something else that's not Pierce's fault? Celts are still the only team in the league without a single three-game win streak this season.
25 (26) SuperSonics 23-37 Says Rashard: Schultz's reluctance to spend money and the franchise's uncertain future in town have, according to Lewis, put 'that Seattle rain' over Sonics' heads.
26 (25) Warriors 25-34 Anyone remember that 12-6 start? Warriors are 13-27 since, which is why Monty's name is bound to start coming up for college openings.
27 (27) Magic 20-39 Bleak as day-to-day life must be for a team that has dropped 17 of 19, Magic can honestly say that Dwight and Darko look better than OK together.
28 (28) Trail Blazers 19-40 With his last 11 losses coming by an average of 19.5 points, only solace for McMillan is that Blazers are only 3 1/2 games shy of Pacific Northwest bragging rights.
29 (29) Knicks 16-43 They have a 3-22 record since Larry's 1,000th victory, but don't fret. Dolan said -- 30-something times in one sitting -- that Knicks also do have a ''strategy.''
30 (30) Bobcats 16-44 Bobcats have racked up so many injuries and losses lately that no one even asks any more if Okafor (ankle) plans to come back for a few games.