Spurs drop to 4th in latest ESPN.com power rankings

[CubanMustGo]

1. Pistons
2. Mavs
3. Nets
4. Spurs
5. Cavs
6. Suns
7. Heat
8. Nuggs
9. Grizz
10. Clips
11. Kings
12. LAL
13. Whiz
14. Bulls
15. Magic
16. Bux

http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2006&week=23

[1Parker1]

That's understandable. Pistons beat the Heat. Mavs beat the Spurs. Nets beat everyone...:lol

[boutons_]

Losing 2 games @ATT to WC playoff teams last week was a very unpowerful showing.
A big drop in weekly power ranking no surprise.

[CubanMustGo]

Surprised they kept us above the flavor-of-the-week, I mean Cleveland. :lol

[nkdlunch]

that's fair

[SpursWoman]

No surprise ... they did have a less-than-stellar week. :fro

[Vashner]

It's still along the lines he predicted earlier in the year. That spurs would win it all but it would a hard battle.

[Gin N Juice]

No surprise ... they did have a less-than-stellar week. :fro

The woman with the hot bras has a point. :lol

[CubanMustGo]

Stein still likes SA to represent the WC ... even with the recent struggles:

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=11344 (live chat going thru noon)

Ron (McKinney, Texas): So, Marc, I see you have dropped the Spurs to #4. It's obvious to anyone watching the team that, for whatever reason, they're not finishing the season as in years past. The interior defense is poor, the rebounding is poor, the free throw shooting is poor (OK, maybe that's the same). What hope do Spurs fans have that Pop will pull a rabbit out of his hat these last two weeks and make the team resemble last year's finely tuned machine by the time the playoffs roll around?

Marc Stein: (12:05 PM ET) Two things. No. 1: There are no back-to-back games in the playoffs, which has been a major problem. No. 2: Unlike Miami, we know what this group is capable of. The core is title-tested and they've only added to it. That offsets some of the health concerns. Even in this banged-up state, San Antonio is still the favorite to represent the West in the Finals.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

The woman with the hot bras has a point. :lol

:lmao :lmao

[SpursWoman]

The woman with the hot bras has a point. :lol


:lol

[CubanMustGo]

Other Spurs-related tidbits from Stein's talk:

Aaron (Austin): You're going to list 6 coaches before Pop [for coach of the year]? He's only on a 63 win pace with his best player injured and having the worst year of his career.

Marc Stein: (12:30 PM ET) You're absolutely right. Pop has to be in the mix.

{stein originally said "Flip, Avery, D'Antoni, Dunleavy, Zenmeister and . . . I think that's it. Byron Scott would have made the final cut had New Orleans/OKC maintained its playoff pace."}

---

Christopher (Diamond Bar, Ca): better Argentine right now . . . Nocioni or Ginobli?

Marc Stein: (12:38 PM ET) Nocioni. It helps that Ginobili is hobbled right now, but Nocioni has found a new gear at an important team. Bulls really could dealt Philly a killer psychological blow by winning at their place Saturday, but they've got the schedule edge.

---

Joshua (Austin): Where's all the coverage of Dallas' win over the Spurs? Wasn't that as important of a statement game as the Mavs could have? Yet, few seem to be discussing it or Dirk's performance against Bowen. The presumption against the Mavs-as-contender seems to be pretty high.

Marc Stein: (12:41 PM ET) The game was on ESPN, wasn't it? But Dirk definitely deserves some props because he had a big week against the smaller defenders that have given him problems in the past. I've been saying for a while now that he's been chewing up three-men for the bulk of the season and last week he did it to Artest and Bowen in the space of a few days: 59 points. But there's also no denying that Josh Howard's return is just as important. With Howard, Dallas is a top-three or four team. Without him, it's not. It's that simple.

[George Gervin's Afro]

why is anyone worried about weekly power rankings? That's reserved for fans of teams like the Mavs.


on a side not i dig women with hot bras..