We're just eight games into the season, but there's no doubt who the surprise team is at this point. The Phoenix Suns are off to a 7-1 start, and have road wins over two of the three remaining one-loss teams. They've done it with Steve Nash leading the league in assists at almost 13 per game, and with the team leading the league in three-point shooting at a ridiculous 47 percent. But all of that only got the Suns to No. 2 in this week's rankings -- read on to see who's on top.
- 1. Lakers (6-1) | Prev.: 5
Pau Gasol has yet to play a game this season, and Andrew Bynum has missed the last two. But when Kobe Bryant goes for 40 or more three times in the team's first seven games, well, the wins just seem to come anyway. - 2. Suns (7-1) | Prev.: 7
You could make a case for the Suns rising all the way to the top this week, especially considering the strength of their recent competition -- which they mostly steamrolled. But one or two doesn't make a whole lot of difference in November, and Phoenix will get their chance at the top-ranked Lakers soon enough: They head to L.A. for a TNT showdown Thursday. - 3.
Celtics (7-1) | Prev.: 2
After opening the season with eight games in 11 days, the Celtics looked weary in their last two. But they came out of it with just a single loss, and they still lead the league in point differential with an impressive + 14.1 -- the second best team in that department is only at +7.8.
- 4. Heat (5-1) | Prev.: 8
Contract years are a beautiful thing. Quentin Richardson is in one, and he's set a career mark for most consecutive games with at least nine rebounds -- Q has done it in five straight (and counting). - 5. Hawks (5-2) | Prev.: 11
Jamal Crawford is thriving in his sixth man role, and has led or shared the team lead in scoring three times. The Hawks finally put it all together in a dismantling of the Nuggets at home, but whether or not they can take that same show on the road Friday in Boston will say a lot about exactly where this team is at this early point in the season. - 6. Mavericks (5-2) | Prev.: 4
Dallas has actually looked like one of the top teams this season, but the fact that they gave away a game at the free throw line cannot go unpunished. But the next night Josh Howard returned, and so did the Mavs' solid play: They crushed the Raptors by 28 points. - 7. Blazers (4-3) | Prev.: 13
Nate McMillan pushed the right button in placing Andre Miller alongside Brandon Roy and Steve Blake in the starting lineup, and the team is 2-0 since he made that adjustment. - 8. Nuggets (5-2) | Prev.: 3
After the strong start, Denver has dropped two straight since Kenyon Martin went down with an injury. But Anthony Carter might have said it best after the Nuggets' first loss of the season: "When one person goes down, that's why everybody else gets paid to play. Kenyon ain't the whole team." - 9. Magic (5-2) | Prev.: 1
Orlando has done well to start 5-2, playing without the suspended Rashard Lewis since the beginning, and missing Vince Carter for four of the last five with an ankle injury. Ryan Anderson had been filling in nicely, but losing him to an injury was too much to overcome, as Orlando lost by 28 without him in Oklahoma City. - 10. Bulls (4-2) | Prev.: 16
Winners of three straight after the slow start, including a close one in Cleveland against LeBron and the Cavs. Joakim Noah has been so solid this season that he's making a local columnist eat his words -- literally, and with salsa no less.
- 11. Spurs (3-3) | Prev.: 6
Tony Parker is expected to miss about a week with an ankle sprain, but Manu Ginobili made sure the team wouldn't drop two straight. He went nuts against Toronto with 36 points, eight assists, four rebounds, and four blocked shots in 32 minutes off the bench. Batman, indeed.
- 12. Cavaliers (4-3) | Prev.: 10
The media circus surrounding the Cavs feasted last Friday at Madison Square Garden, when the "LeBron James to the Knicks" talk reached a fever pitch. They've had a few days to recover, just in time for Shaquille O'Neal versus Dwight Howard (and Stan Van Gundy) on ESPN this Wednesday.
- 13. Rockets (4-2) | Prev.: 9
The Rockets have played better than anyone expected, and have done it by playing smart, hard-nosed basketball. Unfortunately for them, Tracy McGrady is getting ready to come back and ruin everything, although the exact timing of his return is something that (surprise!) he and the team don't see eye to eye on.
- 14. Thunder (3-3) | Prev.: 14
Took apart a depleted Orlando Magic squad, and showed that if you don't make defense a priority against them, this Thunder team is capable of lighting you up -- they shot over 57 percent from the field, and over 53 percent from three-point land in that one. Oh, and also, there's this.
- 15. Bucks (3-2) | Prev.: 22
Winners of two straight in convincing fashion over the T'Wolves and the Knicks, and it could have been three in a row had they been able to protect an 18-point lead against the Bulls. But Brandon Jennings continues to impress, Andrew Bugut has done the heavy lifting, and everyone else is contributing just enough to keep the team afloat while Michael Redd is out.
- 16. Raptors (3-4) | Prev.: 21
It's been a pretty simple formula for the Raps this season: hold the other team under 100 points, and win (three times). Allow the other team to get into triple digits, and lose (four times). In other news, Chris Bosh continues his dominant season, with averages of 29 points and 11.6 rebounds through the team's first seven games.
- 17. Jazz (3-4) | Prev.: 17
Something's off with this year's Jazz team, but it's hard to tell exactly what it is yet. Consistency is something all teams struggle with, especially early on. But home losses aren't the way Utah normally does business, and they already have two to teams that, on paper, they should seemingly beat: the Rockets and the Kings.
- 18. Pistons (3-4) | Prev.: 23
Sure, I could drone on about the ups and downs of the team's season with Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince sidelined with injuries. But instead, do yourself a favor and read Matt Watson's excellent piece on the forced rebuilding situation in Detroit.
- 19. Bobcats (3-3) | Prev.: 18
Charlotte is an interesting team. They hammered the Hawks and hung with the Bulls this week, while Gerald Wallace (much to the delight of our own Matt Steinmetz) finally got himself a few assists -- three, to be exact, after going 94 field goal attempts without one through the team's first four games.
- 20. Kings (3-4) | Prev.: 26
No Kevin Martin? No problem for the Kings, what with the quick coming of age of rookie Tyreke Evans. Evans has led the team to two wins in Martin's absence, and is quickly making the term "combo guard" look very much like something that GMs should start to consider as a positive.
- 21. Hornets (3-5) | Prev.: 20
NOLA was very fortunate to beat the Mavs, looked wretched against the Raptors and Lakers, then rose up and delivered a 28-point road beatdown to the Clippers. David West's scoring and rebounding averages are down significantly from last year, and unless he can get back to having some occasionally monster performances, the team's going to continue to struggle. - 22. Clippers (3-5) | Prev.: 25
Chris Kaman won the Western Conference player of the week award, which, considering he was competing against some 40-point performances from Kobe Bryant, was somewhat impressive. The Clips went 3-0 on the week, and Kaman averaged 24.3 points on .574 shooting from the field, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Sure, it all came to an abrupt end on Monday against the Hornets, but it was a good run while it lasted. - 23. Sixers (3-4) | Prev.: 15
Philly seems to be still staggering after the Celtics beat them by 31 in the fourth game of the season. Since, they were lucky to beat a seriously undermanned Nets team, and followed that up with losses to the Pistons and the Suns.
- 24. Pacers (2-3) | Prev.: 29
After starting 0-3 against some quality competition, the Pacers have two wins over the Knicks and the Wizards -- the latter of which caused Washington to sacrifice a snack tray in frustration afterwards.
- 25. Wizards (2-5) | Prev.: 12
Things aren't going well in Washington, but the rumors of friction between Gilbert Arenas and Flip Saunders seem to be a bit ridiculous. Meanwhile, the team should be fine once Antawn Jamison returns, and three of the last four losses were to upper echelon teams, so it's not time to push the panic button just yet.
- 26. Warriors (2-4) | Prev.: 28
If these rankings were based on organizational health, the Warriors would be dead last. But as they showed in putting up 146 points on the T'Wolves on Monday, there's some talent on this roster that needs to be dealt with. Unfortunately, as long as Nellie is running the ship and Steven Jackson is in town, winning is going to be the exception, not the norm.
- 27. Timberwolves (1-7) | Prev.: 27
Jonny Flynn has been solid, but as long as Al Jefferson continues to struggle offensively, the T'Wolves are going to continue to have problems keeping pace.
- 28. Knicks (1-7) | Prev.: 19
What never gets mentioned in all the "LeBron to New York" talk is the fact that Mike D'Antoni's system appears to be just an awful, awful fit for the talents of King James.
- 29. Grizzlies (1-7) | Prev.: 24
The team needs to get out of the shadow of Allen Iverson -- whether it's due to trading him, waiving him, or his choosing to retire -- before they'll have any chance of moving in a positive direction.
- 30. Nets (0-7) | Prev.: 30
Thanks to a rash of injuries and ailments -- including swine flu taking out Chris Douglas-Roberts -- the team was actually forced to practice against furniture due to a lack of available bodies.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Power Rankings, and no one in the League's even played 10 games yet. You guys crack me up.
NFL teams have played the same number of games as NBA so far and their season is halfway over. I think 10 games gives us a good idea of how teams will play this season.
I agree, 8 games into the season means NOTHING.
im not really a kings fan but i support their efforts, glad to see their finally getting somewhere
The suns, heat and hawks are not close to top 5 teams.
Haha really? Not close? Have you watched those teams this year? They are a combined 17-4. Where would you rank them?!?
U r THE STUPIDEST PERSON ALIVE!!!!!!!!!THE Suns are the best team in the west.Even though they have played weak competion in the west they have played against some of the east's best teams on a road trip and lost only 1 time to the magic [I don't know why] so in conclusion the suns r a great team.
Thank you. More accurate than ESPN's stupid rankings. Do they even watch games?
Until the Knicks are competitive again, the NBA will not be a factor
right now and all season the only one that can beat the world champion lakers are the lakers themselfs,only a very damaging injury can derail the champs from repeating,and maybe even three peat and maybe for the first time in decades win 4 in a row,and if that happens kobe can be metioned with the greats of all time,in my opinion wilt the stilt is by far the greatest player of all time,cause he really changed the game way back in the beggining of the NBA,if wilt were to play in todays game all he needs is to get the same teaching that these players have today and he would dominate with ease and would destroy the majority of so called NBA players,they still wouldnt be able to hold his jock hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, we've passed 10 games but not 20. The Suns look pretty good in the west but die-hard Lakers fans probably aren't too worried. The east is going to be complicated but the west is eventually going to be dominated by the Lakers (who may not go all the way), the Nuggets, the Suns and the Blazers. We'll see!