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NBA Week 3 Power Rankings
The Boston Celtics and defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers may be two of the top contenders to win the 2009-10 NBA Championship in their respective conferences, Week 3 in the NBA was marked several changes, starting at the very top of my weekly NBA Power Rankings.
With that said – and more thrilling NBA action taking place in the BetUS Sportsbook tonight, let’s get started.
1. Phoenix Suns 9-2 (up 2)
The Suns went 1-1 during the week, getting routed on the road by the Lakers before narrowly beating the Raptors at home. This team’s lack of defense could come back to haunt them in the postseason but they move to the top spot almost by default.
2. Atlanta Hawks 8-2 (up 8)
Atlanta had an excellent week, beating the Celtics in Boston before routing the abysmal New Orleans Hornets at home. This team could do some big things as the regular season moves along and moves up eight spots from a week ago.
3. Portland Trail Blazers 8-3 (up 3)
It’s about time Portland head coach Nate McMillan got my memo about starting veteran point guard Andre Miller. The Blazers won both of their games this past week and are looking like legitimate threats out west and Greg Oden is starting to look like the guy the Blazers envisioned he would be when they took him with the No.1 overall pick three years ago.
4. Denver Nuggets 6-3 (up 2)
The Nuggets looked absolutely phenomenal in laying a 105-79 smackdown on the Lakers this past week and clearly have their point guard of the future in rookie Ty Lawson. When it’s all said and done, the Nuggets will be one of L.A. chief contender’s for the Western Conference crown this season.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers 7-3 (same)
Cleveland (or should I say, LeBron James) looked very good in beating the Miami Heat on the road before winning at home against the struggling Jazz. While the Cavs move up in the rankings, I remain highly skeptical about King James’ mostly mediocre supporting cast – again.
6. Miami Heat 7-2 (down 2)
The Miami Heat went 1-1 in losing at home to Cleveland before barely eking out a home win over the unbeaten Nets. If Dwyane Wade’s help falters, so will the Heat.
7. Dallas Mavericks 7-3 (same)
The Mavericks handled the Pistons and will likely to get better as the regular season progresses. However, it’d be nice to see the Mavericks get out and run a bit more and get some easier baskets.8. Orlando Magic 7-3 (same)
The Orlando Magic didn’t knock my socks off this past week, but then again, they didn’t have to. As this ballclub gets healthier, I expect them to really get on a roll at some point.
9. Boston Celtics 8-3 (Down 8)
The Celtics lost two consecutive games to younger and faster teams, falling at Atlanta and at home against Indiana in what was not a good week by any stretch of the imagination. Still, the C’s are playing for the long haul and can’t be too worried.
10. Los Angeles Lakers 7-3 (Down 7)
The Lakers went 1-2 during the week and looked great in spanking Phoenix at home, but not very good at all in getting routed in Denver and losing at home to Houston.
11. Milwaukee Bucks 5-2 (same)
Brandon Jennings for president! Jennings is a reincarnation of Hall of Fame legend Nate ‘Tiny’ Archibald if you ask me. The Bucks’ rookie point guard is easily leading the race for this year’s NBA Rookie of the Year award. His 55-point effort against Golden State was a thing of beauty!
12. Houston Rockets 6-4 (up 1)
Their 109-100 loss at Sacramento was totally forgotten after they spanked the Lakers 101-91 to close out the week. I’d love to see Aaron Brooks, Brandon Jennings and Ty Lawson in a foot race!
13. Oklahoma City Thunder 6-4 (up 4)
The Thunder have future all-star-quality players at point guard, shooting guard and both forward positions, not to mention the fact that center Nenad Kristic is also a very impressive player. The Thunder beat the Spurs this past week, but followed that also split games with the Clippers to move up four spots.
14. Sacramento Kings 5-4 (up 1)
The Kings are one of the most pleasant surprises of the young season and were it not for Brandon Jennings in Milwaukee, rookie point guard Tyreke Evans would be the odds-on-favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award. Four straight wins have put the Kings on the map despite losing all-star shooting guard Kevin Martin.
15. Indiana Pacers 4-3 (up 1)
Danny Granger may be the best all-around player in the league not named LeBron James – he’s that good. By the way, what’s gotten into Roy Hibbert? Never know as a score throughout his college career, Hibbert is quickly blossoming at the offensive end of the floor. The Pacers looked fantastic in beating Boston this past week
16. Detroit Pistons 6-4 (down 2)
Detroit looks like the middle-of-the-pack ballclub they are going to be all season long. Good enough to beat mediocre and poor teams but not in the class of the elite. The Pistons could clearly use some help in the frontcourt and may be able to swing a trade for Richard Hamilton, though they may get more for Rodney Stuckey. One thing’s for sure, backup point guard Will Bynum is a player – and one that makes Stuckey available if you ask me.
17. Chicago Bulls 5-4 (up 3)
The Bulls snapped a two-game skid by beating Philadelphia at home but are clearly missing something this season despite having a roster full of young talent. Oh, I remember, it’s Ben Gordon’s special perimeter that keeps defenses honest.
18. San Antonio Spurs 4-4 (down 6)
The Spurs have been totally perplexing and inconsistent this season. The Spurs handled the Mavericks at home with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker before losing on the road to a blossoming Oklahoma City Thunder ballclub to close out their week on a sour note and drop six places since last week.
19. Toronto Raptors 5-5 (down 1)
A win over the Clippers and one-point home loss to Phoenix, have put the Raptors at an even, 5-5, giving the Canadian ballclub a record that’s just about right for this team. However, I don’t think a .500 record will be good enough to keep Chris Bosh with the Raptors following this season.
20. Utah Jazz 4-6 (up 2)
The Jazz split two games since my last power rankings and have been maddeningly inconsistent this season, alternating wins and loss in each of their last seven games. Head coach Jerry Sloan has got to be pulling out his hair right now, while wondering if he’ll ever be able to get rid of Carlos Boozer and his immense contract.
21. Philadelphia 76ers 4-6 (down 2)
The Sixers were blown out at home by an apparently mediocre Utah Jazz team before losing to the Chicago Bulls on the road to close out their week. However, those losses weren’t anywhere near as devastating as the loss of blossoming second-year power forward Marreese Speights who will be out six to eight weeks with a torn MCL. I guess head coach Eddie Jordan will be forced to play high-priced veteran power forward Elton Brand in the fourth quarters of games now huh?
22. Los Angeles Clippers 4-7 (down 1)
L.A. is banged up, having lost explosive shooting guard Eric Gordon and gifted rookie power forward Blake Griffin to injury, not to mention the fact that veteran point guard Baron Davis seems to show up whenever he feels like it these days. However, these Clippers apparently have some pride, thanks to veterans like Kris Kaman and Marcus Camby.
23. Charlotte Bobcats 3-6 (up 1)
The Hornets lost a closer-than-expected game at home against Portland and have the look of a team that clearly isn’t buying into head coach Larry Brown’s reliable style of play.
24. New Orleans Hornets 3-8 (down 1)
The Hornets lost two games, fired head coach Byron Scott and saw point guard Chris Paul go down with an ankle injury all in the last week. I sure hope GM-turned-head-coach Jeff Brower knows what he’s gotten himself into by axing Scott and replacing him on the bench with a group of players that are going nowhere fast, led by crybaby David West who bad-mouthed Scott and his system on the former coach’s way out. New
25. Golden State Warriors 3-6 (up 1)
The Warriors pounded the lowly Knicks – before allowing Milwaukee Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings to absolutely torch them in a 129-125 road loss, that turned out to be one of the best highlights of the young season.
26. Memphis Grizzlies 2-8 (up 1)
The Grizzlies picked up a win by laying a 97-87 smackdown on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. The team also added veteran head case point guard Jamal Tinsley as point guard Allen Iverson continues to sit out because of ‘personal problems.’
27. Washington Wizards 2-7 (down 2)
Washington’s 2-1 start has turned into an abysmal six-game losing streak that has been highlighted by a lack of defensive effort and ball-hogging selfish play on offense. Star forward Antawn Jamison, will be back from an injury that has kept him out of the lineup since before the start of the preseason and probably wants to avoid returning to this ballclub altogether at this point.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves 1-8 (up 1)
If rookie point guard Johnny Flynn had any sense, he would have joined Ricky Rubio in blowing off this pitiful franchise. The rookie is second in scoring and leads the T-Wolves in assists.
29. New York Knicks 1-8 (down 1)
Back-to-back blowout losses to Atlanta and Golden State highlighted New York’s dismal week. Oh, I’m also trying to figure out why the Knicks drafted forward Jordan Hill when they’ve already got Danilo Gallinari and David Lee, duh!
30. New Jersey Nets 0-8 (same)
The Nets were blown out in Orlando but nearly beat the Miami Heat on the road, losing by just one point on Saturday. However, this team does have some very nice young players in Brook Lopez, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee and Devin Harris.
