NBA POWER RANKINGS - by RP

I’ll be bringing Docksquad Sports readers a weekly NBA Power Rankings column every Monday the rest of the season. Please bear with me early on, as I am still tinkering with the format. The rankings are unbiased and take into account several aspects including overall record, weekly record, injuries and strength of victories. Enjoy and good luck to your respective teams!

-RP

1. Los Angeles Lakers (7-1) – Everyone loses at some point, so can’t really harp on the Detroit game. What a difference Bynum has made? Kobe playing just 35 minutes a night only bodes well for the postseason. That bench is murder with Farmar, the Machine, Ariza and Odom.

2. Boston Celtics (9-2) – The champs have maintained that hunger which was everyone’s main concern. Pierce came out the gates scorching, but Rondo is going to be the key just as was the case last season. They were hoping for Tony Allen to fill the void left by Posey, but he has disappeared after a couple of nice games.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-2) – Hottest team in the league, but the Man is still doing too much. Mo Williams has been picking it up of late as well. Three-point shooting has been a cause for concern early, but look for Boobie to heat up a bit.

4. Phoenix Suns (8-3) – They didn’t really do anything special in the past week (2 wins against broke teams and a tired Detroit) to deserve such a high spot. The Diesel earned them this spot for throwing Yao and T-Mac, then almost killing Stuckey. I’m just scared now.

5. Detroit Pistons (7-3) – The A.I. era will have its ups and downs in the 313. Either way, 3-1, and handing the Lakers their first loss is a commendable west coast swing.

6. Orlando Magic (7-3) – I still don’t think they are in the East’s upper echelon, but a 3-0 road trip deserves some love. Superman is in the early MVP conversation throwing up 23, 14 and 4 swats a night.

7. Utah Jazz (6-4) – Started out hot, but a 1-4 east coast trip doesn’t look too good. Once Williams, Memo and AK-47 are back and healthy, I expect them to be the second best team in their conference, so the penalty won’t be too steep right now.

8. Atlanta Hawks (6-3) – Lets hope their hot start wasn’t a fluke. Maybe the two Nets losses were a hangover from that Boston game. Johnson has been dynamite and this is a nice young team everyone will be rooting for come playoff time.

9. Houston Rockets (6-4) – Finished a tough week with two nice wins against the Suns and Hornets. Look for this team to make a run when Battier makes his return. It’ll be interesting to see how they gel and if they are going to be in the mix down the stretch.

10. Portland Trailblazers (6-4) – Any time you have a 3-1 road trip that’s a success. Roy is the real deal. It’s also nice to see the big man back in action and putting up some nice numbers in limited run.

11. New Orleans Hornets (5-4)
12. Denver Nuggets (6-4)
13. Toronto Raptors (5-4)
14. San Antonio Spurs (4-5)
15. New York Knickerbockers (6-4)
16. Miami Heat (5-5)
17. Philadelphia 76ers (5-5)
18. Chicago Bulls (5-5)
19. Golden State Warriors (4-6)
20. Milwaukee Bucks (5-6)
21. Indiana Pacers (4-5)
22. New Jersey Nets (4-5)
23. Sacramento Kings (4-7)
24. Charlotte Bobcats (3-6)
25. Dallas Mavericks (3-7)
26. Memphis Grizzlies (3-7)
27. Washington Wizards (1-6)
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-8)
29. Los Angeles Clippers (1-8)
30. Oklahoma City (1-9)

NBA Player of the Week:

LeBron James – Three wins to go with 33.7 points, 6 boards, 8 dimes and 2.7 steals per game. These numbers come off a week where he averaged 34.5, 9.8 and 5.3 in four wins. I think it is safe to say he has stated his case for Player of the Month.