- HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors - http://www.hoopsworld.com -
NBA Power Rankings Week Five
Posted By Eric Pincus On January 30, 2012 @ 4:00 pm In All,Main Page,NBA | No Comments
1/30/12 – The Miami HEAT get a big win over the Chicago Bulls, climbing in the rankings to number two but it’s the Oklahoma City Thunder who take over the top spot. OK City has gotten better every year and could be the favorite to come out of the Western Conference. Meanwhile the Charlotte Bobcats have lost eight straight, dropping all the way to 30. The Dallas Mavericks continue to surge while the Orlando Magic have fallen into a rut. Should the 9-11 Minnesota Timberwolves, just 2 1/2 games behind the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Lakers be considered a bubble team? The NBA, five weeks in . . .
| Team | Rank | Last | Standing | Comments |
|
2 | 16-3 | The Thunder have the fewest losses in the league (three) but have played more games on the road (8-2) than at home (8-1). |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 15-5 | The HEAT get a big win over the one team likely to challenge them to a return trip to the NBA Finals. | ||||
| 1 | 17-5 | The Bulls will be better because Derrick Rose missed those free throws. Whatever “good” he does the next month, he’s going to be talking about those free throws. | ||||
| 8 | 15-6 | The Hawks are still one of the best teams in the league without Al Horford. The drop-off expected? Maybe it just doesn’t come. | ||||
| 3 | 13-6 | The Pacers have played more games on the road than any team in the league (13) and just won in Chicago and Los Angeles (Lakers). | ||||
| 4 | 14-6 | The Nuggets get through a perfect five-game road trip, win eight of nine but drop a Sunday night game at home to the Clippers without Ty Lawson. | ||||
| 7 | 14-6 | The Sixers are now the only team with a double-digit win margin (11.7 points a game). | ||||
| 10 | 11-6 | The Clippers get just their second road win in Denver, a big step for a team playing nine away games in February. | ||||
| 13 | 13-8 | The Mavericks rest Dirk Nowitzki and still win. Their slow start is now nothing but a vague memory. Will that continue with Jason Kidd on the shelf? | ||||
| 6 | 12-8 | The big question – will team performance impact the Magic and how their front office handles the Dwight Howard situation? Do they wait regardless? Until All-Star? Summer? | ||||
| 12 | 12-9 | The Lakers are, simply put, a poor road team. | ||||
| 15 | 12-8 | The Rockets keep to their winning ways. They’re suddenly a half game behind the third/fourth seeded Clippers/Mavericks. | ||||
| 9 | 11-7 | The Jazz have still played just six games on the road but that’s what February is for. It could get a bit ugly for Utah, who have struggled in recent years away from Salt Lake City. | ||||
| 11 | 10-9 | The Grizzlies have come down to earth, losing three straight. The schedule is off the rails the next week: in Memphis for Spurs/Nuggets; on road in Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Boston. | ||||
| 16 | 12-8 | The Blazers need more guard support with both Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford shooting curious percentages from the field. | ||||
| 14 | 12-9 | The Spurs bench almost beat the Mavericks but for a shot that was a micro-hair too late. | ||||
| 17 | 9-11 | It’s a good season to be a Wolves fan, after many, many years of waiting. | ||||
| 19 | 9-10 | The Celtics are just not healthy enough to win regularly but still a dangerous team that will make the postseason. | ||||
| 20 | 8-11 | Andrew Bogut runs out of luck again – broken ankle. | ||||
| 21 | 8-11 | Kyrie Irving, for the win. | ||||
| 18 | 7-12 | The Suns are going in the wrong direction. Is there a point where they say time to move Steve Nash or does he really stick it out and even consider re-signing? | ||||
| 26 | 7-14 | Deron Williams is starting to figure out how to get wins with this Brook Lopez-less roster. | ||||
| 29 | 7-14 | The Raptors are better with Andrea Bargnani but that calf injury is a problem. | ||||
| 24 | 6-12 | The Warriors are idling and while injury has been a big part of the problem, at some point they need to start winning games. | ||||
| 22 | 7-13 | Baron Davis is nearing a debut (at some point anyway). The Knicks though? Not good. | ||||
| 23 | 6-14 | The initial Keith Smart boost? That’s passed . . . | ||||
| 27 | 4-16 | The Wizards are slightly less awful lately – slightly. | ||||
| 25 | 4-17 | The Pistons do have a couple of building blocks (Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight) but this team is not winning many games. | ||||
| 30 | 4-16 | The Hornets shelve center Chris Kaman for a trade. Losing games may be the priority given the advantage of a high pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. | ||||
| 28 | 3-18 | The Bobcats take over the bottom spot with just three wins in 21 tries. |
Article printed from HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors: http://www.hoopsworld.com
URL to article: http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-power-rankings-week-five
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2012 HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors
Part of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group.