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NBA Power Rankings Week Nine

Posted By Eric Pincus On February 27, 2012 @ 4:00 pm In All,Main Page,NBA | No Comments

2/27/12 – The All-Star Break has come and gone. Halfway through the season and the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference may be set although the Cleveland Cavaliers and even Milwaukee Bucks still have designs on an upset. The West is far more open with 12 teams in the hunt and possibly a 13th if the Golden State Warriors can continue to improve. Meanwhile the Philadelphia 76ers are falling, the Houston Rockets are surging and it’s difficult to say just what the Indiana Pacers have this year. The NBA, nine weeks in . . .

NBA Power Rankings Week Nine

Rank	Last	Standing	Comments
1	1	27-7	Dwyane Wade broke Kobe Bryant’s nose and gave him a concussion. The HEAT will host the Lakers on Sunday . . .
2	3	27-7	The Thunder have won five straight but will be challenged this week with three on the road (Philadelphia, Orlando and Atlanta).
3	2	27-8	The Bulls dip a spot but they’ve done well while injured are just one loss behind the HEAT and Thunder.
4	4	24-10	The Spurs willingly ended their win streak by sitting Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. The injuries to Manu Ginobili (strained oblique) and Tiago Splitter (calf) are short-term (two weeks).
5	5	20-11	The Clippers host the Wolves before heading right back out on the road for six straight.
6	6	22-13	All-Star Weekend in Orlando has finally passed – time to decide in earnest how to handle the Dwight Howard situation.
7	11	21-12	Are the Pacers elite? They still have the cap room to improve what has been a strong but inconsistent squad.
8	7	21-13	Dirk Nowitzki is playing like Dirk Nowitzki again.
9	8	20-14	The Sixers are really struggling now, dropping five straight.
10	9	20-14	It’s been a difficult season for the Lakers but they’re only 1 1/2 games behind the Clippers for the Pacific Division lead.
11	12	20-14	The Rockets are suddenly looking like a playoff team in the West
12	13	19-15	The Grizzlies have managed to hit the All-Star Break in playoff position and finally Zach Randolph is nearing a return.
13	10	20-14	Suddenly the Hawks cushion over the seventh-seeded Knicks is just 3 1/2 games.
14	14	17-18	Teams are starting to figure out the Knicks a little bit but New York has a new lease on life and will make for an interesting playoff run.
15	15	18-16	Raymond Felton is just not fitting in with Coach Nate McMillan and the Blazers, relegated to the bench.
16	18	17-17	The Wolves aren’t thinking .500-ball but playoffs . . .
17	16	18-17	Reinforcements are coming. The Nuggets just need to hang on.
18	17	15-17	Boston has dropped five straight. How does management handle the roster moving forward? So many options including standing pat.
19	20	13-18	Tristan Thompson is starting to get it . . .
20	23	13-17	The Warriors are nearing .500 but is that enough to make a playoff run?
21	19	15-17	The Jazz continue to flounder, dropping three straight.
22	21	14-20	The Suns still don’t intend to trade Steve Nash.
23	22	13-20	The Bucks need to embrace the lottery at this point.
24	24	11-24	While the Pistons have shown signs of being an actual team, the hole is probably too deep for a playoff spot.
25	25	11-22	The games are secondary to the arena battle being waged in full force.
26	26	10-23	This was Andrea Bargnani’s best season but now it’s just another long, unimpressive run for the Raptors.
27	27	10-25	The Nets are (more or less) healthy now. Can they pry Dwight Howard from Orlando?
28	28	8-25	If it was the top pick in the draft the Hornets were after, the recent spate of winning has become an obstacle.
29	29	7-26	Few teams are averaging 100 points a game this season and yet the Wizards are giving up 100.8 nightly.
30	30	4-28	The Bobcats are getting outscored by an impressive 14.2 points per game.

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