NBA Power Rankings

WEEK 1 - NUGGETS CLIMBING EARLY

by: Eric Pincus - 5006 times read

10/26/09 - The 2009/10 NBA Season is a week in and already the rankings are shifting. The Denver Nuggets climb into the top five, dispelling any early notions that last year was a fluke. The Lakers stay on top despite their loss the Dallas Mavericks but if Pau Gasol remains out for a protracted period, expect a slide. The Miami HEAT are playing well. The New York Knicks are not. The Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns both look better in the first week than the New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers. The NBA one week in . . .

RANK(LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (1)	Los Angeles Lakers	2 - 1	If Pau Gasol's MRI comes back Tuesday with bad news, the Lakers may struggle for wins. Fortunately for LA, their schedule is very home heavy early. Without Gasol in the starting lineup and Lamar Odom as their top reserve, the LA bench is razor thin.
	2 (2)	Boston Celtics	4 - 0	Rajon Rondo inks a lucrative five-year extension. He'll be running the point long after the 30+ core of this Celtic squad disperses.
	3 (3)	Orlando Magic	3 - 0	No Rashard Lewis - no problem. The Magic are deep.
	4 (6)	Denver Nuggets	3 - 0	Carmelo Anthony asks, "Why LeBron?" Not a verbal quote - his play is doing the talking.
	5 (4)	Cleveland Cavaliers	2 - 2	The Cavs got off to a slow start but have looked stronger the past couple of games. The next two (Wizards and Bulls) will be good tests for a team expected to win over 60 games.
	6 (5)	San Antonio Spurs	2 - 1	They'll be tested over the next eight games with visits to Utah, Portland and Dallas - and at home against the Raptors, Mavericks, Thunder, Jazz and Wizards.
	7 (7)	Dallas Mavericks	2 - 1	The Mavs look strong early. Shawn Marion is a natural fit with 16.7 points, eight boards and two blocks a game.
	8 (8)	Utah Jazz	1 - 1	The Jazz had a light first week with just two games - a tough losing battle in Denver and home against the Clippers (LAC never wins in Utah). The next three will be an interesting test with Houston, a visit to Dallas and then the Spurs in Salt Lake.
	9 (9)	Portland Trail Blazers	2 - 2	Brandon Roy drops 42 points on the Rockets and 30 on the Nuggets but is shooting just 39.4% from the field. LaMarcus Aldridge is battling through a minor knee injury (contusion).
	10 (10)	Atlanta Hawks	2 - 1	Joe Johnson was giving it to Kobe Bryant on Sunday night before Ron Artest took over the assignment. The Hawks have historically struggled when teams take Johnson out of the game.
	11 (14)	Washington Wizards	2 - 1	Gilbert Arenas looks really, really good.
	12 (22)	Miami Heat	3 - 0	The HEAT looked weak all preseason but suddenly turn it on once it counts - one of three unbeaten teams in the East.
	13 (15)	Philadelphia 76ers	2 - 1	If the Sixers knew what they had in Marresse Speights, would they have signed Elton Brand?
	14 (18)	Phoenix Suns	3 - 0	The Suns still have Steve Nash to close out games. By attrition they may be a top eight team in the West.
	15 (17)	Houston Rockets	2 - 1	Trevor Ariza busts out 33 points on the Blazers. Who knew?
	16 (13)	New Orleans Hornets	1 - 2	New Orleans couldn't close against the Celtics but for a moment when Peja Stojakovic was bombing threes - they looked like world beaters. That's a squad that desperately needs a steady third scorer alongside Chris Paul and David West.
	17 (11)	Chicago Bulls	1 - 2	The Bulls have opened against tough competition (Spurs, Celtics and HEAT) with one win to show for it - but they're a strong unit. Thursday in Cleveland would be a huge win for Chicago.
	18 (16)	Toronto Raptors	1 - 2	Through three games Andrea Bargnani is shooting 61.5% . . . from three-point range (8-13).
	19 (24)	Oklahoma City Thunder	2 - 1	Slower start than expected for star Kevin Durant (22 points on 32.8% shooting) but the Thunder pull through 2-1.
	20 (12)	Los Angeles Clippers	0 - 4	The Clippers have been competitive in each of their four losses - fading away each time in the fourth. They can't win if they can't close.
	21 (20)	Golden State Warriors	0 - 2	After a huge preseason, Anthony Morrow starts slowly and the Warriors drop their first two. Stephen Curry starts strong with 13 points on 57.1% shooting with a team high 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals a game.
	22 (19)	Detroit Pistons	1 - 2	The Pistons get Orlando twice this week plus a visit to Toronto on the second night of a back-to-back. A slow start may be inevitable.
	23 (23)	Charlotte Bobcats	1 - 2	Raja Bell decides to play with a torn ligament in his wrist. The Bobcats have not looked sharp without him.
	24 (25)	Memphis Grizzlies	1 - 2	The Grizzlies may be ranked too low - Allen Iverson's expected debut may give them a quick boost.
	25 (21)	New York Knicks	0 - 3	No wins yet but Danilo Gallinari suddenly looks like a real building block after a quiet rookie season.
	26 (27)	Milwaukee Bucks	1 - 1	One week in and Brandon Jennings looks like the favorite for Rookie of the Year.
	27 (26)	Indiana Pacers	0 - 2	Last year the Pacers needed to toughen up defensively. So far they've given up 108 points a game while scoring 96. That's worse than 08/09 when they allowed 106 and scored 105 - but the sample size of just two games is small.
	28 (28)	Minnesota Timberwolves	1 - 2	Al Jefferson hasn't been Al Jefferson yet - through three games averaging 14 points, 6.7 boards on 34.8% shooting.
	29 (29)	Sacramento Kings	0 - 3	The Kings have not shot well as a team through three games at just 40.6%. Meanwhile defensively their opponents hit 51.6% from the field. Kevin Martin's 25.3 points a game have come on 35.5% shooting.
	30 (30)	New Jersey Nets	0 - 3	Last week's 30th ranking was based on health questions for Devin Harris (groin) - but the Nets aren't going to climb out with a winless 0-3 record. They may have seven players averaging double figures but they've been outscored by 10.3 points a night.

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