Marc Stein again
- Thread starter piksi
- Start date
Well, it's not as bad as it could have been, power rankings-wise.
Here's the Reader's Digest version (meaning everything but the team logos and formatting). The numbers in parentheses indicate last week's standing:
1 (5) Pacers 3-0 Injuries? Pacers (Jermaine specifically) apparently don't even know that they're banged up. And Artest? Looking great after a summer of innuendo and trade rumors.
2 (9) Jazz 3-0 In midseason form already, Jazz waste no time making us look foolish for even suggesting that the PG injuries (Arroyo and Lopez) would slow these guys down.
3 (3) Heat 3-0 An FYI, from Shaq: Dwyane Wade is now known as Flash. It really was Dwyane's World in Week 1, true, but Shaq's still in charge of passing out nicknames.
4 (1) Pistons 2-1 Took Toronto lightly (bad) and didn't even deny it (worse). Hence the drop of three slots, and a stern warning, because complacency might be Pistons' biggest enemy this season.
5 (2) Spurs 2-1 Another team, like Detroit, that should never slip below Utah. But, like Detroit, Spurs took a road game lightly (Seattle) and got embarrassed.
6 (4) Timberwolves 2-1 This much we know already: KG looks as serious as ever, and Wolves vs. Nuggets in a playoff rematch (fingers crossed) would be serious fun.
7 (12) Mavericks 3-0 Mavs have surprised even themselves with so much early continuity. And with their depth, you can be sure that Dallas will keep winning if it keeps holding teams to 92.3 ppg. A lot.
8 (11) Suns 3-0 It took only a week for Suns to supplant Orlando as the league's unofficial bandwagon team. They're scoring freely and racking up fans just as quickly.
9 (7) Rockets 2-2 Perilously close to the first 0-3 start in JVG's coaching career, Rockets eventually emerged from a four games-in-five nights stretch with some style.
10 (24) Raptors 3-0 Vinsanity and his Raps had a dream week worthy of a massive jump . . . apart from that court ruling which mandates a payment of nearly $5 million to VC's former agent.
11 (6) Nuggets 1-2 Even after the comeback win over Minny, this might be the most disappointing team so far. One of the problems: Even K-Mart says his buddy Melo is trying too hard to be great.
12 (8) Kings 0-3 Kings have to hope it really is the schedule. They haven't seen a start this ugly since Webber was still a Bullet, Bibby was still an Arizona Wildcat and Peja was still in Greece.
13 (14) Lakers 2-2 Kobe who? Lakers apparently go as Chris Mihm goes. The proof: Shaq's replacement is averaging 21 ppg and 11 rpg in L.A.'s two wins; 7 and 7 in the two losses.
14 (17) Trail Blazers 2-1 Not trying to be funny, but if Zach can go for 33 and 15 every time, as seen Sunday in Toronto, the new contract recipient should pay his way to fly to every road game.
15 (10) Grizzlies 0-3 Yikes: Grizz have lost 11 straight if you count the last four games of last season, the first-round series against San Antonio and the suddenly shaky present.
16 (19) Bucks 1-1 If Redd and Van Horn can go for 50 a night, like they did against Cleveland, Bucks might be able to cope better than expected without T.J., their little PG.
17 (20) Magic 2-1 It could be worse, Orlando. Much, much worse than losing to Charlotte. Remember last season? Magic won on opening night . . . then dropped 19 straight.
18 (16) 76ers 1-2 The Answer is telling anyone who'll listen how much he likes Coach Obie. To this point, though, all they have is each other, which ain't nearly enough.
19 (28) SuperSonics 2-1 Looks like that 30-point loss to Clips on Opening Night -- which quickly sparked whispers about Coach McMillan's immediate future -- was a really loud wake-up call.
20 (27) Wizards 2-1 To start 2-0, with their top three big men (Kwame, Haywood, Etan Thomas) either injured or suspended, Wiz earned Team of the Week consideration, too.
21 (13) Cavaliers 0-3 No worries about a sophomore jinx for LBJ. The worrisome part is that they're going to miss Boozer even more than they thought if the other Cavs keep playing like this.
22 (15) Celtics 1-2 Unless they start holding leads when they get them, Celts won't allow us to reference the Sox and Patriots very often. Those teams do, and this team hasn't shown it can.
23 (29) Clippers 2-1 Props to Dunleavy, who is stubborn enough to believe Clips -- even after their Kobe heartbreak -- can do more than just beat fellow West stragglers Seattle and Golden State.
24 (23) Hornets 0-3 Coach Scott wasn't kidding when he said he doesn't have time to follow his old team and the J-Kidd saga. The West hasn't been very welcoming, has it?
25 (21) Nets 1-2 In normal circumstances, Zo's comeback would be heartwarming. Problem is, of course, that Nets are a long, long way from the norm of the past three seasons.
26 (22) Knicks 0-2 Can't say it better than the NY Times, which writes that 'their defense is nonexistent, their best shooter is in street clothes and their hole at center has rarely looked larger.'
27 (18) Warriors 0-3 Mike Montgomery, whose Stanford team lost only twice last season, could be looking at a 1-7 start. Charlotte is the only inviting stop on an upcoming five-game trip.
28 (26) Bulls 0-2 For some reason, Bulls didn't play a game until the season was four days old. Which will lead some wise guys to the inevitable crack about how that still was too soon.
29 (30) Bobcats 1-1 Became the 11th of 18 expansion teams in NBA history to lose their opening game. Of course, Bobcats forgot all about that after the thrills of Game 2.
30 (25) Hawks 0-3 Hawks were supposed to be able to say, 'Thank God for Charlotte.' Unfortunately, they can't even say that because Bobcats look sharper.
Here's the Reader's Digest version (meaning everything but the team logos and formatting). The numbers in parentheses indicate last week's standing:
1 (5) Pacers 3-0 Injuries? Pacers (Jermaine specifically) apparently don't even know that they're banged up. And Artest? Looking great after a summer of innuendo and trade rumors.
2 (9) Jazz 3-0 In midseason form already, Jazz waste no time making us look foolish for even suggesting that the PG injuries (Arroyo and Lopez) would slow these guys down.
3 (3) Heat 3-0 An FYI, from Shaq: Dwyane Wade is now known as Flash. It really was Dwyane's World in Week 1, true, but Shaq's still in charge of passing out nicknames.
4 (1) Pistons 2-1 Took Toronto lightly (bad) and didn't even deny it (worse). Hence the drop of three slots, and a stern warning, because complacency might be Pistons' biggest enemy this season.
5 (2) Spurs 2-1 Another team, like Detroit, that should never slip below Utah. But, like Detroit, Spurs took a road game lightly (Seattle) and got embarrassed.
6 (4) Timberwolves 2-1 This much we know already: KG looks as serious as ever, and Wolves vs. Nuggets in a playoff rematch (fingers crossed) would be serious fun.
7 (12) Mavericks 3-0 Mavs have surprised even themselves with so much early continuity. And with their depth, you can be sure that Dallas will keep winning if it keeps holding teams to 92.3 ppg. A lot.
8 (11) Suns 3-0 It took only a week for Suns to supplant Orlando as the league's unofficial bandwagon team. They're scoring freely and racking up fans just as quickly.
9 (7) Rockets 2-2 Perilously close to the first 0-3 start in JVG's coaching career, Rockets eventually emerged from a four games-in-five nights stretch with some style.
10 (24) Raptors 3-0 Vinsanity and his Raps had a dream week worthy of a massive jump . . . apart from that court ruling which mandates a payment of nearly $5 million to VC's former agent.
11 (6) Nuggets 1-2 Even after the comeback win over Minny, this might be the most disappointing team so far. One of the problems: Even K-Mart says his buddy Melo is trying too hard to be great.
12 (8) Kings 0-3 Kings have to hope it really is the schedule. They haven't seen a start this ugly since Webber was still a Bullet, Bibby was still an Arizona Wildcat and Peja was still in Greece.
13 (14) Lakers 2-2 Kobe who? Lakers apparently go as Chris Mihm goes. The proof: Shaq's replacement is averaging 21 ppg and 11 rpg in L.A.'s two wins; 7 and 7 in the two losses.
14 (17) Trail Blazers 2-1 Not trying to be funny, but if Zach can go for 33 and 15 every time, as seen Sunday in Toronto, the new contract recipient should pay his way to fly to every road game.
15 (10) Grizzlies 0-3 Yikes: Grizz have lost 11 straight if you count the last four games of last season, the first-round series against San Antonio and the suddenly shaky present.
16 (19) Bucks 1-1 If Redd and Van Horn can go for 50 a night, like they did against Cleveland, Bucks might be able to cope better than expected without T.J., their little PG.
17 (20) Magic 2-1 It could be worse, Orlando. Much, much worse than losing to Charlotte. Remember last season? Magic won on opening night . . . then dropped 19 straight.
18 (16) 76ers 1-2 The Answer is telling anyone who'll listen how much he likes Coach Obie. To this point, though, all they have is each other, which ain't nearly enough.
19 (28) SuperSonics 2-1 Looks like that 30-point loss to Clips on Opening Night -- which quickly sparked whispers about Coach McMillan's immediate future -- was a really loud wake-up call.
20 (27) Wizards 2-1 To start 2-0, with their top three big men (Kwame, Haywood, Etan Thomas) either injured or suspended, Wiz earned Team of the Week consideration, too.
21 (13) Cavaliers 0-3 No worries about a sophomore jinx for LBJ. The worrisome part is that they're going to miss Boozer even more than they thought if the other Cavs keep playing like this.
22 (15) Celtics 1-2 Unless they start holding leads when they get them, Celts won't allow us to reference the Sox and Patriots very often. Those teams do, and this team hasn't shown it can.
23 (29) Clippers 2-1 Props to Dunleavy, who is stubborn enough to believe Clips -- even after their Kobe heartbreak -- can do more than just beat fellow West stragglers Seattle and Golden State.
24 (23) Hornets 0-3 Coach Scott wasn't kidding when he said he doesn't have time to follow his old team and the J-Kidd saga. The West hasn't been very welcoming, has it?
25 (21) Nets 1-2 In normal circumstances, Zo's comeback would be heartwarming. Problem is, of course, that Nets are a long, long way from the norm of the past three seasons.
26 (22) Knicks 0-2 Can't say it better than the NY Times, which writes that 'their defense is nonexistent, their best shooter is in street clothes and their hole at center has rarely looked larger.'
27 (18) Warriors 0-3 Mike Montgomery, whose Stanford team lost only twice last season, could be looking at a 1-7 start. Charlotte is the only inviting stop on an upcoming five-game trip.
28 (26) Bulls 0-2 For some reason, Bulls didn't play a game until the season was four days old. Which will lead some wise guys to the inevitable crack about how that still was too soon.
29 (30) Bobcats 1-1 Became the 11th of 18 expansion teams in NBA history to lose their opening game. Of course, Bobcats forgot all about that after the thrills of Game 2.
30 (25) Hawks 0-3 Hawks were supposed to be able to say, 'Thank God for Charlotte.' Unfortunately, they can't even say that because Bobcats look sharper.
