http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2005&week=4
Rank (Last Wk) Team Rec. Comment
1 (2) Suns 11-2 You have to go all the way back to 1980-81 to find a Suns team that started this hot (14-2). That's two years before Mr. Stoudemire was born, in case you're wondering.
2 (1) Spurs 11-3 Committee, as you know, doesn't believe in jinxes. But those who do no doubt noticed that Spurs, like Mavs the week before, lost their first game after claiming the No. 1 ranking.
3 (7) SuperSonics 13-2 Don't be smug, Seattle. Surely you didn't expect your Supes to be the first team to reach 10 wins -- or to rank third in the NBA in rebounding differential after a month.
4 (5) Timberwolves 8-5 The best thing you can say about Wolves' up-and-down start is that they were 9-8 in November last season. And you surely remember how that turned out.
5 (3) Heat 10-5 Shaq's latest Flash praise/Kobe slam: '(Wade) is the best second-year player I've seen since Michael Jordan. He keeps everybody involved, and that's the sign of a great player.'
6 (6) Kings 8-5 It's only one home loss, after a 6-0 start, but it's the fourth to Minny (including playoffs) in the teams' past six Arco dates. Does that make it a trend?
7 (8) Mavericks 10-5 The good thing about knowing the pain of many ankle sprains, as Dirk would tell you, is knowing how to come back from them faster than the docs expect.
8 (10) Pacers 10-4 The committee questioned Indy's depth last season, calling it mythical. No one can dare say so this season if Pacers keep winning without their three best players.
9 (12) Cavaliers 9-4 From Dept. O' The Bizarre: Only three teams ever have won five straight after an 0-3 start, and two of them come from Cleveland. That would be 1999's Cavs and current Cavs.
10 (9) Pistons 6-7 Pistons are struggling so much without the suspended Big Ben that the committee is starting to think it overestimated the revamped champs' depth.
11 (13) Magic 8-4 Magic might sit only second in the Southeast, but before Miami's win over Boston on Sunday night, Orlando was (if only briefly) No. 1 in Florida and the division.
12 (11) Lakers 8-6 So Mailman's agent says his client won't be back on the floor until January at the earliest. It's safe to say Kobe is willing to wait as long as he needs to for the extra help.
13 (14) Nuggets 7-6 The home-heavy schedule has certainly helped, but it would be just 'Melo's luck for his freshly tweaked ankle to keep him out of Thursday's national TV showdown with LeBron.
14 (4) Jazz 8-6 Jazz have obviously been reading too much fawning press (probably on ESPN.com). How on Earth could a Jerry Sloan team be the cure-all for New Orleans AND Chicago? And at home?
15 (24) Clippers 8-6 Best team in L.A.? Not quite yet. But it was a better November than anyone could have predicted.
16 (23) Trail Blazers 7-6 Because the Northwest is the league's toughest division so far, instead of the Midwest as expected, Blazers find themselves -- yikes -- five games back of their regional rivals from Seattle.
17 (18) Knicks 6-6 Isiah has said he wants to be .500, at worst, after 20 games. Us? We want to see how Lenny handles Allan Houston's return with Jamal Crawford surging.
18 (20) Wizards 7-5 Here's wishing Coach Jordan a speedy recovery. Wiz are giving up a lot of points, but they're scoring lots, too, making this surprising start too good to miss.
19 (15) Rockets 6-9 Denver's gradual recovery means that Rockets have launched to the top of the league's Most Disappointing list. It's a state law that every team in Texas should be at least .500.
20 (21) 76ers 6-7 Anyone else sense that Obie isn't thrilled with Philly's early play? Except for AI, the new coach has tried at least two different starters at every position.
21 (16) Grizzlies 5-9 Unsolicited advice for Czar Fratello: Cut the 10-man rotation down to eight or nine and try to get Pau and Bonzi on the floor more, for starters.
22 (17) Celtics 4-8 The only solace for the team that keeps losing close games -- and for those who picked Boston to win the Atlantic -- is that no one in the division has a winning record.
23 (19) Raptors 6-9 As if Coach Mitchell hasn't seen enough already in this debut season -- Pape, too -- Raps play their next six on the road. That doesn't sound good.
24 (22) Bucks 4-7 This is not what Bucks will want to hear, but it's the truth: Even Atlanta has more road wins (one) than they do.
25 (27) Bobcats 3-9 What a night for Brevin Knight on Tuesday. With 19 assists, he had three more than the whole Detroit team.
26 (25) Hawks 2-11 It's getting close to official. You'd have to say gutty Bobcats are the better team.
27 (26) Nets 2-11 You have to hope Zo continues to speak his mind, no matter what threats management issues, because there's no other reason to pay attention to Jersey . . . until J-Kidd returns.
28 (28) Warriors 3-10 We've identified the problem: Warriors are undefeated as a franchise when they go to triple-overtime . . . but, including last week, it's only happened three times in their history.
29 (29) Hornets 1-11 We've identified the problem: Hornets have just one game left in Utah this season. Losing Magliore obviously doubles the pain, although that should hush the Vince trade talk for a bit.
30 (30) Bulls 1-10 We've identified the problem: Bulls have no games left in Utah this season . . . and can't keep the circus from coming to Chicago so early, which starts every season with a killer trip.
Rank (Last Wk) Team Rec. Comment
1 (2) Suns 11-2 You have to go all the way back to 1980-81 to find a Suns team that started this hot (14-2). That's two years before Mr. Stoudemire was born, in case you're wondering.
2 (1) Spurs 11-3 Committee, as you know, doesn't believe in jinxes. But those who do no doubt noticed that Spurs, like Mavs the week before, lost their first game after claiming the No. 1 ranking.
3 (7) SuperSonics 13-2 Don't be smug, Seattle. Surely you didn't expect your Supes to be the first team to reach 10 wins -- or to rank third in the NBA in rebounding differential after a month.
4 (5) Timberwolves 8-5 The best thing you can say about Wolves' up-and-down start is that they were 9-8 in November last season. And you surely remember how that turned out.
5 (3) Heat 10-5 Shaq's latest Flash praise/Kobe slam: '(Wade) is the best second-year player I've seen since Michael Jordan. He keeps everybody involved, and that's the sign of a great player.'
7 (8) Mavericks 10-5 The good thing about knowing the pain of many ankle sprains, as Dirk would tell you, is knowing how to come back from them faster than the docs expect.
8 (10) Pacers 10-4 The committee questioned Indy's depth last season, calling it mythical. No one can dare say so this season if Pacers keep winning without their three best players.
9 (12) Cavaliers 9-4 From Dept. O' The Bizarre: Only three teams ever have won five straight after an 0-3 start, and two of them come from Cleveland. That would be 1999's Cavs and current Cavs.
10 (9) Pistons 6-7 Pistons are struggling so much without the suspended Big Ben that the committee is starting to think it overestimated the revamped champs' depth.
11 (13) Magic 8-4 Magic might sit only second in the Southeast, but before Miami's win over Boston on Sunday night, Orlando was (if only briefly) No. 1 in Florida and the division.
12 (11) Lakers 8-6 So Mailman's agent says his client won't be back on the floor until January at the earliest. It's safe to say Kobe is willing to wait as long as he needs to for the extra help.
13 (14) Nuggets 7-6 The home-heavy schedule has certainly helped, but it would be just 'Melo's luck for his freshly tweaked ankle to keep him out of Thursday's national TV showdown with LeBron.
14 (4) Jazz 8-6 Jazz have obviously been reading too much fawning press (probably on ESPN.com). How on Earth could a Jerry Sloan team be the cure-all for New Orleans AND Chicago? And at home?
15 (24) Clippers 8-6 Best team in L.A.? Not quite yet. But it was a better November than anyone could have predicted.
16 (23) Trail Blazers 7-6 Because the Northwest is the league's toughest division so far, instead of the Midwest as expected, Blazers find themselves -- yikes -- five games back of their regional rivals from Seattle.
17 (18) Knicks 6-6 Isiah has said he wants to be .500, at worst, after 20 games. Us? We want to see how Lenny handles Allan Houston's return with Jamal Crawford surging.
18 (20) Wizards 7-5 Here's wishing Coach Jordan a speedy recovery. Wiz are giving up a lot of points, but they're scoring lots, too, making this surprising start too good to miss.
19 (15) Rockets 6-9 Denver's gradual recovery means that Rockets have launched to the top of the league's Most Disappointing list. It's a state law that every team in Texas should be at least .500.
20 (21) 76ers 6-7 Anyone else sense that Obie isn't thrilled with Philly's early play? Except for AI, the new coach has tried at least two different starters at every position.
21 (16) Grizzlies 5-9 Unsolicited advice for Czar Fratello: Cut the 10-man rotation down to eight or nine and try to get Pau and Bonzi on the floor more, for starters.
22 (17) Celtics 4-8 The only solace for the team that keeps losing close games -- and for those who picked Boston to win the Atlantic -- is that no one in the division has a winning record.
23 (19) Raptors 6-9 As if Coach Mitchell hasn't seen enough already in this debut season -- Pape, too -- Raps play their next six on the road. That doesn't sound good.
24 (22) Bucks 4-7 This is not what Bucks will want to hear, but it's the truth: Even Atlanta has more road wins (one) than they do.
25 (27) Bobcats 3-9 What a night for Brevin Knight on Tuesday. With 19 assists, he had three more than the whole Detroit team.
26 (25) Hawks 2-11 It's getting close to official. You'd have to say gutty Bobcats are the better team.
27 (26) Nets 2-11 You have to hope Zo continues to speak his mind, no matter what threats management issues, because there's no other reason to pay attention to Jersey . . . until J-Kidd returns.
28 (28) Warriors 3-10 We've identified the problem: Warriors are undefeated as a franchise when they go to triple-overtime . . . but, including last week, it's only happened three times in their history.
29 (29) Hornets 1-11 We've identified the problem: Hornets have just one game left in Utah this season. Losing Magliore obviously doubles the pain, although that should hush the Vince trade talk for a bit.
30 (30) Bulls 1-10 We've identified the problem: Bulls have no games left in Utah this season . . . and can't keep the circus from coming to Chicago so early, which starts every season with a killer trip.
