yet an other power rankings

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piksi

Hall of Famer
#1
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2005&week=2

If somebody has time - please post the whole article - or not.

Here it is. The number in parentheses is last week's standing:

1 (7) Mavericks 7-1 We say so again: If Mavs keep holding teams under 95 ppg and stay in the league's top two in FG defense (.400 even), they're not going to lose often.
2 (2) Jazz 5-1 Committee deemed Jazz not quite ready for the No. 1 slot after its Toronto loss. But the response -- pounding on banged-up Detroit -- couldn't have been more emphatic.
3 (5) Spurs 5-1 Spurs can't go higher after two gimme wins (Warriors, Hawks) . . . and with Parker pressing to impress (.346 from the field) . . . and with Duncan's ongoing FT woes (.591).
4 (1) Pacers 5-2 As soon as someone (us) writes a Power Rankings comment about how Artest is 'looking great,' chaos ensues. Pacers never should issued him (Rodman's) No. 91.
5 (3) Heat 5-2 Like him or not, Shaq is a free-agent magnet. Shandon Anderson choose Miami over a clutch of teams and Zo wants to return to South Beach if Jersey buys him out. Et tu, Kobe?
6 (6) Timberwolves 3-2 There's not much more KG can do out there, but Sam I Am's struggles offensively and defensively suggest Cassell's hip could still be a problem.
7 (4) Pistons 3-3 Take away Ben Wallace, Chauncey Billups and Larry Brown and look what happens. Pistons are averaging 96.0 ppg -- and allowing (gasp) 98.7.
8 (12) Kings 3-4 See? Kings' 0-3 start was at least a little bit about their brutal schedule. They look more Kings-like at home and hope Saturday's win at Phoenix will be their road platform.
9 (8) Suns 4-2 Suns feel as though first 4-0 start since 1984-85 should have been been 6-0, after narrow losses to Cleveland and Sacto. But the Outlaw signing was a handy pick-me-up.
10 (19) SuperSonics 6-1 Remember last November, when Flip Murray was deified? Danny Fortson is this season's Flip, because some Sonics fans are apparently calling Fortson the next Lonnie Shelton.
11 (13) Lakers 4-4 You can feel all alone sometimes carrying these Lakers. Ditto for presenting at the American Music Awards, when the boo-birds sound off unexpectedly.
12 (9) Rockets 3-4 Rockets' start was slow before McGrady hurt his hip and/or groin. Hard to see them getting healthy soon, with six of the next seven games on the road.
13 (21) Cavaliers 3-3 The rally against Phoenix was huge for LBJ and his Cavs, even if Amare wasn't on the floor, because it was the sort of game last season's squad always lost.
14 (18) 76ers 4-3 It's early, true, but AI is making big shots and fancy passes with regularity. If his ankle is an issue, it's tough to tell.
15 (15) Grizzlies 2-5 On the worrisome side, $86 million man Pau Gasol is averaging seven rebounds nightly. On the plus side, we love their new away uniforms.
16 (16) Bucks 3-2 Mo Williams has been a fine fill-in for T.J. at PG, but that doesn't change the fact that Bucks should be 5-0. Instead they've dropped two heartbreakers to Fla. teams.
17 (17) Magic 4-3 Magic thinks it should be better than one game over .500, but you won't hear much complaining because all of Orlando remembers how it feels to go 0-14 in November.
18 (10) Raptors 4-3 Vince's benching? Sorry. The obvious question here when Raps started 4-1: How are they doing this without a major contribition from Pape Sow?
19 (14) Trail Blazers 3-3 Looks like Blazers, playoff outsiders coming into the season, will have to rally just to claim Best in the Northwest status, thanks to Seattle's stunning start.
20 (22) Celtics 3-2 This is probably one of those first-month quirks, but Celts have the league's stingiest defense so far, at 86.6 ppg allowed. Right . . . can't last.
21 (23) Clippers 4-3 What surprises you more? The 4-3 record? Or the fact that three other Clippers (Maggette, Simmons and Wilcox) are doing as much offensive damage as Brand?
22 (11) Nuggets 2-5 Against legit NBA Finals contenders -- Minnesota and Detroit, specifically -- Nuggets are 2-0. The other five games? All losses by double digits.
23 (20) Wizards 3-4 It's never fun to burst the bubble of a Week 1 overachiever, but 3-4 should feel more Wiz-like . . . with only two .500-or-better seasons in the last 17.
24 (26) Knicks 2-3 It's a good thing Lenny beat Philly and Clips, because wins figure to be scarce this week with injury-hit Knicks in Texas to make all three stops on the dreaded triangle.
25 (25) Nets 2-4 Some encouraging news, at last: J-Kidd says his knee is holding well and that a December return is the goal. Just don't bet on him staying in Jersey long once he does return.
26 (27) Warriors 1-6 Only Hornets' ultimate shame -- falling below Charlotte -- nudged Warriors up one spot. Because they're up high on the list of early disappointments.
27 (30) Hawks 1-5 Thanks to realignment, Hawks have only one game left against New Orleans. So, no, Hawks aren't celebrating their victory (and rise) too much.
28 (29) Bobcats 1-4 Uh-oh. Bobcats' hopes of winning something -- Okafor for Rookie of the Year -- have already been compromised with the way Dwight Howard is flexing in Orlando.
29 (24) Hornets 0-6 Warm welcome to the West continues: Baron's back gives out, not for the first time, and five of the next seven games are roadies.
30 (28) Bulls 0-4 Next seven games are roadies . . . after Bulls blew 24-point home lead to Clips . . . after Bulls shot 1-for-21 on 3-pointers against Phoenix.
 
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#3
Pau Gasol gets an $86 million dollar extension and promptly discontinues his rebounding. 6.6 rebounds a game for a seven footer. He must have Peja Stojakovic's disease; they're allergic to rebounding. At least Peja isn't making upwards of $10 million a year.

To be fair, he's never been a big time rebounder, especially for his size. Never averaged as many as 9 a game, but less than 7 is absolutely ridiculous, and Gasol ought to be ashamed of himself.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#5
Not sure if its true or not, but that comment about Zo and the Heat was what I was guessing last week. Just amkes sense -- Zo loves Riley, Miami is where he had his greatest success (might even still be home), and he gets to go back up Shaq and have a chance to get deep into the playoffs again.
 
#6
hey, at this point in the season, and the talk surrounding the kings thus far, im satisfied with an eigth place ranking overall from espn. i really could care less what other people think of our team, but its good to see that someone is sensible enough to recognize the talent the kings still have. i would put the kings ahead of minnesota myself, but the rest are pretty accurate. miami may be overhyped, im not too sure. i havent seem them play much, other than the sportscenter highlights. i think we're gonna keep going up, tho, as i remain optimistic about the kings chances this season. :)
 
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