This is a very exciting time for the NBA, the young talents in different teams are begining to show promise and this has helped their teams climb very fast on the power rankings.

No team has showed more promise than the high flying Atlanta Hawks (Atlanta Hawks flying high and Beating down the competition) lifting them to the top of the power rankings last week.

The Hawks, Bucks, Suns, Magic and Blazers are packed with young talent and playing up tempo basketball and are all ranking very high on the power rankings.

But the king of the hill this week are the Lakers, after a slow start they have finally hit their strides again with the return of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum continues to improve, the Lakers are beginning to look like NBA champions again and for week 4 are king of the hill.

Here’s a complete list of the NBA Power rankings for week 4.

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 5
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (5)	Lakers	10-3	Rare misread by us. Pau has been back for only two games, but the Lakers’ overall health suddenly must seem dreamy to Boston and loads of other teams. Playing 17 of your first 21 games at home can’t hurt, either.
	2 (1)	Hawks	11-3	Can’t bust on them too hard for losing to the injury-hit Hornets when the Hawks responded to the high jinx potential of their historic promotion to No. 1 by first sweeping past Portland, Miami and Houston at home.
	3 (3)	Suns	11-3	The best part about the Suns’ start is that the schedule sets them up for a big second-half surge if they can get through a few more weeks in decent shape. Fifteen of their first 22 games are roadies; only one bad loss so far.
	4 (10)	Magic	11-3	Vinsanity seals a big victory in Boston, Dwight gets Stan to ease up on his negativity and Jameer’s latest injury is softened by Rashard’s return. Conclusion? We definitely dropped Orlando way too far last Monday.
	5 (2)	Nuggets	9-4	Updating one of my favorite stats of the early season, it’s time to tally up the havoc Melo is wreaking: 476 minutes played; 396 points scored. Works out to one point every 1.2 minutes based on my amateur math.
	6 (7)	Mavericks	10-3	The schedule hasn’t been the toughest, but the Mavs have had several injuries early and are just one late free throw in New Orleans away from an 11-2 start, all with Nowitzki supplying the only consistency.
	7 (6)	Cavaliers	10-4	Good to see young (and athletic) Hickson get an extended shot and seize the opportunity. Not so good, from the Cavs’ perspective, to hear LeBron publicly lament the fact that Charlotte beat Cleveland to Stephen Jackson.
	8 (4)	Celtics	10-4	The Spurs, at least, have the handy rationalization of being wracked by injuries. The slow-moving Celts have been a lot healthier by comparison, which makes this 4-4 malaise since their smothering 6-0 start so curious.
	9 (8)	Trail Blazers	10-5	Back to the bench for Andre Miller … for a couple of reasons: 1. Roy’s game seemed squeezed even when the Blazers’ three-PG lineup went 6-0. 2. Portland’s famed depth just ain’t the same with Batum and Outlaw out.
	10 (12)	Bucks	8-3	B-Jennings is the first rookie with six 25-points-or-more games before Thanksgiving since someone named Michael Jordan in November 1984. And you wonder why Scott Skiles can’t get any pub for the job he’s doing.
	11 (11)	Rockets	8-6	The forthcoming docket for the gutty little Rockets: Dallas at home Wednesday, San Antonio at home Friday and then a trip to Oklahoma City on Sunday. A week doesn’t get more Southwestern-y than that.
	12 (20)	Jazz	7-6	D-Will is back and five straight home games loom after a 3-0 week that included a hex-snapping win in San Antonio over the short-handed Spurs. Methinks this could end up being Utah’s best stretch since early March.
	13 (9)	Heat	8-5	It used to be routine to refer to the Cavs as the LeBrons. Why, then, aren’t more folks calling this team the D-Wades? (Follow-up bonus factoid: Miami’s eight wins came against teams with a composite record of 32-57.)
	14 (13)	Thunder	7-7	Sunday’s lesson from the Lakers dropped OKC’s record to 10-43 in its past 53 games against teams that showed up with a winning record. But you have to believe that mark won’t look so one-sided by season’s end.
	15 (15)	Spurs	5-6	Even when Popovich is working so hard not to overextend his stars — Duncan is averaging just 32 minutes per game, followed by Parker at 27.3 mpg and Manu at 23.4 — San Antonio has seen injuries galore already.
	16 (14)	Bulls	6-6	The bad news: Chicago’s annual circus road trip looks as murderous as ever. The good news: Derrick Rose had the look of a full-speed Derrick Rose on Saturday night in Denver for maybe the first time this season.
	17 (16)	Raptors	6-8	The Raps are nervous enough about a porous defense that too frequently cancels out Bosh and Bargnani’s ongoing offensive prowess. Hearing Bosh complain publicly about media disrespect doesn’t bring much comfort.
	18 (26)	Hornets	6-9	Byron Scott, truth be told, began the season with little chance of survival. But his reluctance to play Collison and Thornton — rookies who, with Peja, just sparked wins over Phoenix and Atlanta — sealed B-Scott’s fate.
	19 (19)	Kings	5-7	No Kevin Martin or Tyreke Evans in Houston and still Sacramento hangs in all the way to the final minute on the back end of a back-to-back. One more example of why we refer this scrappy group of kids as Rockets Lite.
	20 (17)	Pacers	5-6	What drags a team back down to Earth after ringing up 113 points on Boston with Murphy, Dunleavy and Foster all out? The driving force in Indy’s case was blowing a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter in New York.
	21 (22)	Warriors	4-8	The Dubs can’t relax now that Jack’s gone. Not when a W over Portland was preceded by L’s at Cleveland and Boston. And not when stops in Dallas and San Antonio are next before a home date with the Lakers.
	22 (18)	Pistons	5-9	You can rationalize Detroit’s 0-4 trip out West when you factor in the quality of the opposition and the Pistons’ injury woes. Harder to explain or accept is the fact that Will Bynum has been steadier than Rodney Stuckey.
	23 (25)	Clippers	5-9	The Clips followed up their good win in OKC by dropping winnable games in New Orleans and Memphis. Let’s see if they can build on a good home W over Denver … especially with Eric Gordon coming back from injury.
	24 (24)	Wizards	3-9	Anyone else having trouble figuring out which Gilbert we should expect these days? Is he talking? Not talking? Shooting? Just passing? Yes on Hibachi? No on Hibachi? Isn’t that a lot of personas for a three-win team?
	25 (21)	Bobcats	4-9	Fearless prediction: Stephen Jackson will not be in Charlotte at season’s end. The Bobcats still won’t score enough or win enough with Jack to persuade them not to re-shop Jack before the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
	26 (27)	Grizzlies	4-9	If we did Irony Rankings, Memphis would be a top-three lock. Grizz owner Michael Heisley mandated the signing of Iverson to be the first box-office draw in franchise history … and A.I. left without playing a home game.
	27 (23)	76ers	5-8	After six losses in eight games as well as the loss of Speights to injury, Philly is forced to focus on its one ray of promise: Elton Brand averaged a long-awaited 20 points, 10 boards and 4 blocks in the past three games.
	28 (29)	Knicks	3-10	This is where they draw the line? After a decade of stupefying Knicks madness and dysfunction, Iverson is the guy they won’t sign? Would have actually made the rest of the Knicks’ season fun. Or at least watchable.
	29 (30)	Timberwolves	1-12	It must be worrisome for the Wolves, to say the least, that they’ve played almost into Thanksgiving and somehow Ricky Rubio has tasted victory in the NBA only one fewer time than fellow Wolves lottery pick Jonny Flynn.
	30 (28)	Nets	0-13	L-Frank won his first 13 games as an NBA head coach after replacing Byron Scott. And now Frank’s in the midst of an 0-13 start in what is virtually certain to be his final season in New Jersey. Did someone say full circle?

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 5 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

There really is nothing better than when your favorite team exceeds expectations during the regular season.
Teams such as the Atlanta Hawks and the Phoenix Suns have absolutely shined thus far, ranking at the cream of the crop in both conferences.
But with such great success rises a crucial question, will these teams be able to extend their hot streak throughout the entire season?

Brandon Ribak breaks down the Top Three Contenders and Pretenders in the NBA and explains why three organizations will ultimately continue their scorching tear on the season and why the other three will fizzle down within the next few weeks.

Top Three Contenders

1. Atlanta Hawks (11-3, .786)- 1st in East

Atlanta is clearly the hottest team in the league right now with an 11-3 overall record on the season.
With big victories against the Celtics (in Boston), the Nuggets, and the Blazers (twice), the Hawks are obviously a legitamite team this season.

Point-guard Mike Bibby fell to an ankle injury during the teams last game, but with the offseason acquiring of Jamal Crawford, Hawks fans can rely on the sharp-shooter to contribute in loads in replace of the veteran.

The Hawks are averaging 108 PPG, ranking third in the league in scoring. If the starting core can continue to produce at the high level that they are, there is no doubt that Atlanta will rank amongst the elite in the East all season long.

2. Dallas Mavericks (10-3, .769)- T-1st in West

Similar to Atlanta, the Mavericks are off to a teriffic start in the early stages of the NBA season.
Dallas’ roster continues to fill up the stat sheet each and every night with forward Dirk Nowitzki leading the way, averaging 26.9 PPG (8th in NBA).

With Josh Howard still sidelined, the Mavericks bench has managed to step up and help contribute to the teams success.
If Dallas can keep racking up the W’s it is blatanly obvious that they will remain as one of the teams on top of the Western conference standings.

3. Denver Nuggets (9-4, .692)- 4th in West

Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets have shown early on this season that they have the mindset capable of making it far into the postseason this year.
Melo currently leads the league in scoring dropping 30.5 PPG on 47.9 percent shooting in 13 games.

Anthony is a top candidate in the early MVP talks thus far and is undoubtedly playing his best basketball since first entering the league.
With a supporting cast consisting of Billups, Lawson, Smith, Nene, Martin, and Anderson, all Melo needs to do is keep up the production and his team will receive the respect that they deserve.

The Top Three Pretenders

1. Phoenix Suns (10-3, .769)- T-1st in West

While the Suns do indeed rank on top in the West, we expect a quick drop in their overall standings within the next few weeks as they will face up against the Lakers (twice), Cavaliers (twice), Magic, Mavericks, Spurs, Blazers, Celtics, and Nuggets next month.

In addition, in 13 games played thus far the Suns have compiled 10 wins, with five of the ten coming from teams under .500.

Teams with easy schedules during the first month of the season tend to have an inflated record and with an extremely difficult schedule in the month of December, the Suns will struggle to hold their first place record.

2. Milwaukee Bucks (8-3, .727)- 4th in East

While the Bucks have been the biggest surprise team so far with rookie Brandon Jennings leading the way, Milwaukees luck will soon run out in the month of December.
Similar to Phoenix, the Bucks have seven of their eight wins to extremely unimpressive teams with winning percentages under .385.

Although they have looked great in the early start to the season it is safe to say that Milwaukee won’t be anywhere close to playoff contention near seasons end.

3. Miami Heat (7-5, .583)- 6th in East

After winning six of their first seven games many believed that the Heat were the real deal this season.
Since then the heat has already ran out, losing four of their past five games.

With a pretty stacked schedule ahead of themselves (Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers (twice), Spurs, Magic, Dallas) Miami is destined to lose even more games in the month of December unless Dwyane Wade can pull out a miracle for his team.

by Brandon Ribak

The NBA Contenders and Pretenders is a post from: AroDrive

Steve Nash is showing form of why he is a 2 time MVP of the League, Nash and the Suns are flying high over the competition and making ease of it all.

Five of Suns’ seven games have been on the road in their remarkable 6-1 season opening, who made Boston look like a bad defensive team.

The Celtics were one place down to second with a 7-1 record. Playing eight games in 12 days. Tired legs affected the defense and the three-point shooting.

The Lakers were one place up to third with Kobe Bryant leading the league in scoring again. Lakers are surviving without Pau Gasol, needing overtimes to win in Oklahoma and Houston this week.

The heat also climbed one place up, joining the Nuggets on the list of teams we didn’t think could have a better season than they did last year. But they’ve got a top-five defense and Dwyane Wade hasn’t had to carry as big of a load.

From fifth to tenth are Orlando Magics, Atlanta Hawks, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Blazers and Houston Rockets, who jumped three places to reach top ten.

	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
1	Phoenix (7)	6-1	Pace: 100.6 (2), Off: 109.1 (5), Def: 103.8 (15) Most impressive about the Suns’ start is that five of their seven games have been on the road. In handing the Celtics their first loss on Friday, they made Boston look like a bad defensive team. Then the Suns got defensive themselves in Washington.
2	Boston (1)	7-1	Pace: 92.8 (25), Off: 106.2 (10), Def: 90.9 (2) Playing eight games in 12 days took a toll, as the Celtics finished the span with narrow escapes in Minnesota and New Jersey, sandwiching a home loss to the Suns. Tired legs affected the defense and their 3-point shooting (10-for-47 in the three games).
3	L.A. Lakers (4)	6-1	Pace: 95.0 (15), Off: 104.9 (14), Def: 99.5 (10) With Kobe Bryant leading the league in scoring again, L.A. is surviving without Pau Gasol, needing OT to win in OKC and Houston this week. Three days off might allow Gasol and/or Andrew Bynum get back for Thursday’s game against the Suns.
4	Miami (5)	5-1	Pace: 94.5 (20), Off: 104.2 (15), Def: 95.9 (5) The Heat join the Nuggets on the list of teams we didn’t think could have a better season than they did last year. But they’ve got a top-five defense and (with the exception of Wednesday’s win in Washington) Dwyane Wade hasn’t had to carry as big of a load.
5	Orlando (2)	5-2	Pace: 93.7 (21), Off: 110.7 (3), Def: 106.3 (22) The Magic were missing Vince Carter, Ryan Anderson and Rashard Lewis when they got smoked by the Thunder on Sunday, but you know Stan Van Gundy didn’t care. He called his squad “a white-collar team” afterward. Carter may be back Tuesday.
6	Atlanta (9)	5-2	Pace: 97.6 (8), Off: 109.4 (4), Def: 104.6 (18) A 20-point loss to the Bobcats followed by a 25-point win over the Nuggets? Oh, those wacky Hawks! Jamal Crawford (averaging 18.1 points off the bench) has made their offense more potent, but consistency will only come when the defense improves.
7	Denver (3)	5-2	Pace: 98.5 (5), Off: 111.0 (2), Def: 105.9 (20) You would expect the Nuggets’ defense to suffer without Kenyon Martin, but their 3-point shooting? They shot just 4-for-23 as they fell in Miami and Atlanta over the weekend. J.R. Smith returns from suspension for the final two games of their six-game trip.
8	Dallas (6)	4-2	Pace: 94.8 (18), Off: 105.5 (13), Def: 97.8 (7) The Mavs couldn’t stop Chris Paul on Wednesday, but Josh Howard returned on Saturday and they had their best offensive game of the season in a win over Toronto. They shot a scorching 63 percent from the field and turned the ball over just nine times.
9	Portland (12)	4-3	Pace: 92.4 (28), Off: 105.6 (12), Def: 99.4 (9) Andre Miller became a starter just six games into the season, but as part of a three-guard lineup with Steve Blake and Brandon Roy. It worked, as the Blazers stifled the Spurs on Friday and crushed the Wolves on Sunday. Now, they hit the road for a five-game trip.
10	Houston (13)	4-2	Pace: 96.2 (10), Off: 106.6 (8), Def: 102.7 (14) Much has been made about second-round steal DeJuan Blair in San Antonio, but what about Chase Budinger? The Rockets’ rook was taken seven picks after Blair and is averaging 10.6 points per game on 53 percent shooting off the bench.
	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
11	Cleveland (15)	4-3	Pace: 93.2 (24), Off: 101.3 (20), Def: 96.4 (6) Mike Brown admits that he’s still experimenting with his lineups, looking for the right combinations. The Shaq/Ilgauskas twin-towers frontcourt is even (+0) in 33 minutes of floor time, but Shaq and LeBron are a -11 in 122 minutes together. They need time.
12	Chicago (17)	4-2	Pace: 93.4 (23), Off: 94.8 (26), Def: 98.9 (8) The Bulls won three games by a total of six points this week, getting key stops down the stretch in each. Luol Deng is not only leading the Bulls in scoring and averaging a double-double, but he’s made them a top-ten defensive squad.
13	Milwaukee (18)	3-2	Pace: 95.9 (12), Off: 94.3 (28), Def: 88.9 (1) Brandon Jennings has grabbed the headlines, but it’s been the league’s best defense that has the Bucks above .500, despite the absence of Michael Redd, for the first time since they had the same record at this point last season.
14	San Antonio (8)	2-3	Pace: 92.5 (27), Off: 106.8 (7), Def: 106.1 (21) For the second straight year, the Spurs have begun the season as a bad defensive team. And for the second straight year, Tony Parker sprained his left ankle in the fifth game. Fortunately, 12 of their next 15 games are at home and Parker shouldn’t be out long.
15	Oklahoma City (16)	3-3	Pace: 92.6 (26), Off: 99.3 (23), Def: 94.7 (4) Tuesday’s OT loss to the Lakers was a heartbreaker for the Thunder, but they made up for it with Sunday’s blowout of the Magic. The next two weeks will be telling, as they play seven of their next nine on the road, where they were 8-33 last season.
16	L.A. Clippers (22)	3-4	Pace: 98.6 (4), Off: 102.1 (18), Def: 101.7 (12) As expected, the Clippers turned things around thanks to a soft schedule, and their next six games are very winnable as well. With the Hornets and Jazz floundering, this could be a playoff team, especially if Baron Davis gets his act together.
17	Toronto (20)	3-3	Pace: 94.9 (17), Off: 112.7 (1), Def: 114.0 (29) With Chris Bosh averaging 28.5 points per game and Andrea Bargnani shooting the lights out, the Raptors have the best offense in the league thus far. But their defense is just awful, as evidenced by Dallas’ 129 points on Saturday.
18	Detroit (21)	3-4	Pace: 89.9 (30), Off: 101.6 (19), Def: 102.0 (13) The Pistons’ defense missed Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince in their losses to the Raptors and Magic, but Ben Wallace’s seven offensive boards helped Detroit rack up 27 second-chance points in Sunday’s win over the Sixers.
19	Philadelphia (11)	3-3	Pace: 94.7 (19), Off: 103.4 (16), Def: 107.2 (23) The Sixers just seem destined to hover around .500 for the entire season. Somehow, they’ve got to get Elton Brand going. The $82 million man has just 20 total points on 9-for-23 shooting over the last three games, yet to find his spots in the Princeton.
20	Utah (14)	2-4	Pace: 95.6 (13), Off: 106.1 (11), Def: 108.7 (25) If the Jazz can’t beat the Kings (without Kevin Martin) at home, how are they going to do on their four-game trip this week? The Knicks will be happy to get a shot at the worst 3-point defense (opponents are shooting 46 percent) in the league on Monday.
	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
21	Indiana (27)	2-3	Pace: 99.9 (3), Off: 97.7 (25), Def: 100.5 (11) The Pacers’ two-game winning streak has been sparked by … defense? Yes. They held the Knicks and Wizards to just 39 percent shooting, helping them overcome their own offensive struggles. Tyler Hansbrough had an impressive debut on Friday.
22	Washington (10)	2-5	Pace: 95.3 (14), Off: 100.3 (21), Def: 104.0 (16) Antawn Jamison and Mike Miller are out, but are the Wizards just not as improved as we thought they’d be? They shot less than 40 percent in each of their four losses this week, with Jamison going on a locker-room rant after Friday’s loss in Indiana.
23	Charlotte (25)	3-3	Pace: 91.0 (29), Off: 90.6 (30), Def: 93.1 (3) The Bobcats’ offense exploded for 103 points in Friday’s win over the Hawks, but came back down to earth the next night in Chicago. Gerald Wallace’s 13.8 rebounds per game have helped them become a much-improved team in the boards.
24	Sacramento (30)	3-4	Pace: 96.0 (11), Off: 107.2 (6), Def: 109.6 (26) Kevin Martin’s going to be on the shelf for a couple of months, but the Kings are doing just fine without him … so far. Tyreke Evans averaged 27.5 points in a pair of blowout wins over the weekend, including Saturday’s shocker in Utah.
25	New Orleans (19)	2-5	Pace: 93.4 (22), Off: 102.9 (17), Def: 111.1 (28) Chris Paul scored 32 points and dished out 13 assists in New York on Monday, and then had 21 and 18 against the Raptors on Friday. The Hornets lost both games. Did the defense disappear with the departure of Tyson Chandler?
26	Golden State (24)	1-4	Pace: 103.6 (1), Off: 100.0 (22), Def: 110.8 (27) With Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies, the Warriors somehow proved to be the less dysfunctional of the two teams. Then they restored their reputation with blowout losses to the Clippers and Kings over the weekend.
27	Memphis (23)	1-6	Pace: 98.0 (7), Off: 106.4 (9), Def: 115.3 (30) Yeah, it would have been a great story if Allen Iverson accepted a bench role and became a veteran leader on a team that desperately needed one. But it can’t be a shock that just the opposite has gone down. A leopard can’t change his spots.
28	Minnesota (26)	1-6	Pace: 96.7 (9), Off: 94.4 (27), Def: 104.2 (17) The Timberwolves gave the Celtics a real scare on Wednesday, but then the ball ended up in Corey Brewer’s hands when they needed a bucket on the final possession. What? Brian Cardinal wasn’t open?
29	New York (28)	1-6	Pace: 98.4 (6), Off: 97.8 (24), Def: 107.2 (24) In just seven games, the Knicks have lost the first quarter by 15 points or more four times already, including two games this weekend when they gave up 40 first-quarter points to both the Cavs and Bucks. Thursday’s players-only meeting didn’t help.
30	New Jersey (29)	0-7	Pace: 95.0 (16), Off: 92.3 (29), Def: 104.8 (19) Moral victories aren’t worth much when you haven’t won a game yet, but with seven guys out (including four starters), the Nets led the Celtics after three quarters on Saturday. Their best shot at getting off the schneid comes Wednesday vs. Philly.

Suns Flying High: 2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 2 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive

The Tip off week has been more of a disappointment than any thing else: Cleveland just like the Suns last year can’t seem to find a way to utilize Shaq, any one could have seen that coming (Shaq and Lebron pairing not the solution for a Cleveland Title) The Lakers as we reported earlier (The Lakers will Repeat as NBA Championship) but they are still having some chemistry issues, yet they find a way to win hence, I believe the Lakers will get it together long before the Cavs will.

Don’t know about you but it seem like no NBA team came into this season ready to play Basketball, there are a few bright spots: the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets  looks really good hence they claim the top 3 spots on the A-List Power Rankings for week 2. A few players have also shown they are here to do work: Gilbert Arenas, Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Joe Johnson and forever young Steve Nash and they have their teams fired up too.

Here are the NBA Power Rankings: Week 2:

2009-10 Power Rankings: Week 1
RANK (LAST WK)		TEAM	REC.	COMMENT
	1 (4)	Celtics	4-0	If the Rondo contract extension saga has been a distraction, imagine what kind of D we’ll see from the C’s when they’re focused. They held the Hornets to 87 on Sunday and at times you were asking: “What’s wrong?”
	2 (2)	Magic	3-0	Can a team make a statement with a road win at Toronto in the third game of the season? If so, this is what Orlando announced Sunday with Rashard, Vinsanity and Pietrus all missing: Deepest Team in the League!
	4 (9)	Nuggets	3-0	He has logged 117 minutes. And he has rung up 113 points. Anyone else get the feeling that Carmelo Anthony isn’t particularly pleased with all this one-hit wonder stuff people have been saying about the Nuggets?
	3 (1)	Lakers	2-1	Is it just us or has Pau’s absence illuminated a lack of dependable depth for the reigning champs compared to what, say, Orlando or Boston has assembled? Conclusions are ill-advised so early, but it’s worth discussing.
	5 (7)	Mavericks	2-1	A long-awaited road win over the Lakers, Josh Howard’s potential return in a week’s time and the bounce in Marion’s step have almost made the Mavs forget how flat they looked on opening night against the Wiz. Almost.
	6 (2)	Spurs	2-1	I think it’s fair to say we wanted to see a little more juice from the Spurs on Thursday at Chicago in their first back-to-back set of the season after all the talk about how much deeper they got over the summer. Agreed?
	7 (5)	Cavaliers	2-2	Don’t want to blow an 0-2 start out of proportion, because the early schedule was no gimme, but facts is facts: 15 teams have won 65 games or more and Elias says only one (these Cavs) started the next season 0-2.
	8 (11)	Hawks	2-1	You know who has not been impressed by a couple decent wins at home (over Indy and Washington) and one pounding inflicted by the Lakers? Joe Johnson. Said JJ after L.A. ran up a huge lead Sunday: “We’re too soft.”
	9 (8)	Trail Blazers	2-2	Opening Night ’08 was way worse, when the Lakers humbled Portland on national TV and Oden went down. But this start has been no treat: Roy’s shot is off, Aldridge has a bruised knee and Andre Miller isn’t helping much.
	10 (15)	Suns	3-0	The weak comp in Week 1 will overshadow G-Hill’s rebounding and Frye’s 3s for some naysayers, but the Suns aren’t apologizing. Not with J-Rich suspended for the first two games and a five-game East trip looming.
	11 (13)	Heat	3-0	Easy schedule or not, Miami impressed us almost as much in Week 1 as its more feared Florida neighbors. No one had D-Wade and his razor-thin crew sweeping their first three games by an average win margin of 14.3 ppg.
	12 (6)	Wizards	2-1	Andray Blatche cracked the 20-point plateau three times last year. He’s done it twice this year filling in for Jamison. That math should explain why we’re pubbing Blatche here instead of more deserved raves for Arenas.
	13 (10)	Jazz	1-1	One week in and all of last season’s talking points have already been revived: Injuries (Korver and Okur), defense (very little displayed until the fourth quarter against the Clips) and, of course, uncertain futures (Boozer).
	14 (19)	Bulls	1-2	Don’t want to make too much of a three-game sample, so let’s just say that Ben Gordon’s absence has been somewhat noticeable so far, given that the Bulls have clanked 36 of the 43 triples they’ve hoisted.
	15 (16)	76ers	2-1	Sixers optimists would tell you that it took them until January last season to look as cohesive as they look already. We’ll keep an open mind but can’t ignore that the cohesiveness came against two lottery-bound teams.
	16 (25)	Raptors	1-2	The Raps might rank as the toughest team to rate, with results — home win over the Cavs, losses in Memphis and at home to depleted Orlando — all over the board even with Bosh and Bargnani clearly ready to go.
	17 (14)	Rockets	2-1	That they’ve won twice already shouldn’t surprise you. You knew going in about the gutty little Rockets, no matter who’s in the lineup. The shocker, if you’re looking for one, is Ariza averaging 29.0 ppg in those wins.
	18 (12)	Hornets	1-2	Two games is way too soon to talk about coaching changes. Even in the hyper-speculative NBA. But I still wouldn’t have wanted to be Byron Scott if the Hornets didn’t pull out that home opener against the Kings’ kiddies.
	19 (21)	Thunder	2-1	We repeat: Give ‘em time. A 2-0 launch was nice, especially when it includes a 1-0 road record, but Sunday’s home test against Portland was an early reminder that the NW Division’s young darlings are still evolving.
	20 (18)	Pistons	1-2	Latest examples of how Twitter has changed the game: Villanueva responds to back-to-back Ls with a plea to fans to “NOT PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON” and a promise that “WE WILL BE MORE THAN ALL RIGHT.”
	21 (22)	Bobcats	1-2	It took exactly one game for Charlotte to make its own case that signing A.I. would have helped. They’ve always had trouble scoring, but even the Bobs had never scored fewer than 73 … until Boston held them to 59.
	22 (17)	Clippers	0-4	The gloom generated by Blake Griffin’s knee injury has been replaced by plain old gloom after the Clips went scoreless for the final 4:42 of a home L to Dallas … with Baron on the bench for all but 19 seconds of the fourth.
	23 (28)	Bucks	1-1	Fun Bucks factoid to digest when you’re not ripping yourself for underrating Brandon Jennings: Milwaukee has opened on the road for 25 seasons in a row! No one else in history has done so for more than 14 straight seasons.
	24 (27)	Grizzlies	1-2	Considering they got drubbed at home in their opener by Detroit — setting an unwanted NBA record with their ninth straight opening-night defeat — all the offense we’ve seen since from the Grizz is pretty eye-catching.
	25 (20)	Pacers	0-2	Tyler Hansbrough’s rookie debut is still on hold thanks to a shin problem. Mike Dunleavy’s return from a long-term knee injury remains uncertain. And Team Granger is not nearly deep enough to cope well without them.
	26 (29)	Timberwolves	1-2	The comeback win over Jersey was nice, but nothing at this stage matters more than the recovery of Al Jefferson, who looked a little more like himself in Phoenix with 21 points … after totaling 21 in the first two games.
	27 (26)	Warriors	0-2	As if the Dubs don’t have enough going on, they’re still smarting from the one-point home L to Houston. Good thing their next four games (Grizz, Clips, Wolves at home and Sac-Town away) offer four chances to atone.
	28 (23)	Knicks	0-3	Knicks fans have suffered so much for so long that we’ve made the benevolent decision to focus on a glimmer of positivity — Gallinari’s electric start — as opposed to everything excruciating we’ve already seen.
	29 (24)	Nets	0-3	The Nets are painfully thin and young (and counting down the days to 2010 free agency) even when Devin Harris is healthy. So we might as well keep talking about the incoming Russian billionaire if Harris is out injured.
	30 (30)	Kings	0-3	As much as we’d like to dissect/dwell on Casspi’s debut, we can’t ignore the reality that any and all rookie discussion in Sacramento will focus on Tyreke Evans’ recovery from a twisted ankle. Until Evans is back.

2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 1 (A-List Edition) is a post from: AroDrive