Our power rankings rate the entire league from top to
bottom. A very opinionated feature, obviously. InsideHoops.com power rankings
are updated every now and then during the summer, and usually every week during
the season.
NBA Power Rankings Updated Nov. 9, 2009
Records are regular season win-loss
1) LA Lakers (6-1) -- The NBA champions have been without Pau Gasol so far this season and lately are missing starting center Andrew Bynum, but they keep winning anyway.
2) Phoenix (6-1) -- Playing beautiful basketball. Steve Nash averaging 11.9 assists per game.
3) Boston (7-1) -- Championship contenders for sure. This team may be better than the similar one that won the title two years ago.
4) Denver (5-2) -- Carmelo Anthony is playing like an MVP candidate
5) Orlando (5-2) -- Doing fine despite several minor early-season injuries.
6) Miami (5-1) -- Off to a great start. While Dwyane Wade is great, let's all praise Jermaine O'Neal for being pretty good again. And Quentin Richardson has been a nice surprise.
7) Atlanta (5-2) -- Jamal Crawford has been a fantastic addition and is putting up 18.1 points and 3.0 assists per game.
8) Portland (4-3) -- Worth keeping an eye on the Blazers now that Andre Miller is finally starting.
9) Cleveland (4-3) -- The center spot has actually been the issue, with Shaquille O'Neal taking the Cavs a bit out of their game, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas looking old. Delonte West is still working his way back into contributing.
10) Dallas (4-2) -- Josh Howard recently returned. Erick Dampier is playing well.
11) Chicago (4-2) -- Luol Deng is off to a good start as a scorer and better-than-expected rebounder. Derrrick Rose is coming off injury and fairly quiet so far. Still, Chicago's been good.
12) San Antonio (2-3) -- Tony Parker is hurt this week, Tim Duncan is banged up, and Richard Jefferson is still learning to fit in here. Manu Ginobili looks a bit old.
13) Houston (4-2) -- InsideHoops.com has long sung the praises of coach Rick Adelman. He's fantastic. And Trevor Ariza is proving he's a leading talent and not just a great supporting contributor.
14) Toronto (3-3) -- Chris Bosh is dominating, and Andrea Bargnani is scoring big. But the help hasn't stepped up. Hedo Turkoglu hasn't been impressive yet.
15) Utah (2-4) -- Deron Williams is rocking, but the other key Jazz players have looked asleep.
16) New Orleans (2-5) -- Chris Paul and David West are getting very little help. Emeka Okafor is rebounding, no one else is doing much of anything.
17) Oklahoma City (3-3) -- Russell Westbrook is playing like a monster at the point, putting up 18.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 8.2 apg on 48.8%.
18) Philadelphia (3-3) -- Lou Williams is doing a pretty nice job stepping up as point guard with Andre Miller gone to Portland. Elton Brand has looked lousy so far.
19) Detroit (3-4) -- Ben Gordon and Richard Hamilton are combining for almost 30 PPG. Not much playmaking on this squad, though.
20) Milwaukee (3-2) -- Brandon Jennings is an early Rookie of the Year candidate.
21) Washington (2-5) -- Andray Blatch and Randy Foye are supporting Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler pretty nicely, but the team as a whole is looking weak.
22) LA Clippers (3-4) -- No Blake Griffin, but Chris Kaman is doing big things at the center spot.
23) Charlotte (3-3) -- Nice balanced scoring but no big-time offensive threat on the roster.
24) Sacramento (3-4) -- With Kevin Martin out, Tyreke Evans is stepping up.
25) Indiana (2-3) -- Danny Granger is missing a lot and has very little help. Dahntay Jones has stepped up. Roy Hibbert and Troy Murphy rebound well, but there isn't much else here.
26) Golden State (1-4) -- Monta Ellis playing well. Stephen Jackson is good but wants out. Anthony Morrow is a legit baller. Team plays like a CBA squad.
27) New York (1-6) -- Just swing ball around trying to find open threes, and don't play defense
28) Memphis (1-6) -- InsideHoops.com is not voting for Allen Iverson in 2010 All-Star game ballot
29) Minnesota (1-6) -- Should consider re-signing Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell.
30) New Jersey (0-7) -- Barely an NBA team right now, though injuries to Devin Harris and others obviously hurt a lot.
1) LA Lakers (6-1) -- The NBA champions have been without Pau Gasol so far this season and lately are missing starting center Andrew Bynum, but they keep winning anyway.