Power Rankings: Suns stay in top 10; Bulls, Celts crash

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The first big NBA Power Rankings debate of the season: How far to drop the Phoenix Suns after the loss of Amare Stoudemire?

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The ruling from ESPN.com's NBA Power Rankings committee (of one): Not that far.

The Suns have dropped only five spots, from No. 3 to No. 8, in Marc Stein's latest rankings, which serve as a barometer of each team's readiness for a fast-approaching Opening Night. As seen in the Suns' Daily Dime preview earlier in the week, Stein is still picking the Suns to win the Pacific Division even with Stoudemire sidelined by a knee injury until at least the All-Star break.

The Power Rankings move to their usual Monday slot on Nov. 7 and will then continue weekly through the regular season. Click here to comment on the latest batch.

Editor's note: The Record category shows the team's 2004-05 regular season record. The Last Week category shows the team's ranking in Marc Stein's Training Camp Edition of the Power Rankings .

  • SportsNation: Rank them yourself!

    2005-06 Power Rankings: Preseason
    RANK (LAST WK) TEAM REC. COMMENT
    1 (1) Spurs 59-23 We repeat: Spurs won't win 70 because they generally start slow and because Pop won't waste energy letting them chase a number that doesn't mean anything in the playoffs. But make no mistake: This is S.A.'s deepest team ever.
    2 (4) Pacers 44-38 Still struggling to believe that Penthouse is going with Artest on its cover, but at least you can tell your wife or girlfriend (for once) that you're buying it to read it.
    3 (2) Pistons 54-28 This fate was avoided thanks to Indy's suspension-induced drop, but Pistons -- not the biggest fans of the regular season -- have to remember that finishing second in the division means you can't be seeded higher than No. 4.
    4 (6) Rockets 51-31 Houstonians are obviously hurting right now, but there are worse fates than getting swept in the title round. T-Mac knows that all too well, but has never been better positioned (if healthy, of course) to change his playoff fortunes.
    5 (5) Heat 59-23 Sounds like there's someone else out there (besides us) for Heat fans to hate. Says 'Sheed: ''With a team like that, I wouldn't have changed nothing. They took us to a Game 7, I mean, why change that team?''
    6 (7) Nuggets 49-33 'Melo insists he'll be an All-Star this February. If Denver lives up to all the lofty expectations 'Melo and Co. are generating, he's a lock.
    7 (8) Mavericks 58-24 If it's basically the same team as last season, as previously noted in this cyberspace, something else hasn't changed. Dirk is always Dirk, but the big question in Big D remains: What will Dallas get at point guard and center?
    8 (3) Suns 62-20 No, not a misprint: I'm still picking Phoenix to win the Pacific, even without Amare. But his absence means Spurs will now run virtually unopposed in the West.
    9 (12) Nets 42-40 Did You Know time: Nets were 29-10 when Krstic scored at least 10. More evidence that the young C, who's expected to bump up that PPG, might be the real key here.
    10 (9) Cavaliers 42-40 Everyone knows they'll be better. Question is, how much better will Cavs be on the road? For their sake, hopefully much, much better than 12-29.
    11 (10) Kings 50-32 Adelman's under some pressure, as always, but so is Petrie (to a degree). The GM who gambled on Bonzi and Reef has to convince Peja (contract year) to stay.
    12 (11) Grizzlies 45-37 Except for Toronto, perhaps no team took the Magloire trade harder than Memphis. Jerry West, by all accounts, wanted the big man badly.
    13 (15) Bucks 30-52 Without Magloire, Simmons has to play lots of PF. With Magloire, Simmons as a four is now just for occasional small-ball changeups, which is a better way to use him.
    14 (14) Wizards 45-37 That first-round comeback over Chicago obviously made an impression in our offices. Several of the ESPN pundits expect Bulls to take a backward step and project Wiz to maintain their newfound playoff status.
    15 (16) Lakers 34-48 The 24/7 focus is naturally on Phil and Kobe. But success probably depends more on Phil reaching Kwame and Kwame not folding when Kobe chides him.
    16 (13) Warriors 34-48 Great points from my man Bucher. Everyone comparing Warriors to last season's Suns overlooks the fact that Suns had better shooters and more athletic bigs.
    17 (18) SuperSonics 52-30 As undeniably great as Ray was in '04-05, Seattle's frontcourt rotation was a widely underpublicized key last season. Evans and Collison are still there, but James is gone and Fortson and Radmanovic don't sound happy.
    18 (19) Timberwolves 44-38 If Wolves want to shame experts who dare to suggest that KG will miss the playoffs two years in a row, they can start by doing a little better than 0-3 on the road against Hawks, Bobcats and Raps, as seen in '04-05.
    19 (22) 76ers 43-39 Iverson and Webber really could have used a smooth start and haven't had one. As a fan of both, I'm still rooting for them to surprise us.
    20 (17) Knicks 33-49 Upon reflection . . . maybe the bottom of the East's playoff ladder isn't any more wide open that the bottom of the West's. I see at least seven teams definitely ahead of Larry's Knicks. At least seven.
    21 (20) Bulls 47-35 It doesn't help Chicago's cause that the toughest division in basketball -- yes, tougher even than the Southwest -- just got tougher with Milwaukee swindling Magloire from New Orleans. Bulls could well finish last in the Central.
    22 (23) Jazz 26-56 Golden State is getting lots of Sleeper O' The West pub, but perhaps that team will wind up being Utah. There are major questions at PG, true, but the frontcourt still catches your eye when you read the names: Kirilenko, Boozer, Okur.
    23 (21) Celtics 45-37 The challenge with Boston, at least for us, is coming up with comments that don't mention the possibility of a Pierce trade. So far, we're 0-for-2.
    24 (25) Clippers 37-45 Major downer. Livingston is the Clipper we wanted to watch most and now you have to start wondering whether he'll always be dealing with injuries.
    25 (24) Magic 36-46 Grant Hill has the right attitude -- ''It's better than three to six months or three to six years,'' he says -- but hearing that the poor guy needs another surgery (of any kind) makes our stomachs hurt.
    26 (28) Bobcats 18-64 Felton, a rookie, has guaranteed a playoff berth. Sorry, kid. Only legit guarantee we can see is that Bobcats will be playing in a better (new) building.
    27 (27) Hawks 13-69 The committee can't stop thinking about the late Collier . . . and the wife and daughter who have to carry on without him. If we can't stop thinking about him, imagine how it must be for Hawks.
    28 (26) Trail Blazers 27-55 This won't be like last fall, when a rocky preseason couldn't stop Nate's team from enjoying a storybook season. Nate's new team is far, far greener and will struggle as much as the latest projections suggest.
    29 (29) Hornets 18-64 Let's just say that trading big for small -- and for a Bucks draft pick that probably won't even be in the lottery now -- is not how I'd want to start the season. Especially when the big man is a recent former All-Star.
    30 (30) Raptors 33-49 Raps' outlook isn't that bleak. Most staffers agree that they'd rank as high as second if we did power rankings for the Israeli league.

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