Power Rankings: Spurs move up despite Duncan still down
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Win a couple games without Tim Duncan and there's only one option. Especially when the wins come against Dallas and Utah.
After a three-week hiatus, San Antonio has reclaimed the top spot in ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings, dropping the Cinderellas from Orlando to No. 2 and keeping Boston in the No. 3 spot by pulling out home victories versus the Mavericks and Jazz despite Duncan's injury absence.
Your comments on San Antonio's fifth turn at No. 1 this season or any other rankings developments are invited here or at the bottom.
| 2007-08 Power Rankings: Week 6 | ||||
| RANK (LAST WK) | TEAM | REC. | COMMENT | |
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1 (4) | Spurs | 17-3 | Only Pop could greet a start like this with caution and/or indifference like this: ''We've had bad starts in the past, we've had good starts in the past and neither one is indicative of whether we won a championship.'' |
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2 (1) | Magic | 16-5 | Before its first "bad" L of the season -- and losing at home to the Pacers isn't exactly heinous with how they're playing -- Orlando racked up another impressive road W at Golden State. So it's only a one-spot dip. |
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3 (3) | Celtics | 17-2 | I know, I know: Boston had nothing to do with spitting out such a cake early schedule. But I can't help it: Boston can't wow me more than the Spurs and Magic have until the schedule gets harder, like it or not. |
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4 (2) | Suns | 16-5 | This might be a harsh drop after the 120.8 ppg Phoenix averaged in a 5-0 run against East opposition, but scoring only 93 points and losing in Minny is inevitably going to be costly when things are so tight at the top. |
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5 (6) | Pistons | 14-6 | Only one win in the Pistons' 6-1 run came against a winning team (New Orleans). So the focus remains on their ramped-up offense more than the competition, with the Pistons topping 100 points in five of those wins. |
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6 (7) | Hornets | 14-7 | The concerns about low attendance figure aren't just business-related. Not if you believe that the empty seats have a basketball impact as well, with the Hornets just 6-5 at home compared to 8-2 on the road. |
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7 (5) | Jazz | 13-8 | Just a hunch here, but I'm guessing Jerry Sloan isn't all that impressed with Utah matching Denver's 107.1 ppg. Not when the Jazz are just 5-7 on the road and surrendering a very-un-Sloan-like 100.7 ppg defensively. |
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8 (13) | Lakers | 12-8 | The Lakers are probably not going to win 50 games, Phil Jackson says. Don't think they can afford to be too far away, though, because last season's 42 wins probably won't be enough for a playoff berth this season. |
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9 (8) | Mavericks | 13-8 | It's true that the Mavs shouldn't panic during this bad stretch when everyone knows that their season will be entirely judged on playoff success. But making a trade run at Kidd isn't panic. It's a no-brainer. |
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10 (11) | Nuggets | 13-8 | For those of you who like to monitor these sorts of things, Iverson (25.3 ppg) has wrested the Nuggets' team scoring lead from Melo (24.7 ppg) with last week's back-to-back detonations of 51 and 35 points. |
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11 (9) | Warriors | 11-9 | The nightmare start is a memory, thanks to an 8-2 surge and 114.7 ppg in that span, but the Warriors better win Friday when the Lakers come to Oaktown. They're (yikes) 1-14 in teams' past 15 meetings with Sunday's L. |
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12 (15) | Pacers | 10-10 | The Pacers follow up a heartbreaking home defeat to Phoenix with a stirring victory in Orlando. More justification that Indy, at the season's quarter pole, is a clear-cut No. 1 in the Showing Us Up rankings. |
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13 (10) | Rockets | 11-10 | Isn't this supposed to be the best-ever supporting cast around T-Mac and Yao? T-Mac is wondering the same judging by this quote: ''Until everybody else contributes [and] we get bench production, we'll be a mediocre team.'' |
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14 (16) | Wizards | 10-10 | The Wiz continue to hang in at 7-5 sans Arenas, which allows them to focus for the moment on the silver linings: Butler and Jamison are playing as well as ever; Blatche and Young are getting unexpected opportunities. |
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15 (14) | Raptors | 11-10 | Considering where it was after 21 games last season -- at 7-14 -- and given all the injury woes so far endured by Bosh and other key contributors, Toronto can't be too disappointed to be a game over .500. |
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16 (12) | Cavaliers | 9-12 | It has to be discussed because I know you're thinking it: LeBron's injured finger must be more than sprained if the man-child has missed six games with it, during which Cleveland is 0-6 and averaging 80.7 ppg. Right? |
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17 (20) | Bulls | 6-12 | Is the worst over? Maybe so, but Chicago is still the only team in the league scoring less than 90 ppg, putting them miles behind the new-look Celts even though it's the Bulls who've been together so much longer. |
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18 (17) | Nets | 9-12 | Interesting factoid to ponder while waiting for the slumping Nets to decide if Kidd is staying or going: At 8.7 rpg, Kidd is 23rd in the league . . . ahead of the likes of Stoudemire (8.5), Nowitzki (8.3) and Shaq (7.8). |
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19 (22) | Hawks | 9-10 | The three victims in Atlanta's 3-1 start to December were a combined 16-42 as of Monday morning. But this part of the Hawks' start stands out in a good way: They're actually 5-3 against Western Conference opposition. |
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20 (27) | Trail Blazers | 8-12 | It's not enough to make people forget that Oden will miss his entire rookie season, but Aldridge has certainly responded. He's racked up six double-doubles already, compared to just five in 63 games as a rook. |
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21 (18) | Bucks | 8-11 | The worst part about the abrupt end to the Bucks' fantastic start was the timing. They hit the skids and lost their confidence just as they were starting a 36-game stretch with only 14 home games. |
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22 (19) | Kings | 7-12 | The Kings' impressive list of home upsets is up to four, with Utah joining Detroit, San Antonio and Houston as the latest Arco victim. But there was no celebrating with Kevin Martin joining Bibby on the long-term injury list. |
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23 (26) | 76ers | 7-13 | The widespread belief that Larry Brown would swoop down to bump off Cheeks was the only suspense this team generated with Billy King in charge. In the Stefanski Era, you're only waiting for the Andre Miller trade. |
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24 (23) | Heat | 5-15 | Why is everyone so edgy in Miami's locker room? Riles, Shaq and D-Wade obviously remember that the Heat started 5-8 last season and didn't reach .500 until mid-February. How long will it take now from 5-15? |
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25 (21) | Grizzlies | 6-14 | The Grizz keep losing all the close ones -- 0-6 in games decided by three points or less -- but we're seeing a better, more active Gasol: Four straight double-doubles after just three double-digit rebound games in November. |
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26 (25) | Bobcats | 7-12 | Don't blame the Bobs for failing to land Varejao, because they never really had a chance. Blame them for continually ignoring the one quality big man they do have; Charlotte is 1-7 when Okafor gets nine shots or fewer. |
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27 (24) | Clippers | 7-12 | With a home defeat to road-weary Miami, L.A.'s nosedive has reached 3-12 since its 4-0 launch. Elton Brand's incentive to hustle back by February, in other words, is dwindling by the day. |
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28 (28) | Knicks | 6-13 | Question for you, Knicks Nation: Why don't we ever hear a "Fi-re Do-lan" chant at The Garden? It flows better than "Fire I-si-ah" ... and, well, why stop to worry whether Dolan's dad actually has the juice to do it or not? |
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29 (29) | SuperSonics | 5-16 | Big month for the Sonics already. The second month of Durant's career sees Seattle win its first game against a Western Conference foe (Clippers) and his first home winning streak (a two-gamer) as a pro. |
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30 (30) | Timberwolves | 3-15 | When Houston went to Phoenix and held the Suns to 94 points, we were floored. When the Wolves hosted Phoenix on Saturday night and held the Suns to 93, we couldn't come up with a word for our reaction. |
































