NBA POWER RANKINGS
1 – CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
It seems coach Mike Brown may finally be figuring out how to properly use his rotation, particularly Shaquille O’Neal. A pedestrian 15-7 start to the season included losses to pushovers like Chicago, Washington and Charlotte, but the Cavs have since won 11 of 12 with road victories over the Suns and the Lakers along with a home-and-home sweep of the Hawks. Shaq’s shot attempts are down but his rebounding numbers have gone up. Oh, and that guy LeBron averaging 30.6 points in the last 12 games while being a triple-double threat every night hasn’t hurt.
2 – LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Clearly, they’ve taken a step back lately with blowout losses to Cleveland and Phoenix. But they still have the NBA’s best record, they’re still the defending champs and they still have the most talented roster in the league. Plus, Ron Artest is about to come back after his Christmas trip down a flight of stairs. Kobe’s injured finger has not been a problem, as he’s scored at least 35 points in six consecutive games.
3 – SAN ANTONIO SPURS
It’s a high rank for a team which reached double digits in losses before December ended. However, the Spurs are perennially slow out of the gate and that was the case again this season with a 9-9 start. This time they had an excuse, trying to work in so many new pieces like Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair, but it appears the chemistry is coming. The Spurs closed 2009 by winning 10 of 12 – the only losses were to Phoenix and Portland – and held the last eight opponents under 100 points.
4 – DALLAS MAVERICKS
They’re atop the best division in basketball and they’ve been particularly good since Josh Howard returned. The Mavs do have three losses in their last six games, but all three came down to the wire and were against good teams _ two to Houston and one to Portland. Jason Terry is a scoring machine off the bench and if fellow reserve Drew Gooden contributes as much as he’s capable of, Dallas can be a true threat in the West.
5 – PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Yes, the Blazers are badly banged-up, but the guys in the injury ward are far from the most important pieces to their puzzle. Granted, Greg Oden is a big one, but they’re used to playing without him and have plenty of other great options in the frontcourt. In fact, one injury may have helped. Rudy Fernandez’s back problem has given more playing time to second-year guard Jerryd Bayless, who had a combined 60 points in late December wins over Phoenix and San Antonio.
6 – BOSTON CELTICS
They lost the final three games on a recent road swing, including embarrassing defeats to the Clippers and Warriors, and another tough three-game trip looms with visits to Miami, Atlanta and Toronto. Paul Pierce being out clearly had a negative effect but he’s on the verge of returning. Youngsters Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins are playing well, but veteran Rasheed Wallace isn’t, and his production could end up being the difference in whether Boston can win another title.
7 – ORLANDO MAGIC
The last few weeks of December brought four losses but three were on the road to quality teams _ Utah, Phoenix and Miami. The other was a Christmas Day home defeat to a Boston team missing Pierce. Orlando is hoping Vince Carter has shaken off a dreadful shooting slump – he had 52 points over his final two games of December. But Dwight Howard went the entire month without taking more than 11 field-goal attempts in a game.
8 – PHOENIX SUNS
This rank is really just thanks to one game but it was a statement maker – a 15-point win over the Lakers. Granted, Los Angeles was missing Artest, but the Suns still dominated, just as they did two nights later against a short-handed Boston club. Leandro Barbosa is back for a bench which is deeper than ever, filled with unheralded contributors like Jared Dudley and Goran Dragic. Plus, Amare Stoudemire is starting to play more like the pre-knee surgery powerhouse we once knew.
9 – OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
How in the world can the Thunder crack the top 10? Because Kevin Durant has been a maniac lately and even their losses aren’t bad ones. They haven’t had any lately, riding a five-game winning streak that began with a win in Phoenix. Durant has scored at least 30 in six straight and Russell Westbrook is developing into a great distributor, notching 10 assists in three consecutive games to close December.
10 – HOUSTON ROCKETS
It’s hard to figure how they’re doing this, but they are. They’re not letting the Tracy McGrady distraction bother them and Rick Adelman is doing a phenomenal job with a roster not exactly full of top-tier talent. Houston won 12 of 17 to end 2009, including two victories over Dallas and one over Cleveland. Aaron Brooks scored 80 points in the final three games of December, and Carl Landry has developed into a terrific producer off the bench.
11 – DENVER NUGGETS
A slump to close December shouldn’t be a big concern because it came with Chauncey Billups mostly watching from the bench due to a strained groin. They’re 18-7 when he plays more than 20 minutes. Their road woes are a concern, having dropped six straight away from home to close December.
12 – ATLANTA HAWKS
Getting swept in a home-and-home set with Cleveland may have hurt the young Hawks’ confidence. They began the new year by losing at home to the Knicks in another poor defensive performance – it was the seventh time in 11 games they let an opponent shoot better than 48 percent. Al Horford leads a talented starting lineup, but the bench provides nothing other than an occasional Jamal Crawford outburst.
13 – TORONTO RAPTORS
A five-game winning streak to close the month gave Toronto a franchise-record nine victories in December. Chris Bosh continues to boost his free-agent stock, combining for 58 points and 29 rebounds in the final two games of 2009. Andrea Bargnani remains a confident shooter despite a bit more inconsistency from 3-point range lately.
14 – MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Zach Randolph has been an absolute beast and a good veteran presence for the Grizzlies _ he’s the only one of their top nine scorers who can legally rent a car. Memphis won five of six to close December while averaging 111.3 points.
15 – MIAMI HEAT
They have two wins over Orlando, but other notable victories have been few and far between. The Heat closed 2009 with a 30-point loss at San Antonio and it was the fifth time in six games they failed to score more than 95. Michael Beasley’s improvement has given Miami a good 1-2 punch along with Dwyane Wade, but there isn’t too much else to speak of as long as Jermaine O’Neal remains so inconsistent.
16 – UTAH JAZZ
As good as Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer are, the Jazz just can’t put it together. They failed to win more than two straight in December, and as always, Utah is having trouble winning anywhere outside of Salt Lake City. The Eastern block duo of Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur needs to step up.
17 – SACRAMENTO KINGS
Granted, the Kings opened 2010 by losing for the fourth time in five games, but it came on Kobe Bryant’s buzzer beater and without Tyreke Evans. Two of the other losses in that span were overtime defeats to Cleveland and the Lakers. Plus, Kevin Martin is on the verge of returning.
18 – NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Tyson Chandler’s absence remains a big problem because Emeka Okafor is simply too inconsistent. So is the team, going 4-5 in the final nine games of 2009 _ including a win over Miami and a loss to Chicago.
19 – NEW YORK KNICKS
Mike D’Antoni finally decided to play Nate Robinson and all he did was score 41. His addition could be a boost for a Knicks team which was very competitive throughout December, when only one of its losses was by more than nine points.
20 – LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
A two-point win over a Paul Pierce-less Boston team was the Clippers’ only victory over a quality opponent in December. However, the development of Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman is encouraging.
21 – PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
A 2-3 road trip to close December was encouraging, particularly considering the wins were in Portland and Sacramento. Lou Williams is rounding back into form after struggling following his return from a broken jaw.
22 – CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Larry Brown’s team simply can’t develop into a playoff-caliber one without winning on the road. Boris Diaw has taken a big step backward.
23 – MILWAUKEE BUCKS
Brandon Jennings may be coming back to life but the Bucks aren’t, losing seven of eight to close December as part of a 4-15 slump. Michael Redd needs to speed up the rediscovery of his game.
24 – CHICAGO BULLS
What a spark Tyrus Thomas has provided, though it might not be enough to save Vinny Del Negro’s job. The Bulls ended 2009 on a three-game winning streak, though each victory was against a sub-.500 foe.
25 – GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Back-to-back wins over Phoenix and Boston were impressive and so was following it up with a close loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles. The defense remains a joke, letting teams shoot 49.2 percent.
26 – MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
A pushover for much of the season until recently, Minnesota beat Utah twice in December and played Orlando close to open 2010. However, that game also was the Wolves’ third straight loss and third in a row to allow more than 105 points.
27 – DETROIT PISTONS
Not only did the Pistons close 2009 by losing nine straight – their longest skid since 1994 - they fell 10 games below .500 for the first time in nearly a decade. However, they’re finally starting to get healthy.
28 – WASHINGTON WIZARDS
The Gilbert Arenas situation is an enormous distraction and coach Flip Saunders is unhappy with his team’s effort.
29 – NEW JERSEY NETS
Maybe things are finally looking up. The Nets beat New York to end a 10-game skid, a few days after nearly knocking off Houston, and Yi Jianlian’s first four games after his return were all solid.
30 – INDIANA PACERS
Having so many banged-up big men – Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and Tyler Hansbrough –has killed the Pacers. They closed 2009 on an eight-game skid, their longest since 2007.
