Showing posts with label Cleveland Cavaliers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cleveland Cavaliers. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

2015-16 NBA Power Rankings: Week 1


We are now hours away from the start of the 2015-16 NBA season, but who's counting?!

Unless you're a Sixers fan (like me), the start of the NBA season brings with it optimism for teams and fan bases alike.

With the Cleveland Cavaliers prohibitive favorites in the Eastern Conference, virtually all of the intrigue lies in the Western Conference.

Six of the top seven teams in our NBA Power Rankings all reside in the West.

The Warriors are as deep as any team and have the league's reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, and earn the top spot in our power rankings as defending NBA champions. Meanwhile, the Spurs have as much talent as any team with the addition of free-agent LaMarcus Aldridge to a roster that includes Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, etc.

While health will obviously be a key factor, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the potential to win it all.

At full strength, few teams have as much overall talent and the duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are the most-dominant 1-2 punch in the league. The last time they both played 80-plus games (2012-13), Oklahoma City was the No. 1 seed out west with 60 wins. That season, Durant and Westbrook averaged 28.1/7.9/4.6 and 23.2/5.2/7.4, respectively, and both players have triple-double potential in any given night.

Not only is it natural to worry about KD's foot, but Westbrook has missed at least 15 games in three of the past four seasons. And last year the team used 18 different starting lineups.

Like David Blatt taking over a team with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love last year, Billy Donovan gets a loaded Thunder team as a first-year NBA head coach.

In addition to Durant and Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter and Andre Roberson round out the starting five. After joining the Thunder last season, Kanter averaged a double-double (18.7 points and 11.0 rebounds) in his 26 games with OKC.

If the Thunder win the title, will Durant return as a free agent in 2016? That will obviously be a huge story line next summer; for now, however, the Thunder are my preseason pick to win it all.

2016 NBA Finals Prediction: Thunder over Cavaliers in seven games

Below are our NBA Power Rankings heading into the first week of the NBA season:

RankTeamRecordLast
1Golden State Warriors0-0N/A
2Cleveland Cavaliers0-0N/A
3Oklahoma City Thunder0-0N/A
4San Antonio Spurs0-0N/A
5Houston Rockets0-0N/A
6Memphis Grizzlies0-0N/A
7Los Angeles Clippers0-0N/A
8Atlanta Hawks0-0N/A
9Chicago Bulls0-0N/A
10New Orleans Pelicans0-0N/A
11Miami Heat0-0N/A
12Indiana Pacers0-0N/A
13Toronto Raptors0-0N/A
14Milwaukee Bucks0-0N/A
15Washington Wizards0-0N/A
16Boston Celtics0-0N/A
17Dallas Mavericks0-0N/A
18Utah Jazz0-0N/A
19Detroit Pistons0-0N/A
20Phoenix Suns0-0N/A
21Orlando Magic0-0N/A
22Minnesota Timberwolves0-0N/A
23New York Knicks0-0N/A
24Charlotte Bobcats0-0N/A
25Brooklyn Nets0-0N/A
26Los Angeles Lakers0-0N/A
27Sacramento Kings0-0N/A
28Denver Nuggets0-0N/A
29Portland Trail Blazers0-0N/A
30Philadelphia 76ers0-0N/A


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Monday, March 23, 2015

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 21



After Paul George's gruesome injury with USA Basketball, it was expected that he would miss the entire season.

Last week, however, it was reported that he could potentially make a return this week, although he has been ruled out for Monday's game.

"We want to make sure I'm as close to 100 [percent] as possible," George said (via ESPN). "It's not coming down to you know, 'Paul's feeling good, let's get him out there.' It's about making sure everything's where I'm comfortable, where the medical staff is comfortable, where the front office is comfortable."

The Pacers were surging in the standings, but they have lost five consecutive games and currently sit outside of the top-eight seeds in the Eastern Conference. That said, they are only one-half game behind the Hornets, who are currently the No. 8 seed.

Four teams -- Charlotte, Boston, Indiana and Brooklyn -- are all separated by one game in the Eastern Conference standings.

Back-to-back triple-doubles for Payton

Elfrid Payton is having a magical rookie season and the ex-Ragin' Cajun did something this past week that no Magic player has ever done.

Payton recorded back-to-back triple-doubles on Wednesday (15 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds) and Friday (22 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds). The last time a rookie posted consecutive triple-doubles was Antoine Walker in 1997.

While these are the only two triple-doubles of Payton's career, he is one of just eight players that have multiple triple-doubles this season. In addition, the only player with more than three triple-doubles this season is Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (10).

Over his past five games, Payton is averaging 13.2 points, 9.4 assists, 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Among rookies that have played at least 25 games this season, Payton ranks first in assists (6.2/G), second in steals (1.6/G), seventh in rebounding (4.2/G) and seventh in scoring (8.6/G).

Six straight losses for Bucks, 4-13 since trade deadline

The Milwaukee Bucks were one of many teams that made major moves prior to the trade deadline.

Sending Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns, they received Michael Carter-Williams in return from the Philadelphia 76ers.

MCW did not play in his first three games as a member of the Bucks and he also missed a game against the Grizzlies on March 14th. Since the trade deadline, however, the Bucks have won only four of 17 games. Three of those four wins were against bottom-feeder teams -- Denver, Philadelphia and Orlando.

The Bucks carry a league-high six-game losing streak into this week's games. The Bucks will host the Heat, Pacers and Warriors in a three-game week.

Noel averaging double-double in March

Philadelphia 76ers power forward Nerlens Noel has really stepped up over the past month on a team otherwise devoid of (healthy and local) talent.

In 12 March games, Noel is averaging a double-double -- 13.2 points and 10.5 rebounds -- per game.

More impressive than the double-double, however, is that Noel is averaging 2.7 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.

To put it into perspective, the list of players with at least 15 steals and 15 blocks this month is one: Noel.

But Noel has way more than 15 of each -- 32 steals and 24 blocked shots.

The Manimal averaging double-double post-Shaw

Since the Nuggets have fired Brian Shaw on March 3rd, the Denver Nuggets have been playing much better basketball although they have lost three of their past four games. In the 12 games without him, however, the Nuggets have posted a 7-5 record.

With Shaw, the team won only 20 of 59 games.

One of the players that has been playing well without Shaw is Kenneth Faried.

The Manimal is averaging 16.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game since the firing of his head coach. During that span, Faried has seven double-doubles in 11 games.

As a comparison, Faried averaged 11.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 0.7 blocks and 0.7 steals in 54 games with inconsistent minutes with Shaw as coach.

Here are my Week 21 NBA Power Rankings:

RankTeamRecordLast WeekChange
1Golden State Warriors56-131-
2Atlanta Hawks53-172-
3Cleveland Cavaliers46-263-
4Memphis Grizzlies49-214-
5Houston Rockets46-235-
6San Antonio Spurs44-257+1
7Los Angeles Clippers46-258+1
8Portland Trail Blazers44-246-2
9Dallas Mavericks44-2710+1
10Washington Wizards40-3012+2
11Oklahoma City Thunder40-309-2
12Chicago Bulls42-2913+1
13Toronto Raptors42-2814+1
14Phoenix Suns38-3317+3
15New Orleans Pelicans37-3311-4
16Indiana Pacers30-3915-1
17Utah Jazz31-3818+1
18Charlotte Hornets30-3816-2
19Miami Heat32-3721+2
20Milwaukee Bucks34-3619-1
21Boston Celtics30-3920-1
22Brooklyn Nets29-3923+1
23Denver Nuggets27-4422-1
24Sacramento Kings24-4524-
25Orlando Magic22-5025-
26Detroit Pistons26-4426-
27Philadelphia 76ers17-5328+1
28Los Angeles Lakers18-5027-1
29Minnesota Timberwolves15-5429-
30New York Knicks14-5630-


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Monday, March 2, 2015

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 18



King James. That was the headline.

Not in reference to LeBron James, but by the Houston Rockets twitter account in reference to James Harden.

Ouch.

A kick below the belt?

Wait, that happened too.



The Cavs were without point guard Kyrie Irving (and the Rockets, of course, were still without Dwight Howard), but the battle between the Cavs and Rockets and Harden and LeBron went into overtime.

LeBron put together a strong line overall with 37 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks, but he was awful from the free-throw line. Making only three of his 11 free throws, it was the first time in his career that he shot at least 10 free throws and made three or less.

Meanwhile, Harden (or should I say, King James?) posted a nearly identical line by scoring 33 points (including 15-of-18 free throws) and adding eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.

With the win over the Cavs, the Rockets are tied with the Pelicans for the league's longest active winning streak of five games.

Houston will open this week with a tough back-to-back on Tuesday (at Atlanta, 47-12) and Wednesday (vs. Memphis, 42-16). Only three teams have a better winning percentage than the Rockets (.695) and the Hawks and Grizzlies are two of those teams.

Jimmy Butler latest Bull to miss multiple weeks

Since his MVP-winning 2010-11 season, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has played a total of 95 games over the past three-and-a-half seasons.

Unfortunately, there's a chance that Rose, who had surgery on his meniscus last week, won't play any more regular-season games this season.

With a timetable of four to six weeks, however, he is expected to return at some point and he's already rehabbing his knee. If he doesn't play during the rest of the regular season, D-Rose should return at some point during the playoffs.

Making matters worse for the Bulls, they will be without Jimmy Butler as well.

Butler is expected to miss the next three to four weeks with an elbow sprain, but it looks as though he will avoid surgery.

Butler and Rose are the team's top-two scorers -- 20.2 and 18.4 points per game, respectively -- and no player has averaged more minutes per game than Butler (38.9/G), who is also one of the league's best perimeter defenders.

In addition to the loss of Butler and Rose, the Bulls are expected to be without Taj Gibson for another week. Gibson is averaging a career-high 13.0 points in 28.7 minutes per game as well as 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

Russell Westbrook: Three consecutive triple-doubles

Already without Kevin Durant (foot), the Thunder were without point guard Russell Westbrook on Sunday after having facial surgery.

That said, it doesn't look as though he'll miss much more time.



Before missing Sunday's game, Westbrook had three consecutive triple-doubles. During that three-game span, Westbrook averaged 33.0 points, 12.67 rebounds and 10.67 assists per game.

No player has more triple-doubles this season than Westbrook (five). Coincidentally, the two players tied for second -- Rajon Rondo and Michael Carter-Williams (three each) -- have both been traded during the season.

Here are my Week 18 NBA Power Rankings:

1. Golden State Warriors (Record 46-11, Last Week 1)
2. Atlanta Hawks (Record 47-12, Last Week 2)
3. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 42-16, Last Week 3)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 37-24, Last Week 4)
5. Houston Rockets (Record 41-18, Last Week 7)
6. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 39-19, Last Week 9)
7. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 39-21, Last Week 10)
8. San Antonio Spurs (Record 36-23, Last Week 6)
9. Dallas Mavericks (Record 39-22, Last Week 8)
10. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 33-27, Last Week 12)
11. Toronto Raptors (Record 37-22, Last Week 5)
12. Chicago Bulls (Record 37-23, Last Week 11)
13. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 32-27, Last Week 16)
14. Indiana Pacers (Record 25-34, Last Week 17)
15. Washington Wizards (Record 34-26, Last Week 14)
16. Phoenix Suns (Record 31-29, Last Week 13)
17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 32-27, Last Week 15)
18. Detroit Pistons (Record 23-36, Last Week 18)
19. Charlotte Hornets (Record 24-33, Last Week 19)
20. Brooklyn Nets (Record 24-33, Last Week 20)
21. Miami Heat (Record 25-33, Last Week 21)
22. Utah Jazz (Record 23-35, Last Week 23)
23. Boston Celtics (Record 23-34, Last Week 25)
24. Orlando Magic (Record 19-42, Last Week 22)
25. Sacramento Kings (Record 20-37, Last Week 24)
26. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 16-42, Last Week 28)
27. Denver Nuggets (Record 20-39, Last Week 26)
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 13-45, Last Week 27)
29. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 13-46, Last Week 29)
30. New York Knicks (Record 12-46, Last Week 30)

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Monday, February 9, 2015

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 16

The up-and-down season for the Cleveland Cavaliers has been mostly "up" over the past month.

Starting with a win in the middle of last month over the Lakers, the Cavs ran off 12 consecutive wins before finally losing to the Pacers on Feb. 6th.

With a 15-point win over the Lakers on Sunday, however, perhaps the Cavs will begin another long winning streak. Before the All-Star break, the Cavs will host the Heat on Wednesday and visit the Bulls on Thursday.

Adding some drama to things in Cleveland, LeBron James recently tweeted the following directed at Kevin Love (without explicitly stating so initially but he conceeded so yesterday):



If you remember, Love had said back in the preseason (via ESPN):
"I'm comfortable and just not trying to, I guess, fit in so much," Love said after the game. "I had a talk with the guys on the plane ride over (to Brazil) and also at different practices off the floor and they told me to fit out. Just be myself.

"I kind of laughed and smirked at that. Off the court, I never have any problems with that. But on the court, it's just us having so many weapons and being able to fit together out there on the floor ... You always say check your egos at the door but we also need to bring our egos with us because that's what makes us so great. We wouldn't be here without them."
And here's what Love said when asked about LeBron's tweet:
"I feel like I’ve done all the right things. I haven’t got upset or been down," Love said (per Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal). "There’s moments when I hope I would’ve played better but it’s a long, long season. I don’t know really what he’s talking about. I feel like I’ve sacrificed and I think everyone knows that. I’m not trying to downplay what he said, but I think I’ve done a pretty good job of trying to help this team."
LeBron took to Twitter again this morning, however, to make it clear that he doesn't have a "problem" with Love.
Either way, I'm sure it's not the last we'll hear about this.

Meanwhile, the Cavs are once again the "favorite" to win the NBA Championship (via odds from Sportsbook.ag).



Clippers PF Blake Forward out up to six weeks, possibly much less

Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin is scheduled to have elbow surgery for a staph infection on Monday and will miss up to six weeks, but he will be reevaluated after the All-Star break.

At the moment, the Clippers are 33-19 and one-half game ahead of the Spurs for the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

Even with Griffin in the lineup for three of their four games last week, the Clippers have lost four games in a row.

To make matters worse, the schedule gets tougher for the Clippers.

With seven games remaining in February, the Clippers face six teams with a record above .625: Grizzlies (.745) and Rockets (.686) twice each and Mavs (.660) and Spurs (.627) once along with the Kings.

Here are my NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 16:

1. Atlanta Hawks (Record 42-10, Last Week 1)
2. Golden State Warriors (Record 40-9, Last Week 2)
3. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 38-13, Last Week 3)
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 32-21, Last Week 5)
5. San Antonio Spurs (Record 32-19, Last Week 6)
6. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 35-17, Last Week 4)
7. Toronto Raptors (Record 35-17, Last Week 8)
8. Houston Rockets (Record 35-16, Last Week 9)
9. Dallas Mavericks (Record 35-18, Last Week 10)
10. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 33-19, Last Week 7)
11. Chicago Bulls (Record 32-20, Last Week 11)
12. Washington Wizards (Record 32-20, Last Week 13)
13. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 27-24, Last Week 14)
14. Phoenix Suns (Record 29-24, Last Week 12)
15. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 26-25, Last Week 15)
16. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 28-23, Last Week 17)
17. Charlotte Hornets (Record 22-29, Last Week 16)
18. Detroit Pistons (Record 20-32, Last Week 18)
19. Indiana Pacers (Record 20-32, Last Week 22)
20. Miami Heat (Record 21-29, Last Week 19)
21. Brooklyn Nets (Record 21-29, Last Week 24)
22. Utah Jazz (Record 18-33, Last Week 20)
23. Sacramento Kings (Record 18-32, Last Week 21)
24. Boston Celtics (Record 19-31, Last Week 26)
25. New York Knicks (Record 10-41, Last Week 23)
26. Denver Nuggets (Record 19-32, Last Week 25)
27. Orlando Magic (Record 16-38, Last Week 29)
28. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 12-40, Last Week 27)
29. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 13-38, Last Week 28)
30. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 11-40, Last Week 30)

[Note: With the six-day NBA All-Star Break hiatus beginning on Friday, our next NBA Power Rankings update will be in two weeks (Feb. 23rd.).] More of our content:
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Monday, February 2, 2015

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 15


Here are my NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 15:

1. Atlanta Hawks (Record 40-8, Last Week 1): Another week and three more wins as the Hawks extend their winning streak to 19 games. They have already won more games than they have all of last season (38). Keeping their win streak in tact for one more week will be tough with matchups against the Pelicans, Wizards, Warriors and Grizzlies this week.

2. Golden State Warriors (Record 37-8, Last Week 2): No team has a greater point differential than the Warriors (+11.2/G) -- the Hawks rank second (+7.3).

3. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 35-12, Last Week 3): Zach Randolph has extended his streak of games with a double-double to 12 and he has 17 of them in his past 18 games played.

4. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 32-16, Last Week 4): An All-Star "snub," Damian Lillard is one of just three players to average at least 21 points, four rebounds, six assists, two three-pointers made and one steal per game. The other two are James Harden and Stephen Curry.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 29-20, Last Week 9): Kyrie Irving scored a career-high 55 points and knocked down a franchise-record 11 (of 19) three-pointers on Wednesday. The Cavs have now won 10 games in a row and will host the lowly Sixers on Monday.

6. San Antonio Spurs (Record 30-18, Last Week 5): It's not too often that a player (in this case, Boris Diaw) hits his coach with a half-court shot attempt. Amazingly, it generated almost no response from Gregg Popovich [via Tom Ziller]:



7. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 33-15, Last Week 6): DeAndre Jordan, who leads the league in field goal percentage (73.1%) and rebounding (13.5/G), has blocked at least three shots in five consecutive games. It's the second-longest streak of his career; the longest (seven games) happened earlier this season.

8. Toronto Raptors (Record 33-15, Last Week 11): After a 6-for-34 shooting slump and scoring a total of 14 points over a three-game stretch, DeMar DeRozan has averaged 20.4 points over his past five games.

9. Houston Rockets (Record 33-15, Last Week 7): The Rockets will be without center Dwight Howard for "at least a month" as he battles a right knee injury.

10. Dallas Mavericks (Record 32-17, Last Week 12): Rajon Rondo will miss at least the next three games with an orbital fracture to his left eye and a nasal fracture.

11. Chicago Bulls (Record 30-19, Last Week 10): Pau Gasol now has nine consecutive double-doubles with an average of 15.44 points and 14.67 rebounds as well as 2.33 blocks per game during that span. No player has more double-doubles this season than Gasol (30).

12. Phoenix Suns (Record 28-21, Last Week 14): Goran Dragic (5.5) currently ranks fourth in the NBA in fast-break points behind Russell Westbrook (6.9), James Harden (6.0) and Stephen Curry (6.0).

13. Washington Wizards (Record 31-17, Last Week 8): It's been a rough stretch for the Wizards as they have lost four of their past six games.

14. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 25-22, Last Week 15): Tyreke Evans is one of 13 players to average at least 10 points per game in the paint. The only other guard with that distinction is Westbrook.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 23-24, Last Week 13): Although they were without Kevin Durant for two of the games, the Thunder lost four of their past five games and are currently four games out of the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.

16. Charlotte Hornets (Record 20-27, Last Week 16): Even without Kemba Walker (knee surgery), the Hornets have won two of their past three games. For the month of January, they have a 10-4 record.

17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 25-22, Last Week 17): If you play NBA DFS, O.J. Mayo and consistency are two things typically not put in the same sentence. Over his past 11 games, however, Mayo has 20-plus fantasy points (DraftKings scoring) in every game. His longest such streak before that this season was just four games.

18. Detroit Pistons (Record 18-30, Last Week 18): Andre Drummond leads the NBA in 2nd-chance points (4.8 per game) and Greg Monroe ranks sixth (3.6/G) in that category.

19. Miami Heat (Record 21-26, Last Week 19): After posting a triple-double (with blocks) last Sunday, it was another strong week for Hassan Whiteside. Although he was one rebound shy of going three-for-three in double-doubles, he averaged 17.3 points and 16.3 rebounds this past week.

20. Utah Jazz (Record 17-30, Last Week 25): The Jazz (18.6/G) rank third in the NBA in field goals made within five feet behind only the Pelicans (20.1) and Pistons (19.0).

21. Sacramento Kings (Record 17-29, Last Week 23): DeMarcus Cousins was selected as the All-Star replacement for Kobe Bryant and he becomes the team's first All-Star since 2004.

22. Indiana Pacers (Record 17-32, Last Week 21): David West is averaging 12.8 points per game, a team high among qualified leaders, yet he ranks only 78th in the NBA in scoring.

23. New York Knicks (Record 10-38, Last Week 29): After winning only five of their first 41 games, the Knicks have started the "second half" of the season by winning five of their past seven games.

24. Brooklyn Nets (Record 18-28, Last Week 20): The Nets have lost four in a row and 12 of their past 14 games, but Jarrett Jack has a total of 49 points, 26 assists, 13 rebounds and three steals in his past two games.

25. Denver Nuggets (Record 19-29, Last Week 22): In the middle of last week, the Nuggets lost by 30 points to the Grizzlies. It was their third loss of 30-plus points (only the Sixers have more, five).

26. Boston Celtics (Record 16-30, Last Week 26): One year after posting a .305 winning percentage, the Celtics winning percentage stands at .348. If they finish this season with a sub-.350 winning percentage, that will mean that two of their worst five seasons in franchise history will have occurred in back-to-back seasons.

27. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 10-38, Last Week 27): On Friday night, Nerlens Noel finished with six blocks and four steals. Over his past 12 games, he's averaging 2.33 blocks and 1.91 steals per game.

28. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 13-35, Last Week 28): In three games last week, rookie starting point guard Jordan Clarkson scored at least 18 points in each game.

29. Orlando Magic (Record 15-35, Last Week 24): The Magic have lost eight consecutive games and head coach Jacque Vaughn is on the verge of being fired according to media reports.

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 8-39, Last Week 30): After recently getting Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic back from injury, they are on the verge of finally getting starting point guard Ricky Rubio back.

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Monday, January 12, 2015

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 12


Since moving into the No. 2 spot of our NBA Power Rankings last week, the Atlanta Hawks have continued to play great basketball as they finished the week with a 4-0 record despite some difficult matchups.

Three of their four wins were against teams that are more than 10 games above .500 -- Clippers, Grizzlies and Wizards. The other win was against the Pistons, who have played much better since releasing Josh Smith. In fact, the Pistons have won eight of nine games without Smith with the loss to the Hawks being the exception.

Since November 28th, the Hawks have posted a 22-2 record.

The Hawks will begin a four-game road trip starting on Tuesday against a couple of beatable Eastern Conference teams (Philadelphia and Boston) and then a couple of matchups (Toronto and Chicago) against two fellow teams in the top-three of Eastern Conference standings.

Although they may lack well-known superstars, they have played efficient, team-first basketball.

Not only does Atlanta rank third in three-point percentage (.383) and fifth in shooting percentage (.467), but they also rank eighth in opponent's three-point percentage (.339) and sixth in opponent's shooting percentage (.438).

In addition, the Hawks rank third in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89) behind only the Clippers and Mavericks.

The final All-Star ballots will be announced on January 22nd, but the Hawks don't have any players in the top 10 and Paul Millsap currently ranks 13th in voting among Eastern Conference forwards.

Who's the worst: Sixers, Knicks and Celtics?

The Sixers opened the 2014-15 NBA season with 17 consecutive losses and it seemed as though they wouldn't win any games this season.

For the second time this season, however, the Sixers have a two-game winning streak with wins over the Nets and Pacers this past weekend and they have now won three of their past four games.

While their competition for the most lottery ping-pong balls is increasing within the division, the Sixers will host the 29-8 Hawks on Tuesday so it's highly unlikely that they get their first three-game winning streak of the season.

Perhaps the Knicks will shut down Carmelo Anthony for the season, but they have now lost a franchise-worst 15 consecutive games and currently own the league's worst record (5-35, .125). In addition, they have won only one of their past 26 games.

Aside from Anthony's injury, the Knicks have traded J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert to the Cavaliers and released Samuel Dalembert as they try to improve their salary-cap situation going forward.

Earlier in the season, the Celtics traded away point guard Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks. One of the players acquired in that trade, Brandan Wright, has since been traded away as the Celtics work to stockpile draft picks.

The next player on the move will be the team's leading scorer, Jeff Green, in a trade that is expected to be completed on Monday.



In a race to not be mediocre, but instead to be as bad as you can, which one of these Atlantic Division teams is the worst?

Cavs on five-game losing streak, lost eight of nine games

It takes time for a new trio of superstars playing for a first-year head coach to gel. Making the situation more challenging is the fact that LeBron James has missed the past eight games with a knee injury.

The injury isn't too serious and he should be back soon. In fact, he has noted that he would have played if it were the playoffs.

That said, the Cleveland Cavaliers have now lost five consecutive games and eight of their past nine.

With the Cavs ranking in the bottom half of the league in team defense, they have made some moves that should help bolster their defense. Not only is newly-acquired Iman Shumpert one of the league's more talented perimeter defenders, but they acquired Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets. Mozgov played for coach Blatt on the Russian National Team.

Despite dropping to .500 as we near the midpoint of the season, Vegas still has the Cavs installed as the favorite to win the 2015 NBA Finals at 5/1 odds. (The Warriors are a close second at 11/2 odds.)

Turnaround coming for the Hornets?

Expectations were high in the preseason for the Charlotte Hornets, who were coming off their second playoff appearance in the past decade.

Despite starting the season with a 10-24 record, the team is now on a five-game winning streak.

If the season were to end today, the Hornets would be tied with the Pacers at the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference, but both teams are only two games behind the Heat and Nets for the eighth seed.

Not only has Lance Stephenson been out since last playing on December 17th, but Al Jefferson has now missed seven consecutive games. With Stephenson and Jefferson out, Kemba Walker has put the team on his back.

During their five-game winning streak, Walker has averaged 30.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Here are my NBA Power Rankings heading into Week 12:

1. Golden State Warriors (Record 29-5, Last Week 1)
2. Atlanta Hawks (Record 29-8, Last Week 2)
3. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 30-8, Last Week 3)
4. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 26-11, Last Week 4)
5. Chicago Bulls (Record 26-12, Last Week 5)
6. Houston Rockets (Record 26-11, Last Week 7)
7. Toronto Raptors (Record 25-11, Last Week 8)
8. Dallas Mavericks (Record 26-12, Last Week 6)
9. San Antonio Spurs (Record 23-15, Last Week 13)
10. Washington Wizards (Record 25-12, Last Week 9)
11. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 25-13, Last Week 10)
12. Phoenix Suns (Record 22-18, Last Week 12)
13. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 18-19, Last Week 11)
14. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 18-18, Last Week 14)
15. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 19-19, Last Week 15)
16. Brooklyn Nets (Record 16-21, Last Week 16)
17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 20-19, Last Week 17)
18. Denver Nuggets (Record 17-20, Last Week 19)
19. Miami Heat (Record 16-21, Last Week 18)
20. Charlotte Hornets (Record 15-24, Last Week 26)
21. Sacramento Kings (Record 16-21, Last Week 20)
22. Indiana Pacers (Record 15-24, Last Week 21)
23. Orlando Magic (Record 13-27, Last Week 22)
24. Detroit Pistons (Record 13-24, Last Week 23)
25. Boston Celtics (Record 12-23, Last Week 24)
26. Utah Jazz (Record 13-25, Last Week 25)
27. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 12-26, Last Week 27)
28. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 7-29, Last Week 29)
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 5-31, Last Week 28)
30. New York Knicks (Record 5-35, Last Week 30)

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Monday, December 8, 2014

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings Week 7



The day was Tuesday, November 11th.

That was the last time that the Golden State Warriors lost a game. In fact, it was the second of back-to-back losses against the Suns and Spurs.

Other than those two games, however, they haven't lost another game this season and they carry a league-best 12-game winning streak and 17-2 record into this week.

From a team statistical standpoint, the Warriors lead the league in point differential (+10.9) while ranking third in scoring (107.1 points per game) and seventh in team defense (96.2 PPG).

In addition, they rank first in the league in assists (26.1/G), third in rebounding (45.6/G) and second in three-point shooting percentage (.384).

Point guard Stephen Curry is averaging 23.2 points, 7.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game in just 32.8 minutes per game. Curry played 38.2 and 36.5 minutes per game in each of the past two seasons so Curry's scoring and assists numbers are down slightly year over year.

On a per-36 basis, however, Curry is averaging a career-high 25.5 points, 8.5 assists and 2.1 steals. In addition, Curry is once again converting on more than 40 percent of his three-point attempts and is making at least two per game.

Assuming that Curry maintains that pace, it will mark the sixth consecutive season he has done so to start his career. To put that into perspective, only two other players in the history of the NBA have six such seasons: Ray Allen (seven) and Reggie Miller (six).

Pistons on 12-game losing streak, giving Sixers run for their money No. 1 pick

While the Pistons have won more recently (Friday, November 14th) than the Warriors last lost, Detroit is on a 12-game losing streak, the longest active losing streak.

One of their recent losses was to the Sixers in overtime on Saturday. In fact, the Sixers have now won two of their past three games and the Pistons now only have one more win than the Sixers.

Detroit has really struggled to score as they average just 93.1 points per game, third-worst in the league, and they rank last in the league in FG percentage (40.7 percent) and second worst in FT percentage (68.9 percent).

As bad as Detroit has been, there is a strong chance that they could lose their next six games as well.

The Pistons host the Blazers on Tuesday, then they head on the road to face the Suns, Kings and Clippers before returning home to host the Mavericks and Raptors. Perhaps the Kings still won't have DeMarcus Cousins back for their matchup on Saturday, but the Pistons should be underdogs in all six of those games.

Cavs turning things around

After a 5-7 start, the Cavaliers have won their past six games. Some of those matchups were against poor teams, but wins are wins and two of those wins were over the Wizards and Raptors.

During their six-game winning streak, the Cavs have scored 100-plus points in all but one game and held their opponents to less than 100 points in all but one game.

Meanwhile, LeBron James is averaging 24.3 points, 10.2 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game during that six-game span. James has double-digit assists in three consecutive games and in five of his past seven games.

With Kevin Durant returning last week, fans will get treated to a KD-versus-LeBron matchup later this week.

Here are my Week 7 NBA Power Rankings:

1. Golden State Warriors (Record 17-2, Last Week 2)
2. Memphis Grizzlies (Record 16-4, Last Week 1)
3. San Antonio Spurs (Record 15-5, Last Week 3)
4. Portland Trail Blazers (Record 16-4, Last Week 4)
5. Houston Rockets (Record 16-4, Last Week 5)
6. Toronto Raptors (Record 15-5, Last Week 6)
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record 11-7, Last Week 11)
8. Dallas Mavericks (Record 16-6, Last Week 7)
9. Los Angeles Clippers (Record 14-5, Last Week 9)
10. Washington Wizards (Record 13-6, Last Week 10)
11. Chicago Bulls (Record 12-8, Last Week 8)
12. Atlanta Hawks (Record 13-6, Last Week 15)
13. Phoenix Suns (Record 12-9, Last Week 12)
14. Sacramento Kings (Record 10-10, Last Week 13)
15. Miami Heat (Record 9-11, Last Week 14)
16. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record 7-13, Last Week 19)
17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record 11-11, Last Week 17)
18. New Orleans Pelicans (Record 9-10, Last Week 18)
19. Denver Nuggets (Record 9-11, Last Week 16)
20. Brooklyn Nets (Record 8-10, Last Week 21)
21. Boston Celtics (Record 7-11, Last Week 24)
22. Orlando Magic (Record 9-14, Last Week 22)
23. Indiana Pacers (Record 7-13, Last Week 20)
24. Los Angeles Lakers (Record 5-16, Last Week 28)
25. Charlotte Hornets (Record 5-15, Last Week 26)
26. Utah Jazz (Record 5-15, Last Week 23)
27. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record 4-15, Last Week 25)
28. New York Knicks (Record 4-18, Last Week 27)
29. Detroit Pistons (Record 3-18, Last Week 29)
30. Philadelphia 76ers (Record 2-18, Last Week 30)

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Monday, November 17, 2014

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings: Week 4

Here are my Week 4 NBA Power Rankings:

1. Memphis Grizzlies (Record: 9-1, Last Week: 1): Earlier in the week, the Grizz allowed the Kings to build a 26-point lead, but they came back to win the game by one point. That makes the team's largest come-from-behind win in franchise history.

2. Houston Rockets (Record: 9-1, Last Week: 3): The Rockets lead the NBA in Defensive Rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) at 91.5.

3. Golden State Warriors (Record: 8-2, Last Week: 2): Over past six games, Stephen Curry has four double-doubles (two with points and assists and two with points and rebounds). During that span, Curry is averaging 27.67 points, 6.33 rebounds and 7.16 assists per game.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record: 5-3, Last Week: 10): Aside from Anthony Morrow, who has played only three games this season, Kyrie Irving leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring (7.9 per game).

5. San Antonio Spurs (Record: 5-4, Last Week: 9): Tim Duncan has yet to score 20 points in a game this season, but he has six double-doubles in eight games.

6. Toronto Raptors (Record: 8-2, Last Week: 4): Jonas Valunciunas got a season-high 34 minutes in the team's last game and delivered a 17-point, 14-board double-double. It's his second double-double of the season.

7. Chicago Bulls (Record: 7-3, Last Week: 5): The Bulls are one of two teams that are perfect on the road, but they are only 2-3 at home this year.

8. Washington Wizards (Record: 7-2, Last Week: 7): Playing 36 minutes per game in the team's first five games, Marcin Gortat had three double-doubles and averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. In his past four games, however, The Polish Hammer is averaging just 8.5 points and 7.75 rebounds.

9. Portland Trail Blazers (Record: 7-3, Last Week: 14): Damian Lillard currently leads the league in three-pointers made (33) and he has connected on 14-of-20 three's in his past three games.

10. Los Angeles Clippers (Record: 5-3, Last Week: 8): DeAndre Jordan has 31 rebounds and 10 blocked shots in his past two games.

11. Dallas Mavericks (Record: 7-3, Last Week: 13): The Mavericks currently lead the NBA in Offensive Rating (points per 100 possessions) at 115.0.

12. New Orleans Pelicans (Record: 5-3, Last Week: 11): The Pelicans currently lead the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.12.

13. Sacramento Kings (Record: 6-4, Last Week: 12): The Kings commit the second-most personal fouls, but they also make (28.5) and take (35.1) more free throw attempts than any other team.

14. Miami Heat (Record: 5-5, Last Week: 6): With Dwyane Wade sitting out on back-to-back games, the Heat have dropped three consecutive games to fall to .500. On Monday night, they will face the Nets, who have also lost three consecutive games.

15. Atlanta Hawks (Record: 5-4, Last Week: 20): The Hawks got throttled by the Cavs on Saturday (31-point loss). In their other three losses, the Hawks lost by a total of 12 points.

16. Phoenix Suns (Record: 5-5, Last Week: 16): Alex Len had his second double-double of the season in the team's last game with 17 points and 11 boards. In his seven games between double-doubles, Len is averaging 3.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

17. Milwaukee Bucks (Record: 5-5, Last Week: 24): Only the Rockets have a better Defensive Rating than the Bucks (94.7) so far this season.

18. Brooklyn Nets (Record: 4-5, Last Week: 15): After making 12-of-25 three's in his first five games, Joe Johnson has made just 2-of-10 from behind the arc in the past four games.

19. Charlotte Bobcats (Record: 4-6, Last Week: 17): In his first nine games, Lance Stephenson was averaging 10.56 rebounds per game with at least seven in each game. In his most recent game, Stephenson had no rebounds.

20. Indiana Pacers (Record: 4-7, Last Week: 28): Despite their slew of injuries, the Pacers won three of four games last week.

21. Boston Celtics (Record: 3-5, Last Week: 19): Per 40 minutes, Rajon Rondo is nearly averaging a triple-double -- 12.2 points, 14.4 assists and 9.8 rebounds.

22. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record: 3-8, Last Week: 18): Reggie Jackson is averaging 21.5 points, 7.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game this season.

23. Utah Jazz (Record: 4-7, Last Week: 21): In his past four games, Gordon Hayward has alternated hot and cold shooting nights: 30 points (11 of 15 from field), 11 (five of 16), 33 (11 of 18) and 12 (three of 10).

24. New York Knicks (Record: 3-8, Last Week: 22): The Knicks have struggled defending the three-point line. They allow a league-high 42.0 percent from behind the arc and only the Mavs and Lakers allow more made three's than the Knicks.

25. Detroit Pistons (Record: 3-7, Last Week: 25): Only DeMarcus Cousins and Dwight Howard are averaging more personal fouls per game than Drummond, who is playing just 27.8 minutes per game. Drummond is averaging 8.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.

26. Orlando Magic (Record: 4-7, Last Week: 27): Nikola Vucevic is currently tied the league lead in double-doubles with seven and is averaging 18.2 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record: 2-7, Last Week: 23): Andrew Wiggins is currently tied with Jabari Parker for the lead in scoring average (10.6 per game) among rookies.

28. Denver Nuggets (Record: 2-7, Last Week: 26): Since opening the season with a win, the Nuggets have lost seven of eight games.

29. Los Angeles Lakers (Record: 1-9, Last Week: 29): With Kobe Bryant shooting so much, one of the benefits is that the Lakers leads the league in offensive rebounding (13.2 per game) and Jordan Hill (4.8/G) leads the league.

30. Philadelphia 76ers (Record: 0-9, Last Week: 30): I'm not sure who would throw their money away, but the 76ers have 9,999/1 odds to win the NBA Championship based on odds from Sportsbook.ag. The Magic are second worst with 1,250/1 odds.

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Monday, November 10, 2014

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings: Week 3

The NBA season is young and there are plenty of surprises. One example, the Kings have more wins than the Spurs and Cavs.

Combined.

With that said, here are my Week 3 NBA Power Rankings:

1. Memphis Grizzlies (Record: 6-1, Last Week: 6): I tend to be higher on the Grizzlies than most, but they are often underrated and currently lead the NBA in scoring defense (87.6 PPG).

2. Golden State Warriors (Record: 5-1, Last Week: 1): Leading the NBA in scoring, Stephen Curry had a double-double (28 points, 10 assists) with five steals on Sunday, but he also had 10 turnovers as well. That is a league high in turnovers this season.

3. Houston Rockets (Record: 6-1, Last Week: 7): Averaging 25.4 points per game (like last year), James Harden is averaging career highs in boards (6.7/G) and assists (7.1/G) through seven games.

4. Toronto Raptors (Record: 6-1, Last Week: 12): The Raptors lead the NBA in scoring offense (107.4 PPG) and scoring differential (+11.5).

5. Chicago Bulls (Record: 5-2, Last Week: 5): After averaging a league-low 93.7 PPG last year, the Bulls are scoring 104.3 PPG (sixth in NBA) this season as Jimmy Butler leads the team with 19.6 PPG (13.1/G last year).

6. Miami Heat (Record: 5-2, Last Week: 9): Chris Bosh has scored 20-plus points in all seven games this season. In his previous four seasons with the Heat, Bosh never scored 20-plus in more than five games, which he did in 2010.

7. Washington Wizards (Record: 5-2, Last Week: 11): With a current W/L percentage of .714 early in the season, the Wizards are off to a great start. If they manage to win 60 percent (or more) of their games, it will be the first time the franchise has done so since the 1978-79 season.

8. Los Angeles Clippers (Record: 4-2, Last Week: 8): The Clippers lead the league in turnover differential (-7.8) and A/TO ratio (2.13). Chris Paul has 63 assists and just five turnovers through six games.

9. San Antonio Spurs (Record: 2-3, Last Week: 2): Based on NBA futures from Vegas, the Spurs still have the best odds (6/1) among Western Conference teams to win it all ...

10. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record: 2-3, Last Week: 3): ... and while the Cavs are trying to build chemistry and play unselfishly, they are still the favorites to win it all (3/1).

11. New Orleans Pelicans (Record: 3-2, Last Week: 13): Among players getting 20-plus minutes per game, no player has a higher PER (Player Efficiency Rating) than Anthony Davis (34.89) — Golden State's Stephen Curry (29.89) is second.

12. Sacramento Kings (Record: 5-2, Last Week: 15): There are a number of reasons why the Kings are off to a strong (surprising) start. Through Sunday's games, they lead the NBA in rebounding (47.4/G) and get to and make more free throws than any other team (30.1 FTM/G, 37.3 FTA/G).

13. Dallas Mavericks (Record: 4-3, Last Week: 4): The Mavs currently lead the NBA in Offensive Rating (number of points scored per 100 possessions) with 112.0.

14. Portland Trail Blazers (Record: 4-3, Last Week: 14): The starting lineup of LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Damian Lillard, Robin Lopez and Wesley Matthews is the league's highest-scoring quintet (46.9 PPG).

15. Brooklyn Nets (Record: 4-2, Last Week: 21): While the Mavs lead the league in Offensive Rating; the Nets are second at 109.5.

16. Phoenix Suns (Record: 4-3, Last Week: 10): Coming off a tough three-game schedule (Grizzlies, Kings and Warriors), the Suns face the Nets, Bobcats and Clippers this week, all quality opponents. Then the schedule gets a lot softer from 11/17-12/2 with only one of their nine opponents having a winning record. Excluding the Raptors, the other eight teams they will face during that stretch have a combined 11-41 record.

17. Charlotte Bobcats (Record: 3-4, Last Week: 19): Kemba Walker's win-loss splits: (Wins) 19.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 7.3 APG, 2.0 SPG and (Losses) 12.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG.

18. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record: 2-5, Last Week: 18): Mark Cuban wonders if the Thunder should shut down stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook for the rest of the season? Hmmm, what could he gain from that?

19. Boston Celtics (Record: 3-3, Last Week: 24): The Celtics (25.0/G) and Rajon Rondo (11.2/G) lead the NBA in assists per game.

20. Atlanta Hawks (Record: 2-3, Last Week: 20): Jeff Teague leads the NBA in drives per game (14.0), but he only has a 33.3 percent field-goal percentage on drives.

21. Utah Jazz (Record: 3-4, Last Week: 25): Among qualified rookies, Jazz point guard Dante Exum leads rookies in PER (15.14).

22. New York Knicks (Record: 2-5, Last Week: 16): Carmelo Anthony has failed to score more than 20 points in four consecutive games and is a combined 26-of-84 (30.95 percent) during that stretch.

23. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record: 2-4, Last Week: 23): Not only did the team lose (trade) Kevin Love in the offseason, but now they will be without Ricky Rubio (ankle) for 6-8 weeks. Rubio was averaging a career-high 10.0 assists per game and shooting 42.6 percent from the field (previous career high is 38.1 percent).

24. Milwaukee Bucks (Record: 3-4, Last Week: 27): Brandon Knight is averaging 17.57 points, 6.43 rebounds and 7.29 assists per game. Only three players are averaging 17/6/7: Harden, Curry and Knight.

25. Detroit Pistons (Record: 2-4, Last Week: 26): The Pistons currently rank last in the league in points per shot (1.09).

26. Denver Nuggets (Record: 1-5, Last Week: 17): The Nuggets are 0-for November and The Manimal is averaging just 27 minutes per game this season.

27. Orlando Magic (Record: 2-5, Last Week: 28): One of the team's few bright spots, Nikola Vucevic is averaging career highs across the board: 18.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.4 APG and 1.1 BPG.

28. Indiana Pacers (Record: 1-6, Last Week: 22): Four Pacers are averaging more than 12.0 PPG — Chris Copeland (16.7), Donald Sloan (15.1), Roy Hibbert (12.6) and Solomon Hill (12.0). Casual fans probably only recognize one name on that list, which shows how injuries have impacted this team.

29. Los Angeles Lakers (Record: 1-5, Last Week: 29): This should come as no surprise, but Kobe Bryant has a league-high 37.7 usage rate aside from Russell Westbrook (42.9 percent).

30. Philadelphia 76ers (Record: 0-7, Last Week: 30): With few positives to the start of the season (successful tanking progress aside), Tony Wroten (23.4 PPG, 6.8 APG, 2.7 SPG) has been a fantasy must-start with Michael Carter-Williams out.

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Monday, October 27, 2014

2014-15 NBA Power Rankings: Week 1

In less than 24 hours, the 2014-15 NBA season will get underway with three games including the Mavericks at Spurs.

Beginning with Gregg Popovitch's first full season as Spurs coach, the Spurs have won 50-plus games every season except 1998-99. Only 50 total games were played that season and the Spurs won 37 of them. In fact, that was the first year that the Spurs won the NBA Finals.

Entering the season as defending champions, the Spurs have won five titles during the Popovitch and Tim Duncan era. Duncan exercised his player option for this season, which could be the last of his Hall-of-Fame career.

With a career win share of 191.57, the only players in NBA history with a higher win share are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (273.41), Wilt Chamberlain (247.26), Karl Malone (234.63), Michael Jordan (214.02) and John Stockton (207.70). Mr. Fundamental ranks 19th all-time in scoring, 12th in rebounding and 15th in blocks.

Based on Vegas odds to win it all, the Spurs are a close second (+350) behind the Cavaliers (+280).

As LeBron James returns home to Cleveland, he leads a more talented trio with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love than the one he had in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Considering the Heat made a trip to the NBA Finals in all four of LeBron's seasons in Miami and won two titles, it makes sense to install them as the preseason favorites even if it takes a bit of time for them to build chemistry.

Here are my Week 1 NBA Power Rankings (2013-14 record in parenthesis):

1. Cleveland Cavaliers (33-49)
2. San Antonio Spurs (62-20)
3. Chicago Bulls (48-34)
4. Los Angeles Clippers (57-25)
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (59-23)
6. Dallas Mavericks (49-33)
7. Golden State Warriors (51-31)
8. Memphis Grizzlies (50-32)
9. Portland Trail Blazers (54-28)
10. Washington Wizards (44-38)
11. Toronto Raptors (48-34)
12. Houston Rockets (48-34)
13. New Orleans Pelicans (34-48)
14. Phoenix Suns (48-34)
15. Charlotte Hornets (43-39)
16. Miami Heat (54-28)
17. Denver Nuggets (36-46)
18. Brooklyn Nets (44-38)
19. Atlanta Hawks (38-44)
20. Detroit Pistons (29-53)
21. Indiana Pacers (56-26)
22. Los Angeles Lakers (27-55)
23. Sacramento Kings (28-54)
24. New York Knicks (37-45)
25. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-42)
26. Utah Jazz (25-57)
27. Boston Celtics (25-57)
28. Milwaukee Bucks (15-67)
29. Orlando Magic (23-59)
30. Philadelphia 76ers (19-63)

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