2014-15 NBA Power Rankings: Week 2

The post-LeBron James era in Miami has gotten off to an excellent start as the Heat have won their first three games of the season and average 109.3 points per game, which is second only to the Dallas Mavericks. Along with Golden State and Houston, they are the only three teams with an average point differential in double digits (+11.7).

Heat power forward Chris Bosh took a back seat to LeBron and Dwyane Wade over the past four seasons, but Bosh has stepped up his production big time with the LeBron's departure.

Bosh is averaging 25.7 points per game, seventh in the league, and 11.3 rebounds per game, eighth-best, through the first week of the season. Both of those averages would be career highs for Bosh, who is in his 12th NBA season. In addition, Bosh is averaging 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game, which would also be career highs as well.

With 0.7 win shares already through three games, Bosh is averaging .303 win shares per 48 minutes. His previous career high was .200 in 2007-08 with the Raptors.

The Heat have scored at least 107 points in each of their first three wins (over Wizards, Sixers and Raptors) and they will face Dwight Howard, James Harden and the 3-0 Rockets on Tuesday.

Some other notes:

• With the pressure of returning home, LeBron and the Cavs stumbled in their opener against the Knicks. James had eight turnovers and converted on only five of his 15 field goal attempts, but they bounced back in the second game with an overtime win against the Bulls. James scored a game-high 36 points on 14-of-30 shooting and added eight rebounds, four assists and four steals with three turnovers.
• It's been a dominant start to the 2014-15 season for Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis. Through Sunday's games, Davis ranks second in scoring (28.5 per game), first in rebounding (16.0) and first in blocks (6.0). Along with Omer Asik (13.5 PPG, 13.0 RPG, 2.5 BPG), the Pelicans have one of the league's best 1-2 tandems down low.
• Golden State's Klay Thompson scored 19 points on 4-of-14 shooting on opening night, but he has 41 and 29 points in his other two games and shot a combined 25-of-40 in those two games. Early in the season, Thompson leads the league in scoring (29.7 PPG). The Warriors will host the Clippers in a Pacific division showdown on Wednesday.
• Sacramento is off to a 2-1 start and Rudy Gay is coming off two big games in wins over the Blazers (40 points, eight rebounds) and Clippers (25 points, seven boards, six assists). In addition, DeMarcus Cousins had a relatively slow start in his first two games (18.5 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 33.3 FG%), but he had a massive 34/17 line against the Clips on Sunday.
• The Lakers will give the Sixers a run for their money as the worst team in the league. Losing Julius Randle for the season was a tough blow in the opener, but Kobe Bryant could lead the league in scoring (and perhaps technical fouls). That said, they won't be able to stop anyone and are currently allowing a league-worst 118.0 PPG. (Brooklyn is second-worst in that category at 105.5.)
• The Atlanta Hawks are shooting an incredible 47.6 percent from behind the arc through two games. Only seven teams (including the Hawks) have a better field goal percentage (for all field goals) so far this season. The other 23 teams all have a field-goal percentage lower than 47.6 percent and the Nuggets rank last in the league at 39.4 percent.
• Not only will the Thunder have to deal with the injury to Kevin Durant (foot), but they will be without Russell Westbrook (hand) for roughly a month. Especially considering the talent of the Western Conference, it's another devastating blow.

Here are my Week 2 NBA Power Rankings:

1. Golden State Warriors (Record: 3-0, Last Week: 7)
2. San Antonio Spurs (Record: 1-1, Last Week: 2)
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record: 1-1, Last Week: 1)
4. Dallas Mavericks (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 6)
5. Chicago Bulls (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 3)
6. Memphis Grizzlies (Record: 3-0, Last Week: 8)
7. Houston Rockets (Record: 3-0, Last Week: 12)
8. Los Angeles Clippers (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 4)
9. Miami Heat (Record: 3-0, Last Week: 16)
10. Phoenix Suns (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 14)
11. Washington Wizards (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 10)
12. Toronto Raptors (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 11)
13. New Orleans Pelicans (Record: 1-1, Last Week: 13)
14. Portland Trail Blazers (Record: 1-2, Last Week: 9)
15. Sacramento Kings (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 23)
16. New York Knicks (Record: 2-1, Last Week: 24)
17. Denver Nuggets (Record: 1-1, Last Week: 17)
18. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record: 1-2, Last Week: 5)
19. Charlotte Bobcats (Record: 1-2, Last Week: 15)
20. Atlanta Hawks (Record: 1-1, Last Week: 19)
21. Brooklyn Nets (Record: 1-1, Last Week: 18)
22. Indiana Pacers (Record: 1-2, Last Week: 21)
23. Minnesota Timberwolves (Record: 1-2, Last Week: 25)
24. Boston Celtics (Record: 1-1, Last Week: 27)
25. Utah Jazz (Record: 1-2, Last Week: 26)
26. Detroit Pistons (Record: 0-3, Last Week: 20)
27. Milwaukee Bucks (Record: 1-2, Last Week: 28)
28. Orlando Magic (Record: 0-3, Last Week: 29)
29. Los Angeles Lakers (Record: 0-4, Last Week: 22)
30. Philadelphia 76ers (Record: 0-4, Last Week: 30)

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2013-14 NBA Power Rankings, Week 8

The Eastern Conference — and even more specifically the Atlantic Division — has been incredibly weak with the exception of the top two teams.

It's too bad we couldn't move some Western Conference teams east or fast forward to a likely Pacers-versus-Heat Eastern Conference Championship.

The good news about the Pacers and Heat is they are clearly the two best teams in the entire assocation with the league's best player (LeBron James) and one of the league's most underrated superstars (Paul George).

Roundtable question: Will any team(s) in the Atlantic Division finish the season with a winning record?

John Trifone (follow on Twitter):

As pathetic as the Eastern conference as a whole has been, and specifically the Atlantic Division, I do think at least one team, and probably two teams, will finish over .500.

The Nets have a good team on paper, and have showed some signs of putting something together.  The Knicks also are not as bad as they've played.  Prior to moving Rudy Gay and now possibly unloading Kyle Lowry, I thought that Toronto had a chance to be decent as well, although I would now take them out of the mix.

And finally, Boston has been substantially better than predicted.  Brad Stevens may just be a great coach, but I think between the Celts, Knicks, and Nets, at least one of them will end the year with a winning record.

Sean Beazley (follow on Twitter):
 
Yes, I believe Brooklyn will make a run and finish above .500 and win the Atlantic division this year.   I think the Eastern Conference playoffs will have at least three teams in it that are under .500 in the playoffs.  NBA action; it's Fantastic!

Dan Yanotchko (follow on Twitter):
 
I would have to say that this year's Atlantic Division of the NBA has to be the worst possible division in the history of sports.  Right now, we are past the quarter point of the season, and not one team is over .500.  The Celtics lead the way with a lofty 11-14 record, good enough to be three games clear of the .500 mark.

This division will have a .500 finisher though, and the only team that will finish over 41 wins, will be the Brooklyn Nets. Although the Nets have one of the worst coaches in the league, they have way too much talent, and of course, they play in the Atlantic division of the Eastern conference, so they can stockpile wins.  The Nets will eventually get to, and finish over, the .500 mark.

Kevin Hanson (follow on Twitter):
 
For a couple of reasons, I'd like to see all five of the teams in the division lose all of their games.  As a Sixers fan, I'm rooting for more ping pong balls leading to a (very) high lottery pick.  For the rest of the division, I root for them to lose, as always.

That said, I think we see the Nets finishing above .500.

Over the long haul of the NBA season, there will be plenty of games against the other teams in the division.  The trio of Deron Williams, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett will eventually get healthy and gel and finish with around 45 wins on the season.  Adding Pierce and KG, however, I'm sure that the organization and its fan base was hoping for more than a 45-37 regular-season record.

- See full power rankings here

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NBA Consensus Power Rankings, Week 14

No other player has done it more than once this season and Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo did it for a fifth time Sunday.

In their 19-point beatdown of the Miami Heat, Rondo finished with a triple-double: 16 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds.

In addition, he had double-digit assists for the 13th straight game. That's the longest streak since Steve Nash had 14 straight games with double-digit assists back in 2005.

And who knows? Maybe Nash will be the Heat point guard in 2012.

Nash said on the Dan Patrick Show (via the L.A. Times) that he would be interested in, um, taking his talents to South Beach: "I would listen. He's phenomenal. I love what they're doing there. A lot of people don't like them because they put all that talent there. But they're professional, they play hard, they play together."

Both Nash and Rondo are the only two players to average double-digit assists this season.

Winners of five straight games, the Celtics are now in first place in the Atlantic Division and are the biggest mover up our Power Rankings board this week.

Here are some stats about this week's NBA Consensus Power Rankings:

- Biggest jump from last week: Boston Celtics (+4.92)
- Biggest drop from last week: Utah Jazz (-2.67)
- Team with widest difference between high and low ranker: Indiana Pacers (6) [See our full NBA Consensus Power Rankings.]

Each week, we respond to one roundtable question and here's this week's question: Excluding the top four seeds in each conference, which team will be the toughest out in the postseason?

John (follow on Twitter): Memphis Grizzlies

This one is easy for me, as I think that the Memphis Grizzlies are going to be a tougher out than some of the top four seeds in each conference. Because they are in the same division as San Antonio, who at this point has a pretty firm grip on the division, Memphis is unlikely to crack the top four by season's end, and will likely finish with either the 5 or 6 seed. The Grizzlies went on a run in last year's playoffs, and I was initially reluctant to assume that they had another run like that in them. I felt comparable about the Mavericks, who clearly have a team capable of being in contention, but are certainly not the favorite. Last year, Dallas surprised virtually everyone, getting extremely hot at the right time, and riding out one of the best playoff performances of all time by Dirk Nowitzki (a performance that for a short time, vaulted him into the conversation as a top 10 player of all time.) I feel a secondary run is extremely unlikely, even though they have the bulk of last year's championship roster. I felt similar about Memphis, but after watching them play the last few weeks, they are really built for the playoffs. They have a great mix of youth and experience, and have a team that is athletic enough to hang with the Oklahoma City's of the world. I think behind OKC and San Antonio, Memphis is the next team most likely to make a deep run, and it wouldn't shock me at all to see them in the Conference Finals.

Kevin (follow on Twitter): Philadelphia 76ers

My initial thought was to go with the Grizzlies, and while I think they will make some noise in the West, I'm going to go with the "homer" pick (Sixers). They are currently only one game out of first in the Atlantic so it's very possible that they end up with a top-four seed. Although they have been a mediocre .500 (9-9) since the break, they have plenty of attributes that make them dangerous in the East. The Sixers rank first in the NBA in team defense (87.8 points allowed per game) and first in the league in fewest turnovers (10.5 per game). They are unselfish and deep (Lou Williams leads the team in scoring off the bench) and they have elite perimeter defenders in Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday.

Dan (follow on Twitter): Memphis Grizzlies

I am going to go with the Memphis Grizzlies as the toughest non-top-four seed out in this year's postseason (much like last year). They have an awesome rotation of bigs with Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Rudy Gay, and solid scoring from both Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo. Memphis is also 17-7 at home, and have the pedigree from last year as a lower seed to spring an upset in this year's playoffs.

Sean (follow on Twitter): Memphis Grizzlies

The defending champ Mavs currently hold the No. 5 seed in the West, and would be the logical choice, but after watching them play over the past two weeks, I just don't think they can make a run. I'm going with the No. 6 seed in the West and that is the Memphis Grizzlies. Zach Randolph is back in the lineup, and they are going to be a very dangerous team in the playoffs. I think they would beat the Lakers right now in a series.

To see where all 30 teams fall in our power rankings going through Week 14, click here.

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Is it "evitable" that the Warriors trade Monta Ellis?

According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group, "it seems inevitable" that the Warriors will trade guard Monta Ellis even though they aren't actively shopping him.

Meanwhile, Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that "Ellis' representatives have joined the Warriors in an attempt to find a mutually beneficial destination."

Per Thompson, four players the Warriors have discussed are Rudy Gay of Memphis, Andre Iguodala of Philadelphia, Luol Deng of Chicago and Nene of Denver.

Some of the other players mentioned by Simmons include Atlanta's Josh Smith and Portland's Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum.

While one of Thompson's sources says "it's not close to happening," the Iguodala-to-Warriors option, in particular, is "the one that has legs."

Ellis, who is under contract at $11 million per season for three more years, averaged 24.1 points, 5.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game in 80 games last season. Ellis led the team in scoring and steals and was second in assists behind guard Stephen Curry.