The NBA: Power Rankings: Week 9

Happy New Year basketball fans! Welcome to the last edition of the Power Rankings for 2013.

Lots of developments took place last week that involved major injuries to important players (Westbrook, Horford) and a suspension to Andrew Bynum.

Trade speculations between Brook Lopez for Pau Gasol or Gasol for Andrew Bynum have started to circulate.

Meanwhile, teams that are supposed to tank like the Suns, Celtics and Raptors are still playing decent ball and within close range of a playoff spot. Phoenix is playing exceptional and is just 1/2 game behind the Clippers for the division lead.

The Knicks and Nets still suck and that will probably NOT change for 2014.

Hero team of the week: OKC won 3 straight and 2 of those games did not include Russell Westbrook.

Sucky team of the week: The Nuggets have lost 7 straight and they already have 7 home losses after going 38-3 at home last season.

The standings are current up to December 31, 2013 and the rankings from Last Week refer to Week 8.

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Eric Bledsoe is making sure that the Phoenix Suns are not tanking this season
(Image from: USA Today Sports)

1. Indiana Pacers | 24-5 | Last Week: 1 | Same
Lance Stephenson is playing amazing ball over the last 5 games: 18 ppg, 8 rpg, 6 apg. On the other hand, Danny Granger has been ineffective in his first 4 games back from injury. The Pacers will have an easy schedule over the next 2 weeks with just 1 out of 9 games against a +0.500 team.

The NBA: Power Rankings: Week 9

Happy New Year! Does 2013 bring a new number 1 to the rankings? A couple of 17-game streaks have ended in the last couple of days. The Clippers lost their first game in January after being undefeated in December while the Bobcats have finally found that elusive 8th win after only winning 7 last season. The Hornets also snapped their double-digit losing streak last week.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics are both under .500 and IF the playoffs started today, both teams dont make the playoffs. Meanwhile, Golden State, Atlanta and New York continue to play very well even without some key players.

The Miami Heat struggled during the weekend after their impressive Christmas Day win while the OKC Thunder have been spectacular in their last 3 games after that loss versus the Heat.

The NBA also welcomed the return of notable players like Amare Stoudemire and Eric Gordon who made their debuts last week. There are whispers that Derrick Rose is ahead of his schedule.

The standings are current up to January 2, 2013. The rankings from last week refer to Week 8.

JaVale McGee and the Denver Nuggets had a great week against teams from Los Angeles.
They beat the Lakers then the Clippers which snapped winning streaks for both
(Image by: ESPN)

1. Los Angeles Clippers | 25-7 | Last Week: 1 | Same
The Clippers lost their first game in January and the winning streak was stopped at 17. They were still very impressive in compiling that streak and they now sit in the Top 5 in defense, assists and Top 10 in offense. The next 3 games will show us if they still belong in the top spot (@Warriors, Lakers & Warriors).

2. Oklahoma City Thunder | 24-6 | Last Week: 3 | +1
The Thunder have recovered nicely after their loss to the Heat. They went on a 3-game win streak including a dismantling of James Harden and the Rockets by 30 points. Russell Westbrook has averaged 23 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists during that stretch.

3. San Antonio Spurs | 25-8 | Last Week: 4 | +1
The Spurs quietly have the longest winning streak right now at 6 games, 4 of the wins in blowouts. They are 1st in points scored and 1st in assists. They have the most road wins (12-6) and remain unbeaten in their division. The Spurs are among 2 other teams with winning margins over 9 points (Clippers and Thunder).

4. Miami Heat | 21-8 | Last Week: 2 | -2
The Heat struggled over the weekend losing back-to-back games then barely survived a Magic team missing  Glen Davis and Jameer Nelson. The Heat got pounded on the boards against the Magic where Nikola Vucevic grabbed 29 rebounds to the Heat's 33 as a team.

5. Golden State Warriors | 20-10 | Last Week: 7 | +2
The Warriors continue to show that they are for real and ready for the playoffs. They had good wins over the Jazz, Sixers and Celtics where they held their opponents to an average of 85 points. Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry continue to lead their second unit.