NBA Weekly Power Ratings

NBA Week 7 Power Rankings – The Mighty Have Risen, Lakers, Celtics Back on Top

The sixth week of 2009-10 NBA regular season saw the league’s elite title contenders move back to the top of the pecking order in my weekly NBA Power Rankings while many of the upstart title contenders in each conference fell back a bit to rankings more befitting of their contender status.

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This look back at the week that was will undoubtedly help pro basketball betting enthusiasts with their upcoming selections throughout the course of what promises to be an exciting seventh week of pro hoops action.

1. Los Angeles Lakers 16-3 (same)

The red-hot Lakers remain entrenched in the top spot and can’t seem to lose these days. To make matters even better for L.A. backers, many of the team’s younger players (Bynum, Farmar, Brown) seem to be getting even better.

2. Boston Celtics 16-4 (up 2)

The C’s are clearly on a mission to get back to the NBA Finals and their play as of late shows they have the capability of doing it. Simply put, the Celtics, winners of six straight, have the best defense in the game today.

3. Orlando Magic 16-4 (same)

The Magic have gone a solid 3-1 over their last four games and haven’t shown me anything that makes me believe they won’t reach the Eastern Conference Finals opposite of Boston.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers 15-5 (same)

The Cavaliers keep on winning, but it should be painfully obvious to Cleveland fans that the LeBron James ‘one-man-gang thing’ isn’t going to cut it against the elite teams in East, namely Boston and Orlando.

5. Denver Nuggets 15-5 (up 1)

The Nuggets won all three of their games last week and look like they are going to seriously challenge the Lakers in the Western Conference this postseason.

6. Dallas Mavericks 14-7

The Mavericks have gone 2-2 over its last four, but still have the look of a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.

7. Phoenix Suns 15-6 (down 6)

The Suns haven’t been playing their best basketball, going 2-3 over its last five to come back to earth in a big way over the last week or so.

8. Atlanta Hawks 14-6 (down 1)

Atlanta has gone 3-3 over its last six games while lapsing back into the selfish one-on-one style of play that often gets the athletic ballclub losses.

9. Houston Rockets 11-9 (up 4)

The Rockets may be the biggest bunch of overachievers in the league this season!

10. Oklahoma City 10-9 (same)

I love this young team! The Thunder has gone 1-1 over their last two games, but have recorded a slew of surprising quality wins just about one-fourth of the way into the regular season.

11. Portland Trail Blazers 13-8 (down 3)

The Blazers could be in some serious trouble right now with Greg Oden lost for the season and head coach Nate McMillan still playing head games with veteran point guard Andre Miller.

12. Utah Jazz 11-8 (down 3)

The Jazz have gone 2-1 over their last three games, but Saturday’s loss at Minnesota put a serious damper on the Jazz and snapped a four-game winning streak.

13. Miami Heat 11-9 (down 1)

The Heat have gone 2-2 over its last four to keep their heads above water, but Miami is still basically a one-man team. As Charles Barkley put it, Dwyane Wade is Michael Jackson playing with a bunch of Titos. Ouch!

14. San Antonio Spurs 9-8 (down 3)

The Spurs are a mess, but I know why. San Antonio is still trying to find its new personality after making several offseason additions while head coach Gregg Popovich continues tinkering with his lineups.

15. Charlotte Bobcats 9-11 (down 1)

The Bobcats have gone 2-2 over its last four games and will likely get a lot better if they continue to embrace Larry Brown’s defense-first style of play.

16. L.A. Clippers 9-11 (up 4)

I am very impressed with the Clippers this season and more importantly, the jaw-dropping scoring ability of electrifying shooting guard Eric Gordon.

17. Milwaukee Bucks 9-10 (down 2)

The Bucks are hanging in there and could be a playoff team this season despite going 1-6 over their last seven games as rookie point guard Brandon Jennings gasps for his second win after carrying the Bucks early on.

18. Sacramento Kings 9-10 (down 2)

Rookie point guard Tyreke Evans is a monster! The Kings will likely continue covering at a high rate while pulling off more than one upset if they keep playing hard for veteran head coach Paul Westphal.

19. New Orleans Hornets 8-11 (up 2)

The Hornets have gone a respectable 5-5 under Jeff Bower, but still are nowhere near competing with the elite teams in the Western Conference.

20. Detroit Pistons 8-12 (up 2)

The Pistons have gone 4-3 over its last seven games and could make the playoffs if they keep getting outstanding performances from Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum and gifted rookie Austin Daye.

21. Toronto Raptors 9-13 (down 3)

For a team with a nice group of veteran players, the Raptors have underachieved mightily this season.

22. Memphis Grizzlies 8-12 (up 1)

The Grizzlies are talented, but mostly foolish, selfish, not to mention the fact that they don’t like playing defense very much at all.

23. Chicago Bulls 7-11 (down 5)

Jeez, did anyone think the loss of Ben Gordon would hurt the Bulls this much? Uh, yeah! Chicago has gone 1-3 over the last week.

24. Indiana Pacers 6-12 (down 7)

Danny Granger has been a virtual one-man show for the Pacers, but as LeBron James and Dwyane Wade can tell Granger from experience, one man teams just don’t cut it in the NBA.

25. Golden State Warriors 6-13 (down 1)

The Warriors have gone 1-3 over their last four games but don’t play enough defense to stop a group of middle school ballers.

26. New York Knicks 6-15 (up 2)

The Knicks went 2-1 over their last three games, but are still playing the level of talent on its roster if you ask me.

27. Minnesota Timberwolves 3-17 (same)

The Timberwolves are a mess, but I guess it’s no wonder for a team that drafted a point guard with their back-to-back No. 5 and 6 picks in this year’s draft.

28. Philadelphia 76ers 5-15 (down 3)

Allen Iverson can’t get on the court fast enough for this team, which has lost nine straight games heading into their highly-anticipated showdown with Denver on Monday night.

29. Washington Wizards 7-12 (down 3)

The Wizards are the biggest group of underachievers in the league and would be at rock-bottom of my standings were it not for the lowly Nets.

30. New Jersey Nets 1-19 (same)

New Jersey picked up its first win of the season, but clearly has some issues to work out despite having a roster with a boatload of young talent.