Everyone ready for this week's rankings? Well too bad. Here we go.
1. San Antonio Spurs---Just lost Tony Parker for two to four weeks with a calf injury but the Spurs should still hang tough because George Hill is one of the better back-up point guards in the NBA. Only problem? They have the Miami Heat twice during this span.
2. Dallas Mavericks---Hottest team in the NBA right now (has gone 16-1 in their last 17 games). Still not convinced that this team is good enough to win the West this year and make it to the finals and I think they're peaking too early but there's no denying how hot they've been especially with Caron Butler out.
3. Chicago Bulls---The Bulls stumbled out of the gates after the All Star Break with a loss to the Toronto Raptors with Joakim Noah making his return but the Bulls followed that loss off with wins against the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls are looking like a legit championship contender but if they want to go far this year, they need to start winning games on the road. They did a nice job winning in Milwaukee (although there was probably more Bulls fans than Bucks fans there) but they need to keep it going. This week should be a good test for them with Atlanta, Miami, and Orlando coming up for them. I think they'll go 1-2 over this stretch with losses in Miami and Orlando.
4. Boston Celtics---The NBA world is still wondering why the hell the Boston Celtics dealt Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. I still don't get it. The Celtics are 6-4 in their last 10 and was in a dogfight with the Clippers last night. I do think the Celtics will eventually get it together and win the East but trading Perkins really opened the door up for the Heat and Bulls to take their crown.
5. Los Angeles Lakers---I think that loss to Cleveland before the All Star Break was a real wake-up call for the Lakers because they've been playing terrific basketball since then. They've won 4 in a row and are quietly gaining momentum.
6. Miami Heat
7. Orlando Magic
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
9. Memphis Grizzlies
10. Portland Trail Blazers
11. Atlanta Hawks
12. Philadelphia 76ers
13. Denver Nuggets
14. New York Knicks
15. New Orleans Hornets
16. Phoenix Suns
17. Houston Rockets
18. Utah Jazz
19. Indiana Pacers
20. Golden State Warriors
21. Charlotte Bobcats
22. Milwaukee Bucks
23. New Jersey Nets
24. Detroit Pistons
25. Los Angeles Clippers
26. Toronto Raptors
27. Sacramento Kings
28. Minnesota Timberwolves
29. Washington Wizards
30. Cleveland Cavaliers
Bulls Power Rankings
John Schuhmann of NBA.com:
1. Spurs
2. Mavericks
3. Bulls
The Bulls opened their post-break schedule with one of their worst defensive games of the season (losing their No. 1 ranking in the process) in Toronto, but responded with their second win over the Heat, thanks to a huge shot from Luol Deng. Joakim Noah grabbed 41 rebounds in his first three games back.
4. Celtics
5. Lakers
Marc Stein of ESPN.com:
1. Spurs
2. Mavericks
3. Bulls
Some reward we get for vaulting the Bulls above Boston to No. 3 last Monday. Hard to focus on Chicago's 8-5 record against the rest of the top six when it gives up 118, in Noah's first game back, to (yikes) Toronto.
4. Celtics
5. Lakers
Dave Del Grande from CBS Sports:
1. Spurs
2. Heat
3. Lakers
4. Celtics
5. Mavericks
6. Bulls
Impact of trade deadline: Negative. They added a future low first-round pick, but the wish list of buyout prospects doesn't change the pecking order in the East: Heat, Celtics, then the rest.
Zac Jackson of Fox Sports:
1. Spurs
2. Bulls
Celebrated their No. 1 ranking last week by welcoming Joakim Noah back to action ... and promptly losing to the Raptors. And blowing up the comment section of these rankings, but that's beside the point. They have lots of pieces, didn't feel they needed to make a trade and beat the Heat last week. They'll be near the top for a while.
3. Celtics
4. Mavericks
5. Heat
John Hollinger's Stupid Computer:
1. Spurs
2. Heat
3. Lakers
4. Bulls
5. Lakers
PAST POWER RANKINGS
2/21/11
2/14/11
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