NBA Power Rankings
2012 NBA Power Rankings: Week 8
Newsday.com's Bobby Bonett makes sense of the NBA with his weekly power rankings, every Monday at noon.
Rank
Change
Team
Record
Comments
1.
-
Heat
25-7
In their six-game winning streak, the Heat have beaten three teams projected to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference by an average of more than 15 points.
2.
2
Spurs
22-9
Tony Parker should be in the thick of the MVP race. In February, Parker is averaging 25.8 points and 7.9 assists, including games of 34 and 14, and 30 and 10 last week. The Spurs have now won 10 straight.
3.
1
Bulls
25-8
Derrick Rose may return Monday night against the Hawks. Big news for Chicago, which looked very average in five games (3-2) without their star point guard.
4.
1
Thunder
24-7
You can look at two things from Oklahoma City's OT win against Denver on Sunday: historic totals from Kevin Durant (51 points), Russell Westbrook (40) and Serge Ibaka (triple-double), or that the rest of the team shot 3-for-30 with a combined plus-minus of -42.
5.
2
Mavericks
20-12
Only Linsanity was able to stop Dallas. The Mavs' six straight wins before that came against teams with records of .500 or better.
6.
3
Clippers
19-10
Blake Griffin's ability to bounce back from an ugly loss against Dallas last Monday (2-for-9 on free throws) was good news for the Clippers. Griffin posted three straight double-doubles to end the week, shooting at least 50 percent from the field and 60 percent from the line in each game.
7.
1
Magic
20-12
Orlando improved to 8-3 in February with a 3-1 week that included a 16-point win over the Sixers. Ryan Anderson has again caught fire from three, hitting 13 of his last 22 attempts.
8.
2
76ers
20-12
The Sixers continue to tumble, losing three of four last week and five of seven overall. Not surprisingly, the problem has been on the offensive side of the ball: 89.7 points per game in February.
9.
7
Knicks
16-16
Now 8-1 in their last nine, this upcoming week is the biggest yet in the Jeremy Lin era. Can the offense (and, perhaps more importantly, the defense) continue to be effective with Carmelo Anthony? And how will the Knicks stack up against the Heat on Thursday?
10.
3
Rockets
18-14
After averaging 15.0 points on 38.3 percent shooting in January, Kyle Lowry is averaging 16.7 points on 46.6 percent shooting this month.
11.
2
Lakers
18-13
Kobe Bryant hit the nail on the head regarding trade rumors involving Pau Gasol: Lakers management needs to either trade the power forward, or come out and say he's not available. The Lakers don't need any additional distractions in the difficult West.
12.
6
Grizzlies
18-14
For a week, the Grizzlies managed to revert to playoff form, winning four straight. Three of the wins were by less than five points, though, and two -- against the Nets and Warriors -- were nail-biters over bad teams.
13.
2
Trail Blazers
17-15
Raymond Felton finally did something positive for the Blazers, scoring 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting to go with eight assists in a 20-point win over the Hawks. Portland's success depends a lot on the play of their point guard; is depending that much on Felton really a good thing, though?
14.
4
Nuggets
17-15
Could the potential signing of Wilson Chandler breathe life into the Nuggets? Denver is 3-10 since a 14-5 start.
15.
4
Pacers
19-12
The best cure to a five-game losing streak? Back-to-back home games against the Nets and Bobcats. Indiana has four more cupcake games before a brutal nine-game stretch against some of the league's best.
16.
2
Hawks
19-12
Last week were a microcosm of the Hawks' season: ugly losses to a pair of teams with records above .500, and a two-point win against one of the NBA's worst teams.
17.
-
Timberwolves
16-16
Could the Wolves land Pau Gasol? Would he spark them to a playoff run? Perhaps more importantly, would he fit on a team that already has a bunch of talent at the four and five?
18.
6
Celtics
15-15
Three of Boston's last four losses have come to either the Pistons or Raptors. The Celtics might be better off with Rajon Rondo as the facilitator, rather than the No. 1 scoring option.
19.
5
Cavaliers
12-17
Kyrie Irving returns, and Cleveland quickly wins two of three, including an 11-point win over Indiana. The playoffs may be a long shot, but could the Cavs push back to a .500 record by season's end?
20.
1
Jazz
15-15
Through Jan. 30, the Jazz were 12-7. Less than three weeks later, Utah is back at .500, on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture looking in. In 11 February games, the Jazz have allowed more than 100 points seven times . . . and lost six of them.
21.
-
Suns
13-19
The Suns' win over Los Angeles on Sunday was just their fourth against a team currently with a winning record this season. Steve Nash has at least 10 assists in 10 of his last 11 games.
22.
1
Bucks
13-18
A quick glance at the box score from the Bucks' 92-85 win over New Jersey on Sunday, and it's easy to see which Milwaukee forward is in a contract year. Ersan Ilyasova exploded for 29 points and 25 rebounds and is now averaging 10.1 points and 8.5 rebounds.
23.
2
Pistons
11-22
With a win over the Cavs next Tuesday, the Pistons would have two -- TWO! -- winning streaks of four games in February. Rodney Stuckey's resurgence has played a big part: the guard is averaging 22.2 points on 46.3 percent shooting in his last five games.
24.
4
Warriors
11-17
Might it be time for Mark Jackson to give up on Andris Biedrins? The offensively challenge Biedrins, whose only job is to control the paint, is averaging just 4.6 rebounds per game.
25.
3
Kings
10-21
DeMarcus Cousins is having a big season, averaging 16.7 points and 11.3 rebounds, but his shooting percentage -- 44.8 percent -- is alarmingly low for a big man.
26.
3
Hornets
7-23
Sophomore point guard Greivis Vasquez has a plus/minus of +19 during the Hornets' three-game winning streak. He's also posted a pair of double-doubles over that span, including a 15-point, 11-assist night against the Knicks on Friday.
27.
1
Wizards
7-24
If the point guard of your 7-24 team is most concerned about where he was taken in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge draft, you might be a Wizards fan.
28.
-
Nets
9-24
Deron Williams has scored at least 20 points in 13 of his last 15 games. Of course, the Nets are just 4-11 in that stretch.
29.
2
Raptors
9-23
You lose to the Bobcats, you're going to find yourself at the bottom of the power rankings.
