Weekly Power Rankings: As of 11/5/2012

Pick and Pop Diaries Weekly Power Rankings(As of 11/5/2012)

(Team, Record, Last Week's Rank)

1.       Miami Heat 2-1 (1)

-While the Heat looked more than normal in their loss against the Knicks, the definitive wins

oover the Celtics and Ray Allen's game winner prove this team should be top dog for a while.

2.       San Antonio Spurs 3-0 (5)

-The Spurs might have looked the most complete within the NBA this season. An opening

night win over the Thunder proved that this team is going to be here for a while.

 (Kawhi Leonard is for real.)

3.       Oklahoma City Thunder 1-2 (3)

-The Thunder stay in the 3 spot, but they look vulnerable. Maybe Westbrook was the trade instead of Harden?

4.       Los Angeles Clippers 2-1 (6)

-The Clippers got the first punch in the Staples center rivalry. The question remains however, where do the minutes go when everyone is healthy?

5.       Boston Celtics 1-2 (4) 

-The Celtics are human. Especially their second unit. We will give them a pass this week on that their defense needs to gel with new guys, but your three bloggers are not patient with their hometown team.

6.       Los Angeles Lakers 1-2 (2)

-The Lakers lost two games, and lost Nash for around two weeks. While the win against Detroit was impressive, it doesn't solve any long term problems for this defense which needs to get better, and fast.

7.       Indiana Pacers 2-1 (8)

-The Pacers look good, but not great. They are being pushed by subpar teams, and need to take the next step or their destiny as the new Atlanta Hawks will become more and more real.

8.       Philadelphia 76ers 1-1 (10)

-The 76ers looked great against the Nuggets, and then not so great against the Knicks. This team though looks as though it's missing one piece to become a contender. Good thing that one piece could be Andrew Bynum.

9.       Memphis Grizzlies 1-1 (12)

-The Grizzlies are very happy to have their two big men healthy. Now it is just getting them to compliment one another, while also complimenting Rudy Gay.

10.   New York Knicks 2-0 (13)

-If the Spurs didn't go 3-0, the Knicks might have been the team over the weekend. Two wins to start the year for the first time in '99 make you forget about that "Lin" guy real quick.

(Jeremy who?)

11.   Brooklyn Nets 1-0 (9)

-The Nets honored Brooklyn in a great way with the pregame, but they need to be able to beat teams like the Raptors soundly to put themselves in the East’s elites minds.

12.   Denver Nuggets 0-3 (7)

-There is no hiding it: The Nuggets looked awful in their first week. While the schedule wasn’t necessarily easy, they don’t have games to give if they are going to keep up in the West.

13.   Houston Rockets 2-1 (27)

-Welcome home James Harden. Him and Lin made it seem as though they have been playing together for years, and the future in Houston doesn’t look so dim after all.

14.   Utah Jazz 1-2 (15)

-The Jazz may have started 1-2, but this team has a lot of promise. All of the big guys look good, and they could be even better if Gordon Hayward finds his stroke.

15.   Chicago Bulls 2-1 (11)

-The Bulls no longer have an identity on defense, and are lacking the leadership of Rose. While they came out 2-1, they haven’t shown any signs they can be successful against the top squads.

16.   Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 (19)

-The Bucks jump up after a convincing win over the Celtics, followed by Jennings’ game winner against Cleveland. Anytime you beat the favorite for the East’s 2 seed, and then your point guard outshines Kyrie Irving, it’s a good week.

 (Don't look now, but Brandon Jennings is shooting his way to a new contract.)

17.   Minnesota Timberwolves 1-1 (17)

-The T-Wolves don’t look awful. They are quick and can score in bunches. But everyone is just waiting to see who they are once Love and Rubio get back.

18.   Dallas Mavericks 2-1 (14)

-The Mavericks were high on your editors list, but not on Evan’s and Andrew’s. Why? They don’t think this group of veterans is going to last in the West. Until Dirk is back, the question of who scores the big shot does remain.

19.   Atlanta Hawks 1-1 (16)

-How about them Hawks? A big win over the Thunder shows that while they may not be strong defensively, boy can this team score.

20.   Portland Trailblazers 2-1 (20)

-The Trailblazers should be higher, but it’s tough when so many other teams overachieving as well. Lillard has proven to be the preseason hype thus far.

21.   Golden State Warriors 2-1 (19)

-The Warriors lost a big piece when Brandon Rush comes down. The question for where the bench scoring comes from becomes an even bigger question now.

22.   New Orleans Hornets 2-1 (21)

-Anthony Davis is all that was advertised, but this concussion takes away yet another scorer. Unfortunately, that was overshadowed by the he said-he said situation concerning Eric Gordon’s now famous knee.

23.   Cleveland Cavaliers 1-2 (28)

-Kyrie Irving is an amazing basketball player. That’s pretty much all we have to say here. Watch the Cavs for him.

24.   Toronto Raptors 1-2 (24)

-Kyle Lowry has brought a veteran/leadership presence to this team. The weekend was overshadowed though by money bags Derozan getting overpaid.

("I can't believe they are paying me this much to take these bad shots!")

25.   Detroit Pistons 0-3 (25)

-The Pistons need a scorer. Actually, they need a few scorers. Unfortunately, they have a bunch of guys who think they can score and don’t want to play defense. It’s not looking good in Detroit.

26.   Phoenix Suns 1-2 (22)

-The Suns simply have no identity. While they will win games this year, they may be the most boring and unimportant team in basketball.

27.   Sacramento Kings 0-3 (30)

-The Kings do have an identity. Unfortunately, it’s a bad one. They just can’t seem to get out of each other’s way on offense. DeMarcus Cousins is at least proving why he will get paid somewhere in the offseason.

28.   Orlando Magic 2-0 (26)

-While the Magic went 2-0, no one here is buying the hype. This team will finish lower than low when all is said and done.

29.   Washington Wizards 0-2 (23)

-Veteran presence? No more knuckleheads? It’s still all the same in Washington. Without a real point guard(A.J. Price doesn’t count), the Wiz are going to struggle.

30.   Charlotte Bobcats 1-1 (29)

-The Bobcats followed up their first win in 23 games with a 27 point loss. Seems to be par for the course in Charlotte.

See you tomorrow, but until next time....Your amazing NBA YouTube Clip

-Bford