NBA Power Rankings - Week 5

Apologies for the one week hiatus. Now back with NBA power rankings for week 5:

*Record as of all games completed through 11/21.
**Last week ranking refers to week 3.

Tier 1

1. Los Angeles Lakers (1) 12-2: Would have dropped to 3 if there were rankings last week. This week L.A. bounced back by going 4-0 and winning all its games by double digits. Get a couple of legit tests in Chicago and @Utah this week.

2. San Antonio Spurs (7) 11-1: Have to give San Antonio a boost after 10 straight wins. 2nd in points for. 3rd in the NBA in point differential.

3. New Orleans Hornets (3) 11-1: 4 of next 5 on the road including Utah, Portland, and Oklahoma City. One home game during stretch against San Antonio. We'll be getting some answers in these next five. Recently acquired Jarrett Jack will give New Orleans steady backup to Paul.

4. Boston Celtics (2) 9-4: Have to drop Boston after home loss to Durant-less Thunder and loss to Toronto. Record and results not surprising for this type of veteran team. 

Tier 2

5. Dallas Mavericks (10) 8-4: Handed New Orleans its only loss. Went 2-2 during the week. Have two back-to-backs this week including second nights on the road against Oklahoma City and Miami.

6. Utah Jazz (12) 9-5: After ridiculous road trip Utah came back to earth by going 2-2 for the week. Wouldn't expect Jazz to only have a 0.9 point differential.

7. Oklahoma City Thunder (11) 9-4: Impressed by the way Oklahoma City won two games on the road (Boston and Milwaukee) without Durant. Went down to the wire and let Russell Westbrook control things.

Tier 3:

8. Orlando Magic (5) 9-3: Have played three good teams (Miami, Atlanta, Utah) and have lost two (Miami, Utah). Let's see what Magic look like this week against San Antonio and Miami (for a second time).

9. Chicago Bulls (14) 7-4: 2-1 on "Circus Trip". Trip ends this week with games against the Lakers, Phoenix, Denver, and Sacramento. Team playing balanced.

10. Miami Heat (4) 8-5: Only two of Miami's eight wins were decided by single digits (9 against Toronto, 8 against Charlotte). The Heat's five losses were by 8, 3, 2, 5, 2. Simple translation: Miami is having trouble pulling out close games. What does it tell you about a team when you think its in deep trouble without Udonis Haslem?

11. Atlanta Hawks (6) 8-5: Lost five of last seven. Clearly look like a team that will win in the regular season, but is not equipped to win in the postseason.

Tier 4

12. Portland Trail Blazers (8) 8-6: A lot of bad news since the last rankings. Greg Oden will be out for the entire year. Brandon Roy's knee a serious concern as he's sat out three straight. Still, we've learned not to count Portland out.

13. Denver Nuggets (9) 7-6: Playing the waiting game with Carmelo. It's just a matter of time before something happens. While he's in Denver, they'll be dangerous and competitive.

Tier 5

14. Golden State Warriors (15) 7-6: In its last two games Golden State gave up 125 to New York and 117 to the Lakers (both losses). Lost four of five and finish month with a relatively difficult stretch.

15. Memphis Grizzlies (16) 5-9: Lost five straight in tough stretch before Rudy Gay's buzzer beater over Miami on Saturday. Gay's shooting the ball well (49 FG%, 40 3PT%, 85 FT%) while averaging almost 22 points per game.

16. Phoenix Suns (13) 6-7: Rough stretch for the Suns as Nash has missed last two and team has lost last three. Phoenix is giving up an average of 117 points and is losing by an average of 20.3 during stretch.

17. Indiana Pacers (21) 5-6: How sad is the East after the top five right now? Indiana, at 5-6, has the sixth best record in the conference. Hibbert watch: 16.7 PPG, 10 REB, 2.6 BLK.

Tier 6

18. New York Knicks (18) 6-8: Lost six straight before winning last three on West coast road trip, though those games were against Golden State, Sacramento, and the Clippers. Amare stepped up his defense when he came to L.A. and "only" allowed Blake Griffin to get off for 44 points and 15 rebounds.

19. Milwaukee Bucks (23) 5-8: Sometimes look great, particularly on defense. Right when you think Milwaukee a good team they look bad again.

20. Cleveland Cavaliers (19) 5-7: Not many thought Cleveland was capable of playing this well. However, the Cavs have lost four of five and have the second worst point differential in the East.

Tier 7

21. Sacramento Kings (17) 4-8: Have lost 7 of 8. Likely to make it 8 of 9 after going to Utah Monday night. For some reason Sacramento gets a national game on Thanksgiving against the Clippers.

22. Houston Rockets (20) 3-9: Worst case scenario being realized. Yao out again for extended period of time. Aaron Brooks also out. With what the Rockets have left, there's no reason it should lose to Toronto by double digits.

23. Charlotte Bobcats (27) 5-8: Going through a decent stretch going 4-2 in last six. At the same time those wins were against Toronto, Washington, Minnesota, and Phoenix while the losses were against Utah and Miami. Not buying what Charlotte is selling.

24. New Jersey Nets (25) 4-9: Despite going 1-3 on Western Conference road trip, New Jersey was competitive. Only lost to Utah by 10, Sacramento by five, and Denver by four.

25. Toronto Raptors (28) 5-9: Somehow Toronto has won three straight including a game against Boston after losing 9 of first 11. Still believe this is the single worst roster in the league, but have to give them credit for winning some games.

26. Minnesota Timberwolves (30) 4-10: After embarrassing stretch have rebounded by going 3-3. For as much attention Kevin Love's rebounding prowess has received, Michael Beasley is averaging 31.3 points per game during this six game stretch.

27. Detroit Pistons (26) 5-8: 5-3 in last eight, but like Charlotte, not buying it.

28. Philadelphia 76ers (24) 3-10: Lost five straight before beating Milwaukee. After hot start, Brand's numbers have regressed some. Have talented players, but it's not coming together on the court.

29. Washington Wizards (29) 4-8: One of three teams with a point differential worse than -5.0. With John Wall out the past week, was there much reason to watch? 

30. Los Angeles Clippers (22) 1-13: As exciting and talented Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon are, your team still has to win every so often to stay out of the bottom spot. The Clippers own the worst point differential in the league at -9.7. The disconcerting thing is that with Griffin and Gordon alone the Clippers have enough talent to beat some East teams yet the Clips have lost to Detroit, New Jersey, and New York at home.