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NBA.com Power Rankings
Posted Nov 9 2006 11:25AM
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NBA.com Power Rankings: Oct. 31
November 9, 2006 -- Welcome to NBA.com's 2006 second Power Rankings of 2006-07, which come out every Thursday this year. Please note these rankings are the view of one humble NBA.com Features Editor and are not "official" rankings. Have a comment? Let us know.
It's been a wild week in the league, with all four of last season's conference finalists sitting below .500 right now, while four lottery teams -- the Hornets, Jazz, Hawks and Blazers -- cracked the top 10 in these rankings.

Falling fast was last year's champs, the Heat, and runners-up, the Mavs. Their rankings this week may evoke similar reader responses, like this comment from Zot in Chicago, as did the Heat sitting in front of 29 teams a week ago:


That's funny - I did tune in to TNT @ 8pm and it looked like it was the Bulls blowing out the Heat by 42 points - a real massacre. Shaq only got 7 points, and it wasn't foul trouble. I guess you'll have to re-think your rankings eh?
Zot, if you tuned in and saw a 42-point gap you most certainly didn't tune in at 8 p.m. like I said. I didn't say 8:15, nor did I write 10:30. The time was 8 p.m. You see, that's when the Heat players were receiving their championship rings. Whether I think the Heat is the best team in the league (see this week, below) is an entirely different matter, but, on Week No. 1, you have to give the champs their due ... at least until proven otherwise, which the Bulls took care of by about 11 p.m. ET when you were checking the final score.
Now, onto this week's rankings ...

High jump of the week: Atlanta, Portland (+21)
Free fall of the week: Dallas (-26)



TEAM (LAST WK) REC. BREAKDOWN
1 NO/Okla City (17) 4-0 The Hornets could remain unbeaten another day or two, but this perfect run should come to an end at the Clippers or Pistons this week.
2 San Antonio (2) 4-1 Any loss at the AT&T Center is a sure way for this team to slip in the rankings, but not as much as if it had lost either of the following roadies at Toronto and New York.
3 Utah (15) 4-1 Surprised? So is the rest of the league that's watching the Jazz shoot a blistering 48.3 percent, while limiting its opponents to a second-best 41.2.
4 L.A. Clippers (8) 4-1 Brand acknowledged his numbers are bad for fantasy GMs right now. The team's balanced offense, however, has been good for the Clips in the early going.
5 L.A. Lakers (13) 4-2 Kobe who? Tinseltown is fast becoming Bynum Country. Even NBA.com Blogger -- and rockstar -- Flea loves this kid.

TEAM (LAST WK) REC. BREAKDOWN
6 New Jersey (9) 2-1 The Nets got it done with O vs. Toronto, but turned on the D to down previously undefeated Utah, which was held to less than 100 for the first time this season.
7 Cleveland (6) 2-2 Wins vs. Wiz and Spurs are very, very nice. Losses to Bobcats and Hawks, not so much … missed free throws or not.
8 Atlanta (29) 3-1 Sure it's early, but first place is still first place -- even if it is only in-division. And if JJ keeps dropping 30 a night, this team will stay there a little longer.
9 Portland (30) 3-2 Raise your hand if you thought Portland would be better than all four of last year's conference finalists. Not even Eric Millegan could have predicted this.
10 Philadelphia (22) 3-2 For the fourth time in five games, A.I. scored 30-plus, but the Sixers have dropped two straight after opening with three Ws.
11 Chicago (7) 2-2 A let down was understandable after the opening night blowout of the Heat. The recovery was important, as are the next two games against Central Division foes.
12 Washington (14) 2-2 The Wizards are 2-0 when Arenas scores 40 or more. He's the only player to eclipse the mark in the first week of the season.
13 Phoenix (5) 1-4 His minutes stayed the same, but when Amare got them -- and what he did with them -- was a step in the right direction. He pumped in 16 points in 15 minutes vs. the Spurs.
14 Indiana (18) 3-2 An ankle injury kept Jermaine O'Neal out of Wednesday's game at Washington. The Pacers have two -- vs. Magic, at Bulls -- this weekend before a three-day layoff.
15 Houston (12) 3-2 You knew it was only a matter of time until McGrady found his shot and looked like the T-Mac of old.
16 Orlando (16) 3-2 That 3-2 record will go south fast if the team can't cut down on it's league-high 22.0 turnovers per game.
17 Sacramento (11) 3-2 Brad Miller could be out for a considerable spell with a foot injury, but that might not slow the Kings if Big Nasty keeps playing like he did Wednesday in a win over the Pistons.
18 Detroit (4) 2-3 A 2-3 record at this point isn't much cause to panic, but when things aren't going well on the road, like last night, try getting Maxiell some more burn.
19 Milwaukee (19) 2-3 Win big, lose big. At least, in their search for consistency, the Bucks were in a game at the end for a change.
20 Toronto (24) 2-2 Bosh, three-point specialist? Well, maybe not, but after going 0-for-13 from downtown last season, Bosh is 2-of-3 this year, including the game-winner last night vs. Philly.
21 Miami (1) 2-2 Rough start, eh? First, a ring-night whipping. Now Shaq's on the bench with a knee bruise. Then again, last year's team started the season 2-2, too.
22 Golden State (20) 2-3 The Warriors get a mulligan on that ill-advised Monta Ellis pass when the team matches up with the Hornets again tonight.
23 Minnesota (23) 2-3 The Wolves haven't held a lead since, well, they finished giving back the 16 points they were ahead by vs. Portland Saturday night.
24 New York (26) 2-3 A road win at Denver surely is a confidence builder for the Knicks, but it might not matter much with games at Houston and San Antonio on this weekend's schedule.
25 Memphis (25) 1-3 Pau's absence is making a lot of minutes available to the team's youngsters, but it doesn't make the losses any easier to swallow.
26 Charlotte (27) 1-3 Limiting LeBron to 16 and holding off the Cavs is enough to keep the Bobcats out of the basement.
27 Seattle (28) 1-4 Initiative 91 may have been shot down by a wide margin, but Sonics games have been closer affairs. Seattle has dropped four games this season by a total of 14 points.
28 Denver (10) 0-3 The road won't get any easier for the 0-3, Kenyon-less Nuggets; games at the Sixers, Bobcats, Heat and Magic await this week.
29 Dallas (3) 0-4 The only other Finalist to start the next season with four Ls was the 2001-02 Sixers, who got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. But it's still early for the Mavs.
30 Boston (21) 1-3 The skid may be over, but games vs. Jazz, Cavs, Magic and Pacers could keep Boston in the cellar come this time next week.