Mavs 7th in Power Rankings - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

DevinHarriswillstart · 11-08-2004, 06:41 PM

2005 Power Rankings: Week 1
Rank (Last Wk) Team Rec. Comment
1 (5) Pacers 3-0 Injuries? Pacers (Jermaine specifically) apparently don't even know that they're banged up. And Artest? Looking great after a summer of innuendo and trade rumors.
2 (9) Jazz 3-0 In midseason form already, Jazz waste no time making us look foolish for even suggesting that the PG injuries (Arroyo and Lopez) would slow these guys down.
3 (3) Heat 3-0 An FYI, from Shaq: Dwyane Wade is now known as Flash. It really was Dwyane's World in Week 1, true, but Shaq's still in charge of passing out nicknames.
4 (1) Pistons 2-1 Took Toronto lightly (bad) and didn't even deny it (worse). Hence the drop of three slots, and a stern warning, because complacency might be Pistons' biggest enemy this season.
5 (2) Spurs 2-1 Another team, like Detroit, that should never slip below Utah. But, like Detroit, Spurs took a road game lightly (Seattle) and got embarrassed.
6 (4) Timberwolves 2-1 This much we know already: KG looks as serious as ever, and Wolves vs. Nuggets in a playoff rematch (fingers crossed) would be serious fun.
7 (12) Mavericks 3-0 Mavs have surprised even themselves with so much early continuity. And with their depth, you can be sure that Dallas will keep winning if it keeps holding teams to 92.3 ppg. A lot.
8 (11) Suns 3-0 It took only a week for Suns to supplant Orlando as the league's unofficial bandwagon team. They're scoring freely and racking up fans just as quickly.
9 (7) Rockets 2-2 Perilously close to the first 0-3 start in JVG's coaching career, Rockets eventually emerged from a four games-in-five nights stretch with some style.
10 (24) Raptors 3-0 Vinsanity and his Raps had a dream week worthy of a massive jump . . . apart from that court ruling which mandates a payment of nearly $5 million to VC's former agent.
11 (6) Nuggets 1-2 Even after the comeback win over Minny, this might be the most disappointing team so far. One of the problems: Even K-Mart says his buddy Melo is trying too hard to be great.
12 (8) Kings 0-3 Kings have to hope it really is the schedule. They haven't seen a start this ugly since Webber was still a Bullet, Bibby was still an Arizona Wildcat and Peja was still in Greece.
13 (14) Lakers 2-2 Kobe who? Lakers apparently go as Chris Mihm goes. The proof: Shaq's replacement is averaging 21 ppg and 11 rpg in L.A.'s two wins; 7 and 7 in the two losses.
14 (17) Trail Blazers 2-1 Not trying to be funny, but if Zach can go for 33 and 15 every time, as seen Sunday in Toronto, the new contract recipient should pay his way to fly to every road game.
15 (10) Grizzlies 0-3 Yikes: Grizz have lost 11 straight if you count the last four games of last season, the first-round series against San Antonio and the suddenly shaky present.
16 (19) Bucks 1-1 If Redd and Van Horn can go for 50 a night, like they did against Cleveland, Bucks might be able to cope better than expected without T.J., their little PG.
17 (20) Magic 2-1 It could be worse, Orlando. Much, much worse than losing to Charlotte. Remember last season? Magic won on opening night . . . then dropped 19 straight.
18 (16) 76ers 1-2 The Answer is telling anyone who'll listen how much he likes Coach Obie. To this point, though, all they have is each other, which ain't nearly enough.
19 (28) SuperSonics 2-1 Looks like that 30-point loss to Clips on Opening Night -- which quickly sparked whispers about Coach McMillan's immediate future -- was a really loud wake-up call.
20 (27) Wizards 2-1 To start 2-0, with their top three big men (Kwame, Haywood, Etan Thomas) either injured or suspended, Wiz earned Team of the Week consideration, too.
21 (13) Cavaliers 0-3 No worries about a sophomore jinx for LBJ. The worrisome part is that they're going to miss Boozer even more than they thought if the other Cavs keep playing like this.
22 (15) Celtics 1-2 Unless they start holding leads when they get them, Celts won't allow us to reference the Sox and Patriots very often. Those teams do, and this team hasn't shown it can.
23 (29) Clippers 2-1 Props to Dunleavy, who is stubborn enough to believe Clips -- even after their Kobe heartbreak -- can do more than just beat fellow West stragglers Seattle and Golden State.
24 (23) Hornets 0-3 Coach Scott wasn't kidding when he said he doesn't have time to follow his old team and the J-Kidd saga. The West hasn't been very welcoming, has it?
25 (21) Nets 1-2 In normal circumstances, Zo's comeback would be heartwarming. Problem is, of course, that Nets are a long, long way from the norm of the past three seasons.
26 (22) Knicks 0-2 Can't say it better than the NY Times, which writes that 'their defense is nonexistent, their best shooter is in street clothes and their hole at center has rarely looked larger.'
27 (18) Warriors 0-3 Mike Montgomery, whose Stanford team lost only twice last season, could be looking at a 1-7 start. Charlotte is the only inviting stop on an upcoming five-game trip.
28 (26) Bulls 0-2 For some reason, Bulls didn't play a game until the season was four days old. Which will lead some wise guys to the inevitable crack about how that still was too soon.
29 (30) Bobcats 1-1 Became the 11th of 18 expansion teams in NBA history to lose their opening game. Of course, Bobcats forgot all about that after the thrills of Game 2.
30 (25) Hawks 0-3 Hawks were supposed to be able to say, 'Thank God for Charlotte.' Unfortunately, they can't even say that because Bobcats look sharper.

Three 2-1 teams ahead of us just proves how backwards the writers still are. The Kings are only at TWELVE. I would but the Bobcats in front of them according to the first week. It's sad really.

dirno2000 · 11-08-2004, 06:57 PM

Utah went from 9 to 2?

...and this is the most Mav friendly writer in the media.

sike · 11-08-2004, 07:12 PM

dont buy the Utah hype...they are good...but not that good.

grndmstr_c · 11-08-2004, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Utah went from 9 to 2?

...and this is the most Mav friendly writer in the media.

Yeah, no kidding. I have a hard time understanding how you rationalize putting Utah up that high when he's so stingy with the Mavs.

sike · 11-08-2004, 07:18 PM

how are teams with a loss ahead of unbeaten teams?

DevinHarriswillstart · 11-08-2004, 07:24 PM

7 (12) Mavericks 3-0 Mavs have surprised even themselves with so much early continuity. And with their depth, you can be sure that Dallas will keep winning if it keeps holding teams to 92.3 ppg. A lot

How can a 50+ win team the past 4 years surprise themselves with a measily 3 wins in a row? We've done that many times in the past 4 seasons. Welcome to earth sports writers.

grndmstr_c · 11-08-2004, 07:29 PM

After all the new additions and the preseason injuries I've been surprised with the way the Mavs have roared out of the gate.

sike · 11-08-2004, 07:30 PM

I think he meant that they are 3-0 dispite such little time together DHWS...the fact that they have shown relative continuity is a surprise...the players and coachs have said as much.

Fidel · 11-08-2004, 08:02 PM

Looking at the schedule of the teams, and who beat whom, I have to say these "rankings" are a complete joke.

sike · 11-08-2004, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Fidel
Looking at the schedule of the teams, and who beat whom, I have to say these "rankings" are a complete joke.

sooooooo, like a funny joke or one of those jokes that no one gets at first but then they realize that they didnt get it cause it just wasn't funny? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

rankings for the most part are always pretty subjective..

Fidel · 11-08-2004, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: sike

Quote:

Originally posted by: Fidel
Looking at the schedule of the teams, and who beat whom, I have to say these "rankings" are a complete joke.

sooooooo, like a funny joke or one of those jokes that no one gets at first but then they realize that they didnt get it cause it just wasn't funny? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

rankings for the most part are always pretty subjective..

What I don´t get about these rankings is that Stein allways writes they are not so much about the projected outcome of the season but more about recent results and play.

Then why on earth are teams like Indiana, who beat a leastern parade of Cleveland , Boston and Chicago or Miami who beat "powerhouses" like Washington, New Jersey and Cleveland, "better" right now than Dallas who beat three teams from the west (which is, despite Detroit winning it all last year, still the much better conference overall). In addition all of Dallas opponents were playoff teams last year. If this really was ablout actual play the Mavs should be top3 easily. Not saying it´ll be that way at the end of the year, but right now we definitly deserve a higher spot.

Actually though I don´t really care for all that crap the national media is spouting out. Most of it is badly written, ill informed and or heavily biased.

EricaLubarsky · 11-08-2004, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: sike
dont buy the Utah hype...they are good...but not that good.

I'm not convinced by the Mavericks either. As a Mavs fan, its wonderful, but objectively, it isnt enough evidence. When we string more minutes of dominant play together and we do it against playoff teams, then the hype will be rationally supported. As it is, I take the three straight wins more seriously than I should. Taking the home-opener from New Orleans was impressive, but I dont think they will make the playoffs this year so it wasnt that great.

JLEEHASMUCHGAME · 11-09-2004, 01:11 AM

Yeah, my early season enthusiasm should be tempered a bit. as the mavs showed tonight, they still need a lot of work. Really, they will probably be a work in progress throughout this season, but hopefully, that progress will manifest itself as a great team by the end of the year.

Nonetheless, I will remain enthusiastic about the mavs. Tonight I think they realized that they aren't really flying under the radar anymore, after their nice start to the season. I love what howard has done thus far in the season. His jumper was looking good tonight. Dirk seems more aggressive this year than I've ever seen him - that is certainly something to be exited about. Harris has been extremely impressive to me as far as poise goes. I like the demeanor he has on the court; he's not playing with the deer in the headlights look. Dampier, eh, tough to say right now, but he certainly looked good the other night against memphis. Daniels is going to really help out when he gets back in sync. After AJ mentioned that daniels has different "gears," I noticed daniels with the dribble looking crazy fast on one fast break.

Overall, the team as a whole has not looked that sharp - especially tonight. So far, they seem to be out-hustling their opponents more than really picking them apart. Not that out-hustling is a bad way to win, personally, I'm really enjoying it. Let's see what will happen. They need to figure out how to grab their defensive boards too. But I'm much more optimistic this season than last season. Last year, even if the mavs looked good I always had the suspicion that they weren't for real.

Mavs Rule · 11-09-2004, 01:32 AM

Quote:

What I don´t get about these rankings is that Stein allways writes they are not so much about the projected outcome of the season but more about recent results and play.

Then why on earth are teams like Indiana, who beat a leastern parade of Cleveland , Boston and Chicago or Miami who beat "powerhouses" like Washington, New Jersey and Cleveland, "better" right now than Dallas who beat three teams from the west (which is, despite Detroit winning it all last year, still the much better conference overall). In addition all of Dallas opponents were playoff teams last year. If this really was ablout actual play the Mavs should be top3 easily. Not saying it´ll be that way at the end of the year, but right now we definitly deserve a higher spot.

Actually though I don´t really care for all that crap the national media is spouting out. Most of it is badly written, ill informed and or heavily biased.

IMO Stein does base his "committee of one"s opinion on recent results and play once we get past the first few weeks of the season, but until then he has to use last year as a baseline. Of course he has Miami high because of Shaq, and he is giving Utah too much credit because they demolished the Lakers and Nuggets, the latter of which was a preseason fave of his. He has always had a bias in his rankings against Dallas IMO because he used to write for the DMN. To eliminate any perceived bias of his from others, he feels he has to take a hard line most of the time against us.

4cwebb · 11-09-2004, 07:13 AM

Quote:

IMO Stein does base his "committee of one"s opinion on recent results and play once we get past the first few weeks of the season, but until then he has to use last year as a baseline. Of course he has Miami high because of Shaq, and he is giving Utah too much credit because they demolished the Lakers and Nuggets, the latter of which was a preseason fave of his. He has always had a bias in his rankings against Dallas IMO because he used to write for the DMN. To eliminate any perceived bias of his from others, he feels he has to take a hard line most of the time against us.

Question is how do we explain his Laker bias of the past few years then? Didn't Stein used to write for the LA Times as well?

Regardless, I think he needed to either bump the Mavs higher or drop the Kings lower...either he isn't giving credit for the Sacto win (a tougher opponent than anyone Utah has faced?), or he's giving too much love to the Nuggets still (which seems ridiculous).

HexNBA · 11-15-2004, 08:11 AM

This week on ESPN: 1 (list isnt up yet but if you select an individual team you see the week 2 spot)

We say so again: If Mavs keep holding teams under 95 ppg and keep leading the league in FG defense (.389 entering Sunday's play), they're not going to lose often.

MavKikiNYC · 11-15-2004, 09:38 AM

NBA Power Rankings from TeamRankings.com

Mavericks 3rd here, trailing San Antonio and Seattle (surprise).

I like this ranking because it's based on current record accounting for strength of competition.

DubOverdose · 11-15-2004, 09:45 AM

Those 'teamrankings.com' ones are HORRIBLE. Heck, I even like the Sonics, but they don't deserve to be that high yet. I bet Ridnour does have a great season though.

MavKikiNYC · 11-15-2004, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: DubOverdose
Those 'teamrankings.com' ones are HORRIBLE. Heck, I even like the Sonics, but they don't deserve to be that high yet. I bet Ridnour does have a great season though.

They are what they are. I wouldn't necessarily want to look at them exclusively, but they eliminate some of the subjectivity. They don't take into account teams who are playing without key players because of injury or record promotion obligations, or chemistry issues that might be worked out later (or that might pop up and bite a team.)

I was surprised at Seattle too, but they've beaten SA by 19, Denver by 20, Sacramento and the Clips by 30, and Memphis by 5. So there's at least a little something going on out in Starbucksville.

Bookit · 11-15-2004, 12:21 PM

Mavs #1 here at ESPN.

Yikes, Mavs ranked #1!

SaltwaterChaffy · 11-15-2004, 01:25 PM

Actually, I recall the Clips beating the Sonics by 30, not the other way around.

MavKikiNYC · 11-15-2004, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: SaltwaterChaffy
Actually, I recall the Clips beating the Sonics by 30, not the other way around.

Actually, you're right. ... ... which makes the Clips' listless, trifiling play against the NYKs on Friday night all the more infuriating.

EricaLubarsky · 11-15-2004, 01:57 PM

nice to be number one for the first time since the beginning of 02-03. It's totally undeserved though. Yes we are 4-1 on the road. Yes we are 3-0 at home, but Miami was the only real winning team.

I'll take it, until we can really prove that we are number one.

Dirkenstien · 11-15-2004, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by: Bookit
Mavs #1 here at ESPN.

Yikes, Mavs ranked #1!

It's good to see us on top.

If we want to keep it that way we'll need to play D a lot better than we did yesterday.

steponhens · 11-15-2004, 04:12 PM

The Mav's deserve to be #1. They have looked great and have the best record in the league. Even though they have not played the toughest schedule, other teams are still losing to bad teams. In the game against the toughest team they looked the best they have in a long time. When was the last time the Mav's dominated a team with Shaq on it?

EricaLubarsky · 12-02-2004, 07:31 PM

NBA.com Power Rankings: Dec. 2, 2004
By Rob Peterson

7th again, 6th in the West

Dallas (6)
10-6
Nowitzki's digits in the last three games: 25.3 ppg and 15.0 rpg. Got waxed in San Antonio as asst. coach Avery Johnson took the helm for an evening in a strange Don Nelson "experiment."