NBA Power Rankings: Rising C's

It took a little bit of time, but the cream seems to be finally rising to the top of the rankings. The Celtics are among the expected title contenders who got off to a slow start, but they appear to have righted the ship with five straight wins. Rasheed Wallace is still doing more harm than good, but Kevin Garnett is slowly returning to form, which is bad news for everyone else. Read on to see where Boston and the rest of the league's 29 teams rank this week.

1. Lakers (14-3) | Prev.: 1
Since Pau Gasol has returned to the Laker lineup, the team is undefeated, and the games haven't been close. The fans haven't had to worry about anything, really ... except whether or not they'd get their precious tacos. The schedule toughens a little this week with games against Miami, Phoenix, and Utah, but with all three games at home, it's hard to predict a loss for these guys anytime soon. -- BP
2. Magic (14-4) | Prev.: 2
They are 7-1 since Rashard Lewis returned from that 10-game substance-abuse suspension. Although he struggled in his first few games, Lewis has regained his 3-point shooting stroke, hitting seven of 12 in the last two games. Dwight Howard also has hit his stride, getting at least 22 points and 16 rebounds in each of his last three games. The absence of Jameer Nelson hasn't slowed them because veterans Jason Williams and Anthony Johnson have taken turns with big games. -- Tim Povtak
3. Celtics (14-4) | Prev.: 8
Teams are starting to become green with envy over Gang Green. The team many believed has a good shot of winning its second title in three years is starting to show up. The Celtics won their fifth straight Tuesday at Charlotte. Forward Kevin Garnett, rounding into form after coming back this season from a knee injury, has made an incredible 22 of his past 26 shots. -- Chris Tomasson
4. Cavaliers (12-5) | Prev.: 3
They've won 8 of their last 10 and seem to have righted the ship. A dominant offensive performance against the Mavs was undercut by the Zydrunas Ilgauskas debacle regarding his record tying performance as a Cav that never occurred thanks to player's coach Mike Brown. It's been a very up and down start for the Cavs, losing to Washington and Boston, but blowing out the Magic, getting the wheels on the offense while angering their long-time rock at center. But Rome wasn't built in a day, and at 12-5, the Cavs are showing that despite their struggles, they're still an elite team. -- Matt Moore
5. Suns (14-4) | Prev.: 4
After a blistering four-game stretch where the team's average margin of victory was 21 points per game, things came crashing down a bit on Tuesday night in New York. Mike D'Antoni's Knicks got just their fourth win in 18 tries by beating Phoenix at their own game. Now, the Suns have the unfortunate task of heading to Cleveland to face the Cavs on the second night of a back-to-back, a situation where two of the Suns' other three losses on the season have occurred. One more thing: for those wondering if the Suns' fast start was real or a mirage, we'll find out real quick: December has them facing the Lakers twice, the Cavs twice, Dallas, Denver, San Antonio, and Boston. -- BP
6. Mavericks (13-5) | Prev.: 9
Couldn't do a thing to stop anyone in Cleveland, but that's about all that's gone wrong for Dallas lately. A couple of solid road wins before that one and holding on at home against a scrappy Philly team after, and next they'll likely send the Nets further into historic oblivion on Wednesday. -- BP
7. Nuggets (13-5) | Prev.: 6
Don't think this "lose an embarrasing game to a horrid team" thing is new for Denver. The Nuggets, after all, lost to the Clippers a week before losing to the awful Timberwolves Sunday. Even last year the proud Nuggets dropped games against the incredibly bad Kings and the putrid Bucks, and don't forget that amazing 44-point loss to the Nets last February. You could say Denver has a habit of playing down to lesser opponents' levels, though the habit hasn't been terribly destructive -- all told, the Nuggets have the West's fourth best record. Cleaning up against the dregs would improve that, obviously. -- Tom Ziller

8. Jazz (10-7) | Prev.: 14
A nice week for the Jazz, to say the least, with wins of 19 (over Chicago), 16 (Portland) and 27 (Memphis) at home. Carlos Boozer has found a geyser of liquid fire, and he has drank. Oh, has he drank. In his last 10 games, Booz is averaging 22/10/4 on 61 percent shooting. Eric Maynor and Wes Matthews are Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton for Real Americans. -- TZ

9. Hawks (12-5) | Prev.: 5
The excitement of two weeks ago – when they had the best record in the East – has faded, but this still is a young, athletic team that should win 50 games for the first time in 12 season. Joe Johnson still thinks the Hawks can win the Eastern Conference, but they stopped sharing the ball in the past few games. The upside is that six of their next seven games (beginning Wednesday night) are against teams that are below .500. With so many bad teams in the East, the Hawks should have no trouble staying in the top four. -- TP

10. Blazers (12-8) | Prev.: 7
The so-called braintrust of Blazerdom met this week to figure out what went wrong in the odd Grizzlies-Jazz blowout party. I suspect we won't know if they figured it out for another couple weeks. The team played more October and November games than anyone else, and as such, things slow down a bit now. That won't get ace "three-fender" Nicolas Batum or bolt-of-life Travis Outlaw healthy any sooner, but it could allow Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge to recharge and readjust to a new brand of Life With GODE. -- TZ

11. Spurs (9-6) | Prev.: 15
Winners of five straight, San Antonio is starting to put it together. But to truly turn into the contender that everyone expected them to be, they'll need to get a whole lot more out of Richard Jefferson. Over the past five games, he's averaging just 10.8 points, in almost 31 minutes of action. -- BP

12. Heat (10-7) | Prev.: 16
They started a Western swing Tuesday night in Portland, and they probably won't be above .500 by the time they return home. Dwyane Wade still can win games by himself, but he doesn't like doing it that way. He still daydreams about the good old days when he had an All-Star center (Shaquille O'Neal) by his side, and he wants another one (Dwight Howard). -- TP

13. Rockets (9-8) | Prev.: 11
If you aren't into the Tracy McGrady saga (and I'm not), there isn't a whole lot to say here that hasn't already been said: Houston plays hard, smart, and wins more than they should considering their roster. Yawn. But hey, that Chuck Hayes sure throws a mean outlet pass! (J/K, KA) -- BP

14. Thunder (9-8) | Prev.: 12
Oklahoma City sure seems like most burgeoning, young teams we see rise up the standings: improbable win, disappointing, repeat ad nauseum. This week -- a win over the Bucks followed by a tough loss to Houston -- fits the pattern. A .500 record would be a minor miracle, though, given how far away from decent the Thunder looked at this point last season. Two rookies of note passed up by Sam Presti might be drawing all the ink, but James Harden has done nicely in support of a now-loaded Thunder backcourt. -- TZ

15. Bucks (9-7) | Prev.: 10
Move over "The Blind Side," we've got a new feel-good story in town. The Bucks were starting to come unglued after a slide. Brandon Jennings the Young Buck was getting an early glimpse of the rookie wall and a return to dregdom seemed imminent. Then Andrew Bogut returned and a gritty performance over the Bulls with solid contributions all over have the Bucks back on track it seems, two games over .500. And all of a sudden, their home court has adopted a wild, party atmosphere that has everyone, including Mark Cuban talking. A 7-2 home record speaks for itself. -- MM

16. Kings (8-8) | Prev.: 24
Brandon Jennings is getting a lot of the early Rookie of the Year buzz, but one game, as impressive as it was, does not make you deserving of the award. Tyreke Evans is the real leader, and has statistically outperformed Jennings in field goal percentage, rebounds, and steals. Besides, considering the Kings are at .500 without Kevin Martin, that's arguably more impressive than the Bucks' record being just a single game better. -- BP

17. Bobcats (7-10) | Prev.: 26
Stephen Jackson makes them better, no question. Even when he doesn't make shots – which is often – he can create for others with the attention he draws. The 'Cats ended November with four consecutive victories. In that streak was a win over the Cavs when Gerald Wallace got the best of LeBron James. That won't happen again, so enjoy it now. -- TP

18. Hornets (7-11) | Prev.: 19
After the coaching change and then Chris Paul going down with an ankle injury, most left this team for dead. But they've been far more competitive in the short term than most thought they would be, and even got some nice wins over Phoenix, Atlanta, and Milwaukee. Paul has said he won't come back until he's at 100 percent, which is probably best, considering that it'll be a stretch for this team to make the playoffs with or without him. -- BP

19. Clippers (6-9) | Prev.: 23
Tough team to figure out. They'll go on the road and lose to an undermanned Hornets team, then a few games later they'll come back from an 18-point fourth quarter deficit to crush a fairly decent offensive team (the Grizzlies) by 10 points, holding them to just five points over the games final 11:40. Maybe that's why Mike Dunleavy still has his head coaching gig: Donald Sterling must love not knowing what will come next. As opposed to, you know, having a team win fairly consistently and show some steady improvement -- which, at least on paper, this team appears to be somewhat capable of. -- BP

20. Raptors (6-9) | Prev.: 24
It's close to being a free fall for the Raptors, who have lost four straight and eight of 10. The much-ballyhooed offseason acquisition of forward Hedo Turkoglu hasn't worked. With every loss, star forward Chris Bosh, who can become a free agent next summer, is one step closer to leaving. Considering their offseason moves, Toronto is one of the NBA's biggest disappointments so far. -- CT

21. Pacers (6-9) | Prev.: 18
Bird says no changes are coming because he wants to see how the team does when it's healthy. But anyone who's watched the Pacers know this is no injury-issue. The team is unstable on both sides of the floor, up front and in the back court. They have the fifth worst offense and their second to last in field goals. The team needs a spark and unless Mike Dunleavy has a sparkler up his sleeve, things don't look to radically improve. -- MM

22. Bulls (6-9) | Prev.: 17
If Vinny Del Negro really wants to contribute something to the franchise, he should broker a deal to get the circus into another venue so the Bulls can avoid the Circus Trip next year. This team is vomiting losses left and right, and with Kirk Hinrich out another week to two weeks, their offense is going to continue to sputter. And it's not like it was all roman candles and M-80's before. -- MM

23. Warriors (6-11) | Prev.: 23
Has Keith Smart's coaching or Stephen Jackson's departure had any affect on this team? Seems like it, especially when you look at what Monta Ellis has been doing lately: in his last four games before Tuesday's against Denver, and ignoring the one against the Lakers, he's averaged 39.5 points per game, including a career high of 45 against the Pacers. -- BP

24. Wizards (6-10) | Prev.: 27
Not sure why people are surprised because it was unrealistic to think that Gilbert Arenas would return to form after being away for two years. As soon as the Wiz realize that Arenas never again will be the dominating player they once had, they will make adjustments. This is a team that should have been blown up long ago. They missed their chance. -- TP

25. Grizzlies (6-12) | Prev.: 21
The Grizzlies have a lot of offensive players, and not enough basketballs to go around. While Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, and O.J. Mayo take the bulk of the team's shots, the guy who's among the league leaders in field goal percentage -- Marc Gasol -- normally takes less than nine of them per game. Lionel Hollins isn't interested in this, apparently, because when I asked him how they might look to get Gasol more involved in the offense, he sarcastically replied, "Well, we could walk it up the court and throw it in to him every time." Might not be a bad idea, coach, considering the current game plan doesn't really seem to be working out all that well. -- BP

26. Pistons (6-11) | Prev.: 22
No Ben Gordon, no Charlie Villanueva, no Richard Hamilton, no Tayshuan Prince, and the Pistons win. Naturally. This team is all over the place and its biggest struggle has been simply trying to find something to work on. One minute it's the defense being out of sorts, the next it's the offense unable to get going. At least Ben Wallace is having a Defensive Player of the Year type of season. And Jonas Jerebko looks much better than you'd think. -- MM

27. Knicks (4-14) | Prev.: 28
At least Mike D'Antoni has found a team he can beat: the one he used to coach. Just when the Knicks had lost five straight, a 126-99 rout Tuesday of Phoenix came out of nowhere. After not reaching 100 points in three of four games, D'Antoni's alleged high-octane offense showed signs of life in a 128-125 loss last Friday at Denver. But can the waiting-until-next-summer Knicks find any consistency? -- CT

28. Sixers (3-11) | Prev.: 29
Who cares about the action on the court? All fans care about is the return of Allen Iverson, who starred for the 76ers from 1996-2006. It's scheduled to happen Monday against Denver. In the meantime, the 76ers are playing games, if you haven't noticed. It hasn't been pretty. They've lost seven straight, including 104-102 Monday at Dallas when Samuel Dalembert slapped away at the buzzer a possible tying three-pointer by teammate Andre Iguodala. -- CT

29. Timberwolves (2-15) | Prev.: 29
Someone in the Northwest has to stink, right? Of course, the stench of the division beat the cream last week, though if Kurt Rambis continues to count on Damien Wilkins and Corey Brewer to break bulbs in the scoreboard and not the shot clock with their jumpers, that next win might be a couple High Holy Days away. Al Jefferson is slowly replacing the hologram which stood in for him in the early going, and Ramon Sessions has cracked a few glow sticks and gotten his vibe back in the black. Every minute that Ryan Hollins plays in place of Oleksiy Pecherov is a day in which the world moves closer to Armageddon. Hollins may be a brilliant center in image (as in, Hollins looks the part), but Pech offers far more of what the Wolves need. Like a rebound, every once in a while. -- TZ

30. Nets (0-17) | Prev.: 30
Can Kiki Vandeweghe coach? Does it matter? The Nets blew up their roster to create cap room for 2010, but the season has been a disaster. On Wednesday, the Nets will try to avoid becoming the first NBA team to start 0-18. Yes, they've had injuries, but there's still no excuse for their putrid play. Lawrence Frank got canned after loss No. 16. Vandweghe will come out of the front office to coach Friday, obviously wanting no part of Wednesday's possible record breaker. -- CT