Power Rankings: Celtics sinking, Pistons back in top 10
Updated: January 8, 2009, 6:16 PM ET
By
Marc Stein | ESPN.com
Week: Team:
The new year begins with the Los Angeles Lakers, for the first time this season, toasting a second straight week at No. 1 in ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings.
The Boston Celtics, meanwhile, have dipped to No. 3 -- thanks to their 2-4 malaise -- matching Boston's worst position all season in our Monday pulse check of the league. The Celts have only been this low once before … when they fell to 2-1 with a loss at Indiana in game No. 3.
Detroit's return to the top 10 is the other rankings headline this week, after the Pistons -- now 13-3 since moving Rodney Stuckey into the starting lineup -- uncharacteristically spent five straight weeks in the teens, ranging from No. 13 to No. 17.
You can click here to rank the teams yourself or click here to comment.
Also, check out John Hollinger's daily Power Rankings.
Tune in Tuesdays to "NBA Fastbreak" on ESPN to see this week's U.S. Army Power Rankings. A 4-0 showing that began with a win over Orlando moved the Pistons up six spots and earned them U.S. Army Team of the Week status.
| 2008-09 Power Rankings: Week 10 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 |  | -- Last Week: 1 | Throw out a winter trip to Florida that went awry and the Lakers are 10-0 since the Dec. 9 debacle in Sacramento. And so they've reclaimed the league's best record along with the top spot where it matters. (Yes, here.) | |
| 2 |  | 1 Last Week: 3 | It happened to the Lakers in Sacramento. It happened to the Celtics in Oakland. And now everyone in this season's runaway top three has been beaten by a bottom-feeder after the Cavs' stumble in the nation's capital. | |
| 3 |  | 1 Last Week: 2 | Rajon Rondo says the Celtics are absolutely, positively "not in a slump." And he's right. After a 27-2 start, I'd say losing four out of six for the first time ever in the KG-Pierce-Allen era ranks as more than a slump. | |
| 4 |  | -- Last Week: 4 | The Magic are on pace to exceed last season's 27 wins on the road by two and are a sparkling 14-4 against the West. They've still got some work to do in the East, though, at a mere 2-3 against the rest of the top eight. | |
| 5 |  | -- Last Week: 5 | Aren't they supposed to be the boring, boring Spurs? To go with those three W's in double OT, Saturday's win over Philly was their second in eight days -- first Mason, then Parker -- on a walk-off bucket at the buzzer. | |
| 6 |  | -- Last Week: 6 | Roy is hobbling, Boozer is out long-term and the Nuggets' schedule is filled with home games for the next month. Add it all up and they would appear to be looking at a golden lead-padding opportunity in the Northwest. | |
| 7 |  | 2 Last Week: 9 | The 50-win talk has officially begun in Atlanta ... and so what if it was the coach who started it? Since a 0-3 swing through Texas, Woody's Hawks are 10-2, losing only to Boston and that buzzer-beater by Vince Carter. | |
| 8 | New Orleans 20-10 | 1 Last Week: 7 | The Hornets have had two cracks at the Lakers at home ... and failed to reach 90 points either time. Chris Paul and Co. get a chance Tuesday at Staples Center to avenge those two setbacks. Or at least score 90 points. | |
| 9 |  | 2 Last Week: 11 | He'll surely be there anyway, throwing the biggest parties in Phoenix, but shouldn't we start talking about Shaq for the West All-Stars? He averaged 21 and 10 in December and the Suns were 1-2 when he didn't play. | |
| 10 |  | 6 Last Week: 16 | The surging Pistons are suddenly 1-0 on Sundays since the local American football team's season ended. Maybe all of their previous Sunday troubles (0-6) had something to do with the Lions playing on the same day. | |
| 11 |  | 2 Last Week: 13 | With nice wins over the Suns, Lakers and Cavs since Thanksgiving, D-Wade's young Heat have supplanted New Jersey as the East's Cinderella. "Sometimes," he says, "I feel like I'm carrying my sons around." | |
| 12 |  | -- Last Week: 12 | We indeed were patting ourselves on the back for chiding the other Blazers about standing around and watching No. 7 -- clearly the inspiration for Portland's W over Boston without him -- until Roy's hammy went. Sorry. | |
| 13 |  | 3 Last Week: 10 | Which of these ranks as Sunday's bigger surprise? Dallas losing to Memphis for the first time since 2005? Or the Mavs being called "that bully in school that's always coming and beating you up" by Hakim Warrick? | |
| 14 |  | 6 Last Week: 8 | Robert Marcus from Boston wrote in to complain that we've written about Houston's injury problems in this space for seven straight weeks. But we looked it up and it was only six straight Mondays before today. | |
| 15 |  | -- Last Week: 15 | Boozer and D-Will have played in two games together all season ... and Boozer is suddenly facing knee surgery that will sideline him indefinitely. Anyone else getting the feeling that this just might not be Utah's year? | |
| 16 |  | 1 Last Week: 17 | If we ever land the ratings bonanza of Milwaukee vs. San Antonio in the NBA Finals, you'd probably have to pick the Bucks. Tuesday's W on the Spurs' floor was somehow the Bucks' 12th in the teams' past 20 meetings. | |
| 17 | New Jersey 16-18 | 3 Last Week: 14 | While sweating on the state of Devin Harris' hammy, be advised that only one team ever (New York in 1955-56) has finished a season in the Nets' current state (losing record at home, winning record on the road). | |
| 18 |  | 4 Last Week: 22 | If beating one of the league's finest road teams without Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon doesn't spark a turnaround for one of this season's most disappointing teams, it's time to start wondering what would. | |
| 19 |  | 6 Last Week: 25 | The dream: New York gets a hard-to-fathom trade offer for Steph in the next six weeks to render a buyout needless. The nightmare: New York sneaks into the playoffs ... and gets Steph and the Celtics in Round 1. | |
| 20 | Charlotte 12-22 | 1 Last Week: 21 | Even the famously fickle coach has to be pleased with the early returns on the Diaw deal. Larry Brown's Bobs are a decent 5-6 with Diaw in the lineup, with Okafor and Gerald Wallace flourishing next to the new guy. | |
| 21 |  | 2 Last Week: 19 | The Grizz are holding firm at No. 10 in the West, same as Chicago in the East and just three games worse than the Bulls record-wise. So let's hold off on using the standings against Mayo in the ROY race, shall we? | |
| 22 |  | 2 Last Week: 24 | The Pacers are liking 2009 better than 2008 already. Dunleavy is inching closer to a return, Granger is up to nine games of 30 points or more and Indy started the new year by pulling out two close games. For a change. | |
| 23 |  | 5 Last Week: 18 | I get the feeling reading the following quote that the aforementioned Coach Woody doesn't quite concur with our Memphis comment: "How good is Rose? ... You'd be stupid not to pick him Rookie of the Year." | |
| 24 |  | 3 Last Week: 27 | Here's a "Did You Know?" that kind of sneaked up on us: Our pal Kevin McHale would be sporting a 5-1 record since Christmas had his Wolves just been able to hang onto their 29-point lead Tuesday in Dallas. | |
| 25 |  | 5 Last Week: 20 | An injury-riddled team that will have played 23 of its first 36 games on the road deserves some sympathy. But if the Dubs can beat Boston short-handed, how are they losing back-to-back roadies to OKC and 'Sota? | |
| 26 |  | 3 Last Week: 23 | It's still too soon to tell you where the Sixers are with their new coach after an undeniably favorable start schedule-wise to DiLeo's interim tenure, followed by the 1-5 misery of an unforgiving six-game road trip. | |
| 27 |  | 1 Last Week: 28 | The Wiz are not about to downplay the fact that they just became the first team with a losing record, in 20 games this season, to dump the Cavs. Not with their injuries and not after their last three playoff encounters. | |
| 28 |  | 1 Last Week: 29 | I know Kevin Martin is back and looks deadly already ... but it's been several weeks since we mentioned Bobby Brown in this space. So let us get away with it in the first batch of Power Rankings in the new year. | |
| 29 |  | 3 Last Week: 26 | If the Thunder start winning some of these close ones -- they're 0-9 in games decided by six points or less since the coaching change -- we could be looking at a bookend situation: L.A. teams at the top and the bottom. | |
| 30 |  | -- Last Week: 30 | The Thunder will trade a big man or three eventually, but there is an unexpected plus side to dragging it out: When OKC gets brought up these days, potential deals are the focus more than the wins and losses. | |
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