Suns still on top, Knicks on the rise
Updated: December 26, 2006, 6:51 PM ET
By
Marc Stein | ESPN.com
Week: Team:
 | |
It's OK. Your family will understand.
No one will question your need to sneak away from Monday's festivities to the nearest computer so you can check the latest edition of the ESPN.com NBA Power Rankings.
You and your loved ones had to know that the committee (of one) doesn't take holidays off. You also had to figure that the committee would not bump Phoenix out of the top spot after one overtime loss … certainly not when the Suns, after going unbeaten for 15 games and 31 days, nearly overcame Gilbert Arenas' 54 points after finally escaping the Colorado snow and landing back home some two hours before Friday night's opening tip.
It's the Suns' third successive week at No. 1. With Dallas climbing two spots from No. 4, Thursday's Suns-at-Mavericks showdown thus features our top two teams as well as the teams with the two longest winning streaks this season. Arenas' Washington Wizards, incidentally, ended them both: Phoenix's 15-gamer and a 12-game win streak for the Mavs.
Read on to see where your team ranks and click here to send in your feedback.
| 2006-07 Power Rankings: Week 8 | ||||
| RANK | TEAM / RECORD | TRENDING | COMMENTS | |
| 1 |  | -- Last Week: 1 | Considering the travel hell they endured just to make it to their first loss in five weeks and the show they put on in defeat, Suns deserve to stay at No. 1. Don't they? | |
| 2 |  | 2 Last Week: 4 | Dirk's latest ankle scare looked bad on TV, but Mavs weren't too worried. Besides that outside game for the ages, our favorite 7-footer is also blessed with bionic ankles. | |
| 3 |  | 1 Last Week: 2 | Cruising? Spurs snoozed in a home loss to McGrady-less Houston and lost their only two games this month against teams with winning records as of Christmas morning. | |
| 4 |  | 1 Last Week: 5 | This December (7-3) isn't as good as last December (13-2), but Pistons will begin 2007 as the East's current beast, with a still-stingy D and a developing bench. | |
| 5 |  | 2 Last Week: 3 | Dare we say Melo's suspension did not clinch Utah's Northwest title by Christmas. Not with Jazz just 8-7 since their 12-1 start and eight of their next 13 on the road. | |
| 6 |  | 1 Last Week: 7 | You were wrong if you figured Lakers would fold or Kobe would just fire away with Odom out. L.A. is 4-3 sans Lamar and Bryant has averaged 7.8 apg over the last five. | |
| 7 |  | 3 Last Week: 10 | Go ahead, use 'em all: Agent Zero, Captain Quirk, World's Greatest Arenas. Ring up 60 and 54 in a six-day span, as Gil did, and one nickname isn't enough. | |
| 8 |  | 2 Last Week: 6 | A cushy schedule accelerated Bulls' 13-2 run, but Gordon's move to the bench hasn't hurt. Back as sixth man for 21 games, Gordon has led the team in scoring 10 times. | |
| 9 |  | 1 Last Week: 8 | Rockets spank Spurs without T-Mac, helped big by Bonzi, only for Yao to go down one night later. Didn't have the heart to drop 'em, but it'll soon be unavoidable. | |
| 10 |  | 1 Last Week: 9 | Maybe it wasn't the rise to No. 3 that messed up Magic. Maybe the real problem is the name change to Amway Arena: Orlando is 3-6 since that was announced. | |
| 11 |  | 3 Last Week: 14 | Distressing as it was to score 71 points in Saturday's Conseco loss to Wolves, Pacers are still No. 2 in the East in plus/minus: 7 road wins and 4 home defeats = +3. | |
| 12 |  | 1 Last Week: 13 | Wins in Boston and Orlando addressed Warriors' road woes, but their injury problem is only spreading, claiming Ellis, Murphy and Pietrus as its latest victims. | |
| 13 |  | 7 Last Week: 20 | With Camby freshly injured and Melo and J.R. suspended, Iverson will hear Sixers West cracks about his new team. But it's still quite a trade coup for Denver. | |
| 14 |  | 2 Last Week: 12 | Cavs always say they play better against tougher competition. With 11 of the next 14 on the road, seven of those in the West, this would seem an ideal time to prove it. | |
| 15 |  | 2 Last Week: 17 | It's a jolly Christmas, indeed, in the PDX. Blazers have quietly posted a 6-5 record this month -- including a 4-2 road trip -- and just activated Roy (for ROY). | |
| 16 |  | -- Last Week: 16 | Shaq-less Heat are 8-9 since Prof. Hollinger proclaimed them a candidate to plummet all the way into the lottery ... but just a half-game out of a playoff spot. | |
| 17 |  | 4 Last Week: 21 | With Redd getting scoring help from Mo Williams and Bucks winning six straight at home, Central is finally starting to live up to its top-to-bottom reputation for quality. | |
| 18 |  | 7 Last Week: 11 | Some trivia to take KG's mind off missing out on A.I.: Did you know Wolves are one of only four teams (with Grizz, Hornets, Bobcats) never to play on Christmas Day? | |
| 19 |  | 4 Last Week: 15 | Didn't expect Clips to go after Artest again so soon. But it's not so shocking when their defense, an oft-overlooked key last season, has dropped off so drastically. | |
| 20 |  | 2 Last Week: 22 | With Nets in chaos, Pierce ailing in Boston and a helpful second-half sked, Raps have a real shot to stay right where they are. Especially after going 5-4 without Bosh. | |
| 21 |  | 2 Last Week: 19 | Artest insists that all the negative whispers in Sac are ''just false reports.'' The problem? Bibby's increasing silence and ongoing struggles suggest otherwise. | |
| 22 | Seattle 11-17 | 1 Last Week: 23 | It's not so easy to celebrate Ray's return -- even though it halted a six-game losing streak -- when Rashard goes down for eight weeks just before Allen gets activated. | |
| 23 | NO/Oklahoma City 11-15 | 1 Last Week: 24 | It's not much consolation, but at least Peja, D-West and Hornets aren't alone in their injury misery. Rockets (Yao and T-Mac) can claim to be even more miserable. | |
| 24 |  | 6 Last Week: 18 | Look at it this way: At least Pierce is missing a stretch that probably wasn't filled with wins anyway, with Celts going West for the first five games after Christmas. | |
| 25 | New Jersey 11-16 | -- Last Week: 25 | Overcoming their seemingly annual slow start is no lock now, with Krstic lost for the season and Jefferson ailing, too. So you have to ask: time to shop Vince/start over? | |
| 26 |  | 3 Last Week: 29 | Can't promise they'll win 30 games -- even if D. Lee continues to be a rebound machine -- but we do know this: Knicks are the first team this season to play 30. | |
| 27 |  | -- Last Week: 27 | With the sale unraveling and Grizz sliding to 2-11 this month, it was rather easy to miss Pau's 28 points, nine boards and three blocks in an OT loss to Hornets. | |
| 28 |  | 2 Last Week: 26 | Hawks, I'm quite sure, will regret their predictable reluctance to bid for Iverson. Thanks to a 1-8 skid and with injuries galore, their annual nosedive is in full flight. | |
| 29 | Charlotte 7-19 | 1 Last Week: 28 | Bobs, as promised, beat Utah to claim their fifth W this season against a division leader. Too bad Tuesday's foes in Dallas are a half-game out of Southwest lead. | |
| 30 |  | -- Last Week: 30 | Two wins in a row after two W's in (gulp) 44 days. But we repeat our Weekend Dime warning: Miller, Smith could make Sixers just decent enough to hurt their Oden odds. | |
| ||||
