Power Rankings: 'Bron on the move
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Did someone say Super Seven?
Super is actually a bit strong given that half of the six-pack anointed as the league's elite in this cyberspace last week isn't playing well at the moment: San Antonio, Phoenix and Miami are all struggling. Yet there's no denying that LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers, who halted New Jersey's 14-game win streak Saturday and have a 10-1 record since March 14, deserve their promotion into the top five of ESPN.com's NBA Power Rankings.
It remains to be seen if James' inexperienced gang is ready to win a playoff series, but the Cavs' surge -- coupled with the return of Larry Hughes -- edges them past the Suns and Heat to account for one significant shift in the upper reaches of the rankings ... our second-to-last edition of the season. The other big move is Dallas rising to No. 2 after winning Friday's showdown with the Spurs in San Antonio and resuscitating the Mavericks' bid to finish with the top seed in the West.
Read on to see where your team ranks and click here to send me feedback. You can also click here to read my latest around-the-league weekend edition of the Daily Dime.
Team Archives:
2005-06 Power Rankings: Week 24
1 (1) Pistons 62-15 Not going to win 70, obviously, but Pistons were indeed first to 60 wins and have a healthy three-game lead with five to play in the race for best overall record.
2 (4) Mavericks 58-19 Mavs followed up the worst week of their season (three straight Ls) with perhaps their best, led by Nowitzki going for 59 points combined against Artest and Bowen.
3 (3) Nets 47-29 It's tough to see Nets making up 2 1/2 games on Miami with a week and change to go. Then again, who expected Nets to go 15-1 and get this close?
4 (2) Spurs 59-18 One home loss to Dallas, big as it was, isn't the big concern. The big concern continues to be whether Duncan/Ginobili/Spurs are healthy enough to repeat.
5 (7) Cavaliers 46-30 A season-high No. 5 despite the MSG loss because (A) Knicks actually looked like an NBA team last week and (B) big Jersey win took Cavs to 8-9 against the "Super Six."
6 (5) Suns 50-26 Make that 8-9 since the 11-game win streak, but it's not all bleak: There's no 50-win team in Suns' way until the West finals. They won't see pesky Sonics again, either.
7 (6) Heat 50-27 Seriously: Since Miami's playoff fantasies depend on a dose of Old School Shaq against Detroit, maybe it's safest to just park The Diesel for the final five games.
8 (8) Nuggets 43-34 K-Mart. Boykins. And now Najera. It's a good thing 'Melo's getting so good (30.5 ppg in his last 14 games) because Nuggets' injury bug is as consistent as he is.
9 (10) Grizzlies 44-33 Five games left. Four against sub-.500 squads and the fifth is at home against Clips. In other words, No. 5 in the West is there for the taking. If Grizz want it, that is.
10 (9) Clippers 44-32 Clips need a 6-0 finish for the best record in franchise history. I'm guessing they'd settle for a healthier and happier Maggette. Mobley, too.
11 (14) Kings 41-37 Tuesday's visit to Dallas was the worst performance of the Artest Era, but it's the only blip in a 6-1 run that has given Kings a shot to secure seventh in the West.
12 (11) Lakers 41-37 Zenmeister Jackson had never experienced a season with more than 35 losses before this season ... but even Kobe says it's Phil's best coaching job ever.
13 (12) Wizards 39-37 Still got it: As soon as I labeled Wiz as the East's most credible lower-seeded team, three key players -- Butler, Daniels and (yikes) Arenas -- all get dinged up.
14 (17) Bulls 35-41 Failed to kill off Philly, but Bulls are still sitting prettiest when compared to Bucks, Pacers and Sixers. 'Cause they get Knicks' No. 1 pick no matter what happens.
15 (20) Magic 32-44 Chicago and Philly have been so meek in their so-called race for No. 8 that Magic -- now on a 12-4 run after winning at Miami -- deserve it no matter where they finish.
16 (13) Bucks 37-40 Only in the East: Bucks suddenly need to run the table (5-0) if they want to finish above .500 ... but might wind up with the No. 6 seed regardless.
