Oklahoma City still leads the Western Conference in Power Rankings for week two. With the shortened season requiring teams to play back-to-back and sometimes back-to-back-to-back games, players will really wear down. The key may be which teams remain healthy, and which are in the best condition.
Here are the results for week 2:
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (8-2) James Harden, coming off the bench is the team’s second leading scorer. With back-to-back losses, the team got back on track, and has won their last three.
2. Denver Nuggets (6-3) Ty Lawson continues to lead the Nuggets, while Al Harrington is averaging 15.8 points off the bench. With so many new players, they are playing well early in the season.
3. Los Angeles Lakers (6-4) After a shaky start, the Lakers have won three of their last four. Bynum is having a career start to his season. Bynum, Gasol, and Bryant are playing a lot of minutes. One wonders if Kobe Bryant’s injured hand will survive the whole season.
4. San Antonio Spurs (6-3) Spurs haven’t missed a beat since leading scorer Manu Ginobili broke his hand. So far, players like Danny Green and Matt Bonner seem to be stepping up every game. The question is can they keep this up until Ginobili returns.
5. Dallas Mavericks (4-5) The Mavericks won three of four, and look to be getting back on track. Some of their players, like Lamar Odom, are still trying to find their legs. They have a pretty easy schedule coming up and could be 8-5 by next week.
6. Portland Trail Blazers (6-2) The Trail Blazers have shown they can play well as a team, with six players averaging double digit scoring. Veteran Marcus Canby is contributing well, averaging nine rebounds per game. If not for their big loss against the Suns, they would have jumped a lot higher.
7. Los Angeles Clippers (4-2) The Clippers had a light schedule, but went 2-0 this last week. The starting five are full of talent, but the team is last in the NBA in rebounding.
8. Phoenix Suns (4-4) The Suns have had seven different leading scorers in eight games. With a little help from Steve Nash, they seem to have found their offense to go with their new-improved defense. Michael Redd may start to see some playing time this week as well.
9. Memphis Grizzlies (3-5) Rudy Gay seems to have healed from his injury last season, but the team as a whole still struggles to score. The injury to Zach Randolph will really hurt the Grizzlies.
10. Utah Jazz (5-3) The Jazz went 4-0 last week, and area showing signs of life after Deron Williams. The bench is putting in some quality time, and Derrick Favors already has two double-doubles.
11. Houston Rockets (2-6) The Rockets are not playing aggressive basketball, and lost all four games last week. Kyle Lowry is not only leading the team in assists (10.0), and rebounds (6.2), but is also scoring 15.3 points per game. He could use a little help.
12. Minnesota Timberwolves (3-5) Kevin Love is the real deal, averaging 25.4 points and 15.0 rebounds per game. Inconsistency may be this team’s kryptonite this season.
13. Golden State Warriors (2-6) There’s no doubt Monta Ellis can score, but the team as a whole ranks 25th in scoring. They lost all four games last week, and have not scored over 100 points in a game this season.
14. Sacramento Kings (3-6) The Kings continue to struggle to stop other teams from scoring. The firing of Paul Westphal will not change that. Marcus Thornton and Jimmer Fredette may be the only bright spots on the team.
15. New Orleans Hornets (2-6) The Hornets have lost six straight games, and with Eric Gordon out for 2-3 weeks, wins will come at a premium for a while. The team is playing good defense, but they rank in the bottom ten in the NBA in two-point, and three-point shooting percentage.
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