Sorts of Sports

NBA Power Rankings Week: Week 11

The Spurs are no longer #1 in the power rankings. Who supplanted them?

1. Heat (30-9) LW - 3: I guess this was inevitable. The Heat are 21-1 since December and are as healthy as ever. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are learning to play off one another which is bad news to the rest of the league. Coach Spo finally has this team out and running.

2. Celtics (28-8) LW - 2: The Celtics stay in the two spot with their win at home over the Spurs this week. They should be getting Garnett back some time in the next 2 weeks, so they just need to continue to hover around the top spot until then. If defense wins championships, the Celts have to be the favorites this season.

3. Spurs (31-6) LW - 1: They fall two spots with losses in NY and Boston this week, but the Spurs still have the best record in the league. They have a big game Friday at home against the Mavericks who may be getting their MVP candidate back before then.

4. Magic (25-12) LW - 6: The revamped Magic are winners of 9 straight and putting their names back in the mix in the Eastern Conference. Dwight Howard is playing at a MVP level, and their bench continues to contribute (8 guys averaging 10+ points).

5. Lakers (27-11) LW - 8: The Lakers are getting back on track and have won 4 straight after they hit that bump in the road. With Bynum finally getting his legs under him and getting back into the flow of the offense, the Lakers should remain in the top 5.

6. Bulls (24-12) LW - 5: Despite bad losses in NJ and Philadelphia, the Bulls only fall one spot this week. The Bulls are not an elite team without Noah, but will be the team in the East that nobody wants to see come playoff time as long as they are healthy.

7. Mavericks (26-10) LW - 4: Losers of 2 straight and just 5-5 in their last 10. They should be getting Dirk back this week, but I said the same thing last week and he still hasn't made his return. Dirk will need to continue his MVP campaign if the Mavericks want to compete for the top seed in the west.

8. Hawks (25-14) LW - NR: The Hawks are back in the top 10 after a few weeks outside as they have won 8 of 10 and their last 4. With 4 guys averaging 16+ points per game, the Hawks are sharing the work load which will work well for them as they make their run in the east

9. Thunder (25-13) LW - 9: The Thunder are back in the 9 spot this week, but can make a big move forward if they can rattle off a few wins this week over teams ahead of them. They play at Houston, at home against Orlando, and then at the Lakers in the next 7 days.

10. Jazz (25-13) LW - 7: They managed to squeak out a win on Saturday in Houston in overtime to avoid a 1-3 week. Their upcoming schedule is home games against the Knicks and Cleveland, followed by a trip to Washington which are all games they could win.

dropped from rankings: Nuggets (10)

MVP Candidates

1. Dirk Nowitzki - not going to hang onto the top spot much longer if he can't get healthy.

2. Dwight Howard - he has been even more impressive since the additions a couple weeks ago.

3. Amare Stoudemire - 2nd in the NBA in scoring, 1st at making the Knicks relevant this decade.

4. Derrick Rose - when the Bulls are healthy, Rose will make his MVP run.

5. LeBron James - rising fast. His numbers are second to none, and his team is red hot.