Utah Jazz NBA Rankings

[VINYLONE]

This thread will comprise of NBA power rankings I come across throughout the season...

Here is NBA Fanhouse's ranking...

Utah Jazz #3

SOURCE

The Boston Celtics find themselves in the top spot this week after beating the Miami Heat for the second time this season -- this time on the road. The Los Angeles Lakers, meanwhile, are no longer invincible, dropping two straight. San Antonio and Utah also spiked, while the Knicks and Grizzlies experienced a downward slide.


1. Celtics (8-2) | Prev.: 2
Boston has been on the closest thing to a bye week the NBA offers, with the team playing (and winning) just two games in a stretch of eight days. Jermaine O'Neal is going to be out for a bit with a knee injury, but Shaquille O'Neal is back in the lineup, and Delonte West is finally eligible to play after completing his suspension. And with only two decent opponents ahead out of the team's next seven, the East's best team just might build themselves a little cushion near the top of the conference standings.

2. Spurs (8-1) | Prev.: 6
Seven straight wins for the Spurs have them up top out West, and the last one, in which the team outscored the Thunder by 18 in the second half on the road to get the win, was impressive. Things get tougher in a hurry, with the Bulls, Jazz, Magic, Mavericks and Hornets on tap over the next seven games.

3. Jazz (7-4) | Prev.: 14
Yes, the Jazz finally lost a game where they trailed in the second half, falling to the Thunder at home after a ridiculous stretch of comeback road victories. But they played well against OKC, and honestly, the prior week's accomplishment was so impressive they deserve this spot more than the teams below.

4. Lakers (9-2) | Prev.: 1
After two consecutive losses -- one legit on the road in Denver, and one a bit more fluky at home to the Suns -- L.A. got right in Milwaukee on Tuesday. Theo Ratliff is out 4-6 weeks after undergoing knee surgery, and the team is said to be looking at a roster move to add some frontcourt depth. But really, why bother? Anyone L.A. brings in will hardly see the floor, and Thanksgiving is only a week or so away, which is when Andrew Bynum is expected to slowly begin making his way back into the Lakers' rotation.

5. Mavericks (7-2) | Prev.: 7
The Mavs have themselves a nice little four-game winning streak going, which includes wins over the Celtics and the previously unbeaten Hornets. In that New Orleans game, Dallas outscored New Orleans by 10 in the final period, which included holding the Hornets scoreless for a pivotal five-minute stretch late. Dallas is fifth in the league in defensive efficiency, and while I believe that is here to stay, we have to remember not to get crazy with stats so early in the season -- after all, Milwaukee is No. 1 in this category, and they just allowed 118 points in a home loss to the Lakers.

6. Hornets (8-1) | Prev.: 3
New Orleans finally dropped one after opening the season with eight straight wins, and it was one they were winning for most of the night. The Hornets play a style of ball that's dangerous to most teams, and the fast start should be taken seriously with quality wins over San Antonio, Denver and Miami. But based on the makeup of the roster, it appears that the sample size is simply too small right now to consider New Orleans as truly one of the league's elite.

7. Magic (7-3) | Prev.: 4
Orlando hasn't looked great lately, becoming Utah's second comeback victim before suffering a bad home loss at the hands of the depleted Toronto Raptors. Stan Van Gundy lamented his team's defense after that one, but the offense should be a greater concern long-term. The team struggles to get good looks at times, and often seems stagnant -- which may explain why as a team, the Magic are just 27th in the league in assists per game.

8. Suns (6-4) | Prev.: 16
The Suns have a couple of nice wins in their last two outings, one in L.A. against the Lakers, and a grittier, come-from-behind home win over the Nuggets on Monday. These were big, considering the back-to-back the team faces this week in Miami and Orlando. Robin Lopez is sidelined due to a knee sprain, so the team made a roster move and added Earl Barron, a seven-footer that produced nicely in Mike D'Antoni's similar system in New York near the end of last season.

9. Heat (6-4) | Prev.: 5
Miami has struggled to find cohesiveness through the team's first 10 games of the season, and it shows. Of the team's six wins, only the home thrashing of the Magic in the season's third game could be considered impressive. Carlos Arroyo is a liability in the starting lineup on both ends of the floor, and Chris Bosh has been slow to adapt to his new surroundings. At least the Heat finally moved Joel Anthony to the bench in favor of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, which should prove to be a huge step in the right direction.

10. Thunder (6-4) | Prev.: 11
The win over the Jazz in their last outing could be something to build on for a Thunder team that has struggled to find itself early this season. Serge Ibaka started in place of the injured Jeff Green, and had a career night with 22 points and 11 rebounds. If he's capable of that against a front line like Utah's, that could be huge for the team as the season rolls on.

 

[VINYLONE]

Sagarin has the Jazz @ #11

SOURCE

NBA 2010-2011 through games of 2010 November 18 Thursday
HOME ADVANTAGE= 1.76 RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 | ELO_CHESS | PREDICTOR
1 New Orleans Hornets = 100.57 9 1 92.39( 3) 5 1 | 7 1 | 101.34 1 | 99.95 2
2 Boston Celtics = 97.63 9 2 90.40( 11) 3 1 | 5 1 | 97.30 3 | 97.97 3
3 San Antonio Spurs = 97.13 9 1 88.56( 24) 1 1 | 3 1 | 99.14 2 | 95.78 6
4 Los Angeles Lakers = 96.36 10 2 88.43( 25) 1 1 | 4 2 | 96.13 4 | 96.56 4
5 Dallas Mavericks = 95.97 7 3 91.09( 8) 3 2 | 3 2 | 96.01 5 | 95.89 5
6 Miami Heat = 95.88 7 4 90.11( 14) 1 3 | 2 4 | 93.67 9 | 100.20 1
7 Orlando Magic = 93.52 8 3 87.28( 28) 0 1 | 2 2 | 92.55 12 | 94.58 7
8 Portland Trail Blazers = 93.33 8 5 90.96( 9) 1 3 | 3 5 | 93.73 8 | 92.92 10
9 Denver Nuggets = 92.98 6 6 92.46( 2) 2 4 | 3 5 | 92.23 13 | 93.76 8
10 Chicago Bulls = 92.86 6 4 90.10( 15) 2 2 | 3 3 | 93.18 10 | 92.53 11
NBA 2010-2011 through games of 2010 November 18 Thursday
HOME ADVANTAGE= 1.76 RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 | ELO_CHESS | PREDICTOR
11 Utah Jazz = 92.47 8 4 90.14( 13) 2 1 | 4 4 | 93.80 7 | 91.26 13

 

[VINYLONE]

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The Spurs are the hottest team in the league, winners of 11 straight. The Thunder have won five in a row, including one on the road over the Celtics with Kevin Durant in street clothes. But it's the Lakers who find themselves back at the top of this week's rankings, based on their own five-game winning streak, along with a return to playing at a level of dominance we have yet to see from any other team this season.


1. Lakers (13-2) | Prev.: 4
L.A. hasn't played anyone who would necessarily be considered good this past week before Tuesday's win over Chicago, but they've beaten their opponents by an average of greater than 15 points per game. A benefit of crushing the weaker teams was pointed out by Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, when he mentioned that the win over Golden State was the fifth time already this season that Kobe Bryant has played fewer than 32 minutes. Last season at this time, it hadn't happened once.

2. Spurs (12-1) | Prev.: 2
San Antonio has every right to the top spot this week, after winning their 11th straight in impressive fashion over the Orlando Magic on Monday. The only issue is that it's tough to envision anyone beating the Lakers when they're firing on all cylinders as they have this past week, and it's going to be another 17 games before the Spurs have the chance to prove otherwise: they don't get to play L.A. this season until December 28.

3. Thunder (10-4) | Prev.: 10
We told you in last week's rankings how the Thunder's win over Utah might have been something to build on, and as it turns out, we were right. That win was the first in a streak of five straight, which even managed to stay intact while Kevin Durant was sidelined with an ankle injury for the team's wins in Boston and Milwaukee.

4. Celtics (10-4) | Prev.: 1
After two straight losses, and playing without Rajon Rondo, the Celtics played angry and dropped a world of hurt on the reeling Atlanta Hawks -- a game that was aptly dubbed a "ridiculous rout" by our own Chris Tomasson, who was in attendance. Nate Robinson has filled in admirably in Rondo's absence, posting averages of 19 points and six assists (although he had 10 against the Hawks) in his two starts.

5. Jazz (10-5) | Prev.: 3
Paul Millsap is off to a great start this season for the Jazz, yet somehow, his name is nowhere to be found on the All-Star ballot. But if Utah fans want something more serious to focus their outrage upon, they need not look any further than the team's rebounding rate: it's 28th in the league overall, and just 29th on the defensive end -- ahead of only the woefully undersized Phoenix Suns.

6. Hornets (11-2) | Prev.: 6
After a lackluster win in Sacramento on Sunday, the Hornets went to L.A. on Monday night and found a way to lose to the Clippers. New Orleans is solid and is sure to be better than expected, but watching these last two games gave a more realistic glimpse of the team we're likely to see over the course of the season, as opposed to the one that started out hot, and pulled out wins in 11 of its first 12 games.

7. Magic (9-4) | Prev.: 7
It seemed like the Magic were primed to knock off the Spurs on Monday, but San Antonio had a counter for everything Orlando did, including holding them to just two points over the games final three and a half minutes. The Magic's next game should turn out a little better, as they'll get the reeling Miami Heat at home, with a better-than-average shot at avenging the 26-point loss they suffered in the second game of the season.

8. Mavericks (9-4) | Prev.: 5
After dropping two straight, the Mavs got back on track (like everyone else seemingly does) against the Atlanta Hawks. That even went for Caron Butler, who's largely looked terrible this season while fighting off back spasms but managed to go for 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting, and grab five rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Believe it or not, that's actually a noticeable improvement over the combined output of 17 points on 5 of 17 shooting he was able to produce over his previous two games, which came in a total of 53 minutes on the court. (Oh, and Dirk Nowitzki is pretty good, too. He only had 42 and 12 in Tuesday's win over the Pistons.)

9. Nuggets (8-6) | Prev.: 14
Carmelo Anthony recently told us that he's not losing any sleep over his uncertain future, and he's certainly not playing like it's an issue, either. Over his last two games, Anthony has combined for 67 points and 17 rebounds, while leading his team to wins over the Nets and the Warriors.

10. Bulls (7-5) | Prev.: 11
Chicago's record isn't all that great yet, but something tells me that will change as the season rolls on. The Bulls were impressive in their loss Tuesday at Staples, outrebounding the Lakers on the night, while showing a high level of activity on the defensive end of the floor that forced L.A. into just 39.5 percent shooting. There aren't a lot of teams that can move the ball to the open shooters (and then have them knock down those shots) the way the Lakers can, so if the Bulls can bring this kind of effort night in and night out, they're going to be extremely tough to deal with.

 

[Hearsky]

Wow, people actually give a **** about this kind of stuff?

 

[VINYLONE]

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Nov 23, 2010 - Monday night's win over the Miami Heat bumped the Pacers up to the 13th in the first installment of SBNation Indiana's power rankings. Sitting at 6-6, Indiana is just 1.5 games out of first in what so far has been a relatively mediocre Central Division.

If Indiana can harness the defensive energy they exhibited on Monday and carry it into most of its games, they'll be fine. If they mentally coast, then nothing has changed from the teams of years past, to be frank.

As for the rest of the rankings, here goes:


San Antonio (12-1)
When you've won 11 straight games, you will generally find yourself near or at the top of the power rankings. That's rule No. 1.

Los Angeles (12-2)
The Lakers have shown no sign of slowing down in search of a three-peat, ranking first in the NBA in scoring, rebounding and defense. Pretty sure that's how Phil Jackson drew it up.

Boston (10-4)
Yes, the Celtics dropped two straight, included one to the lowly Raptors. I'll give them a pass (for now), as they were playing without Rajon Rondo, who is increasingly the straw that stirs the drink in Boston.

New Orleans (12-2)
Rule No. 2 of the power rankings is to not lose to the Clippers, even on the road. With the NBA's stingiest defense, the Hornets look like they might be in the Western Conference race for a while. Whether they're in New Orleans long term is (unfortunately) another matter.

Oklahoma City (10-4)
Easily one of the most fun teams to watch in the NBA this season. Whether or not they can make the "leap" this season remains to be seen, but for now, enjoy watching this young, up-and-coming team (unless you live in Seattle or have fond memories of the SuperSonics).

Chicago (7-4)
While we called the Central Division mediocre at the top, the Bulls are still clearly the class of the field. If you're looking for a sleeper team in the East come playoff time, they might be it.

Utah (10-5)
The Jazz be here for a while, if only for the Orlando-Miami road trip they had a few weeks back. With Jerry Sloan, they have one of the best coaches in the NBA; in Deron Williams, they have one of, if not, the league's top point guard. That's usually a winning combination.

Orlando (9-4)
The Magic just go about their business, quietly amassing wins and staying ahead of Miami. The playoffs appear to be a lock, so the questions surrounding this team concern staying healthy and seeing if they can recapture the "magic" (forgive me) that saw them play in the finals two years ago.

Miami (8-6)
I ask for a few things when I watch a NBA game. First and foremost, try and look like you're having fun. No one in Miami looks like they're having fun right now. The chemistry up and down the Heat roster is non-existent right now and the coach looks like he's headed for the gallows. On talent alone, this team should reach the playoffs, but to be a contender, they must form some bonds.

Dallas (8-4)
The Mavericks remind me of the Magic to an extent - they just go about their business, day-in and day-out, quietly amassing victories and reminding you that they will be a threat come playoff time.

 

[Gyp Rosetti]

Putting us ahead of the Lakers is laughable.

At best.

 

[Inn Dawn]

Good find, Vinny, good find.