The conclusion of Tuesday's games will officially put us at the one-quarter mark of the season: 307 games played. The question is: How much can you tell from six weeks of action?
Well, at this point last year, you had a pretty good picture of who you were going to be watching in the postseason. Fifteen of the 16 teams that eventually made the playoffs were in playoff position after six weeks. The Nets (11-8) were the only team to eventually fall out, replaced by the Sixers (9-12). (The Knicks also were tied with the Bulls for eighth.)
Two years ago, 14 of the 16 eventual playoff teams were in place after six weeks. Indiana and Golden State fell out, while Philadelphia and Houston rose up. Three years ago, the number was 13 of the 16.
Maybe if your a Sixers fan, you can be encouraged. They've been able to turn things around in each of the last two seasons. With the addition of Allen Iverson, they certainly have the talent to make the playoffs. And beyond the top four or five teams in the East, nobody seems all that strong these days.
But a look at the numbers tells you why teams feel safe to begin evaluating after 20 games, and why trade talk really starts to heat up at this time of year. There will certainly be some shuffling in the standings between now and April 14, but those teams that are lottery-bound right now are very likely to be on the stage in Secaucus come May.
• Last Week: The Cream Rises to the Top
Hero Team of the Week: New Jersey (1-2)
Zero Team of the Week: Indiana (0-4)
High jumps of the week: Memphis (+5), New York (+4), 3 teams (+2)
Free falls of the week: Phoenix (-5), Chicago (-4), Indiana (-3), Milwaukee (-3)
East vs. West: The West leads 59-39 (0.602) in inter-conference games and was 9-8 this week.
Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
Off: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
Def: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league averages through Sunday are 95.3 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 104.0 points scored per 100 possessions.
NBA.com's Power Rankings are just one man's opinion and are released every Monday during the season. If you've got an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail. You can also follow him on twitter.
| TEAM (LAST WEEK) | REC. | BREAKDOWN | |
| 1 |  L.A. Lakers (3) | 16-3 | Pace: 97.8 (6), Off: 105.6 (13), Def: 97.4 (3) The Lakers got lucky against the Heat on Friday, but have won nine straight games by an average of 15.3 points and they've still got two more home games before they finally hit the road. They're 16-0 when they score 99 points or more, and 0-3 when they don't. |
| 2 |  Orlando (1) | 16-4 | Pace: 94.4 (18), Off: 108.4 (5), Def: 100.7 (7) The Magic don't force a lot of turnovers, but their opponents have shot just 42 percent. Orlando has won 10 of its last 11 games. And that's with Dwight Howard having blocked only 36 shots. Through 20 games last year, he had 82. |
| 3 |  Boston (4) | 16-4 | Pace: 93.2 (27), Off: 107.5 (6), Def: 96.0 (1) An impressive 4-0 trip with wins in Miami, San Antonio and OKC puts the Celtics at 9-1 away from the TD Garden, shooting 51 percent on their seven-game streak. After they host the Bucks on Tuesday, they go back on the road for 10 of their next 14. |
| 4 |  Denver (5) | 15-5 | Pace: 99.4 (3), Off: 111.2 (2), Def: 103.1 (13) A comeback win in San Antonio on Saturday makes up for the loss to the T-Wolves six days earlier. Carmelo Anthony's scoring is up 7.6 points despite poorer shooting from 3-point range. He's getting a career-high 8.6 points per game from the line. |
| 5 |  Cleveland (7) | 15-5 | Pace: 93.5 (24), Off: 107.3 (7), Def: 99.3 (4) The Cavs have danced to four straight easy victories, allowing LeBron to be a distributor (averaging 10.8 assists) and Shaq to be a cheerleader (just 19.7 minutes) during the streak. Sunday's win in Milwaukee was their best defensive game of the season. |
| 6 |  Atlanta (6) | 14-6 | Pace: 94.1 (20), Off: 109.6 (4), Def: 103.7 (16) The Hawks played their worst defensive game of the season in Friday's embarrassing home loss to the Knicks. One night later, they played their best defensive game in Dallas, beating the Mavs despite missing 20 straight shots at one point. |
| 7 |  Phoenix (2) | 15-6 | Pace: 98.0 (5), Off: 112.1 (1), Def: 107.6 (24) When you're going to be visiting the Cavs and Lakers (both on the second night of back-to-backs) later in the week, you can't lay an egg in New York. The Suns are in their first funk with the Mavs, Magic, Nuggets, Spurs and Blazers up next. |
| 8 |  Utah (9) | 11-8 | Pace: 93.8 (22), Off: 106.8 (9), Def: 104.3 (18) The Utah offense finally cooled off on Friday, but the Jazz were good enough defensively to beat the Pacers. They weren't on Saturday though, allowing the T-Wolves to shoot a season-high 57 percent. They've got the Spurs, Magic and Lakers (twice) this week. |
| 9 |  Dallas (8) | 14-7 | Pace: 94.9 (15), Off: 106.2 (12), Def: 99.9 (5) The Mavs have lost two straight for the first time this season, as their offense took the weekend off, shooting 36 percent against the Grizzlies and Hawks. Their 25 field goals against Atlanta were the fewest they've made in their last 139 games. |
| 10 |  Portland (10) | 13-8 | Pace: 90.0 (30), Off: 106.6 (10), Def: 100.7 (6) The loss of Greg Oden might be more devastating to the psyche than to the Blazers' ability to win games. More important is that Brandon Roy plays like Brandon Roy. The last few possessions of Saturday's win over Houston were a good start. |
| TEAM (LAST WEEK) | REC. | BREAKDOWN | |
| 11 |  Houston (12) | 11-9 | Pace: 96.4 (9), Off: 105.0 (15), Def: 103.7 (15) Scoring 20-plus in five of his last seven games, Carl Landry is looking like a Sixth Man of the Year favorite. He's averaging 30.1 points (up from 20.9) and 11.3 boards per 48 minutes. Only Chris Bosh has higher per-minute averages in both categories. |
| 12 |  Miami (14) | 11-9 | Pace: 93.5 (25), Off: 105.3 (14), Def: 103.2 (14) If it weren't for the luckiest shot Kobe Bryant has ever made, the Heat would have had a very impressive 3-1 trip out West. With five guys averaging double-figures on the trip, Miami's offense was stronger (115.6 rating) than it's been all season. |
| 13 |  San Antonio (11) | 9-8 | Pace: 93.8 (23), Off: 106.2 (11), Def: 102.2 (12) Gregg Popovich has said that his new players need to adjust to the system, but at what point do we say that the Spurs just aren't a title contender? They've committed 15 turnovers or more nine times already this season, just six shy of last season's mark. |
| 14 |  Oklahoma City (13) | 10-9 | Pace: 94.2 (19), Off: 102.2 (21), Def: 101.2 (8) The Thunder are in the midst of a stretch where they play only three games in 11 days. They struggled defensively in their two games this week, but earned a split by playing their best offensive game of the season (117 points on 92 possessions) against Philly. |
| 15 |  Sacramento (16) | 9-10 | Pace: 97.2 (8), Off: 106.9 (8), Def: 108.3 (25) Thanks to their schedule, the Kings are the streakiest team of the season. They're 7-2 against teams under .500 and 2-8 against teams at .500-plus. That includes losses over the weekend to Miami and Phoenix, where they struggled defensively. |
| 16 |  New Orleans (17) | 8-11 | Pace: 94.9 (14), Off: 103.4 (20), Def: 107.4 (23) The Hornets went 4-4 without Chris Paul. He put up a ridiculous line of 16 points, six boards, 15 dimes and eight steals in his return against the T-Wolves. But in order to start thinking playoffs, this team needs to get more consistent defensively. |
| 17 |  Memphis (22) | 8-12 | Pace: 96.0 (11), Off: 103.9 (18), Def: 109.2 (28) At 7-4 since Nov. 14, the Grizzlies have been the sixth best team in the Western Conference. And in two of the losses, they had fourth-quarter leads. Friday's win over the Mavs started a string in which they play seven of nine games at home, where they're 5-3. |
| 18 |  Milwaukee (15) | 9-10 | Pace: 96.2 (10), Off: 100.4 (25), Def: 101.8 (11) Andrew Bogut put up 22 and 15 in his return on Monday, but has struggled since. The Bucks have now lost seven of their last eight, with Brandon Jennings shooting 32 percent during that stretch and with the defense unable to return to form. |
| 19 |  L.A. Clippers (19) | 9-11 | Pace: 94.7 (17), Off: 100.8 (24), Def: 101.7 (10) A light, two-game week saw the Clippers average 86.5 points, but get a win when they held the Pacers to just 72 on Saturday. Even on an extended homestand, they're inconsistent. They play just two games again this week, but they're against the Magic and Spurs. |
| 20 |  Toronto (20) | 9-13 | Pace: 95.8 (12), Off: 109.8 (3), Def: 113.5 (30) Break up the Raptors! They've held two straight opponents to under 40 percent shooting and are somehow in playoff position. With the T-Wolves and Bucks up next, they may be able to get within shouting distance of the 29th ranked Warriors' defense. |
| TEAM (LAST WEEK) | REC. | BREAKDOWN | |
| 21 |  Detroit (21) | 8-12 | Pace: 90.2 (29), Off: 101.9 (22), Def: 105.3 (21) The Pistons have won three of their last four, showing improvement defensively (101.3 rating) and on the boards (+10.3 differential per game). Rookie Jonas Jerebko has also been a spark, recording double-doubles in two of the wins. |
| 22 |  Chicago (18) | 7-11 | Pace: 93.3 (26), Off: 97.2 (27), Def: 104.5 (19) I tied my shoes while writing this sentence, and the Bulls did nothing about it. What's worse than the Jarrett Jack episode is that they scored just 78 points against the Raptors' defense. Their own defense has been terrible (115.5 rating) over the last eight games. |
| 23 |  Charlotte (23) | 8-11 | Pace: 92.1 (28), Off: 95.7 (28), Def: 97.3 (2) The Bobcats' four-game winning streak was snapped against the Celtics. Understandable. But Friday's loss to the Nets ... not so much. Turnovers are still a problem. They committed a total of 36 on Friday and Saturday, when they escaped with a win over Philly. |
| 24 |  Washington (25) | 7-12 | Pace: 95.3 (13), Off: 100.9 (23), Def: 104.9 (20) The Wizards' offense showed some small signs of improvement, but they split four tight games against mediocre opponents this week. Antawn Jamison shot 8-for-30 over the weekend and Gilbert Arenas has scored fewer than 10 points in three of his last six. |
| 25 |  New York (29) | 6-15 | Pace: 98.0 (4), Off: 103.9 (17), Def: 108.5 (26) The Knicks are 3-1 since Nate Robinson was removed from the rotation and they're 0-9 when he's played more than 13 minutes. But fans were chanting "We want Nate!" as they beat the Nets on Sunday. That might make sense if the Knicks had their draft pick. |
| 26 |  Golden State (26) | 6-13 | Pace: 104.7 (1), Off: 103.9 (16), Def: 110.2 (29) Anthony Randolph had the best game of his career against Orlando and Monta Ellis averaged 29.3 points in four games this week, but the Warriors got just one win out of the four. They lost fourth-quarter leads to both the Rockets and Magic. |
| 27 |  Indiana (24) | 6-12 | Pace: 99.6 (2), Off: 97.9 (26), Def: 101.7 (9) The Pacers' four-game trip out West couldn't have been more disastrous. They were barely competitive and Danny Granger reinjured his heel in Saturday's loss to the Clippers. An offensive rating of 95.8 since has erased the memory of their 5-3 start. |
| 28 |  Minnesota (28) | 3-17 | Pace: 97.3 (7), Off: 94.7 (29), Def: 107.0 (22) Kevin Love has played just two games, but he's already got two double-doubles, twice as many threes (four) as he had last year and a win over a good team (Utah) that had won four straight. Imagine what he'll do when he starts playing normal minutes. |
| 29 |  Philadelphia (27) | 5-15 | Pace: 93.8 (21), Off: 103.4 (19), Def: 108.8 (27) Not only have the Sixers lost nine straight games playing terrible defense, but their only victories are over the Bucks, Knicks, Nets and Bobcats. Not a quality win in the bunch. Still, the season starts on Monday, when The Answer returns. |
| 30 |  New Jersey (30) | 1-19 | Pace: 94.8 (16), Off: 91.9 (30), Def: 103.9 (17) The Nets finally got off the schneid, and as they get guys back from injury, their offense is starting to pick up a little bit. One guy who's been healthy, Brook Lopez, is averaging 24.7 points and 10.5 boards over the last six games. |
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