Two weeks ago I put the Phoenix Suns at number one in the power rankings after defeating the Celtics at Boston. Last week, I put the Atlanta Hawks number one after defeating the Celtics in Boston. This past Friday the Magic defeated the Celtics at home and I have come to terms with the fact that the Celtics aren't who I thought they were. Brandon Jennings is getting a lot of credit for the Bucks start but lets not forget Scott Skiles, he is doing a terrific coaching job.


Orlando Magic's Vince Carter (15) shoots over Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett (5) in the
first quarter of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, in
Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

(8)1. Orlando (11-3)
I am not a fan of Vince Carter but he is fitting in and playing well for the Magic leading them past the Celtics and the Raptors this past weekend. The Magic have won five in a row and you can't help but be excited about their matchup with division rivals the Hawks on Thursday.

(1)2. Atlanta (11-3)
The Hawks seven game win streak came to end Saturday night. Mike Bibby left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle and the Hawks subsequently lost. No time table for Bibby's return as of yet.

(4)3. LA Lakers (10-3)
Pau Gasol is back and it looks like he hasn't missed a beat. With Pau's return Lamar Odom is back to the bench and the Lakers are at full strength.

(5)4. Phoenix (11-3)
What's really impressive about the Suns start is that they have played more road games then any other team in the league. The Suns are 6-3 on the road.

(9)5. Dallas (10-3)
The Mavs have won five straight and seven of their last eight games. Dirk has been playing out of his mind but one guy who has been playing solidly for the Mavs and not getting enough credit is Drew Gooden. Gooden has started in the last four games and in those games he is averaging 14.8ppg and 13.0rpg.

(2)6. Cleveland (10-4)
Shaquille O'Neal has missed the Cavs last five games with a shoulder injury in Shaq's absence the Cavs have won four out of five games.

(6)7. Boston (10-4)
The Celtics have lost three consecutive Friday night games. My question is what is going on Thursday Night? The Celtics play the Raptors next Friday at home. In the Celtics four losses Rasheed Wallace is shooting 4.7% from behind the three point line.

(3)8. Denver (9-4)
Chauncey Billups maybe out of of his shooting slump scoring 21 points (5-9FGM-A) in the Nuggets 112 to 93 victory over the Bulls Saturday night. The previous three games Billups shot 4-19 from the field and was 0-7 from behind the line.

(11)9. Milwaukee (8-3)
Andrew Bogut is out with bruised left leg but Brandon Jennings seems poised to carry them while Bogut is out. Jennings scored 24 second half points (he finished with 26 points) to lead the Bucks past the Grizzlies 103 to 98 Saturday.

(10)10. Portland (10-5)
TheHoopsForum received a lot of negative comments and tweets related to the "Brandon Roy is Overrated" post but facts are facts Roy's stats are down across the board from last year and the most disturbing is his FG% of .447 which is a career low.

(7)11. Miami (8-5)
The Heat snapped their three game losing streak by defeating the Hornets 102 to 101. Wade shot 12-21 from the field. The five games prior to this Wade was shooting 39-99 from the field good to see him get back on track.

(12)12. Houston (8-6)
The Rockets don't want McGrady to return. Could it be the McGrady is done in Houston or is it merely the Rockets want to collect some insurance money for the oft injured McGrady?

(13)13. Chicago (6-6)
The Bulls are currently 1-2 on their annual Circus road trip and will face Portland, Utah and Milwaukee before returning home. Derrick Rose seems to be getting back to his old form scoring 20 and 28 in losses to the Lakers and the Nuggets.

(16)14. Oklahoma City (7-7)
Rookie James Harden had a pretty strong week scoring 24 points in a loss to Orlando and 25 points in a win over the Wizards. Harden didn't bring it in a blowout loss to the Lakers but none of the other Thunder players did either.

(14)15. San Antonio (5-6)
The Spurs snapped their three game losing streak with a win over the Wizards on Saturday. The Spurs start isn't cause for concern just yet as they usually start the season slow.

(20)16. Utah (7-6)
Utah has won four of their last five games and the Jazz play their next five games at home. A big part of the winning in Utah is due to Carlos Boozer who is averaging 22.2ppg and 12.0rpg in his last five games.

(19)17. Indiana (5-6)
Mike Dunleavy is set to make his return this Wednesday versus the Clippers.

(17)18. Toronto (6-8)
The Raptors have lost four of their last five. The main reason for the Raptor woes is their defense only the Golden State Warriors allow more points then the Raptors. Raps allow 107.9ppg and G-State allows 111.7ppg.

(25)19. New Orleans (6-9)
Darren Collison has gotten an opportunity to play big minutes in Chris Paul's absence and in the five games without CP3 Collison has averaged a respectable 14.0ppg and 6.4apg. The Hornets are 3-2 without Paul.

(18)20. Detroit (5-9)
Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are both back practicing and this is good news for the Pistons who now have lost five straight games.

(21)21. Philadelphia (5-8)
Philly has lost four out of five games. The Elton Brand signing was good but the achilles injury he suffered may have set him back permanently. The Sixers don't have a legitimate go to guy just a cast of support players.

(15)22. Sacramento (5-7)
A lot of bad news out of Sacramento this week. The Maloofs are getting rid of their WNBA team the Monarchs and Tyreke Evans is out with a finger injury.

(22)23. LA Clippers (5-9)
Clippers announcers Raplh Lawler and Michael Smith were suspended one game for making fun of Grizzlies rookie Hamed Haddadi. I didn't think their comments were too offensive but I am not from Iran. Click here to read story.

(23)24. Charlotte (4-9)
The Bobcats are undefeated when scoring over 100 or more points unfortunately it has only happened three times this season.

(24)25. Washington (3-9)
Antawn Jamison recently stated that he didn't believe the new offense was the problem with the Wizards and neither do I, the Wizards are allowing opponents to score 101.2 points per game.

(26)26. Golden State (4-8)
Stephen Jackson is gone but the organization still needs to get rid of Don Nelson who still isn't getting along with his players.

(27)27. Memphis (4-9)
OJ Mayo season thus far has been a bit of a disappointment. His scoring is down and shooting a putrid .300 from behind the three-point line.

(29)28. New York (3-10)
Mike D'Antoni benched Nate Robinson Saturday after he nearly scored three points for the Nets despite the blunder Knicks won 98-91 and gave the Celtics quite a scare on Sunday.

(28)29. Minnesota (1-12)
Kevin Love is still about three weeks away from returning. Their is no need to rush Love back as the Wolves, with 12 straight losses more then likely will not make the playoffs.

(30)30. New Jersey (0-13)
Nets are just four losses away from tying the NBA record for worse starts. Even worse is that Nets play the next four games on the road at Denver, Portand, Sac-town and LA Lakers.