Week 7 NBA Power Rankings

Dec 20, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35), power forward Serge Ibaka (9), and point guard Reggie Jackson (15) look on during a timeout in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. The Timberwolves won 99-93. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

This Week JJ Glenn brings you season greetings and cheer in the week 7 installment of the Dunking With Wolves Power Rankings.
This week	Last Week	Team		Notes
1	2	Oklahoma City	JJ	They had a 12 game win streak snapped in a battle without their 6th man. They still have the best point Diff so far this season at +8.85. And they still have the best record in the NBA.
2	6	L.A. Clippers	JJ	The Clippers are 10-0 in their last 10 games and on a 12 game win streak. They have the 2nd best Point Diff in the NBA, and have the 4th best defense in points allowed this season.
3	5	Heat	JJ	The Heat has quietly amassed the best win% in the eastern conference at 0.739%. They have the best shooting % in the NBA. When the shots are falling the wins are piling up.
4	3	New York Knicks	JJ	Where the Heat have quietly won, the Knicks have been anything but quiet! The Knicks do have the 2nd best FG% in the NBA, a top 10 defense in points allowed and the 3rd best point Diff this season. All of those are reasons why they are at the top of the East.
5	1	Memphis	JJ	Memphis has been 6-4 in their last 10 game and their defense hasn’t been the reason for the losses. Their offense has only been scoring 88.6 points a game their last 10. Their shooting in the last 5 games has been 42% (25th).
6	4	San Antonio	JJ	As expected the Spurs are chugging along and playing sound, fundamental basketball. Kawhi Leonard is ack in the line-up, and is just one more weapon Coach Pop has at his disposal. Making a good team even better.
7	7	Atlanta	JJ	If the Playoff’s started today the Hawks would be the 3 seed in the East. The Hawks have a top 10 defense and are 10th in FG%. Even though no one in Atlanta is showing up to watch the Hawks, doesn’t mean they’ve gone unnoticed.
8	9	Golden State	JJ	David Lee is playing at a very high level; the Offense for the Warriors is putting up an average of over a 100 points a game. Golden State’s offense has been the 10th most efficient this season. All and all for many who thought Golden States start was a fluke, this team is showing they are for real.
9	11	Chicago	JJ	Even without Drose, the Bulls are piling up wins and doing it with Coach Tom Thibodeau’s calling card defense. The Bulls just shut down one of the best offensive teams in the league in the Knicks. When Drose gets back for the second half of the season, this team will be a dangerously low seeded team entering the playoffs.
10	15	Milwaukee	JJ	The Bucks are the only +.500 team to have a – in point Diff so far this season. The Bucks are figuring out a way to win close games. The Bucks are also negative in FG%, 3PT%, FT%, assists per game and rebounds per game. This team has shown solid minutes and stretches, but if they want to remain in the top 10, they’ll need to start doing it on a consistent basis.
11	16	Minnesota	JJ	The Wolves are 7-3 in their last 10, they are 1-1 in the middle of a 4 game murders row portion of the schedule. The offense has been getting better; the Wolves are 11th in the NBA with a +1.29 point diff this season. The Wolves are still 30th in 3 point %. If that comes up the Wolves ranking should also.
12	8	Brooklyn	JJ	Brooklyn is 2-8 in their last 10 games and during the last 5 games are scoring only 91.8 points a game. The Nets are 20th in FG%, and Dwill has said he wasn’t happy with the Offense. Is this a rough patch for the Nets or a sign these pieces just don’t fit together?
13	17	Indiana	JJ	Indiana has the 3rd best defense in the NBA, and 7-3 in their last 10 games. It looks as if the Pacers are really figuring things out on the offensive end as time without Danny Granger goes on.
14	18	Houston	JJ	The Rockets are a game over .500 and have been getting more consistent. McHale has really been getting this team to perform well. They are still allowing a little over 103 points a game, but are still scoring just over that. If defense wins championships the Rockets will need to stop opponents at some point and haven’t shown they can do that so far this season.
15	14	Denver	JJ	The Nuggets are a +.92 in point diff. Iggy said it might take a bit for this team to put it all together, while the Nuggets work on making it all works, they are just over .500 and 8th in the west.
16	13	Utah	JJ	Utah is scoring just as much as they are giving up and they are hovering right around .500 so yep, that all sounds about right.
17	12	Boston	JJ	The Celtics are giving up just over 97 points a game, and over their last couple of game have asked Paul Pierce to be the Pierce of old, they wont be able to rely upon that offense if this team is to make any type of noice this season.
18	10	Philadelphia	JJ	The Sixers are 3-7 in their last 10. The circus known as Andrew Bynum continues to have set backs or maybe he just doesn’t want to play. Who knows, but it is clear over their last 10 games they could really use his services.
19	21	Portland	JJ	Portland has played themselves back to .500. They’ve been getting a little more production from their bench and continued spectacular play from Damian Lillard. Right now they are 10th in the tough Western Conference.
20	20	L.A. Lakers	JJ	The Lake Show are still 2 games sub .500, and 11th in the West. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Pau is starting to get minutes again, and Steve Nash should be back soon. How much time will it take to get everything to fit once they are all playing again? Do the Lakers still have enough time to turn it all around?
21	19	Dallas	JJ	Dallas is 4-6 over their last 10; they are 3 games below .500. Dirk should be back soon and the same comment for the Lakers applies to the Mavericks really. They are 12th in the West, and have a lot of ground to make up if they have any playoff hopes.
22	23	Phoenix	JJ	The Suns have won 4 straight, they’ve switched the starting line-up around, and started giving Beasley a lot less minutes. Which goes to show you, less time for Beasley = Wins for the Suns.
23	24	Orlando	JJ	Orlando had won 4 straight, and are only 2 games under .500, it has some asking if the Magic should make a move to bring in talent to make a playoff push? Don’t be fooled the Magic will continue on with the rebuilding project.
24	29	Toronto	JJ	The Raptors have won 5 straight and are 5-5 in their last 10 games, they have been playing good team basketball since Andrea Bargnani went down. Jose Calderon has really been playing well and that has been equaling wins.
25	25	Detroit	JJ	The Pistons just got done blowing out the Wizards, so they have that going for them. They are 2-8 on their last 10 games and 8-21 overall. Joe Dumars time in Detroit might be, and should be done this season.
26	26	Sacramento	JJ	The Kings sat Cousins the entire second half, showing that he still just hasn’t figured things out. On paper there are just so many things to like about this roster, but when you watch them play, you understand why they are 8-18 overall.
27	22	Charlotte	JJ	The Bobcats are 0-10 in the last 10. From the outside it looks like the losses are starting to wear on the young squad. Many thought this stretch of losses was going to happen, just right from the start of the season.
28	28	New Orleans	JJ	Some experts said the Hornets could content for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Right now the youngest roster in the NBA is just trying not to have the worst record in the Western Conference.
29	27	Cleveland	JJ	Just when Irving comes back, Anderson Varejão goes down. The Cavs still have yet to really have their best 2 players on the court at the same time.
30	30	Washington D.C	JJ	John Wall and Chris Singleton have been reported as getting closer to returning to action. Give the Wizards 2 more starters back to join Nene, and this team can avoid having the worst record in the NBA.

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