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Nov 23, 2012; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph (50) pulls down a rebound against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter at Fed Ex Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-US PRESSWIRE

Welcome to Week 3 of the 2012-13 Dunking with Wolves Power Rankings. JJ Glenn & Ben Beecken break down every NBA team with their insight throughout the entire NBA season.
This Week	Last Week	Team		Notes
1	4	Memphis	JJ	The way the Grizzlies are playing so far this season has easily put them in the spot light as a possible 1 seed in the west. With both great inside and outside play, this team really seems to be putting it all together this year. Memphis is second in Efficiency Differential in the NBA and are 1st this week in the Power Rankings.
			Ben	Memphis just keeps on keepin’ on. In beating the Lakers and Knicks in the last week, the Grizzlies have proven to be able to not only hang with, but beat the other top teams in the league.
2	1	New York Knicks	JJ	This team continues to outscore their opponents by the largest margin in the league (10.30). The Knicks shooting has cooled off and the team is still struggling to get out of the ISO game as they are 25th in the league in assists.
			Ben	It will be interesting to see if Carmelo Anthony can maintain his fantastic early season play, and even more interesting to see how the Knicks will handle Amar’e Stoudemire’s eventual return.
3	5	L.A. Clippers	JJ	Clippers fans are finally getting to the inside game they’ve been waiting for. They’ve also get to see the 2nd best shooting team in the league at 48.6% so far this season. The Clippers also have the 3rd best point differential this season at 7.54.
			Ben	The Clippers just finished playing a brutal stretch of games, going 3-2 against Miami, Chicago, San Antonio, OKC, and Brooklyn, inlcuding an overtime loss on the road to the Thunder. Of course, Vinny Del Negro is still their coach, so it isn’t all gravy.
4	6	Oklahoma City	JJ	They are 9-4, and they continue to win games through effort stats. They are 1st in the NBA in block differential at over 4 a game. They are a +2 in rebounds a game and are averaging more assists a game this year than last. Those reasons alone are why they’re still 4th this week.
			Ben	The Thunder continue to work through their new look rotation, and have managed in 9-4 record in doing so. Kevin Durant has been mostly fantastic this season, and is rebounding his position at a much higher rate than in the past.
5	2	San Antonio	JJ	The Spurs quietly go to work every game and do it through solid team work. They lead the NBA with over 24 team assists a game. They are also 10th in the league in points allowed. Just a typical Pop team, solid defense and great team work = a lot of wins.
			Ben	The Spurs are the only team in the NBA with 10 wins, and have only lost to the Knicks in New York and the Clippers twice. The Spurs should continue to be the class of the West and one of the most dangerous teams in the league come playoff time.
6	3	Heat	JJ	The defending champs haven’t been the same team we saw win the title last season. They are 22nd in points allowed at 99.67 a game. They do score 104 a game and that still has the Heat with 9 wins.
			Ben	Dwayne Wade’s health is vital to this team, and their relatively thin bench and rotation has already been exposed in this young season. The Heat will be fine, and simply need to make it to the playoffs in a relative state of health to compete for back-to-back titles.
7	9	Brooklyn	JJ	While the super team looked a little shaky to start the season, they seem to be figuring things out. While they are only averaging 96 a game they only give up 93 a game giving them a +3 point differential and a 7-4 record.
			Ben	Brooklyn’s lack of depth will eventually catch up with them, but the starting lineup is fantastic enough that they will remain in the top tier of the Eastern Conference.
8	7	Milwaukee	JJ	It has been a tremendous start to the season for the Bucks; people were starting to wonder if they should actually “fear the dear”? Well they have lost a couple in a row and are now just narrowly out scoring opponents at 1.8 points a game. While the Bucks are now 2nd in assist per game, they have seen their 3 point shooting cool off to 25th in league at 31%
			Ben	The Bucks will continue to regress and while they might make the playoffs, they will not finish the year in the top 10 (or even 15) in the Power Rankings. Ersan Ilyasova has been atrocious after signing his big contract, averaging just 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
9	16	L.A. Lakers	JJ	Call it the Bickerstaff effect, the team started winning games, but since Mike has arrived they have lost 2 straight and continue to struggle on the road going 0-4. When this team is clicking it has shown it can be among the very best in the league.
			Ben	The Lakers will eventually be fine, but it will be fun to watch them try and figure it out. Mike D’Antoni’s recent comments about Pau Gasol were frightening, showing that Gasol is still not getting the respect he deserves as one of the premier frontcourt players in the game.
10	17	Atlanta	JJ	Atlanta is 7-4 this season and has proven it can with without Joe Johnson, and that contract. Credit Danny Ferry for putting together a tough squad. The Hawks have had an easy schedule so far and they are getting out rebounded by over 5 a game. If that continues for the Hawks as the schedule gets tougher this team could be in for some tough times.
			Ben	Atlanta is another team that will regress, although they should still challenge for a playoff spot in the East. If only the fine people of Atlanta would attend their games….
11	11	Dallas	JJ	The Mavs still haven’t gotten their superstar on the court this season, yet they are still putting W’s in the win column. Dallas is still a plus in PPG, FG%, 3PT%, APG and BPG. Throw in a better than excepted OJ Mayo and the Mavs are showing they will be in the hunt for the playoffs come the end of the season.
			Ben	The Mavericks could very well sneak into the playoffs, but as the Wolves are finding out with Kevin Love, it will take some time to re-integrate Dirk Nowitzki into the offense and learn to play with him again.
13	8	Boston	JJ	While Boston had some struggles in the last week, they showed when they put it together they can be very good (ask OKC). With so many new faces it will continue to take some time to play the get to know you game.
			Ben	Jason Terry is playing a little better and Rajon Rondo is healthy again, so that’s good news for the Celtics. They need Terry to play more evenly off the bench, but the Celtics should certainly end up with home court advantage in the East come playoff time.
14	15	Minnesota	JJ	The Wolves have Kevin Love back and he erupted for a 34 point 14 rebound performance (no big deal). They clearly had Denver on the ropes but struggled to finish them off showing Love and the rest of the pieces will need some time to put it all together. They also got Pek and JJ back after missed time. Things are finally looking up.
			Ben	The Wolves are now in last place in one of the strongest division in basketball as they re-learn how to play with Kevin Love. The Wolves will always struggle with dynamic backcourt scorers, but a frontcourt of Kirilenko-Love-Pekovic is arguably tops in the league and will give any team fits.
15	12	Denver	JJ	The Nuggets are a typical George Karl team; they make great adjustments and play sound fundamental basketball. There are still great things expected from this team, but a .500% record so far, but a negative in point differential and assist per game; the Nuggets will need to get a much better performance from Ty Lawson if they want to make it to the top half of the Western Conference.
			Ben	Denver needs to be more consistent. They have been very streaky and uneven so far this year, and George Karl has been downright confouding with his rotations.
16	10	Chicago	JJ	It’s a typical Tibs team, top 10 in defense. They score more points than they give up and are 2nd in the NBA at +3.63 assists per game. They miss Derrick Rose, but if they can continue to play around .500 in a weak Eastern Conference, they could still make some noise.
			Ben	The Bulls are still biding time until Derrick Rose’s return, and they’re doing a fairly good job. If they can be in position to challenge for a playoff spot when Rose returns in 2013, they can make some serious noise in the shallow Eastern Conference.
17	14	Golden State	JJ	The Warriors have been better than expected. They are 17th in Efficiency Differential in the NBA and 17th in this week edition of the Power Rankings. They are still giving up more points than they score on average, if Mark Jackson can’t get the defense improved the warriors will be hearing “Hand Down, Man Down” and not in t a good way.
			Ben	If Bogut stays healthy, the Warriors are a very solid team. As I continually repeat in this space, however, he won’t. And they most likely won’t make the playoffs because of it.
18	13	Philadephia	JJ	Doug Collins has to be sick; Andrew Bynum hurt his knee bowling? Nothing like trading for a big man you can’t use. The 76ers are still over .500 so far this season, but they have had an easy strength of Schedule and currently are giving up more points than they score. They are also getting out rebounded, showing they could really use Bynum. If he doesn’t get healthy soon the 76ers could be in line for a bottom half playoff seed.
			Ben	My pre-season predictions about Philadelphia are coming true. Poor Sixers. Who would have ever guessed that Louis Williams is better than Nick Young and Elton Brand is better than Kwame Brown?
19	21	Utah	JJ	Utah has struggled to get wins on the road; they are now 2-6 after going 0-4 to start. Utah has a + in point differential and has been out rebounding their opponents by over 3 a game. If they can start winning some more games on the road Utah will be in the hunt for a playoff berth.
			Ben	Utah continues to be overrated, and will likely trade away someone from their frontcourt before the February trade deadline.
20	20	Charlotte	JJ	Can the ‘Cats be the biggest surprise of the season, after posting the worst record last season, the ‘Cats are finding a way to win games. These young players are playing with no fear and it is producing wins.
			Ben	The Bobcats have won ugly and lucky so far this season. It’s only a matter of time before they remember that they’re the Bobcats.
21	18	Houston	JJ	Houston is giving up the 6th most points a game in the NBA, and they are 12th in scoring offense. With Kevin McHale still on leave for personal matters, the team is under .500 in their last 10 games.
			Ben	Houston beat the Knicks convincingly on Friday night. Other than that, they have been struggling greatly. Chandler Parsons and James Harden need some help.
21	22	Indiana	JJ	The Pacers are still struggling to find an identity without Danny Granger, Hibbert has shown some signs of life (including a triple double) but they will need a lot more of him and some other players to step up if they want to move up the rankings.
			Ben	The Pacers continue to be in deep trouble without Danny Granger, and have been the NBA’s most disappointing and underperforming team thus far.
22	23	Portland	JJ	The Blazers give up the most points a game in the league. Their bench is averaging the lowest amount of points in the league. On the plus side, their starting 5 is scoring the most in the league.
			Ben	Damian Lillard is fantastic. Batum has been streaky, but a has shown more flashes of star-level play than in the past. Unfortunately, their bench is non-existent, and their 6-6 record to this point is an aberration.
23	19	New Orleans	JJ	There was so much hope for this team in the pre-season and so far they have struggled. This team is young and has shown it, the Hornets have talent but it seems like it will take a least another year of it to mature.
			Ben	The Hornets will need Anthony Davis to stay on the court to stay competetive. Austin Rivers has been predictably awful, and New Orleans simply does not have enough scoring to compete night in and night out.
24	25	Phoenix	JJ	Most statistical categories’ would show you the Suns shouldn’t have this many wins. But a look at their schedule will show you they have beaten some bad teams and won most of the games they should win.
			Ben	Michael Beasley is slowly losing minutes, and Markieff Morris has already taken over Luis Scola’s starting spot. Marcin Gortat has spoken out against Alvin Gentry in the media. There is the potential for some fantastic drama out in the desert this winter.
25	26	Toronto	JJ	Toronto gives up over a 100 points a game. They are missing their starting PG who really would be the glue to hold this team together. Once Lowry comes back the Raptors should be able to climb up a little on the rankings.
			Ben	A healthy Lowry will make a big difference, and count me as someone who still believes in the Dwayne Casey and a young, intriguing internationally-flavored roster.
26	24	Orlando	JJ	Orlando isn’t very good. We knew this coming into the season. The rebuilding project is on, and we’ll wait and see what pieces get put on the market to help in clearing some cap space.
			Ben	Where will J.J. Redick be traded? As a more-than-useful rotation player on an expiring deal, the market will be hot for his services as we get closer to the February deadline. A Derrick Williams-for-J.J. Redick trade is looking mighty nice to Wolves fans right about now….
27	27	Cleveland	JJ	There are some really promising young players on the Cleveland roster; the problem is there isn’t enough of talent. With some nice pieces the Cavs will need some more time and some more help.
			Ben	Kyrie Irving and Anderson Varejao There isn’t much else there. Varejao will likely be traded in the coming months, as he is a very valuable big man that would help any playoff team’s frontcourt rotation immensely.
28	29	Detroit	JJ	What can be said about the Pistons? They don’t have the worst record in the NBA. They are also averaging more blocks then their opponents. They have had an above average SOS. Those are all good signs, right?
			Ben	The Pistons have to be most boring team in the NBA. They aren’t good. There isn’t much drama or disfunction, either, outside of Charlie Villaneuva being awful. Poor Greg Monroe.
29	28	Sacramento	JJ	Sacramento has the 2nd worst point differential in the league; they have discipline problems and the worst record in the Western Conference. The real question is if the team keeps playing this bad, is there a city that will want them to relocate there?
			Ben	Will DeMarcus Cousins ever figure it out? The rest of the team is really, really bad. There isn’t much else to say.
30	30	Washington D.C	JJ	If there is only one team in the NBA that doesn’t have a win, and they are last in the Power Rankings that should be about as much as you need to know. For as bad as this team has looked at times, John Wall and Nene can’t come in time.
			Ben	John Wall and Nene will help this team, but nobody can save them from Randy Wittman.

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Week 3 NBA Power Rankings – Sat Nov 24th

By James Glenn | Nov 24, 2012