How ironic that as Thanksgiving arrives, some early-season NBA turkeys would be finding new life. The Heat, Warriors, Sonics and T'wolves all finally won last week, meaning all 30 clubs have now cracked the W column. In fact, only Minnesota had failed to win as many as two games as of Sunday.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Celtics finally lost a game when their furious rally came up short Sunday night in Orlando. The Big Three will not go 82-0, after all. Still, GM Danny Ainge has a lot to celebrate this Thanksgiving -- including his team's remaining atop this set of rankings for at least another week.
| NBA Power Rankings |
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So far their two young starters, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, have held up just fine. Rondo is averaging 10.3 points (on 57.5 percent shooting) while playing some pesky defense. Perkins is contributing 6.7 points (on 59.0 percent shooting), 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in just 26.2 minutes. |
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They're heating up in the desert with five straight wins through Sunday while showing some of that old Phoenix firepower. Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, Shawn Marion and Amaré Stoudemire are all hitting better than 50 percent for the season. Nash is a sizzling 54.8 from 3-point range. |
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With victories over the Spurs and Rockets this season, they claim the early lead in the battle for Texas bragging rights (at least until Wednesday's rematch in Houston). Meanwhile, Avery Johnson became the fastest coach to 150 wins (191 games) -- surpassing Phil Jackson, who needed 203 to reach that benchmark. |
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They defeated the Rockets last Thursday, but coach Gregg Popovich admitted it was painful to watch Houston rookie Luis Scola break out for 20 points. "It kills me to have him on that team," said Popovich of their former first-round pick, whom they traded to Houston last summer because they already had Tim Duncan and Fabricio Oberto. "Just enough to make you spit." |
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Steve Francis finally got in a game, but he couldn't help prevent Saturday's loss to the Suns -- their fourth straight after that rousing 6-1 start. Yao Ming just wasn't able to pick up enough of the slack for Tracy McGrady (strained right elbow), who should be back for Wednesday's Mavs matchup. |
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Even without Chris Paul (ankle) they downed the T'wolves on Saturday to extend their franchise-best start to 9-2. Paul has been sensational, David West (career-high 40 points in Friday's OT win over the Grizzlies) continues to blossom, and their team defense ranks among the best in the league. |
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Sunday's win over the Celtics had them celebrating like they'd won the NBA title, though they blew a 20-point lead and had to hang on for dear life at the finish. But that in itself is a sign of progress for this young team, which at week's end was also the NBA's lone unbeaten squad on the road (6-0). |
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They fell at Sacramento on Sunday to finish 2-3 on their West Coast road trip. Overall they have played eight of their first 10 on the road. The good news is they now return home for five of their next six, and Antonio McDyess (shoulder) should be back soon. |
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Ronnie Brewer has been more than solid at shooting guard, averaging 13.5 points (on 51.5 percent shooting) and 2.5 steals in just under 30 minutes a night. But Mehmet Okur has gone the other way, averaging just 11.6 points (down from 17.6 during his All-Star season of a year ago) while shooting 38.7 percent. |
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14 |
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Five straight wins through Sunday had them feeling better after an up and down start, but they continue to get stung by injuries. Steven Hunter (knee surgery, out a month) is their latest casualty, joining Nene (thumb) and Chucky Atkins (groin) on their list of walking wounded. |
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