Power Rankings

1. Houston Rockets, 42-22

The Houston Rockets rank number one in the power rankings as they rightfully have earned. This team will not blow you out of the water with offense, but they will put the clamps down on you with their stellar defense. They have two leading candidates for defensive player of the year in Marcus Camby and Emeka Okafor. These two really pave the path to this team's excellence thus far. Allen Iverson has been their offensive weapon and he has been firing on all cylinders this season.

2. Atlanta Hawks, 40-25

The Atlanta Hawks come in at a close second and this team can easily be number one. They are lead by a great balance of star talent and role players. Amare Stoudemire, Josh Smith, and Steve Nash lead this team. Luke Ridnour and Andrei Kirilenko both provide good defense and will pitch in on offense when needed. This team really plays well together and they all know their specific role on the team. These guys will be very dangerous come playoff time.

3. Pheonix Suns, 39-20

The Pheonix Suns started off with dominance as they went 16-4 in their first 20 games, however they have cooled off a bit. They still rank third and still are playing great basketball. The team is lead by a couple of All Stars in Shawn Marion and Tracy McGrady and even Joe Johnson. Al Jefferson has been the real factor for this team's success, because of his elevated play this season they can really spread the ball around on offense. This team loves to score as they average 104 points per game and they are even solid on defense only allowing 98 per game. These guys are relatively new to each other still, so this team could get a lot better as the season progresses.

4. Denver Nuggets, 36-24

The Denver Nuggets have made a lot of trades and really mixed up the roster and it has proven to pay dividens thus far. Carmelo Anthony, Yao Ming, and Michael Redd have this team ranked up their as one of the top offensive teams in the league. This team is the prototypical, we'll outscore you, type of team. They don't play great defense, but they can outscore almost any team in the league. And when you have three players that all have career averages of around or over 20 points per game, is there really any question as to whether or not this team will score a ton?

5. Detroit Pistons, 33-24

The Detroit Pistons are surprisingly in the top five of the power rankings. There hasn't been a ton of talk about these guys, but they are playing some great basketball so far. They are build by a core of veteran leaders and they have that playoff experience that can make them dangerous in the playoffs. Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups continue to play great well into their 30s and these two are really putting the team on their back. They also have Lamar Odom and Tayshaun Prince to provide some extra offense and solid defense. This team is a great defensive team and they win a lot of low-scoring and tight games.

6. Minnesota Timberwolves, 32-35

The Minnesota Timberwolves have got to be the biggest surprise of the season so far. They were thought of as one of the three worst teams in the league at the beginning of the season, but they made some key trades and really turned this team around. They are led by two of the best players in the NBA in Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki and then they have Raymond Felton, Quentin Richardson, and ZaZa Pachulia to pick up the rest. This is well-rounded team and they really play team-ball as good as anybody. This team has a couple guys with playoff experience and they could make a good run at a championship.

7. Los Angeles Clippers, 35-29

The Los Angeles Clippers were not expecting to be a playoff team at the beginning of the season. However, when they started winning early and often, the new owners quickly searched the market for another star player to put alongside Elton Brand and Corey Maggette. They ended up finding that player in Tim Duncan, the best PF to ever play the game, and they haven't looked back. Brand and Duncan really are a dominant inside presence that only a couple teams can match. Throw in Maggette's scoring ability with Sam Cassell and Brevin Knight veteran savy and you have a winning formula. This team is really playing great right now and they should enjoy this season.

8. Boston Celtics, 31-28

The Boston Celtics came into the season with their proclaimed "Big Three", but that was quickly seperated. Paul Pierce was traded away and then Kevin Garnett was next to go. The only remaining starter from the original roster is Ray Allen. Now the Celtics have Kobe Bryant, when back from injury, to pair up with Ray Allen and try to bring another championship back to Boston. These two guys are great leaders and the other role players should do just enough for this team to be dangerous.

9. Dallas Mavericks, 35-20

The Dallas Mavericks had been playing great all season long and everything was going there way. That is until Josh Howard recently went down with a sports hernia. Howard was the man carrying this team and it is going to be tough for the Mavericks to recover from his loss. However this team is still being ran by a few great players in young phenom Deron Williams, the offensive-minded center Mehmet Okur, and the second point guard Devin Harris. As long as this team can stay above water with Howard gone, they should make a lot of noise come playoff time when he returns.

10. Golden State Warriors, 33-29

The Golden State Warriors are yet another surprising team to be playing so well. They are lead by a great player in Barron Davis and he really has this team rolling. The Warriors were thought of a team that could be really good or could be really bad and as of right now, they are really good. The young guys in Monta Ellis, Al Harrington, and Andris Biedrins are really playing well. Stephen Jackson has also been playing great and has stayed out of trouble all year long. This team has a solid winning formula right now and as long as they don't suffer any major injuries, they could go a long way in the playoffs.

This is not done. I will be updating it as the day goes on

is the ranking based on overall record or for the last sim.

overall

LOL at warriors #10, didn't expect to see us so high up there. Glad for it though, thanks.

how did rockets get so good? lol

not even top 10? ouch lol

well rockets dont have alot scoreing players so AI gets to do his thing and shoot w\e he wants to knowing he hs 2 of the best reboundrs waiting to rebound.


thats my guess.