| | Rankings as of Nov. 23
|  | | Karl Malone and the Jazz are the high-risers for the week. |
The Trail Blazers are first and the Bulls are last, so the other 27 NBA teams have a little less space to move than usual. This should come as no surprise to anyone. There are other good teams and other bad teams, but no two teams this extreme.
Kings fans may wish their team to be higher, but not yet. At some point they'll run out of games with, in order in the past week, Houston, Dallas, Houston again, Vancouver and Denver. This is why records are somewhat meaningless at this point. So what if the Spurs have two more losses than the Kings. Does anyone really think, deep down, that the Kings are better? Now the Jazz, they're good. When they get to the part of their schedule that the Kings have had, you'll see a flashy record.
The ESPN.com Power Rankings always cause a stir, which is the object, but we also need to make them accurate. The reason you will see these each Tuesday instead of Monday is so Jason Jackson, Fred Carter and the other nice people on NBA 2Night can use the most updated ones on the show.
When you don't agree with our rankings, which we expect, let us know your thoughts by clicking here and giving us a few Rank Comments of your own. But please remember that these rankings were compiled Tuesday morning and anything that happens beginning Tuesday night will not be reflected.
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Team (Record)
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Last week
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Pvs.
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ESPN.com skinny
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1. Blazers (10-1)
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4-0
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1
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Still don't believe us? Could have lost all four games this week, but didn't
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2. Spurs (9-3)
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3-2
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2
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Win in Philly Monday was clutch; 15 blocks and stifling defense all over
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3. Heat (8-2)
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2-1
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3
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That Heat-Portland game really may have been a Finals preview
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4. Kings (7-1)
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4-0
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6
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Their schedule has been truly easy; Game in Miami this week tells all
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5. Jazz (7-4)
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4-1
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12
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Tough sked; Have beaten Blazers, Spurs, Wolves, Bucks and Knicks
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6. Raptors (7-3)
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4-2
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11
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Vince took over against Lakers, but not against Wizards, which is strange
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7. Lakers (8-4)
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2-2
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4
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Where's the help? Shaq's going off, but even he needs teammates
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8. Sonics (9-3)
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4-1
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8
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Beat Houston, Vancouver and Golden State by combined 8 points last week
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9. Wolves (5-3)
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2-2
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5
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Garnett does it on both ends every night, but can the rest of the team?
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10. Suns (7-4)
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3-1
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9
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Over the long haul, they'll need Clifford and Rodney more than Shawn
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11. Celtics (7-4)
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3-1
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17
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Are they for real? We'll find out; Play Spurs, Bucks and Heat this week
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12. Pacers (6-5)
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2-3
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7
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Is Larry Legend relying on the kids (Croshere, Harrington) too much?
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13. Bucks (6-5)
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2-2
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15
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Beat Spurs, then lost two straight; Team is better than 13, but isn't consistent
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14. Knicks (6-6)
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2-2
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10
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Sure, we admit the schedule's been tough, but they're just not playing well
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15. Nuggets (4-5)
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2-1
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22
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Lakers win was nice, but was that only because of Van Exel?
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16. Hornets (6-5)
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2-2
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14
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Almost beat Portland, which is good; Lost to Atlanta, nearly lost to Dallas
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17. Pistons (5-6)
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3-1
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19
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All of a sudden they're pretty good; Laettner's the key. If he plays well...
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18. 76ers (5-7)
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2-3
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16
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Without Iverson, these are the Bulls; With him, they're oh so close
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19. Cavaliers (4-5)
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0-3
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13
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Not a good week; Kemp is only option inside the arc, which is bad
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20. Magic (5-6)
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1-2
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21
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Almost beat Portland; Like a young team, they can't be consistent
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21. Clippers (3-7)
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2-2
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25
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Big win in Garnett's house; When this team is healthy, they're worth a look
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22. Mavs (4-7)
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1-3
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20
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They're certainly competitive, and they score; Why don't they win more?
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23. Rockets (2-10)
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0-5
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18
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Sorry, but this team is better than the Griz and Wiz; Give 'em time
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24. Hawks (3-7)
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2-1
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26
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Actually showed some life recently; You know, if J.R. plays hard...
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25. Grizzlies (3-6)
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0-3
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24
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Way they lost Seattle game in final minute was tragic; Team needed a win
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26. Wizards (2-8)
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1-2
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28
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Not sure of the upside here; Rod, Mitch, looks like everyone's for sale
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27. Warriors (2-7)
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1-2
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29
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So what if Sprewell beat them, fans finally got involved and made noise
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28. Nets (1-9)
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0-4
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23
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At some point, Stephon will figure it out, and Nets will win a few. Really.
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29. Bulls (1-9)
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0-4
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27
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OK, they'll stay last for awhile; It's a shame, because Brand can really play
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ALSO SEE
NBA Power Rankings, Nov. 15
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