3 Shades of Blue is proud to present the 8th version of the Blogger Power Rankings this week.  Last week saw the first change at #1 since the season began, but what will this week hold?  Are the Celtics still on top?  Where does the loss to the Kings put the Lakers?  How far up have the Grizzlies moved after winning 5 of their last 6 games?  Have the Thunder moved out of the basement?  Only one way to find out...

I'm going old school with the logos this week, but if your team's fans are harkening back to better days of the past, it will be reflected in their choice of logo for this edition of the Power Rankings by going way, waaaaay back.

1.  Boston Celtics (11 points)

While no longer Hollinger's darlings the Celtics are cruising now, at a race unmatched by any other Celtics team ever. Given the history there, that says something. - CelticsBlog

They have won more games now then the Thunder will all year. - RaptorsHQ

Regular season dominance?  Check.  All roads to the title go through Boston, and don't you forget it! - With Malice

2.  Cleveland Cavaliers (24 points)

You know what would kill all the Lebron to NYC talk...a Championship. - RaptorsHQ

There are many reasons for this team's impressive offense. "Missing Piece" Mediocre Mo' ain't even in the top 4. - Hornets 24/7

Their winning streak was ended, but against the Hawks, they shouldn’t be embarrassed. (I never thought I’d ever make that statement.) - Blue Blitz

One loss to the Hawks is much, much better than losses to the Pacers and Kings. The Cavs deserve to be in the #2 position this week. - 3 Shades of Blue

3.  Los Angeles Lakers (25 points)

Yes, the Lakers are apparently struggling a little at the moment.  But even so, have the best record in the West at 19-3.  There are 28 other teams in the NBA that would love to have "those problems". - With Malice

I'm more inclined to say they are bored - not slipping. - Hornets 24/7

Don't you just feel like we should skip the regular season and go straight to the finals rematch? - RaptorsHQ

Not liking the loss at Sacramento, guys. But alas, these things happen. - Blue Blitz

4.  Orlando Magic (38 points)

I used to think that this team would be nothing more than the glorified Golden State Warriors without Dwight Howard. I was wrong. - Blue Blitz

Wins at Portland and Utah have solidified Orlando as the top team not named Celtics, Lakers or Cavs. - Bust a Bucket

No huge song and dance about the Magic recently, but then this isn't Broadway.  Getting the job done. - With Malice

5.  Denver Nuggets (45 points)

A testament to a stable Point Guard, and a Center who actually defends - not tries only to block shots. - Hornets 24/7

Could a team's fortunes change more with a mid-season trade at the point?  It'd be hard to find one that's benefitted more than Denver have with the addition of Chauncey Billups.  The difference in this team's astounding, and the Nugs have moved from being a playoffs-doormat to being a legitmate threat to the Western Conference.  Thank you, Mr Dumars! - With Malice

Chauncey Billups has altered the mindset of this team, but the improved and team-oriented play of Carmelo Anthony and Nene are what have led to this level of success and the renewal of hope in seeing the 2nd round of the playoffs. - 3 Shades of Blue

6.  San Antonio Spurs (54 points)

I can't believe the Spurs are back as one of the top teams in the league. They just don't die. - CelticsBlog

I think you'd need a silver bullet to stop this mob... even then, it's not a sure thing.  Lord of the undead Pop has this team on the rise. - With Malice

They were only a low playoff seed without Ginobili and Parker, but they’re back in business now. - Blue Blitz

7.  New Orleans Hornets (66 points)

Their offense is back on track - now for the defense. - Hornets 24/7

In discussion with a Hornets fan, he pointed out to me that the team's been playing some good ball lately and have gone 8-2 over the last 10.  True, but even within their own division, there are 2 other teams that have done the same, against better opponents.  The Bees are buzzin' tho' - up into the top 10. - With Malice

I won’t hold the one loss at Boston against this talented team, they’ve started to move back into the Western conference elite with only 1 loss so far in December. - Bust a Bucket

8.  Houston Rockets (77 points)

Everything is on schedule. In thirty days, McGrady will be back, and it'll be Yao's turn to be out. - Hornets 24/7

A nasty loss to the Clippers, but they’re doing impressively for a team made entirely out of glass. - Blue Blitz

This team almost has too many talented players on its roster.  I think that the injuries are actually helpful to them, rather than a hindrance.  At least it seems that way until the postseason. - 3 Shades of Blue

9.  Dallas Mavericks (88 points)

The Demise of the Southwest Division has been greatly exaggerated. - Hornets 24/7

Dirk Nowitzki's recent play, and the growth of a (team) spine have lifted this group considerably. - With Malice

Somebody needs to hose JJ Barea down with a fire extinguisher! - 3 Shades of Blue

10. Utah Jazz (88 points)

Pretty sure that Jerry Sloan would be ok with where the Jazz are at the moment.  He's within touch of the top of the West, and at home the Jazz are deadly.  Unfortunately on the road they are about deadly as kitties. - With Malice

The Western Conference is starting to play like the Western Conference...and the Jazz are 12-2 in Conference play. Impressive. - RaptorsHQ

Jerry Sloan deserves to win Coach of the Year, but he'll gladly take another trip to the Conference Finals instead.  He's predictable like that...yet the rest of the league still hasn't figured out how to stop him. - 3 Shades of Blue

11. Portland Trail Blazers (92 points)

Terrible week for Portland, heart breaking losses at home against the Magic and Clippers and a physical loss in Utah.  Can this team shake the tough early schedule and start winning at home? - Bust a Bucket

Still playing a brand of basketball beyond their years.  Well, not Greg Oden (I even feel guilty calling him "Greg Oden", I feel I should be calling him "Mr Oden"). - With Malice

Rough week, hence the slide in ranking. - RaptorsHQ

This team is absolutely imploding. - Blue Blitz

12. Atlanta Hawks (100 points)

Who would have thought 5 coaches would have been fired at this point and Woodson wouldn't be one of them... - RaptorsHQ

The game against the Cavs showed what this team are capable of.  Now... if only they can do it on a regular basis. - With Malice

I'm not sure about this team, but I'm sure Al Horford will be good for a long time. - Hornets 24/7

13. Phoenix Suns (114 points)

Insisting you want to be a defensive team and then trading for Richardson is the same as building a tank and armoring it with toilet paper. - Hornets 24/7

The Suns will need a few weeks to gel, it will be interesting to see how things play out after the trade. - CelticsBlog

Trade of Nash’s bff Raja Bell makes for an interesting scenario. - Bust a Bucket

Run 'n' Gun Suns...you will be greatly missed.  Somebody keep an eye on Nash, will ya? - 3 Shades of Blue

14. Detroit Pistons (115 points)

Struggling now.  Only just holding on against teams that they would have destroyed only a season ago.  Today's "only-just" win against the Bobcats is the first win on a Sunday for the Pistons in a long while. - With Malice

I'm shocked that trading a great point for a decent shooting guard would turn out poorly. - Hornets 24/7

15. Miami Heat (142 points)

If the Heat are to win, either Beasley or Marion must contribute a significant amount, or Dwyane Wade must absolutely explode. - Blue Blitz

The Heat need one more shooter. And a rebounder. - Hornets 24/7

Beasley is seeing a lot of pine...yet the Heat are seeing wins. So long ROY. - RaptorsHQ

16. Chicago Bulls (150 points)

Their 'stars' were always mediocre. Now they are paid like stars, and are still mediocre. - Hornets 24/7

Mediocre. Just mediocre. - RaptorsHQ

Thanks to Derrick Rose this team keeps lingering around .500, but how long will it last? - Bust a Bucket

17. New Jersey Nets (157 points)

A center, power forward and small forward away from being good. That's all. - Hornets 24/7

Check Carter's stat line from Friday night...Roko Ukic had a better night... - RaptorsHQ

No matter what this team does, at the end of the season they’ll be superglued to the 6^th or 7^th seed in the East. - Blue Blitz

18. New York Knicks (161 points)

Who would have thought that this team would be capable playing the way they are... at times.  It's all about 2010, but this is a nice surprise for the MSG faithful.  Rabid, fickle dogs that they are. - With Malice

Al Harrington loves New York! (25 and 8 since the trade) - Bust a Bucket

Viper, I mean D'Antoni, finally has some players that can play in his system.  Surprise, surprise -- they're actually winning a few games now. - 3 Shades of Blue

19. Toronto Raptors (174 points)

Best performance of the year on Friday against the Nets. The team is starting to have fun again and the results are positive. - RaptorsHQ

Easy schedule next week. I really wish Sam Mitchell had more time….this could easily have been a playoff team given a few more weeks. - Blue Blitz

Other than Bosh and Calderon, this is a team of specialists who aren't that special. - Hornets 24/7

20. Memphis Grizzlies (186 points)

They've only lost once in December so far (to the Hornets) and have been shutting teams down with solid defense and hustle once again.  If Darius Miles can actually play for them, they might get to play spoiler the rest of the year. - 3 Shades of Blue

I'd be lying if I said I thought the Grizzlies would be good enough to be ranked 20th this year. - Hornets 24/7 (Soothsayer!)

Playing like a team as of late and it's helping prevent another coach from losing his job. - RaptorsHQ

Better than their record would suggest (cliché much?).  Recent wins against Houston, Chicago, and against Miami bely an 8-15 record.  O.J. Mayo's the real deal. - With Malice (This one's for Zack and Matt.)

21. Milwaukee Bucks (188 points)

Let's see if they can get back on track now that Redd is healthy. You would hope so considering his pay-cheque. - RaptorsHQ

In my opinion, this team should just go all out offensively and forget about trying to become a better “defensive team”. - Blue Blitz

This team has spirit, verve, and an enthusiastic cast.  Not hugely talented, but enthusiastic. - With Malice

22. Philadelphia 76ers (190 points)

Poor Mo took the bullet for this bunch of underachievers. - CelticsBlog

Brand's finally, finally looking some where in the vicinity of what we expected.  Has this team turned a corner? - With Malice

All that love in the pre-season was undeserved...just like Cheeks firing. - RaptorsHQ

23. Los Angeles Clippers (217 points)

Look at that roster.  Boom-dizzle, Camby, Kaman and even Zach Randolph.  This team should be much, much better.  Teams that lose against them?  Well... there'll be more by the end of the season who leave a trip into the Staples Center and walk out scratching their heads. - With Malice

Now that Camby is back at center things look better. What do they do when Kaman comes back though? - RaptorsHQ

The ZBo era is off  4-5 start. Not bad considering they were 2-12 when he arrived. - Bust a Bucket

24. Washington Wizards (218 points)

Free Caron Butler! - RaptorsHQ

111 million for Arenas. Bad drafts. Reliance on Blatche to develop. Daniels for Mike James. Maybe they should have kept MIchael Jordan as President. - Hornets 24/7

It will be funny when Gilbert Arenas come back to hog the ball and make them worse than before. - Blue Blitz

25. Golden State Warriors (220 points)

Biedrins gets lots of rebounds. Of course, when every other player on your team runs away from rebounds, it's not that surprising. - Hornets 24/7

Is it annoying that you have to pray for the return of a guy who screwed his ankle up by riding a moped? - With Malice

Hey, at least they won some this week. The team is in absolute shambles after losing Maggette and Jackson, but if you’ve followed them since the early 90s, that’s nothing new. - Blue Blitz

Wins over the bottom feeders but getting dominated by any team over .500 - Bust a Bucket

26. Charlotte Bobcats (221 points)

After that trade, If it wasn't for the Thunder, we'd have a new standard bearer for offensive ineptness. - Hornets 24/7

Bell and Diaw are players who fourished under a system, and aren’t that good in their own right. Someone’s gotta be saying, “Oops!” - Blue Blitz

I don't understand the trade, but at least they were smart enough to keep Gerald Wallace and move him back to SF.  That's about the only thing they have done right this year though. - 3 Shades of Blue

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (227 points)

Ulp.  Not much further to fall.  We're at bargain-basement... almost OKC levels! - With Malice

It’s time to say goodbye to Kevin McHale.  In other news, NBADraft.net has the Wolves drafting Tyler Hansbrough! - Bust a Bucket

JV Celtics embarrassed themselves, allowing Melo to have that 33 point quarter. - CelticsBlog

I'm shedding a single tear for Mike Miller.  You deserve better than this. - 3 Shades of Blue

28. Indiana Pacers (237 points)

Did you ever think a team would miss Dunleavy Jr.?  - RaptorsHQ

Win against the Lakers must have taken too much out of them. They’ve lost 6 straight since. - Bust a Bucket

Indiana in Indiana are going to surprise some teams this season.  But that'll happen altogether too rarely. - With Malice

29. Oklahoma City Thunder (238 points)

Hey, at least you don’t have to blog about them! - Blue Blitz

Sonics fans must like to see all this losing just a little bit. - RaptorsHQ

Anyone got offices to clean?  These guys hoover. - With Malice

8-74 and the record books, here we come! - Hornets 24/7

30. Sacramento Kings (244 points)

So how about that Beno Udrih? Seriously, I have nothing to say about these guys. - RaptorsHQ

Managed to beat the Lakers once last week, but everything else has been bad. What’s the problem here? They need Kevin Martin back. - Bust a Bucket

Forget the win against the Lakers.  This will be a very long cold season in Sacramento. - With Malice

Thanks to the following blogs for contributing to this week's Power Rankings:

• CelticsBlog
• With Malice
• Hornets 24/7
• RaptorsHQ
• Blue Blitz
• Bust a Bucket
• Brew Hoop
• Hoops Addict
• Queen City Hoops
• Lakers Nation

Comments

HoopsAvenue

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That's a nice list. I still like the Lakers at #2 though. I publish a weekly power rankings at HoopsAvenue and was wondering if I could be included in future collaborative rankings. Thanks.

Tuesday 16 December 2008, 02:40

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Sheed

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The Blazers are "absolutely imploding" after just 3 losses, 2 of which in the last seconds? I think not!

Tuesday 16 December 2008, 10:41

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