NBA Power Rankings: No More Undefeated Teams

Now that all but one team has either lost one, or won one, it's time to start making some real decisions about which team is truly best.

1. Boston (1) — The first loss of the season had to happen sometime. This year's squad isn't legendary, but it certainly is fantastic, and it certainly is the No.1 team in the league.

2. Orlando (2) — It's good that the Magic have beaten the critics who said that Turkoglu made the team because he was a non-post player at 6'10''. Now they just need to keep consistency, and we'll check back with them in May, when the real season starts.

3. Los Angeles (5) — They've had to deal with not being undefeated, like some teams, for a little over a week, but now that they've all lost, we can talk Lakers again and a five game winning streak that includes some sloppiness by Ron Artest. They're still many experts' favorites to win it all though.

4. Denver (4) — Ty Lawson is showing a lot of promise, and now that they've got a veteran in Billups, Star in Anthony, and a Rookie in Lawson, they'll just need a better forward to be elite. But they're doing just fine with Nene and Martin this year.

5. Phoenix (3) — For some reason, Phoenix becomes the least impressive team that was undefeated, now that they've been defeated. Mainly because they missed the playoffs last year, but now they're still a very good team, and a team to beat in the West. 

6. Miami (6) — Miami is finding a way to make Dwyane Wade stay at the end of the year. A solid one loss start to the team that hopes to make big leaps in the free agent market next summer, instead of being screwed by it.

7. Atlanta (9) — I like the Hawks. They are the team in the league that best fits the description: above average. They are a well above average squad. And nothing else.

8. Cleveland (10) — If the playoffs started today, they wouldn't include the Cavaliers. However, the Cavs are playing ball again, and destroyed the Knicks at MSG. But 4—3 doesn't exactly give you bragging rights.

9. Houston (12) — Why are they winning? There's no reason for this. I blame the other NBA teams for not taking this team seriously. This is a bad team, right? They should be losing, RIGHT?

10. Dallas (8) — Dallas...is just being Dallas. They've won a few, but this is a hard team to talk about without it being later in the year when they'll surely have injuries to deal with on those old brittle bones.

11. Philadelphia (14) — Who would have guessed that Lou Williams and Marreese Speights would be the big players for the team this year? I didn't but it's definitely nice to see. 

12. Portland (13) — It's nice to finally see Andre Miller play well with a nice steal from Ginobli last night, and the Blazers seem to have their strategy figured out. Now how far can they go with it?

13. Toronto (19) — Andrea Bargnani continues to be the big story this year dropping over 20 points per game, and Turkoglu is playing like a star too. This team looks like it could really end up doing some damage.

14. Chicago (21) — A good bounce back from losing 2 early, but Thomas's injury could really end up hurting them in the long run.

15. San Antonio (7)— They had a good game started against Portland, and I can see some of their young players, prime players, and old players alike playing well, which is a perfect way to have a team. Plus, they do the most damage in the playoffs anyway.

16. Utah (15) — One game from .500 isn't bad at this point in the year, so you could say they're in a position where they'll just need to work a little extra hard to get back where they need to be.

17. Charlotte (17) — They do have a winning record, so you can't criticize the Okafor trade too much, but they lack a big star. Although, Emeka wasn't that player anyway.

18. Washington (11) — .333 looks like a bad winning percentage, but it's only been 6 games. Ignore the losses, and focus on Arenas's health. And ignore the other two injuries. Crap, it's just like last year.

19. Indiana (28) — Way to snap your 3 game losing funk with a pair of good wins.

20. Milwaukee (20) — 2—2 is impressive without Redd, and Jennings looks like the front runner for ROY, but Redd is out again, and 20 will probably be as high as they stand. They won some pretty easy games.

21. Detroit (18) — I mentioned that it's nothing to panic when a team that's very new has trouble getting their rhythm started. Give them a few more losses, and Detroit may need to start making some more changes.

22. Oklahoma City (16) — 2—1 was a good, surprising start, but now it's a little snap back to reality. This is a team that was predicted to make the quickest jump from young to good, but they're just playoff hopefuls this year. Like last years Bobcats.

23. New Orleans (22) — Hornets, Hornets, Hornets. You need to start winning some games.

24. Los Angeles (26) — Can you call 2 games a winning streak ? I guess. So I guess you could say that the Clippers are on a winning streak.

25. New York (25) — They have played a few close games which is encouraging, but it's hard to really talk about their young developing players because... there are 2.

26. Minnesota (23) — They have the 2nd worst losing streak in the league, but their 92—90 loss to the Celtics not only would've broken that, had they hit the final shot, but would have got some national attention.

27. Memphis (24) — The Iverson debut really didn't end up going the way the Grizzlies wanted, and they've still only got one win to their name.

28. Golden State (29) — When they've lost, they've lost by a lot.

29. Sacramento (27) — Now that everyone else has done it, that one win doesn't seem as significant, especially now that Martin will be out for a while.

30. New Jersey (30) — The only team to be win less after six games, and their star player has a big injury.