It was around a decade ago when ESPN first launched a wonderful and original concept called NBA Power Rankings.  Anyone could see that this was little more than a subjective listing of each team’s relative position - based on either the current Standings, the recent play of each team or the whim of the individual sportswriter - that are essentially worthless, argumentative and go out of date as soon as they’re written.  They’re a joke, really.

So, with the 2008/09 season reaching the 1st December, it’s about time desipio.com got into the act.  How hard can it be to get a dump of all NBA teams with a little pithy sentence or statistic accompanying each one?

Atlantic

Boston : 16-2 : The reigning champs have made the hard-fought-comeback-victory standard practice so far this season.

New Jersey : 9-7 : Are 7-2 and scoring a stunning 110 points per game since Devin Harris returned from an ankle injury.

Toronto : 8-8 : Chris Bosh is currently ranked 3rd in scoring, 5th in rebounds, 11th in FG% and first in minutes per game.

New York : 8-8 : After everything Knicks fans have gone through over the past 4 years, you’d be excited by .500 too.

Philly : 7-10 : Andre Iguodala continues to struggle – he’d had 12 Field Goals and 12 Turnovers in his past 3 outings.

Central

Cleveland : 14-3 : Not allowing the LeBron media insanity to distract them from owning the league’s 3rd-best record.  Yet.

Detroit : 10-6 : Are 6-6 since the Billups trade, with Iverson averaging 17½ points on 39% shooting, 5 assists and 3 turnovers.

Chicago : 8-9 : Appear set for a wonderful future as long as Derrick Rose obeys the ‘Jay Williams clause’ in his contract.

Indy : 6-10 : The standings don’t reflect it, but no less an authority than Jeff Foster says they’re 10 Times Better than ’07.

Milwaukee : 7-12 : No sightings so far of Scott Skiles grating on his players, but maybe it’s because no-one is looking.

SouthEast

Orlando : 13-4 : Continue to win games despite Jameer Nelson, Keith Bogans and now Mikael Pietrus on the sidelines.

Atlanta : 10-6 : Who’d have thought Mike Woodson wouldn’t have been the 2nd coach fired this season, let alone the 1st.

Miami 8-9 : Dwyane Wade is headed for career-highs in points, assists and FG%, and hasn’t missed a game.  So far.

Charlotte : 5-11 : Out of habit, Michael Jordan almost sat on the ‘NBA Champions’ bench on Saturday night vs Boston.

Washington : 2-12 : Ernie Grunfeld and Abe Pollin simply had no choice – this same roster made the playoffs last season.

SouthWest

Houston : 11-7 : Glass half-full?  They’re leading the Division.  Glass half-empty?  They haven’t started to click.

New Orleans : 9-6 : Unexpectedly fragile start for everyone’s sexy sleeper team and everyone’s #1 Fantasy draft choice.

San Antonio : 9-7 : Delighted to be holding onto the 8th seed now Parker and Ginobili can both walk without crutches.

Dallas : 8-8 : Mark Cuban will use the disasterous Kidd/Harris trade as evidence he does not engage in insider-trading.

Memphis 4-13 : Rookie of the Month is a lock – but what are the odds for OJ Mayo to end up being Rookie of the Year?

NorthWest

Portland : 12-6 : Winners of 6 of their past 7, the Blazers are shotting a white-hot .408 on 3-pointers during this stretch.

Denver 12-6 : Who’d have thought they’d be a smarter, more consistent team without Allen Iverson and Marcus Camby?

Utah : 11-7 : Feeling much less concerned about Carlos Boozers’ pending Free Agency.  Paul Millsap, on the other hand?

Minnesota : 4-11 : Despite still employing Randy Foye and Bassy Telfair, the TWolves are ranked 2nd in the L in assists.

Oklahoma City : 2-16 : After breaking a 14-game losing streak against Memphis, they face the Grizz again next week.

Pacific

Lakers : 14-1 : So what if the Lakers have only played 5 away games, this is definitively the best team in the NBA.

Phoenix : 11-7 : Need to start defending their home-court (currently just 4-5) if they’re going to be a serious contender.

Golden State : 5-12 : On a 6 game losing streak, but are lucky that the Kings and Clippers are playing just as poorly.

Sacramento : 5-14 : Are embarking on a much-needed 12-day stretch where they play only 3 games, all at Arco Arena.

La Clippers : 3-13 : It’s not a good sign of any team’s calibre when the presence of Zach Randolph is seen as an upgrade.

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