The Hornets may have had their streak broken by a very good Mavericks squad, but that does not overshadow the body of work they have put together so far this season.  Of their eight victories, seven of them have been against 2010 Playoff teams.  The Hornets are for real, and the best of the league for now.

The Celtics have been predictably good so far this season.  Their losses have come on the back end of back-to-back’s, they’ve played fantastic defense, and they already have put one their key players in street clothes.  If you had “Jermaine” in the “Which O’Neal is going inactive first?” pool, congrats.

Dropping two straight games will get you bumped from the top spot, but no one believes that the Lakers have any less of a chance to run the show this year.  They are in the top three for points per game, rebounds per game, assists per game, and Twizzlers consumed.  Everything is as usual in Los Angeles.

Earlier this season I threw out an early “Don’t look now, but…” for San Antonio.  Now more and more teams are learning about how good this Spurs team really can be.  The story of the season so far has been the reemergence of Richard Jefferson.  At 30 years young, Jefferson is averaging 17.6 points in 32.4 minutes, and shooting .486 from behind the arc.

The Dallas Mavericks, when healthy, have shown to be one of the most difficult teams to match up against so far this season.  The addition of Tyson Chandler has worked out well for the Mavs, shortening the load on Haywood down low and allowing Dirk to roam free on offense.  The injury bug could bite this aging squad, forcing a lot more DeShawn Stevenson and Brian Cardinal than Dallas would like to see.

When the Jazz started to make another furious comeback against Oklahoma City, it seemed too good to be true.  Which is why the Thunder were probably able to pull it out.  The Jazz have shown incredible resiliency here at the beginning of the season, and if this Paul Millsap 3-point shooting is here for good, he will continue to be a dangerous fourth quarter threat in the Western Conference.

Miami Heat

Now that the Heat have been dealt some real adversity, they will have a chance to start proving naysayers wrong.  Luckily for Miami, the next stretch of games should not be incredibly taxing on a squad already dealing with injuries.  After all, two of the Heat’s losses are to Boston, one to the Hornets, and the miraculous comeback by the Jazz.  They have yet to suffer a “bad” loss.

It was a rude wake up call for Atlanta when they started playing some competition.  The Hawks dropped four straight after a blazing 6-0 start, and now we are left with a talented team that has the early look of an inconsistent Eastern Conference four seed.  So basically the Atlanta Hawks.  May be a new coach, but it looks like it may be the same old tale in Atlanta.

My personal favorite storyline of the early season has been the emergence of the Golden State Warriors.  With a new coach and now under new ownership, there has been a revival in the Bay Area.  Monta Ellis scores easier than anyone, and Stephen Curry continues to develop into a dynamic dual-threat point guard.  They are a fun team to watch, and worth staying up a few extra hours to catch the action live.

As we saw on Tuesday night, there is simply not many comparisons to the advantage of having Derrick Rose on your team in the fourth quarter.  With a jump shot that seems to be improving every game, there are few people you would rather have with the ball in his hands.

With Robin Lopez out for the foreseeable future, the Suns have become a significantly smaller ball club.  Expect to see a lot more small ball from a lineup that has Hakim Warrick and Channing Frye as the primary big men.

Russell Westbrook has continued to build on his development with the US National Team this summer, and now has become one of the better closing guards in the Western Conference.  The ability to play lockdown defense and facilitate the offense in the final minutes will make the Thunder much better closers against the best teams in the league.

Despite their recent downfalls, the Nuggets still stepped up to the plate with the defending champions in the Pepsi Center.  This will clearly not be the same squad that we labeled a possible title contender last season, but they showed they still can bring it when it counts.

(Editors note: Most of the work for this week’s Power Rankings were done while I was watching the Memphis-Portland game.  If you were watching it as well, you would realize that I should probably switch these two.)
The Grizzles have finally figured out a way to make their athleticism and fast break scoring really count, and it has started on the defensive end.  The Grizzles are forcing opponents to turn the ball over and turning it into easy buckets.  For a team that seems to operate awkwardly in the half-court, they need as many buckets as possible from the transition game.

(See note above.  Also, Matthews kind of answered that question about Roy)
For a team that has struggled with serious health issues the last two seasons, the news about Brandon Roy was like twisting a dagger.  If Roy is limited, the Blazers will have to find scoring other places on the court.  LaMarcus Aldridge is already carrying a decent load, so it will have to be Andre Miller or new acquisition Wesley Matthews stepping to the plate.

Milwaukee Bucks

With good wins over Atlanta and Golden State, the Bucks appear to be getting things back on track.  The addition of Corey Maggette continues to pay off, as he has shown time and time again his ability to get to the rim, and get to the line.  They still need help closing games, but still are not a team you look forward to facing.

The honeymoon is over for the Cavaliers, and the post-LeBron era seems to have finally set in for Cleveland.  Byron Scott has a team of willing players and a system where they can hang with most teams in the league, but at times the Cavs will fall short simply because of talent.

New Jersey has been getting great all-around production from Devin Harris, but he is going to need more help for the Nets to avoid slipping right back into the losing culture of a season ago.

The Pacers are improved, but not great.  With Hibbert stringing together more monster nights on the glass, and with Granger shooting the ball well, the Pacers have at least been able to keep most of their games competitive this season.  That, in itself, is an upgrade.

The turmoil in the locker room between Kuester and the players will eventually boil over in a trade or full meltdown.  But for some reason the Pistons have won 4 of their last 6. (Picks up phone) Oh what’s that?  The wins were against who?!? Okay nevermind, nothing to see here folks.

The Bobcats were finally able to treat the home fans with a win against the Timberwolves.  The Bobcats have remained competitive against several good teams early in the season, but lack the offensive firepower to overcome a late deficit.  Either Stephen Jackson needs to get hot, or it is time for one of Larry Brown’s signature midseason trades.

The Rockets are awfully likable for how hard they try, but without Brooks and Yao there is far too much attention paid to Kevin Martin and Luis Scola on the offensive end.  While Brad Miller and Kyle Lowry are fun to watch, the Rockets would prefer to have them further down in the rotation.

Washington Wizards

The best thing the Wizards had going was a super-talented rookie point guard who had the potential, on any particular evening, to go HAM on an opponent and take over a game.  With that big play threat gone, the Wizards fall back to being the doormat of the Eastern Conference.

After a hopeful 3-2 start, the Knicks have started a dangerous slide back into the Eastern Conference cellar.  The Knicks need one of their talented wings to step up as a go-to scorer, because right now no one has stepped up besides Stoudamire.

The young Sacramento team has a chance to benefit from 5 of their next 7 games being at home to try and climb back towards .500.  The fans at ARCO Arena are hungry for victories too, so it would be good time to reinvigorate this fan base before they start to give up and the relocation whispers arise once again.

What in the name of fundamentals is it going to take for free Kevin Love from the wretched hands of Kurt Rambis.  Put Love on any ‘middle-of-the-road’ team and you have a playoff contender, put him on a playoff team and you have a favorite.

At least the Raptors get two games with Philadelphia in the next couple weeks.  They have gotten few breaks, but it is hard to expect breaks with a non-existent defense.  Without a commitment on the defensive end, it is hard to imagine this team making a ripple in the water anytime soon.

When Elton Brand’s reemergence is one of the highlights of your season so far, it has not been a great start to the year.  The Sixers need to find a go-to scorer other than Iguodala, because rookie Evan Turner does not look ready for that role yet.

How did this team beat the Thunder?  They have a few more opportunities on the schedule to pick up a second win before Thanksgiving.  But with how good this team is at losing, I would not bet on it.