Rockets move up to #16 in Power Rankings

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2006&week=6

Power Rankings: Clippers climb, Minny makes move, Lakers leap, Rockets rise

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
The Indiana Pacers closed out the week with two tidy victories, both coming with Ron Artest watching as an injured spectator.

The Pacers have nonetheless taken a four-spot drop in ESPN.com's weekly NBA power rankings ... and it could have been steeper after what Artest did and said in street clothes.

An unexpected "trade me" demand and harsh criticism of coach Rick Carlisle's offensive system, delivered over the weekend to the Pacers' front office via the local newspaper, brought an abrupt end to a relatively calm start in Artest's comeback from a 73-game suspension. Worse yet, it creates a mammoth distraction for a team that was already struggling to deal with in-house dissension.

Impressive home victories over Washington and Memphis enabled Indiana to retain a top-10 slot at No. 9, but the response to this blow -- whether the Pacers can push on without Artest interference while assessing the trade possibilities -- will determine whether they slide further or finally make the climb into the elite that was forecast for Indy entering the season.

2005-06 Power Rankings: Week 6
RANK (LAST WK) TEAM REC. COMMENT
1 (1) Pistons 15-2 Pistons might reside in the league's toughest division, but even in the Central, can you say anyone is close right now?
2 (4) Mavericks 15-5 Mavs just keep picking up injuries and racking up victories. They've also already beaten just about every team in the league playing well these days.
3 (2) Spurs 16-4 Remember a week or so ago when Pop said it's too early in a such long season ''to go after these guys'' like he wants to? Just a hunch, but it'll be harder to hold back after that loss in Atlanta.
4 (6) Clippers 14-6 Beating a hot team like Suns, without Maggette, moves Clips ''up another notch'' in Dunleavy's estimation. If you disagree, you're in a dwindling minority.
5 (3) Grizzlies 13-7 After their two previous two-game losing streaks, Grizz reeled off win streaks of four and six games, respectively. This time ... let's see.
6 (7) Suns 13-6 Remember when D'Antoni said in the weekend edition of the Daily Dime that Amare-less Suns would win 50 because Nash ''has always won 50'' and would figure things out? Not such an outlandish claim anymore, is it?
7 (10) Timberwolves 12-6 They're getting none of the Surprise Team ink, like Clips and Suns sans Amare, but I'm guessing KG and Co. will be content with the longest win streak in the West (tied with Dallas at five).
8 (8) Bucks 11-7 Joe Smith's knee injury could have been a serious setback. But Bogut has looked rather NBA-ready, so it's not.
9 (5) Pacers 12-7 Pacers are ''a better team without me,'' Artest says. After a statement like that, and what he added about Carlisle, who can argue with Ron-Ron?
10 (12) Heat 11-10 We knew Heat would be starting over with Shaq back. Turns out they're starting all the way over.
11 (9) Warriors 12-8 Warriors can rationalize a couple narrow losses to top teams (Suns and Pistons). They didn't have this many wins last season until mid-January.
12 (11) Cavaliers 11-8 Two obvious problems: Cavs aren't winning lately when LBJ scores big, and they're not playing anything close to the sort of D expected by their Pop-schooled new coach.
13 (13) Nuggets 11-10 The 3-point shooting is still amiss -- 24.9 percent as a team -- but 'Melo's 40-point night in Miami suggest that Nuggets' misfortune with injuries might finally be fading.
14 (14) Bulls 10-9 I'd like to focus on the 6-1 record in their last seven roadies, but how can I? Upon hearing Bulls and another big man are facing health issues, this time Chandler's breathing, I can't.
15 (24) Lakers 10-10 Even if the Zenmeister has gone over the line with his Kwame cracks, that's about all you can find fault with. To have this crew at .500, through 20 games, is something.
16 (25) Rockets 7-12 Can't even say for sure that this is the Team O' The Week From Texas, after Mavs went 4-0. But a 3-0 week for Rockets, given how punchless they've looked, is a big-time boost.
17 (18) 76ers 10-11 One of the toughest teams to read so far. This much, though, is pretty certain: One tutoring session from Moses Malone isn't nearly enough to drastically improve Philly's rebounding.
18 (17) SuperSonics 9-10 They've been better lately, but there's a reason Sonics haven't been over .500 yet this season: No team in the West allows more than 99 ppg ... except Seattle at 104.8.
19 (23) Nets 9-10 The committee (of one) reserves the right to update its thinking, and we did: Nets are far from fixed, but Wiz still edge them as East's foremost disappointment to date.
20 (20) Kings 9-12 Kings just completed their longest winless homestand (0-4) since 1992. So long ago, in other words, that we're talking roughly six years before anyone started calling Arco a tough place to play.
21 (16) Wizards 8-11 Sad but true: More than anyone else in the East, Wiz have left me wanting more. They've teased us twice -- looking so good in beating Spurs and Pistons -- but more regularly have fallen well short of their potential . . . even without the departed Hughes.
22 (15) Hornets 8-12 Hornets are facing their first on-court crisis of the season, but, as with Warriors, it's all relative. NO-OKC didn't secure its ninth win last season until Feb. 9.
23 (19) Magic 8-11 The recent 0-5 slide was a blow, but Magic can't be too down given Howard's progress and Grant Hill's expected return this week.
24 (21) Celtics 8-12 Thanks to Rockets' win at Sacto on Thursday night, only one team in the league has failed to win two in a row at least once. That would be Celts.
25 (22) Jazz 8-12 Out on a limb we go: If Kirilenko can't shake his funk and Boozer never comes back, it won't matter that Okur is playing the best ball of his life.
26 (26) Knicks 6-13 The bright side of starting the season with a flurry of games in the West: Knicks don't have to travel farther away than Texas for the next four months.
27 (30) Hawks 3-16 You probably won't see a more surprising scoreline than Saturday's all season. You also get the feeling that, without stunning Spurs, Woodson wouldn't have lasted until the next Power Rankings.
28 (29) Raptors 4-17 Why would Bosh want to leave for L.A., Phil? Raps have won three of five ... and one of the losses (Washington) came in OT.
29 (27) Trail Blazers 6-14 Before 2005-06, Portland had never lost two games in one season by 39-plus points. And with one of their few vets (Miles) hurt now, Blazers have to brace for more lows.
30 (28) Bobcats 5-16 With the league's longest losing streak (seven) and 10 consecutive defeats on the road, Bobcats must be starting to long for the day when they were a plucky expansion team carrying zero expectations.