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Super Bowl 2012

NBA Power Rankings, Week 7: Can The Hawks Contend?

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Original Story

NBA Power Rankings, Week 7: Can The Hawks Contend?

C'mon, you think one little loss is going to knock off the champs? That was nothing! That broken finger? Nothing!

In the closest vote of the season so far, the Lakers edged out the Celtics by one voting point. I thought for sure we'd see the voters jump at the chance to put someone else at #1 other than L.A., but not even Boston's winning streak was enough to overtake them.

One thing for sure though is that the top two teams are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the league in the standings. I imagine that gap might grow wider as the season progresses.

As for the other 28 teams, we saw significant jumps from the Hawks and the Knicks finally move out of their parents' basement after a solid week of play. Meanwhile, who replaces them in the bottom three? You gotta scroll to find out.

1	Los Angeles Lakers (7) (18 - 4)
-	SBN Blog: Silver Screen and Roll
	Peninsula Is Mightier, "If they stay injury free, I can't see any team knocking them off the pedestal."
2	Boston Celtics (6) (20 - 4)
↑1	SBN Blog: Celtics Blog
	Clips Nation, "A ten game winning streak, the best differential in the league and 11 road wins. Impressive all the way around."
3	Orlando Magic (18 - 6)
↓1	SBN Blog: Third Quarter Collapse
	Clips Nation, "Losses in Salt Lake City and Phoenix are nothing to be ashamed of. The Magic have 10 road wins versus 2 home losses."
4	Atlanta Hawks (17 - 6)
↑4	SBN Blog: Peachtree Hoops
	Peachtree Hoops, "The next two and half weeks will go a long way to show whether the Hawks are an improved fourth seed or an actual contender to join the big three. "
5	Cleveland Cavaliers (17 - 7)
↓1	SBN Blog:Fear The Sword
	Celtics Blog, "Getting better, but something is off. Let's hope it stays off. "
6	Dallas Mavericks (18 - 7)
↑1	SBN Blog: Mavs Moneyball
	Celtics Blog, "Of the contenders not from LA or Boston, the Mavs are possibly playing the best. Plus Dirk has brought back the flowing locks, that's worth an extra spot in the rankings alone. "
7	Denver Nuggets (18 - 7)
↓2	SBN Blog: Denver Stiffs
	Peninsula Is Mightier, "I still think this team is underrated. J.R. Smith is the x-factor; he stays healthy and Denver will challenge the Lakers for the West title."
8	Phoenix Suns (16 - 8)
↓2	SBN Blog: Bright Side Of The Sun
	Clips Nation, "The last team undefeated at home."
9	San Antonio Spurs (12 - 9)
↑2	SBN Blog: Pounding The Rock
	Clips Nation, "Starting to look like the Spurs again."
10	Utah Jazz (14 - 10)
↓1	SBN Blog: SLC Dunk
	Celtics Blog, "Very impressive wins knocking off both of last year's championship participants. When the Jazz can put a complete game together, they can really play."
11	Oklahoma City Thunder (12 - 11)
↑3	SBN Blog: Welcome to Loud City
	Peninsula Is Mightier, "They've been playing well, but have a very tough schedule ahead."
12	Portland Trail Blazers (14 - 11)
-	SBN Blog: Blazersedge
	Clips Nation, "They were struggling before they lost Oden and Rudy."
13	Houston Rockets (13 - 10)
↓3	SBN Blog: The Dream Shake
	Peachtree Hoops, "One missed punch sure took out a lot of likability with this team."
14	Detroit Pistons (11 - 12)
↑8	SBN Blog: Motown String Music
	Blog A Bull, "Some big wins with even more injuries adding up. Much more impressive than making excuses."
15	Miami Heat (11 - 11)
↓2	SBN Blog: Peninsula Is Mightier
	Clips Nation, "Suddenly the Heat can't win at home."
16	Charlotte Bobcats (9 - 13)
-	SBN Blog: Rufus on Fire
	Rufus on Fire, "Since Stephen Jackson's arrival, Gerald Wallace has turned into an All Star and Raymond Felton has become a facilitating point guard instead of an offensive black hole. It may not get them to the playoffs, but their ceiling ... is higher than it was at the start of the season.
17	Milwaukee Bucks (11 - 11)
-	SBN Blog: Brew Hoop
	Peninsula Is Mightier, "If Andrew Bogut can stay healthy, the finally .500 Bucks will continue making noise."
18	Sacramento Kings (10 - 12)
↓3	SBN Blog: Sactown Royalty
	SLC Dunk, "One-dollar beer (water/soda) night? Are you kidding me? It's almost worth the trip just to save that much on a drink. Oh, and this ought to turn out well."
19	New Orleans Hornets (10 - 13)
↓1	SBN Blog: At The Hive
	SLC Dunk, "I wonder if Chris Paul's contract can end soon enough for him."
20	Memphis Grizzlies (10 - 14)
↑3	SBN Blog: Straight Outta Vancouver
	Peachtree Hoops, "I admit it. I love this team."
21	Los Angeles Clippers (10 - 13)
↓2	SBN Blog: Clips Nation
	Clips Nation, "Is the realization that Blake Griffin is not coming to the rescue any time soon starting to set in? Embarrassing loss to the Spurs drops their home record to 6-8."
22	New York Knicks (8 - 15)
↑5	SBN Blog: Posting And Toasting
	Clips Nation, "A four game winning streak? I'd say Knicks fans have something to be excited about, except of course almost none of these guys will be there next season."
23	Toronto Raptors (11 - 15)
↓3	SBN Blog: Raptors HQ
	Peninsula Is Mightier, "I can't wait until Chris Bosh is in a Miami Heat uniform..."
24	Washington Wizards (7 - 15)
↓3	SBN Blog: Bullets Forever
	Blog A Bull "Still over ranking this team based on accomplishment, but the potential is still so high."
25	Indiana Pacers (8 - 14)
↑1	SBN Blog: Indy Cornrows
	Celtics Blog, "No Danny Granger is going to make it tough for the Pacers. And for my fantasy team."
26	Chicago Bulls (8 - 14)
↓1	SBN Blog: Blog A Bull
	Clips Nation, "Bad losses are a bad sign, and Chicago has a lot of them. Can Vinny be around much longer?"
27	Philadelphia 76ers (6 - 18)
↑1	SBN Blog: Liberty Ballers
	Blog A Bull, "Eddie Jordan is not only having a fireable start as Sixers coach, he was an expensive hire."
28	Golden State Warriors (7 - 17)
↓4	SBN Blog: Golden State Of Mind
	Clips Nation, "Monta Ellis is one of 5 players in the league taking 20 or more shots per game. The others are named Kobe, Durant, Melo, Dwyane and Dirk. I'm not convinced Monta belongs in that company."
29	Minnesota Timberwolves (4 - 21)
-	SBN Blog: Canis Hoopus
	Canis Hoopus, "The luster of Love's return has worn off and Flynn continues to rebel against Rambis's offense at just the wrong times. But hey, Corey Brewer and Derek Fisher got us on Sportscenter so that's a win, right?" [Not to mention beating the Jazz 2X]
30	New Jersey Nets (2 - 22)
-	SBN Blog: Now hiring!
	Peninsula Is Mightier, "I still say with Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, Chris Douglas-Roberts, an owner named Jay-Z and a possible new arena waiting in Brooklyn, the Nets could have a shot in the LeBron sweepstakes."