NBA Power Rankings: ESPN Has Celtics #1, Cavaliers at #22

Marc Stein of ESPN.com has a bit different look to his power rankings this week. It isn't the undefeated New Orleans Hornets on top, but the Boston Celtics at 8-2. His reasoning seems solid enough, the Celtics only losses have come on the road on the back half of back-to-back games, including to the Cavaliers in October.

Of course, the Hornets do have something to hold on to, as Stein explains:

Fun factoid to keep the Hornets in Dreamland, even after they finally lose one: The last team to take an L in each of the past three seasons (Celts in '07-08, Lakers in '08-09 and Celtics in '09-10) all made it to the Finals.

The Lakers, Spurs and Jazz round out the Top-5.

The Cavaliers dropped four spots in Stein's rankings, from 18 to 22. He also reminds us just how long it has been since the team has lost four games in a row at The Q:

The post-LBJ Cavs have already seen some happier days than many of us envisioned, with three straight road Ws in addition to the big Boston win. Yet they've also lost four in a row at home for the first time since March '03.

Still, Stein has the Cavaliers ranked the lowest of all the 4-win teams.

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NBA Power Rankings: Cavaliers Movin' On Up

Amy Sancetta - AP

13 days ago: Cleveland Cavaliers coach Byron Scott yells to his players in the second quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

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A Look Around the Web At various power rankings in the NBA

Each week we'll take a look at the Power Rankings from around the web.  For a team like the Cavaliers that started at the bottom of most lists coming into the season it will serve as a guage to see just how far this team is coming in a short time.

The first Rankings we'll look at are John Hollinger from ESPN.  He does his a bit different than most, using statistics to come up with a rating.  Teams are then listed according to that rating.  Hollinger's rankings are updated daily, as well, different than the weekly rankings that most people put out.

Here is a brief description of Hollinger's method:

Scoring margin
One of my goals was to create a system that told us more about a team's quality than the standings do.

Strength of schedule
Yes, this matters in the NBA, too. It is not as profound in the pro game as in the college game, because the 30 NBA teams are more evenly matched, but it still affects a team's results.

 

Recent performance
Another key variable in the formula is recent performance, which I included for two reasons.

First, it stands to reason that more recent games are more valid indicators of how strong a team is currently.

Second, I wanted these rankings to follow the model of Marc Stein's "human" power rankings, on the site each Monday, in which a team's recent play is a huge factor.

 

Home and road
The final variable here is home and road games.

Where does that put the Cavaliers today?

#21

The ranking puts Cleveland ahead of teams like Oklahoma City and Charlotte - teams that made the playoffs last season and didn't lose their best player.

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