Our friends at the mothership, SBNation.com, have released their Week 5 NBA Power Rankings. Both the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets, who meet tonight at Madison Square Garden, find themselves rising slightly in the eyes of the voters this week.
The Knicks (9-9) are now No. 7 in the Eastern Conference, a five-game winning streak and six victories in seven games helping them rise two spots from No. 9.
Here is what SB Nation had to say about the Knicks.
Hey, five wins in a row!
Gallinari, Felton, and Amar'e are all doing their things. Toss in the play of Wilson Chandler and Landry Fields, and it's pretty clear why this is a top-10 offensive team. If they can ever pick it up on the defensive end- even a little bit- they'd make themselves an infinitely more desirable destination for "potential free agents."
The Nets (6-11) are obviously better than they were a year ago, when they won just 12 games all season. That, however, does not mean the Nets are good. They still have issues. This week the Nets find themselves No. 10 in the Eastern Conference rankings, up from 13 a week ago.
Here is SB Nation's comment.
The defensive job Avery Johnson has done with this team is decent... but they're still pretty terrible on that end. And obviously they also suck at offense.
The Boston Celtics are No. 1 overall in the Eastern Conference, followed by the Orlando Magic. Both are 12-4. In the Western Conference, the 14-2 San Antonio Spurs are No. 1 and the Los Angeles Lakers (13-4) are right behind them.