2013-14 NBA Power Rankings: Tuesday, November 19th

Here are my updated Power Rankings as of Tuesday, November 19th, 2013. It should be noted that I rank the teams based on three factors: (1) Who is playing the best right now; (2) Who I think is best overall; and (3) Who I think has the most potential to be good.

1. Indiana Pacers (9-1): They got thumped pretty badly by the Bulls over the weekend, but luckily the hangover from that shouldn't last long at all. With games against the Knicks, Celtics, and 76ers coming up, the Pacers should be able to quickly continue on with their winning ways. The biggest concern they should probably have is the sprained right foot of Lance Stephenson. Reports say his status for Wednesday is up in the air. They'll definitely not want to have him out for long.

2. San Antonio Spurs (9-1): The machine that is known as the San Antonio Spurs continues to run smoothly in the early stages of this new NBA season. Their biggest win of the season so far is their 2 point win over the Warriors on November 8th. They sent the Warriors a firm message that the road to the NBA Finals will likely have to go through the Alamo.

3. Golden State Warriors (8-3): Not only does Andre Iguodala have the ability to play lock down defense; he also has the ability to close games. That win over the Thunder on Thursday was the Warriors way of saying "We're here and we aren't going anywhere." This team seems to not really have a flaw. They defend, they shoot, and they play unselfishly. Stephen Curry is the best scoring point guard in the NBA, Klay Thompson is the next Reggie Miller, etc. These guys are the real deal.

4. Miami Heat (7-3): With the lack of talk about the Heat right now, one would guess they were off to a 5-5 start or something like that. But no, they are off to a very nice 7-3 start, and nobody seems to be noticing, which is of course rather frightening.

5. Portland Trail Blazers (9-2): This team has won 7 straight games, but the teams they have beaten have not been all that impressive: Kings (twice), Pistons at home (by 6 points), Suns at home (by 1 point),  Celtics, Raptors, and the dysfunctional Nets. I don't want to take anything away from this team, especially since the point guard/power forward combo of Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge is a legit 1-2 punch. But I guess we will have to see more from this team over the coming week to see if they can continue their success against better teams. Upcoming games against the Bulls, Warriors, Pacers, and Thunder will give us a better sense of how good the Trail Blazers actually are.

6. Oklahoma City Thunder (7-3): In case you were wondering if they will be missing Kevin Martin and James Harden, the answer is they probably will, but it doesn't mean that they won't be in the mix to win the Western Conference come April. What does help is that Jeremy Lamb is starting to come into his own slowly but steadily.

7. Chicago Bulls (6-3): Their thumping of the Pacers this past weekend was sort of their way of saying "We're still here, don't forget about us." I picked this team to win the division before the season started, and while I don't want to take anything away from the Pacers, let us not forget how good these Bulls were when Derrick Rose was playing at his MVP level. These guys are showing that they will be a factor come playoff time.

8. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-4): Kevin Love is averaging 26.8 points per game and 13.6 rebounds. Love is putting up hall of fame type numbers right now, which is why this team is frightening. He's the best big man in the game right now, and so long as he plays this well, this team is a sleeper to maybe come out of the West. You best believe in these Timberwolves. They're the real deal.

9. Los Angeles Clippers (7-4): A close loss to the Heat, wins over the Timberwolves, Thunder, and Rockets shows that this team is going to be in the mix come playoff time, but the only reason one can say they'll actually compete for a championship is because Chris Paul is the best point guard in the game right now.

10. Houston Rockets (7-4): Still too early to tell for sure whether or not they are a contender or a pretender. They seem to perfectly be straddling the line somewhere in between.

11. Dallas Mavericks (7-4): They've been a pleasant surprise thus far. Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki appear to have a good thing going. Also, rookie point guard Shane Larkin has made his season debut. Things are looking as good as they could have hoped for in Dallas.

12. Atlanta Hawks (6-4): With the way Paul Millsap is playing, the loss of Josh Smith suddenly doesn't seem to be that big of a deal.

13. Phoenix Suns (5-4): If you want a reason to believe that the Suns aren't a mirage in the desert, look no further than their 3 point loss in San Antonio. That ought to give Suns fans some optimism.

14. Memphis Grizzlies (6-5): They've lost pretty badly to all the teams they'd expect to have to go through in the playoffs: The Spurs, Warriors, and the Pacers (I know the Pacers are in the East) have had no issue beating the Grizzlies this season. Time to hit the panic button and question the Rudy Gay trade?

15. Charlotte Bobcats (5-6): This team may end up being half-decent with an Al Jefferson/Kemba Walker 1-2 punch. Decent means sneaking in the back door as an eighth seed in the playoffs, which for them would be tremendous progress.

16. Los Angeles Lakers (5-7): Kobe Bryant being cleared to resume all basketball related activities is obviously exciting news, but will it bring any significant success?

17. Philadelphia 76ers (5-7): Believe it or not, the 76ers currently are winning the Atlantic Division with a sub-.500 record. Not sure how long this will last, but Philly fans better enjoy this while it lasts.

18. Denver Nuggets (4-6): They got a tough stretch coming up: @Thunder, vs. Bulls, vs. Mavericks, @Mavericks, and @Timberwolves. It'll be interesting to see how they come out of that stretch.

19. New Orleans Pelicans (4-6): So far, this team seems to have been over-hyped, but Anthony Davis is so far living up to the hype. The dude is proving himself to be a quality franchise player.

20. Orlando Magic: They got back to back games coming up against the Heat. Kinda nice to get them mostly out of the way this early on in the season.

21. Cleveland Cavaliers (4-7): So far, picking Anthony Bennett #1 overall is looking pretty stupid. They didn't really need a power forward, and he isn't looking like a game changer. This one has bust written all over it.

22. Boston Celtics (4-7): You know, if the Knicks and Nets continue to go down the drain (which is possible), then maybe a Rajon Rondo return can spark a run to win the division? I'm half joking of course, but in all seriousness, Rondo's presence may elevate this team more than we thought. Brad Stevens is also looking like a good hire so far.

23. Toronto Raptors (4-7): Reports say that GM Masai Ujiri is looking to make a series of moves, but so far, nothing has happened yet.

24. Detroit Pistons (3-6): The last thing they need is Brandon Jennings to get any more of a happy trigger, and then Joe Dumars comes along as says he needs to be shooting more. Go figure.

25. New York Knicks (3-6): Rather than figuring out how to weather the storm without Tyson Chandler, the front office is instead trying to craft up laughable trades to get Iman Shumpert and Amar'e Stoudemire out of town for Rajon Rondo or some other super star.

26. Brooklyn Nets (3-7): The Nets should never have fired Avery Johnson, but now they are stuck with a rookie head coach in Jason Kidd who will have a hard time getting any respect as a head coach from players who have proven to be better players than him over the course of their careers.

27. Milwaukee Bucks (2-7): O.J. Mayo  is basically having to carry this team on his back, but what is mildly encouraging is that rookie point guard Nate Wolters is showing signs of possibly being a key piece for them to build around in the future.

28. Sacramento Kings (2-7): We hear how talented DeMarcus Cousins is, how talented Marcus Thornton is, and yet somehow they don't win games.

29. Washington Wizards (2-7): Remember we used to talk about them as if they were going to be a playoff team? How stupid do we look now?

30. Utah Jazz: They need Trey Burke back and a time machine to spring forward to the day of the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery. Oh, they also will want a rabbit's foot for good luck.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter@nba_lord to get all the NBA news you need