SEASON-OPENING POWER POLL

This is the first of what will be five power polls taken at key points during the NBA season.

Each poll will represent a snapshot of the season at the time it was taken. And when the season is over, they can be looked back on to see the overall picture of how the season developed.

The teams and orders will no doubt change between now and the end of the season, but this is how the league stacks up after the first month.

(1.) San Antonio (13-1)
(2.) Los Angeles (13-2)
(3.) New Orleans (11-3)
(4.) Boston (11-4)
(5.) Dallas (10-4)
(6.) Orlando (10-4)
(7.) Utah (11-5)
(8.) Oklahoma City (10-5)
(9.) Chicago (8-5)
(10.) Denver (8-6)

The four remaining power polls: Mid-Season Power Poll; Playoff Push Power Poll; Playoff Power Poll; Season-Ending Power Poll.

They will be taken after about 41 games, after the trade deadline (Feb. 24), before the playoffs or during the first round and at the end of the season.


HARRISON BARNES POLL

It's never too early to start projecting the 2011 NBA Draft.

Pretty soon teams will start trading away veterans, playing their best players fewer minutes, having players miss games with minor "injuries," playing lineups which they know can't win and whole host of other things to increase their chances of hitting the jackpot.

That hasn't started on a wide scale yet, but here are the teams who sit in pole position as the race for Harrison Barnes is about to take off.

(1.) Los Angeles (3-13)
(2.) Philadelphia (3-12)
(3.) Minnesota (4-12)
(4.) Sacramento (4-10)
(5.) Houston (4-10)
(6.) New Jersey (5-10)
(7.) Detroit (5-10)
(8.) Charlotte (5-10)
(9.) Milwaukee (5-9)
(10.) Washington (5-9)

Comment or e-mail: thenbaoutsider@yahoo.com
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