Here are a few quick thoughts about the first couple weeks of the NBA season:

1) Detroit has obviously adjusted well to Flip Saunders. Saunders has opened up the offense, installing about 10 plays out of the "flex" set. That's cleared more room underneath for the big men, and the spacing and movement has created wider lanes for the perimeter players. They're 7-0 now, but I'd be surprised if they came out of Texas (back-to-back games this weekend against Houston and Dallas) still undefeated.

2) Where did the Clippers come from? They're 6-2 and their +5.0 point differential is fifth best in the league.

3) The NBA's home website, NBA.com, is by far the worst of the four major sports. It's always slow, the print is tiny, and the screen is cluttered with ads for Bobcats fleeces and links to WNBA news. It's nothing but Stern propaganda.

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4) I know it's way too early to have "crucial" road trips, so I'll simply label New Jersey's upcoming stretch as "telling". On Monday they begin a five-game holiday stint out West with a game at surging Golden State. The swing includes stops in Phoenix and L.A. and concludes on Monday, Nov. 28 with a game in Denver. That meeting with the Nuggets will be the Nets' third game in four nights.

5) My early season surprises: The Wizards, T.J. Ford, Chris Webber, My early season disappointments: Miami's chemistry, Peja Stojakovic, Chicago ATS.

Without further ado, here are my NBA Power Rankings. The number in (parentheses) is their previous ranking:

1) Detroit (4) - The Pistons are averaging 102.7 ppg during their 7-0 start, and their +13 point differential is by far the best in the league. During the playoffs I extolled the virtues of Carlos Arroyo, and now that he's getting minutes he's making them count.
2) San Antonio (1) - Oddly enough, they're a league-best 5-2 ATS. That's odd because you would think they're facing inflated numbers.
3) Indiana (5) - That early win over Miami, even if it was without Shaq, still counts in the standings. Jermaine O'Neal is wearing ankle and knee braces, and looks like he's already starting to get worn down from having to play center.
4) Dallas (6) - The Mavericks' 19-point win over San Antonio last week was eye opening, but I'll just attribute that to young legs taking advantage early in the season. It looks like Keith Van Horn has settled into his role with the team. He already has two double-doubles and is averaging 15 points.
5) Washington (13) - Well hello, hello. Gilbert Arenas has been a good player, but he appears ready to take the next step. He's averaging 27 points and six assists for the Wiz, who are 3-1 in the conference.
6) Miami (3) - It's a lot tougher for Shaq to hold the reigns on this group of hotheads when he's not playing. His absence has been mitigated by the resurgence of Alonzo Mourning (11 ppg, 8 rpg).
7) Cleveland (12) - They started slowly while everyone was getting used to one another, but they've ripped off a tidy four-game winning streak to get back on track.
8) Milwaukee (23) - The Bucks are the league's second-highest scoring team with 104 points a night and started 5-0 against the Over. The Magloire-Bogut duo has been outstanding in the post, but they have to be gentle with T.J. Ford (38 minutes a game).
9) Phoenix (10) - The Suns are receiving about 51 points per game from their bench, including 15.3 from Leandro Barbosa. The result is the league's highest scoring team at 108.2 ppg. Steve Nash and Shawn Marion are a combined 6-for-31 from deep.
10) Philadelphia (16) - The most encouraging sign here is that C-Webb has looked rather spry. He's averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds to compliment A.I. They started 6-2 on the Over partly because they're allowing opponents to shoot about 48 percent.
11) L.A. Clippers (26) - Who knew? Corey Maggette bristled when asked if he was comfortable as the sixth man. He's coming back from an injury, and said "I ain't no sixth man" when asked about getting worked into the lineup. Way to be a team player buddy.
12) Memphis (11) - Pau is rocking the mountain man look, and Memphis has a solid 3-1 record SU and ATS at home.
13) Golden State (21) - Nice start for the Warriors, who've gone 5-3 ATS. They're fourth in the NBA in field goal defense (including No. 2 against the 3), which has led to them being 2-6 vs. the Over.
14) Houston (2) - Yeah, without T-Mac these guys are slow. R-E-A-L-L-Y S-L-O-W. Rafer Alston's assist-to-turnover ratio is at 4-to-1, but the Rockets have only three guys averaging more than nine points a night.
15) Denver (7) - Starting 0-4 on the road is not the mark of a legit contender. Marcus Camby is playing outstanding (15 and 10). The outlook on Kenyon Martin is that he should be back around the second week of January.
16) Chicago (14) - The big rumor surrounding the Bulls regards whether or not they're going to trade Tim Thomas. I don't think they will any time soon, since his value is too low to get the big man that they need.
17) New Jersey (9) - These guys are finding a lot of highlight reels, but not many wins. They've started the season 5-2-1 vs. the Over, despite being 8th in the league in field goal defense. The reason: they're allowing opponents to hit on 41 percent of threes.
18) Utah (18) - The Jazz began the season 5-2 ATS, but then dropped two straight. I had them ranked higher until that absolutely disgusting 73-62 loss to the Knicks.
19) Minnesota (25) - 3-1 at home, 0-3 on the road. They have no set rotation and are all over the place.
20) L.A. Lakers (19) - It was announced last week that Kobe is back as an endorser with Nike. They deserve one another - an accused rapist and an accused human rights violator teaming up is PR gold.
21) Boston (24) - Paul Pierce is healthy and again looks like one of the elite players. However, it's kind of a bad idea to start popping off about how Detroit defenders are "overrated".
22) Portland (22) - Does it get any better than the Jail Blazers? Everyone on their team is the subject of trade rumors, and the result is a 2-3 start.
23) Sacramento (8) - I think their slow start is due in part to the Bad Karma that came with that stunt they pulled when Detroit visited. While I thought it was hilarious, if you're going to insult a team's home city you better be able to match their intensity.
24) New York (17) - The honeymoon is over (did it ever really begin?) between Stephon Marbury and Larry Brown. The trouble is, the Knicks are stuck with Marbury because every GM in the league is hip to the fact that he's a loser.
25) Orlando (20) - The Magic appear to be on the short list of teams that may soon feature Latrell Sprewell. I'm not sure if the move is a good fit, but it can't hurt a squad averaging 84 points per game.
26) New Orleans/OKC (29) - The Hornets started out 4-2 ATS. Chris Paul has looked comfortable, but it's never a good sign when Speedy Claxton is your team's leading scorer.
27) Charlotte (30) - Hey, they're playing better than the SuperSonics.
28) Seattle (15) - They're giving up almost 110 points per game, and only scoring about 90. They're just getting demolished. They're weak on the inside, and they don't have the speed on the perimeter they had last year.
29) Toronto (27) - They didn't just lose their first seven games SU, but were also 0-7 ATS entering Wednesday's action.
30) Atlanta (28) - I like the dedication and commitment of this organization. They didn't reach the 70-loss plateau last season, but they've come back more focused than ever to reach the mark this year.

Questions or comments for Robert? E-mail robert@docsports.com

The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of Doc's NBA picks service.

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