Joe Johnson (photo. Zach Wolfe)

Our weekly NBA power ranking, from worst to first…

30. Washington Wizards (0-5) — If it isn’t here already, “now-or-never” time is coming up any day now for Andray Blatche. He’s posted 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per in Washington’s winless start, and hasn’t scored in double figures since the season opener. Time to decide, ‘Dray: are you gonna be the next Rasheed Wallace or the next Maceo Baston?

29. Los Angeles Clippers (1-6) — Baron Davis’ slow start (15.5 ppg) is a simple case of him not making shots. From anywhere. Boom Dizzle is hitting just 39% from the field, 28% from three, and 62% from the line.

28. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-5) — A few shots here and there in losses to the Blazers, Thunder and Spurs, and the Wolves could be 4-2. Kevin Love is about where we thought he’d be early in the season, averaging 10.2 points and 6.7 boards, while pulling down more offensive rebounds (3.5) than defensive (3.2).

27. Oklahoma City Thunder (1-5) — Utah Jazz TV analyst Thurl Bailey put it best at halftime of Friday’s Jazz/Thunder beatdown: “They’re … they’re bad.”

26. Charlotte Bobcats (2-4) — If in fact a Gerald Wallace trade is on the horizon, the ‘Cats need to go ahead and pull the trigger. If not, someone needs to reassure Wallace that he’s not going anywhere, because lately he’s playing like somebody who’s mentally checked out.

25. Golden State Warriors (2-5) — Andris Biedrins is the new Marcus Camby. He’s putting up All-Star caliber numbers (17.3 ppg, 14.1 rpg, 1.7 bpg) as the only guy who wants to rebound and defend on a poor rebounding and defensive team.

24. Memphis Grizzlies (3-4) — O.J. Mayo is official. Maybe he’ll never be a PG, but the kid gets buckets, lighting up the Kings for 28 points last Wednesday and giving the Nuggets 31 on Sunday.

23. Sacramento Kings (3-4) — A favorable schedule (Grizzlies, Wolves, Warriors) allowed the Kings to find their rhythm offensively and rack up 112 points a night while winning three in a row. Kevin Martin has been going off in that stretch (28.6 ppg), but if Sacto is really committed to this rebuilding thing, Donte Greene (19 minutes all season) needs to play.

22. San Antonio Spurs (1-4) — Just when it looked like they’re back on track … Tony Parker’s ankle brings new life to the NBA Live cover curse theory.

21. Milwaukee Bucks (3-4) — (Not so) bold prediction: Charlie Villanueva will get traded before the calendar year is out.

20. New Jersey Nets (2-3) — (Not so) bold prediction II: Sean Williams publicly asks to be traded before November is out.

19. Philadelphia 76ers (2-4) — About the only non-disappointment has been Thaddeus Young, who’s led Philly in scoring each of its last four games.

18. Dallas Mavericks (2-4) — On “NBA Gametime” last week, Gary Payton said Jason Kidd needed to start hitting perimeter shots consistently, as if a 14-year vet is all of a sudden gonna start doing something that’s been his biggest flaw all this time. Then Kidd goes and drops six triples against the Nuggets, pushing his three-point percentage to a more-than-respectable 44% on the year.

17. Chicago Bulls (3-4) — While Ben Gordon is gunning to show he deserves Luol Deng money, dropping 20 points per game on 45% from three-point range, Luol Deng (13 ppg, 39% FG’s, 14 turnovers to seven assists, his soul in a box in LeBron’s locker) needs to step up and show he deserves Luol Deng money.

16. Miami Heat (3-3) — As good as Dwyane Wade has been so far (26.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 8.0 apg, 2.6 spg), did you know he’s still looking for his first three-point make? Wade is 0-for-9 beyond the arc through six games.

15. Denver Nuggets (3-3) — Going 2-0 with Chauncey Billups in the lineup, the Nuggets have a couple of tough tests coming up this week at Cleveland and at Boston.

14. New York Knicks (4-2) — After pulling Danilo Gallinari out of the rotation, Mike D’Antoni explained it by telling reporters, “I may have tried him out too early. He’s not physically ready. As soon as he gets ready physically, whether we win or lose, we’ll play him when he’s ready.” Does he mean health-wise, or is Gallo not ready in a Sean May-ish way?

13. Indiana Pacers (2-3) — The perfect fit for T.J. Ford: they like to run, their bigs need someone who can penetrate and draw the D to spoon-feed them easy shots, and especially when Danny Granger isn’t on the floor, T.J.’s “Every fourth possession I’m shooting no matter what” game works within the pace they’re trying to establish.

12. Orlando Magic (4-2) — Dwight Howard said he wanted to lead the NBA in blocks this year, and at 4.0 swats per game, he’s almost doubling his closest competitor’s numbers.

11. Portland Trail Blazers (3-3) — One week ago, would you have put Brandon Roy on a list of the 10 most clutch players in the NBA? Probably not. But after what we saw against the Rockets and Wolves over the last few days, B-Roy definitely belongs in the discussion.

10. Toronto Raptors (4-2) — Chris Bosh is putting in an early case for MVP, putting up 26.6 points and 11 boards per game.

9. Phoenix Suns (5-2) — In a four-day span, Shaq was a non-factor against Indiana, sat out against Chicago, then destroyed the Bucks for 29 points and 11 boards. That’s probably how it’s gonna be with him for the next two years.

8. Detroit Pistons (4-2) — The new-look Pistons have a great opportunity to build chemistry and bond during this week’s four-game West Coast road swing through Sacramento, Golden State, L.A. and Phoenix. Dinner is on Iverson.

7. Houston Rockets (4-3) — Aaron Brooks is this/close to taking Rafer Alston’s job; every time we look up he’s clearly outplaying Skip. From a pure speed standpoint, Marv Albert put Brooks in the same class as Leandro Barbosa during the Rockets/Blazers game.

6. Cleveland Cavaliers (5-2) — During their current four-game win streak, LeBron has averaged 34.5 points, 9.7 boards and 5.2 assists. The MVP race is on.

5. New Orleans Hornets (4-2) — With six straight games of at least 20 points and 10 assists, Chris Paul broke Oscar Robertson’s record, and there’s really no reason to think he can’t slap up a 20-10 every night this season.

4. Utah Jazz (5-1) — We figured they wouldn’t stay unbeaten for too long without Deron Williams, but losing to the Knicks was something we didn’t see coming. After last year’s playoff no-show and serving as Team USA’s Christian Laettner, Carlos Boozer (20.5 ppg, 11 rpg) is reminding everyone why he’s a beast.

3. Atlanta Hawks (5-0) — This won’t hold up for long, not with Josh Smith (ankle) out for the next couple of weeks. But we have to give Joe Johnson and Co. credit for what they’ve done up to this point.

2. Boston Celtics (6-1) — First in field-goal percentage defense, fewest field goals allowed, and it still feels like they’re just warming up.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (5-0) — Average margin of victory: 22.4 points per game. Things should get considerably tougher over the next couple weeks, especially for Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar, as the schedule has L.A. at Dallas (Jason Kidd), at New Orleans (Chris Paul), vs. Detroit (Allen Iverson), vs. Chicago (Derrick Rose), at Phoenix (Steve Nash) and vs. Denver (Chauncey Billups). Kobe’s also going to be tested over that stretch with the likes of Josh Howard, James Posey, Tayshaun Prince and Raja Bell in his grill.