Our first NBA power ranking of the new season…

30. Los Angeles Clippers (0-3) — Baron is already on his second injury of the season, and we’re still waiting for Marcus Camby to suit up. Blowing an 18-point halftime lead at home to a ‘Melo-less Nuggets squad was just embarrassing.

29. Sacramento Kings (0-3) — There are a couple of bright spots, namely the early production of Jason Thompson (13.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Kevin Martin seemingly getting back on track. But the rest is bad.

28. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-2) — At least that court is distracting from how bad they are. Has anyone seen Sebastian Telfair lately? Is he still in the League?

27. Oklahoma City Thunder (1-2) — Worst-case scenario, Russell Westbrook is another Nate Robinson, a sparkplug off the bench who will be a highlight-reel regular. Best-case scenario, he’ll take Earl Watson’s starting job by Christmas.

26. Charlotte Bobcats (1-1) — Say what you want about Sean May, but he can set a solid screen. Larry Brown has put every Sonic drive-in joint in the greater Charlotte area on a “Do not serve this man” notice.

25. Washington Wizards (0-2) — For the second year in a row, Nick Young gets his big chance with Gilbert Arenas on the sidelines. So far he’s come through; Young dropped 23 points in a loss to the Pistons, going 11-for-11 from the line.

24. Memphis Grizzlies (1-2) — Better than we thought going into the season. Rudy Gay is embracing this team as his own, and the rookies Mayo and Arthur have shown a lot of potential. And is it us or is Kyle Lowry just flat-out better than Mike Conley?

23. Denver Nuggets (1-2) — The biggest winner in the Billups/Iverson trade? Carmelo Anthony. He could lead the League in scoring now, and he’s got a point guard who doesn’t even remember the sting of a first-round playoff exit.

22. Miami Heat (1-2) — After an up-and-down initiation against three Lottery teams (New York, Sacramento, Charlotte), the schedule gets a lot tougher, with games against Philly, at San Antonio and at New Orleans this week. Mario Chalmers has been solid (8.7 ppg, 6 apg, 2 spg), but the Heat could still be in the market for Stephon Marbury when he becomes available.

21. New York Knicks (1-2) — Jamal Crawford is progressing the wrong way: 29 points in the opener against Miami, 14 against Philly, then one point against Milwaukee. In the meantime, the Marbury drama will continue to dominate the headlines until an actual move is made.

20. Milwaukee Bucks (2-2) — The injuries have already started; Luke Ridnour’s back and Michael Redd’s ankle have put the starting backcourt on the shelf.

19. Chicago Bulls (2-1) — Three games in, what do we actually know about the Bulls? The two wins were at home against Milwaukee and Memphis, while the lone road game was a predictable blowout loss in Boston.

18. New Jersey Nets (1-1) — Brook Lopez is off to a decent start, averaging 9 points, 8 boards and 2 blocks. If he improves that 46% shooting number from the field, he can take Josh Boone’s spot in the starting five.

17. Philadelphia 76ers (1-2) — The early returns say Elton Brand (18.3 ppg, 14.3 rpg) has been giving the Sixers what they paid for. Andre Iguodala? Not so much. He’s shooting 37% from the field and just 16% from deep.

16. Orlando Magic (1-2) — Dwight Howard might be even better than last year’s version, but his teammates are struggling out of the gate in terms of moving the ball around and valuing possessions.

15. Golden State Warriors (1-2) — Stephen Jackson looks like an All-Star (22.7 ppg, 5 rpg, 6 apg) and someone who deserves a big payday. He’s playing almost 48 minutes a night, running the point, guarding power forwards … and he’s on pace to lead the League in both turnovers and three-pointers.

14. Indiana Pacers (1-1) — Another better-than-expected team, the Pacers could be a playoff contender if they have more nights like Saturday’s upset win over Boston. And consider they’re playing without Mike Dunleavy Jr., arguably their second-best offensive player. Danny Granger is about to blow up.

13. San Antonio Spurs (0-2) — Duncan and Parker are doing it all while they wait for Roger Mason/Mike Finley to step up or for Manu to come back; whichever comes first. But they can’t wait forever.

12. Portland Trail Blazers (1-2) — LaMarcus Aldridge had no problem (re)stepping into the role of go-to interior presence. He put up 23 points against the Spurs and 16 against Phoenix. And Nic Batum? Who knew?

11. Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2) — LeBron has yet to turn in that single offensive explosion (19.7 ppg), and tonight the Cavs are in Dallas, where last time out ‘Bron scored all of 10 points.

10. Dallas Mavericks (1-1) — As long as they come with W’s attached, the Mavs don’t mind if Dirk has a season full of “quiet” 36-point nights.

9. Utah Jazz (2-0) — The Kirilenko-off-the-bench experiment is working as Carlos Boozer (25 ppg, 12 rpg) carries the load in Deron Williams’ absence.

8. Atlanta Hawks (2-0) — Guess who’s leading the NBA in scoring? Joe Johnson, at 30 points per. And guess who’s putting in an early case for DPOY? Josh Smith, who’s swatting 3.5 shots, collecting 3.5 steals and pulling down 10.5 rebounds per.

7. Detroit Pistons (2-0) — Following tonight’s game against the Bobcats, the chemistry project that is the Allen Iverson acquisition begins this Wednesday at Toronto.

6. Phoenix Suns (2-1) — Leandro Barbosa has scored all of three points in the Suns’ last two games on 1-for-9 shooting. Is Matt Barnes taking his shots? Either way, with Amare connecting on 64% of his attempts and Shaq checking in at 63%, the Suns would be smart to keep feeding the post.

5. Toronto Raptors (3-0) — Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon are killing, Jermaine O’Neal has been solid, but some kind of consistency from Andrea Bargnani would really put the Raps over the top. And they’ve gotta do something about the (lack of) rebounding.

4. Boston Celtics (2-1) — Before the Pacers game, we didn’t get any sense of a championship hangover from Boston. We’ll see how they respond in Houston tomorrow. And at what point will each Celtics’ loss not involve wishful reminiscing on James Posey from the media? Only Tony Allen can determine that.

3. Houston Rockets (3-0) — And this is with T-Mac playing at like 75% Normal T-Mac. And if Ron Artest keeps sticking threes at a 46% clip, the Rockets are extremely dangerous. Two quality teams are up on the schedule this week, the Celtics and Blazers.

2. New Orleans Hornets (3-0) — With Posey, Peja, Mo Pete and even Rasual Butler on the outside, David West from mid-range, Chris Paul (21.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 12 apg, 2.3 spg) in the lane and Chandler at/above the rim, the Hornets can easily lead the League in scoring. They’re currently second, registering 106 points a night.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (3-0) — Andrew Bynum hasn’t been the beast everyone expected him to be (8 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 2.3 bpg), but give him time to find his rhythm and learn to play alongside Pau Gasol. Kobe is just cruising right now (24 ppg), picking his spots and “facilitating” as he likes to say.