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Power Rankings: December 9, 2009

by Matthew Brennan, D-League.com

December 9, 2009: Here are the second Power Rankings of the 2009-10 NBA D-League season. It's only natural that the Iowa Energy are in first as the only undefeated team left in the league. Behind the Energy, there is a logjam of teams with only one loss including Rio Grande Valley, Idaho, and Maine. At the bottom of the rankings, Bakersfield and Springfield are still looking to earn their first victories of the young season.


 TEAM (last week's ranking) REC. BREAKDOWN
1 Iowa (2) 4-0 The Energy have cruised to victory in all four of their games so far, although their opponents in those games are a combined 1-3 against other teams. The team has gained some NBA-experienced reinforcements in Suns assigned player Taylor Griffin and former Bobcat Cartier Martin, who was one of the NBA D-League's top guards last season. They will be in the lineup when Dakota visits for two games this weekend.
2 Rio Grande Valley (9) 4-1 The Vipers have ripped off four straight wins with three of the victories coming on the road. The schedule will balance itself out with five of the next seven at Dodge Arena. Rio Grande Valley currently has a player in the top three in scoring (Mike Harris, 2nd) and rebounding (Joey Dorsey, 3rd). Harris is posting 25.4 points while Dorsey has pulled down 12.8 boards.
3 Utah (3) 5-1 The Flash have won four straight, although only one of their wins is against a team with a winning record. Utah should get a big test on Monday when the Idaho Stampede visit. The Flash is holding teams to 91.7 points per game, which is second in the NBA D-League behind only the Iowa Energy.
4 Idaho (1) 3-1 The Stampede are a three-point loss to Dakota away from being undefeated, and will finally hit the road for five straight games in Los Angeles, Utah, and Bakersfield. Sundiata Gaines is making his case for the best guard in the league, leading all players with 27.0 points and ranking second with 8.3 assists.
5 Maine (8) 3-1 The Red Claws rolled over Springfield last weekend and lead the league with a total of seven players with NBA experience currently on the roster. Two of those players, new acquisitions Mario West and Trey Gilder, are both shooting over 60 percent so far for Maine. The team will play back-to-back this weekend, traveling to Erie before returning to host Tulsa on Sunday.
6 Los Angeles (5) 3-2 The D-Fenders bounced back from two home losses to win in Reno in a double-overtime thriller on Saturday night. Now they will not play another game on the road until the NBA D-League Showcase on January 3. Former Celtic Gabe Pruitt has gotten off to a slow start with only 9.5 points on 30 percent shooting in his first two games, but should round into form after missing a lot of team due to injury.
7 Albuquerque (10) 2-2 The Thunderbirds' two losses have come by a combined five points. The team takes their first road trip this season when they visit Austin tonight followed by two games in Rio Grande Valley. The T-Birds are 17-33 on the road over the last two years, a mark they will need to improve in order to challenge for a playoff spot for the first time since 2006-07.
8 Sioux Falls (7) 2-2 The Skyforce could have been higher in the rankings but spotted a 16-point halftime lead to Erie on Sunday, and fell despite pushing the game to overtime. They will look to bounce back with a trip to Fort Wayne this weekend. Despite the Mad Ants finishing way below .500 in their first two seasons, Sioux Falls is only 9-8 against Fort Wayne all-time. Forward Reggie Williams had an outstanding weekend with 34.0 ppg and looks like he will be one of the league's top scorers this season.
9 Erie (11) 2-2 The usually stingy BayHawks gave up over 100 points twice in Sioux Falls last weekend, but managed to leave with a split of the series. They will be challenged at home this week with a talented Maine team visiting three straight times. Erie could use some more production from forward Ivan Harris, whose scoring has dropped from 15.7 ppg in 2008-09 to only 7.5 ppg on .341 shooting so far. If Harris gets going than the BayHawks should be a strong contender in the East Conference.
10 Dakota (6) 2-3 The Wizards pulled off a rare occurrence for any NBA D-League team by pulling out a victory in Idaho, but have gone on to drop the next two in their western road trip. The travels won't get easier this weekend with two games against undefeated Iowa in Des Moines.
11 Austin (4) 2-3 The Toros have a lot of talent, but have been one of the most disappointing teams by already losing three games at home after losing only eight games in Austin last season. After home games against Albuquerque and Bakersfield this week, the Toros will not play again in Austin until January 19. Malik Hairston averaged 25.0 points per game last weekend on assignment, but has returned to the Spurs. He can be assigned two more times this season.
12 Tulsa (13) 2-3 The 66ers have lost two straight and three of their last four, and have now lost forward Keith Clark for while with an injury. Center Steven Hill is back and will join the team as they head east to take on Springfield and Maine.
13 Fort Wayne (12) 1-3 The Mad Ants were swept by Iowa over the weekend and are still struggling to hit the net with a .389 field-goal percentage. They will need to score more effectively with the high-scoring Sioux Falls Skyforce coming to town for two games this weekend. Forward Rob Kurz is developing into one of the league's top rebounders with 12.5 boards per game.
14 Reno (15) 1-3 The Bighorns split a pair of games with Los Angeles and have dropped three of their first four to start the season. They will look to get on to the winning track with a trip to Utah followed by two home games at Bakersfield. Coach Jay Humphries will be looking to tighten up Reno's defense, which is giving up a league-worst 114.0 points per game.
15 Bakersfield (14) 0-4 The Jam have played well at points but are still looking for their first win of the season. They will play 9 of their remaining 11 games in the month of December on the road, which could make or break their hopes of challenging for a playoff spot early on. With high-profile preseason acquisitions Amara Sy and Robert Swift not on the current roster, guard Jared Newson has stepped up with a team-high 20.3 points per game.
16 Springfield (16) 0-4 The Armor have been outscored by an average of 23.5 points per game and are scoring a league-worst 81.3 points per game. They will look for their first win in team history with two home games against Tulsa this week.