MVN: Most Valuable Network

A week ago I tabbed the San Antonio Spurs as the team on the rise after Tony Parker led them to their first win of the season. Then Parker went down with a badly sprained ankle, sidelining him for about a month, and the Spurs have since managed only one win. This only proves that things can change in an instant in the NBA. Here's my risers and fallers for this week...

Rising:

Indiana Pacers - Indiana's schedule to begin the season was about as tough as it gets: games at Cleveland and at Detroit, and two home meetings with the Celtics and Suns. But after starting out 1-3, the Pacers have won their last three after notching a couple wins over the Nets and one against the lowly Thunder. T.J. Ford has carried much of the load during this latest win streak, getting within a few rebounds or assists shy of a triple-double in the last two games. Even more impressive is the fact that Indiana was missing three starters in last night's win (Danny Granger, Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy, who has yet to play this season). Ford has looked about as good as anyone in the league so far in this young season, and if he continues to play at a high level once the rest of the team gets healthy, the Pacers could be a force to be reckoned with.

Tracy McGrady - If you've been following the Rockets, you would know that T-Mac hasn't looked very McGrady-like so far this season. Before last night's win in Phoenix, McGrady had shot 50 percent from the field in only one game. Even worse, in his previous two games he had shot a combined 1-for-16 for only five points. But last night he finally broke out of that slump, scoring 27 points off 11-for-18 shooting, including a dazzling 15 in the decisive third quarter when Houston put the game out of the Suns' reach. It's too bad that McGrady's performance was overshadowed by a late scuffle that led to a pair of ejections. When he's on his game, he is one of the most exciting players to watch, and we were reminded of that last night.

Beno Udrih - The Kings have been without their leading scorer and best player, Kevin Martin, for the last couple of games, but thanks to the play of Udrih, Sacramento has managed to stay afloat. On the road against the Clippers, Udrih scored a career high 30 points, while adding five rebounds and seven assists to power the Kings to their first road win of the season. Sacramento has now won four of its last five games, and Udrih's play with Martin sidelined has a lot to do with it. He has averaged 24 points and shot 21-for-34 in his last two games.

Others - Los Angeles Lakers (7-0, win over the Hornets), Boston Celtics/Paul Pierce (6-1, game-winning buzzer-beater to hand Atlanta its first loss), and Washington Wizards (notched first win of the season over the Jazz).

Falling:

Toronto Raptors - Despite getting another MVP-caliber game from Chris Bosh, the Raptors lost for the fourth time in five games last night after starting the season 3-0. Even worse, point guard Jose Calderon pulled his hamstring and might miss a game or two. Granted, their loss came against the 76ers, who played by far their best game of the season and snapped a three-game losing skid. Even so, I expected the Raptors to be one of the better defensive teams in the league with the addition of Jermaine O'Neal, but in this game they sure didn't look the part. Luckily they have three days off the regroup before their next game against Miami.

Andrei Kirilenko - With his move to the bench as the Jazz's new sixth man, AK-47 had been playing excellent, scoring in double figures in every game and shooting above 50 percent in six of his first eight games. But last night he managed only three points off 1-for-7 shooting in 24 minutes before leaving the game early with a sprained finger. He's currently listed as day-to-day, but this is definitely not good news for the Jazz, who lost to the lowly Wizards last night.

Spurs point guards -  With Tony Parker sidelined, the Spurs had no choice but to go with George Hill, the 22-year old second-year player, as their starting point guard. He received some help from backup PG Jacque Vaughn and starting SG Roger Mason running the team, but these guys haven't stepped up.  Mason was expected to help Tim Duncan carry some of the offensive load, but he hasn't lived up it, while Hill and Vaughn have looked just plain "blah" running the point. Meanwhile, the Spurs dropped to 2-5 and are searching for answers.

Others - Memphis Grizzlies (allowed 132 points to Knicks), Oklahoma City/L.A. Clippers (both a league-worst 1-7), Amare Stoudemire (5-13 shooting, only 11 points and five turnovers in loss to Rockets)