The Magic have beaten the San Antonio Spurs and the Lakers twice this season and are on a seven game winning streak and that is why they find themselves at the top of the ranking. The Bobcats traded Matt Carroll and Ryan Hollins this week to the Dallas Mavericks for Desagna Diop, Diop should provide more defense on the front line. What do Toronto, Detroit and Memphis have in common they all are on a five game losing streak.
Today is Martin Luther King day take a moment today and reflect on the sacrifices that Martin Luther King made for all of us,
"Thank God almighty we are free at last" - Martin Luther King
(3)1. Orlando (33-8)
The Magic defeated the Lakers on Friday and in the process swept the season series, the Magic have three days off before they play Celtics on Thursday.
(1)2. Cleveland (31-7)
The Cavs continue to be perfect at home, currently standing at 20-0, they are on a four game road trip starting today with a showdown against the Lakers then they play the Blazers, Warriors and Jazz.
(4)3. Boston (33-9)
The Celtics played two home and home games this week against the Raptors and Nets and won all four games, they have a huge game on Thursday versus the Magic who are very hot right now.
(2)4. LA Lakers (31-8)
Despit 57 points 20 rebounds and 21 assists from Kobe Bryant the Lakers managed to lose against the Spurs and Magic this week.
(6)5. San Antonio (26-13)
The Spurs followed up their tremendous win over the Los Angeles Lakers with a 22 point loss at Philadelphia but won at Chicago. The Spurs play at Los Angeles this Sunday.
(5)6. New Orleans (24-13)
Although it shocks me that Peja Stojakovic is only able to muster up 12.9ppg per game, the small forward stats have gone down in each of the last three season. Peja is shooting only .395 from the
field this season the lowest since his rookie year.
(8)7. Denver (27-14)
The Nuggets 18 point loss on Saturday106 to 88, to the Orlando Magic was the biggest margin of defeat for the Nuggets this season.
(9)8. Houston (25-16)
Yao Ming was a perfect 12-12 from the field in Houston's 86 to 93 victory over the Miami Heat Saturday, Ming set a team record by going perfect from the field.
(13)9. Portland (24-16)
I hate to say it but I don't think Greg Oden deserves to play in the rookie game,his 7.9ppg and 6.8rpg isn't enough.
(11)10. Phoenix (23-15)
The Suns are 2-5 when the Shaquille O'Neal doesn't play, they have been sitting the Diesel a game during back to backs. But who decided that Shaq
should not play against Denver and play against Minnesota, the Suns lost both games. Shaq played against Toronto
on Sunday in a win it will be shocking if Shaq doesn't play TODAY versus the Celtics.
(14)11. Utah (24-17)
The Jazz are holding up without forward Carlos Boozer but a deep post season is not realistic for this club.
(10)12. Atlanta (23-16)
The Hawks went 1-2 in their three game western conference road trip losing to Suns and Warriors and getting a win against the Clippers in between the Hawks play the Raptors at home today.
(12)13. Dallas (23-17)
The Mavs ended a four game losing streak with a win over the Utah Jazz, the Mavs play their next six out of seven games on the road.
(7)14. Detroit (22-17)
Detroit's starting lineup of Rodney Stuckey, Allen Iverson, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace is just ridiculous, they are 0-4 since Rip returned to the lineup, it will be interesting to see how long this experiment continues.
(18)15. Philadelphia (20-20)
The 76ers are on a roll going 7-2 in the new year and 9-6 without Elton Brand, who may make his return today against the Mavericks.
(15)16. Miami (22-19)
Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for the Raptors Jermaine O'Neal is the current deal the Miami Heat are weighing.
(16)17. Milwaukee (20-23)
Micheal Redd has really turned it on 2009 averaging 26.9ppg, the Bucks have gone 5-5 during this stretch.
(17)18. New Jersey (19-22)
The Nets have lost their last three games, twice to Boston and the Blazers. The Nets schedule doesn't get any easier as they embark on a four game road trip that finds them playing games against Hornets, Spurs, Grizzlies and Thunder.
(21)19. Charlotte (16-24)
Since the Bobcats have added Raja Bell and Boris Diaw they are 9-8, with the Cats adding another veteran in Diop look for them to make a run at the eighth seed.
(22)20. Indiana (15-25)
The Pacers won back to back games this past week with wins over the Pistons and Raptors, the back to back wins mark only the fourth time this season the Pacers have won back to back games.
(24)21. Minnesota (12-26)
The Wolves got back to winning, after losing a heart breaker in Miami 96 to 99, the Wolves won 105 to 103 at Phoenix on Friday. The Wolves have won six out of their last seven.
(19)22. Chicago (18-23)
Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich both returned to the Bulls lineup this week averaging 16ppg and 12ppg, respectively. The Bulls went 2-2 last week winning against Raptors and Cavs and losing to the Blazers and the Spurs.
(20)23. Toronto (16-26)
The only person who is happy during Toronto's five game slide is Andrea Bargnanni who has averaged 21.2ppg and 7.0rpg during the losing streak.
(23)24. New York (15-24)
One bright spot for the Knicks this season is the play of Chris Duhon who has lead the Knicks in assists 33 times and tied twice this season.
(26)25. Golden State (12-29)
The Warriors have won two out of three games and Jamal Crawford has been on fire scoring 32 points a game in those contests.
(28)26. Oklahoma City (8-34)
The Thunder have been competitve lately going 5-5 in their last ten, they are on the road this week with games at the Warriors and Clippers.
(27)27. Washington (8-31)
The Wizards broke their six game losing streak with a 89 to 96 victory over the Knicks Friday night, there is still no timetable on Gilbert Arenas return.
(29)28. Sacramento (10-31)
John Salmons is having his best season as a pro averaging 18.9ppg and starting in 40 out 41 of the Kings games.
(25)29. Memphis (11-28)
In Memphis's 101 to 91 loss at home OJ Mayo scored 23 points the rest of the Grizzlies starters only scored 21.
(30)30. LA Clippers (9-30)
The Clippers broke their 12 game losing streak with a 92 to 102 win against the Bucks on Saturday, Baron Davis has missed the last eight games with a bruised tailbone.
| Name | Comment |
| Stu Parker | wow. after reading this blog....You are spot on. I do not deny Kevin Garnett's ability as a player but HATE the BS stuff he does...All negative crap. |
| | This is a very unfair article. Garnett is an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member and an NBA Champion... you know how many current players can say that? 2 others (Shaq & Kobe) and they are all considered among the best players at their respected positions in the HISTORY of basketball. The same should be said for K.G. |
| | This is a very unfair article. Garnett is an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member and an NBA Champion... you know how many current players can say that? 2 others (Shaq & Kobe) and they are all considered among the best players at their respected positions in the HISTORY of basketball. The same should be said for K.G. |
| Ra | This is blasphemy. I hope a Celtics fan did not write this article. |
| KWAPT | How old is that clip of KG? C'mon..of course that was a punk move, but what was that, 10 years ago? It's simple: KG is a fierce competitor who uses intimiadation and mental toughness to strike fear in the heart of his opponents. If he is on your team, you LOVE him. If he is not, you may loathe him. But either way, he is a great player. You cannot deny that. |
| Alex | Wow, now we are going to call an Olympic Gold Medalist, an MVP, an ALL STAR MVP, an ALL NBA member, an NBA Champion, a player that has more 20-10-5 seasons than Larry Bird, Defender of the Year (2008 and most likely, this year) overrated? Hmm, right now I'm kind of smelling a bit of jealousy mixed with stupidity in this article. |
| Tweedster | This blog is poorly written, scattered and incoherent. Thankfully, someone else already tackled the inconsistencies and leaps of logic. Check it out hear:
http://celticshub.com/2009/10/22/did-you-hear-kg-is-overrated/ |
| Tweedster | Some actual statistics, and not just conjecture and strange conclusions based on the number of 'chips KG has.
http://www.celticstown.com/is-kevin-garnett-clutch.html |
| SP | ron campbell must love the Lakers. Or the Cav's. Or the Magic. but he doesn't know @$@@ about basketball! |
| Ed The Sports Fan | I'm sorry, there's no way in life Allen Iverson isn't in the starting 5, especially ahead of Nash. Give a damn about MVP's, Iverson's done more with much much MUCH less and totally revolutionized the game. Other than that, I think your decade team is cool.
-Ed. |