TheHoopsForum Power Ranking
By Ron Campbell
1/26/2009
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The Lakers are dangerous right now, Andrew Bynum seems to finally be returning to his old self, he scored a career high 42 points versus the Clippers last week. What makes the Lakers so good is their bench, when you take a look at their bench they are really 5 other guys who are qualified to be starters, Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Trevor Ariza, Vladimir Radmonovic and Lamar Odom could all start for other teams. What
also makes the Lakers special? Well its Kobe Bryant and his commitment to get his teammates involved, Bryant is averaging 7.4apg in January. The Celtics have won eight in a row and seem to be out of their funk. Eric Gordon is averaging 22.4ppg in January which proves that every dark cloud has a silver lining.
(4)1. LA Lakers (35-8)
Kobe Bryant didn't lead the Lakers in scoring three times last week and the Lakers won all three, this in large part is due to Andrew Bynum who is averaging 21.6ppg and 9.8rpg in the last five games.
(3)2. Boston (37-9)
Eddie House shot the lights out this past week in wins over the Heat and the Mavercks, House hit seven 3-pointers in both contests, House shot 14-27 from behind the line this past week.
(2)3. Cleveland (34-8)
The Cavs went 3-1 on their four game road trip, the trip began with a loss to the Lakers 88 to 105 but the Cavs were able to win the next three against the Blazers, Warriors and Jazz. The Cavs return home, where they are 20-0, to play the Kings Tuesday night.
(1)4. Orlando (33-10)
The Magic's seven game winning streak came to a screeching halt when Boston came to town and laid the smack down on the Magic 90-80, the Magic followed up that loss with another loss on Saturday at Miami. Jameer Nelson shot 10-27 from the field in both losses.
(7)5. Denver (29-15)
Carmelo Anthony has missed the last seven games with a broken hand, the Nuggets have gone 4-3 without Anthony but Melo could be back a friday versus the Bobcats.
(5)6. San Antonio (29-14)
The Spurs had an opportunity to establish themselves as a contender on Sunday with a
win against the Lakers, but the game wasn't as close as the score would indicate as the Lakers won easily 85 to 99.
(6)7. New Orleans (26-14)
Tyson Chandler's dismal season got worse as he sprained his left ankle Wednesday in a win over the New Jersey Nets, Chandler could miss up to three weeks, David West has missed the last three games with back spasms.
(8)8. Houston (28-17)
Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest both returned to action on Sunday as the Rockets got past the Pistons, Yao Ming did not play as he bruised his right knee friday against the Pacers.
(9)10. Portland (26-17)
Brandon Roy's shooting woes continue as the star guard shot 19-54 last week as the Blazers went 2-1.
(12)9. Atlanta (26-17)
The Hawks went 3-1 last week and are playing rather well while Al Horford, Acie Law and Marvin Williams continue to be out nursing injuries.
(10)11. Phoenix (24-18)
The Suns went 1-3 in their four game road trip with their only win coming against the Raptors, in a loss to Boston last week Amare Stoudemire, who wants to be the center of the Suns offense, exploded for 3 points and ripped down 1 rebound in 30 minutes.
(11)12. Utah (25-20)
The Jazz have lost three games in a row and Deron Williams is averaging 20.1ppg and 10.9apg in January, despite Williams terrific play injuries have hampered him this season and I don't think he is deserving of an all-star spot.
(13)14. Dallas (25-19)
Mark Cuban has got to be contemplating a major revamp of the Mavericks who did not even compete Sunday versus the Celtics as they lost 100 to 124, Mavs also lost this past week 99 to 133 at Milwaukee in an even more pathetic outing.
(14)13. Detroit (24-19)
The good news for Allen Iverson is that he was selected to start for the east all-stars the bad news is that he has see no action in th fourth quarter of the Pistons last two games which they lost, conincidence I think not.
(16)15. Miami (23-19)
Miami was able to hand their fellow Floridians their second straight loss with a 103-97 victory. The Heat had
not beaten the Magic in their previous 10 meetings.
(15)16. Philadelphia (21-21)
Elton Brand returned to action on Saturday, Brand scored six points in 13 minutes of action. The 76ers went 10-7 without Brand.
(17)17. Milwaukee (22-25)
The Bucks promising season took a turn for the worse as Micheal Redd tore ligaments in his left knee Saturday versus the Kings and will miss the remainder of the season.
(21)18. Minnesota (15-27)
I must tip my hat to Kevin McHale who has the Timberwolves playing great basketball, who knew coaching was McHale's true forte, the Wolves are 9-2 in January and 11-4 after losing 12 straight.
(18)19. New Jersey (20-24)
The Nets continue to struggle at home, they are 9-14 in Jersey and 11-10 everywhere else.
(19)20. Charlotte (18-26)
If only the Bobcats could play more western conference foes, where they currently stand
at 10-6 versus the West.
(20)21. Indiana (17-27)
Mike Dunleavy is averaging 15.2ppg and the since he has returned the Pacers have gone 5-5.
(22)22. Chicago (18-27)
John Paxson has admitted that he has not put together a good team, a few years ago when the Bulls had an opportunity to snag Kobe, Paxson refused to include Luol Deng in the deal and how could we forget the LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas draft night deal.
(24)23. New York (18-25)
Danilo Galinari continues to deal with a bulging disc in his back, the disc kept him out of training camp and now Knick doctors say he can't play in back to back games.
(23)24. Toronto (18-28)
Jose Calderon returned to the lineup on Friday night and helped in ending the Raps seven game losing streak, the Raptors followed up the win at Chicago with a win Sunday versus the Kings.
(25)25. Golden State (14-31)
Monta Ellis returned to action Friday night after missing the Warriors first 43 games, he scored 20 points in a loss to the Cavs, but followed that up with 10 points in a win against the Clippers.
(26)26. Oklahoma City (9-35)
Russell Westbrook is a very promising young player he is averaging 14.9ppg 4.3rpg and 4.9apg, he has also topped the 30 point mark three times this season.
(27)27. Washington (9-34)
The Wizards went 1-3 in their four game road trip last week losing to the Warriors, Lakers and Blazers with their only win coming against the Kings.
(30)28. LA Clippers (10-33)
Baron Davis, Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman and Mike Taylor are all out but their is a bright side DeAndre Jordan had two career highs this past week, 23 points against the Lakers and 20 rebounds versus the Warriors. Eric Gordon.........Eric Gordon scored 41 points to lead the Clippers past Oklahoma City 107 to 92.
(28)29. Sacramento (10-35)
The Kings are 0-18 versus the eastern conference, wow.
(29)30. Memphis (11-32)
Last Thursday Marc Iavoroni was fired as the Grizzlies head coach,the Grizzlies have lost nine games in a row and are 3-17 in their last 20 games.
| 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. |
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