TheHoopsForum Power Ranking
By Ron Campbell
2/9/2009
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One of my life dreams is to give an NBA player a new nickname that sticks and I think I have it after watching Ramon Sessions slice and dice his way to 44 points against the Knicks on Saturday. I have decided to officially call him Razor Ramon, Razor Ramon yeah I like that.
After careful review of the Clevevand vs. Knicks game, the League determined that one of Lebron's rebounds should have been given to Ben Wallace, too bad Lebron there is always next year.
I was beginning to take the Nuggets seriously but after being blown out by 44 on the road to the Nets who play poorly at home I am writing them off as West contenders. Lakers and Spurs are the only legitimate Western conference contenders.
(2)1. LA Lakers (41-9)
The Lakers are the clear cut number one team in the NBA, after putting an end to the
Celtics earlier 19 game winning streak the Lakers this week ended their current 12 game win streak and on Sunday the
Lakers ended the Cavs 23 home game winning streak ensuring home court advantage over both the Celtics and Cavs if the team’s records were to be tied at the end of the season. The Lakers also went 6-0 on their road trip.
(4)2. Cleveland (39-10)
Despite yesterday's loss Lebron James still has a better record head to head against
Kobe going 6-5, and the debate rages on who is better Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, I am sorry Bron Kobe gets my
vote.
(5)3. San Antonio (34-15)
Matt Bonner grew up in New Hampshire and Sunday when he returned to New England he had a number of family and friends attend the game, Bonner scored 23 points. Is there anything better than that?
(1)4. Boston (42-11)
As a long time fan of the Boston Celtics it pains me to say that this Celtics team is not good enough to win the Championship, the Celtics need another big man and a real back up point guard, Eddie House has been great but he is not a point guard.
(3)5. Orlando (38-12)
Jameer Nelson maybe out for the rest of the season and the Magic are now starting 34 year old Anthony Johnson in his place, the Magic are no longer serious championship contenders.
(7)6. New Orleans (30-18)
Bryon Scott teams always compete its no surprise they have won two in a row despite the absence of superstar point guard Chris Paul.
(6)7. Denver (34-17)
The Nuggets lost 70 to 114 in New Jersey and it was easily the worst game the Nuggets played all season. The Nuggets were inefficient in almost every statistical category, they shot 26-73 from the field 4-15 from three, 14-23 from the line, were outrebounded 30 to 54 and had more turnovers then assists 16 to 15.
(10)8. Dallas (30-20)
Jason Terry will be out for several weeks after he suffered a broken hand Saturday in a win over the Bulls, this is a big blow to the Mavs as they will missing Terry's scoring.
(9)9. Portland (31-19)
Greg Oden had a career high six blocks against guess who?? The Knicks. Oden is
improving if he remains healthy by year three he will be one of the top big man in the game.
(8)10. Houston (31-20)
Trouble could be on the horizon for the Houston Rockets as Ron Artest has become increasingly frustrated with Tracy McGrady.
(13)11. Phoenix (28-21)
It looks like the Suns will be making a major trade before the deadline in the bid to
cut payroll. Amare Stoudemire's name has been mentioned and I think he definitely needs to go, I was done with Amare after
his 3 points and 1 rebound game in Boston a few weeks ago.
(11)12. Atlanta (29-21)
Mike Bibby will probably miss a few games with a foot injury, that is bad news for the
Hawks who play the Wizards at home before embarking on a six game road trip.
(12)13. Utah (29-23)
When it is all said and done and all 82 games are over the Jazz maybe the western conference
team that gets left out of the playoffs.
(14)14. Miami (27-23)
With the entire world paying attention to Lebron and Kobe it is kind of safe to say
Dwayne Wade will not be a serious contender for MVP, but give Wade credit for leading this band of misfits to the
playoffs.
(16)15. Detroit (27-22)
Richard Hamilton had a terrific weekend scoring 38 points in an overtime win over the
Bucks, on Sunday Hamilton scored 27 but the Pistons still lost to the Suns and are now 1-8 on Sunday's.
(15)16. Philadelphia (25-24)
Elton Brand is out for the season which could end up being a blessing in disguise as
it will allow Mareese Speights, who has some game, more playing time to develop his game.
(22)17. New Jersey (24-28)
Last year my inner circle of basketball buddies slammed me when I endorsed Brook Lopez
but as it turns out, I was right. Lopez is averaging 12.1ppg and 8.1rpg and is getting better every game, if their was a
draft do over Lopez would easily go in the top three.
(17)18. Milwaukee (24-29)
Like Philadelphia I think the Michael Redd injury could turn out to be a blessing in
disguise Ramon Sessions is averaging 20.8ppg since Redd has been down.
(20)19. Chicago (22-29)
The Bulls went a very impressive 4-2 on their six game west coast road trip, they
return home this week to play the Pistons and the Heat.
(19)20. Indiana (20-32)
The problem with the Pacers is that they can't win close games the Pacers are 5-10 in
games decided by three points or less.
(21)21. New York (21-29)
Last week I said February wouldn't be kind to the Knicks and I was right, Kobe went
for 61 on Monday, Lebron nearly gets a triple double while scoring 52 points, Boston on Friday puts them away with no problem
I mean these Knick losses were so impressive it was the main topic of yesterday's pregame and halftime of ABC's doubleheader,
the Knicks ended the week by allowing Brandon Roy to make a game winning lay-up in Portland.
(18)22. Charlotte (19-31)
Since Larry Brown has taken over as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, it has been
like an episode of Extreme Makeover the Bobcats Edition. The Bobcats traded Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown to the Lakers
for Vladimir Radmonovic.
(26)23. Oklahoma City (13-38)
Every month this season Kevin Durant has averaged more points then he did the
previous month, so far in February Durant is pouring in 33.5ppg thru five games.
(25)24. Golden State (17-35)
Al Harrington will return Tuesday to play his former team the Warriors in what should
be an up and down no defense being played, playground game.
(24)25. Minnesota (17-33)
Al Jefferson appeared to have injured his right knee yesterday, lets hope it’s not to
serious. Kevin McHale was named Western Conference coach of the month.
(23)26. Toronto (19-34)
Toronto’s Chris Bosh has made it clear that he will not resign with the Raptors in the
summer of 2010 it is no surprise that Bosh has missed the last two games with a phantom knee injury a la Vince Carter.
(28)27. LA Clippers (12-39)
The Clippers ended their seven game losing streak with a blow out victory over the
Grizzlies 126 to 105 and they followed that up with another blowout win versus the Hawks 121-97, this is only the second time
this season the Clips won consecutive games.
(30)28. Memphis (14-36)
I don't know what happened but after losing 12 consecutive games the Grizzlies have
won three out of their last four.
(29)29. Sacramento (11-41)
It was awesome to see Chris Webber's number retired Friday by the Kings, Webber
despite never winning an NBA Championship is a bonafide hoops legend. Chris was a member of the legendary FAB Five Freshman
of Michigan and those Kings team, Webber lead, from the early part of the decade provide a number of memorable playoff
moments.
(27)30. Washington (11-40)
The Wizards just like the Kings are the only teams with forty losses there is no reason for Gilbert Arenas to return this season lets hope he returns to form next year.
| 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. |
| Lebron is the King | The way you analyzed your stats is flawed. If your saying Bird is better because he hits more 3 pointers, scores more, and passes more, your wrong. Bird had exceptional teammates which explains some assists. Now Bird was a great 3 point shooter and you said Duncan was a "center playing a power forward". Now if he does this, why would you bash it? All it shows is how versatile Duncan is in his position on the court. Duncan although not a flashy player, showed dominance under the goal. Duncan didnt need to pass because he could school anyone under the goal. Duncan is better because he has more rings. End of story. And to your comment on "We will never see another Larry Bird." Well we see a better one now, he goes by Ray Ray. |
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