TheHoopsForum Power Ranking
By Ron Campbell
2/17/2009
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All-Star weekend was very cool, Kevin Durant had set a record and won a game of horse. Daequan Cook in his second season and won the three point shooting contest. Shaquille O'Neal came out with the Jabba WockeeZ and held his own. The West blew the East out 146 to 119, the game started out very competitve but the East lack of size caught up to them as the West repeatedly went into Shaquille O'Neal in the third quarter, Shaq finished with 17 points and a ton of laughs. Here are the rankings:
(1)1. LA Lakers (42-10)
Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal were reunited for the all-star game and what a nice end for Kobe and Shaq winning co-MVP's honors, I think we can finally put this fued to rest.
(2)2. Cleveland (40-11)
Lebron James says he will compete in the dunk contest next year this could become the most highly anticipated dunk contest ever.
(4)3. Boston (44-11)
Boston's big three represented well for the Champs during the all-star game Paul Pierce finished 18 points, Kevin Garnett 12, Ray Allen 8 and Bill Russell got a huge cake for his birthday.
(3)4. San Antonio (35-16)
Tony Parker displayed no skills during the skills competition as it took Parker about 3 minutes to complete the course.
(5)5. Orlando (38-13)
I must admit when I saw Dwight Howard dunk on that 12 foot rim it kind of made the rest of his dunks unimpressive and it was a clear reminder that this guy is 7 feet tall.
(7)6. Denver (36-17)
Carmelo Anthony missed too many games due to injury to make the all-star team but I expect Carmelo to tear it up in the second half of the season.
(8)7. Dallas (31-21)
I wouldn't be surprised to see mad scientist Mark Cuban make a trade before the deadline with Phoenix dangling Shaquille O'Neal around.
(6)8. New Orleans (30-20)
Chris Paul had a terrific all-star game he nearly got a triple double 14 points 14 assists and 7 rebounds.
(9)9. Portland (32-30)
Rudy Fenandez should have won the Dunk contest by default for dunking on Dwight Howard in Beijing.
(12)10. Atlanta (31-21)
Mike Bibby was my pick to win the three point contest not because I thought he was the best shooter in the contest but Bibby is one of my all time favorite basketball players and it is truly a shame that he has never played in the all-star game, hopefully he will play before his career is over.
(10)11. Houston (32-21)
When I look into my crystal ball I see more chemistry problems in the Rockets locker room as Tracy McGrady continues to lower expectations for himself as he is averaging a mere 15.6ppg and shooting a career low .388 from the field.
(13)12. Utah (30-23)
The Suns have kind of basically quit the season, so expect to see the Jazz secure the eighth seed in the Western conference.
(11)13. Phoenix (28-23)
All-Star weekend wasn't that great for everybody Terry Porter was fired as head coach of the Phoenix Suns. Alvin Gentry will take over for Porter. John McCain was also in the house during the all-star game and had some nice words for Terry Porter.
(14)14. Miami (28-24)
Dwayne Wade was dressed like a geek for most of all-star weekend but his teammmate Daequan Cook was cool as ice as he walked away as the winner of the three point shooting.
(16)15. Philadelphia (27-24)
With the 76ers have won four games in a row and are currently tied for the sixth seed in the eastern conference with the Detroit Pistons.
(15)16. Detroit (27-24)
Allen Iverson has cuts his braids and the Pistons want to cut ties with the shooting guard, the Pistons are no longer a serious contender look for them to be the subject of a number of trade rumors.
(18)17. Milwaukee (26-29)
Richard JEfferson, Ramon Sessions and Charlie Villaneuva are all on the trading block as the Bucks look to cut next year's payroll.
(17)18. New Jersey (24-29)
Vince Carter has missed the last two all-star games and has really fallen fast, Carter was once a top ten player in the NBA.
(19)19. Chicago (23-30)
Derrick Rose appeared a lot happier after winning the skills competition, the last time I saw Rose was last Monday when he was crying hysterically after the Bulls win over the Pistons 107 to 102.
(20)20. Indiana (21-33)
Indiana might want to throw their hat into the Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O'Neal sweepstakes add a dominant big man alongside Danny Granger and you have a playoff team.
(22)21. Charlotte (21-31)
Larry Brown has done a good job remodeling this team and getting his players to play hard but next year will be when the Bobcats make playoff push.
(21)22. New York (21-31)
Nate Robinson jumped off teammate Wilson Chandlers back and dunked, then he jumped over Dwight Howard to win the contest. Nate has already begun planning using a trampoline in next years dunk contest.
(26)23. Toronto (21-34)
Shawn Marion was traded to the Raptors for Jermaine O'Neal, this could work but I wonder how happy Shawn Marion is about moving out of the country.
(24)24. Golden State (19-35)
You have to assume that everybody is available on the Warriors roster as this team is no where near what it used to be.
(25)25. Minnesota (17-34)
Al Jefferson is out for the season but the WOlves have become competitive so I expect to see them bring it every night. Kevin Love should develop with the increased playing time.
(23)26. Oklahoma City (13-40)
Kevin Durant set a rookie game record with 46 points and then beat out Joe Johnson and OJ Mayo in a game of Horse. I have a prediction for Kevin Durant once Kobe is too old Kevin.
(28)27. Memphis (15-37 The NBA has a personal with OJ Mayo, despite leading all rookies in scoring Mayo did not start in the rookie game, granted this was Dwayne Wade's decision and not the NBA's but I was very disappointed with the slight and have made it an NBA conspiracy.
(27)28. LA Clippers (13-40)
I don't see Mike Dunleavy firing himself but I do think the Clippers will be a little more competitive in the second half season, wouldn't be surprised if the Clips move one of their big three of Zach Randolph, Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman.
(29)29. Sacramento (11-43)
Brad Miller is on the trading block and a player who has been rumored to be coveted by Mark Cuban.
(30)30. Washington (11-42 )
Washington had no players competing in all-star weekend which is something I think the NBA should work on, I mean couldn't they at least have had a player play in the celebrity game.
| 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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