TheHoopsForum Power Ranking
By Ron Campbell
3/16/2009
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It is March and the beginning of April Madness in the NBA as their are only four weeks left in the season and teams with playoffs hopes and teams hoping to solidify homecourt avantage will be giving it their all, every play, every foul, every minute of a game will mean something, this is my favorite time of the season. Currently in the standings the third and eighth seed in the western conference are seperated by 2 1/2 games and in the east you have six teams with a legitimate chance of getting the eighth seed. Here are the rankings:
(2)1. Cleveland (53-13)
Lebron James three consecutive triple doubles and a 51 point outing against the Kings all I have to say is MVP, MVP, MVP.
(1)2. LA Lakers (53-13)
The Lakers were caught by surprise on Monday as the Blazers took an early lead Monday and never looked back but they won their next three games including a smack down Kobe laid on Ron Artest.
(3)3. Orlando (49-17)
Orlando will head into Cleveland on Tuesday and will have an a real opportunity to make a statement if they can get a win, I for one am quite distrubed by the Magic's inability to defeat the Pistons.
(4)4. Boston (50-17)
I hate to say this but barring serious injury by a significant Cavalier player the Celtics may not be able to regain home court advantage over the Cavs, Kevin Garnett has missed the last 10 games and the Celtics are 6-4 during that stretch but KG is expected to return this week.
(6)5. San Antonio (44-21)
Tim Duncan is still not out of his scoring slump averaging 15.3ppg in March which is down from his season average of 20.7ppg.
(7)6. Houston (43-25)
Despite losing twice last week to the Lakers and Spurs at home, the Rockets are hot right now and have won 12 of 15 games and they will have a chance to revenge their loss to the Spurs next Sunday.
(5)7. Utah (41-26)
After winning 12 games in a row the Jazz have lost three in a row (all on the road) including a triple overtime thriller in Miami on Saturday, the Jazz return home to face the Wizards on Tuesday. Before the Jazz can consider themselves serious championship contenders they will have to improve on their 13-20 road record.
(9)8. Denver (42-25)
I like the new commercial on TV where the guy is saying he will never forget the birth of his child and he is thinking of Carmelo at Syracuse. Carmelo's championship run with Syracuse was truly special he dominated the second half of every tournament game.
(8)9. New Orleans (41-24)
Chris Paul is getting no media love these days as Dwayne Wade, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James seem to have everyone's attention but the little guy has been great as of late averaging 26.8ppg 10.4apg and 6.4rpg.
(10)10. Portland (41-25)
With the playoffs right around the corner the NBA's stars are stepping up their game and Brandon Roy is no exception, he is averaging 27.0ppg in March.
(12)11. Atlanta (39-28)
No doubt in my mind Joe Johnson is player of the week this week after averaging 31.5ppg in four wins.
(11)12. Dallas (40-27)
The Lakers went on a 18-5 run to defeat the Mavs on Sunday and they really have no excuse for their loss to the Warriors either. The Mavs will be a first round knockout.
(13)13. Miami (36-30)
Dwayne Wade like Joe Johnson was terrific this week scoring 48, 32 and 50 in three consecutive wins, but Wade only had 18 points in a loss at Philadelphia on Sunday.
(16)14. Philadelphia (33-31)
The 76ers have won three in a row but will have their next five games on the road. Thaddeus Young is having a monster March averaging 20.3ppg.
(15)15. Detroit (33-32)
Last week I said the Pistons weren't all that and I was right they lose in overtime to the Knicks, need overtime to get past Raptors and then they lose again on Sunday at home to the Grizzlies 89 to 84. Rest in Peace Bill Davidson Pistons and Detroit Shock owner who died last week at the age of 86 he will be missed.
(14)16. Phoenix (36-31)
Phoenix is really only in this spot because anything can happen and their still is a very outside, outside across the street and around the corner chance they can make the playoffs.
(18)17. Milwaukee (31-38)
Milwaukee got a big win over the Celtics on Sunday 86 to 77, Milwaukee will need to get grind it out wins like this if they hope to hold onto the eighth seed.
(17)18. Chicago (30-37)
The Bulls lost all three road games they played last week including losing by 28 against the Magic. They did get a win at home against the Hornets, go figure.
(19)19. Charlotte (28-38)
Tough loss for Larry's Brown Bobcats on Saturday on the road at Minnesota but I don't like their chances these next four weeks with nine of their last 16 on the road.
(22)20. New York (28-38)
I wouldn't mind seeing the Knicks get that eighth and final seed as I believe it will be a much more entertaining series and good for the NBA if the Knicks get in.
(20)21. New Jersey (28-38)
The Nets playoffs hopes maybe all but lost with Devin Harris expected to miss sometime with a shoulder injury suffered in Sunday's lost to the Clippers.
(21)22. Indiana (28-40)
The Pacers didn't do their playoff hopes any favor by losing three in a row and they lost every game by double figures.
(24)23. Toronto (24-43)
How far the Raptors have fallen this team is in complete disarray and in my opinion should part ties with Chris Bosh as soon as possible.
(23)24. Golden State (23-43)
The Warriors allow the most points in the NBA so it should come as no surprise to anyone that they gave up 154 points on Sunday to the Suns.
(25)25. Oklahoma City (18-48)
Kevin Durant was back in the lineup Saturday for the Thunder after missing seven games, the Thunder were 5-2 with Durant.
(29)26. Minnesota (20-46)
I really thought Kevin Love would have stepped up and picked up some of the scoring load for the Wolves while Al Jefferson is out but he has not and Ryan Gomes is averaging 20.9ppg in March.
(28)27. Memphis (17-48)
The Grizzlies main priority at this point is finding a coach who can get these guys competitive and develop these young players as they have lost a year of development this year.
(26)28. Washington (16-51)
I don't think with a month left in the season we will see Gilbert Arenas but hopefully he will return at full speed like Dwayne Wade.
(30)29. LA Clippers (16-50)
The Clippers might as well put everyone except Al Thornton and Eric Gordon on the trading block and build around these two young guys.
(27)30. Sacramento (14-52)
This week will be the Kings last chance to win a game versus an eastern conference team, they will play the Hawks, Bobcats and Knicks all on the road.
| 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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