TheHoopsForum Power Ranking
By Ron Campbell
12/29/2008
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On
Christmas day the NBA gave us fans five very entertaining games, some would say the Magic blowout of the Hornets was not entertaining but it gave me a lot of perspective on where the two teams are at. The Magic are a very good team and if they remain healthy,
they should provide a very intense second round matchup with either Boston or Cleveland which they will lose because their bench is terrible and ranks 29th in the NBA in scoring, the Clippers are 30th. Jameer Nelson is playing the best basketball I have ever seen him play and I am going back to his days at Saint Joe's.
He is very poised, he is making great decisions and currently iss number one amongst guards in field goal percentage at .531. The Hornets rely too much on Chris Paul to get good shots for other teammates, David West can create for himself but is light years more effective when Paul penetrates and finds him a shot. Sometimes a team has your number and the Spurs have the Suns number. The Lakers needed to beat the Celtics more then Celtics needed to beat them, the last time these two teams met, the NBA got its most lopsided deciding game in NBA history with the Celtics winning 131 to 92. The difference in this game was that Kobe came right out and set the tone for the game which gave his teammates confidence. In the post game interview Kobe stated that he noticed Pau was playing a little tentative and he told Pau that he was one of the best players in the world. Down the stretch of the game Kobe drew double teams and found Gasol for three baskets. The Boston Celtics will need to add a player off the bench to help, currently the Celtics are 17th in the NBA in bench production, this isn't bad but the Celtics will need somebody else off that bench in the playoffs, preferably a center as neither Leon Powe or Big Baby are centers or even close to it.
Now to the Rankings, after the Celtics loss I was going to keep them at numero uno but with a loss to the Warriors I had to knock them down a notch, last week I dropped the Lakers to four for losing two in a row so Celtics had to fall. With Boston's two losses this past week the Eastern Conference race for the number
one seed will be interesting story line for the rest of the season, January 9th the two teams will meet in Cleveland and the Cavs are the NBA's only unbeaten team at home.
(4)1. LA Lakers (25-5)
With a win over the their bitter rivals Boston Celtics on Christmas day Phil Jackson became the fastest coach ever to win 1,000 games.
(1)2. Boston (28-4)
Celtics play Portland on Tuesday before returning home to play the Wizards on Friday. Despite loss to the Lakers and Warriors the Celtics are still the champions and still the team to be beat.
(2)3. Cleveland (26-4)
Lebron James has to be leading in the MVP race so far Bron Bron leads the NBA in 4th quarter scoring with 8.2 and the Cavs are a mere game behind the Celtics for top dog in the East.
(3)4. Orlando (24-6)
With the Celtics 19 game win streak coming to a halt, the Orlando Magic are now the owners of the NBA's longest winning streak at seven. The Magic have won 11 of their last 12 and Jameer Nelson has averaged 20.3ppg and 5.8apg during that stretch. Interesting stat Dwight Howard leads the NBA in And 1's with 36, Lebron James is second at 31.
(9)5. San Antonio (20-10)
The Spurs have won five games in a row and Tony Parker has been carrying them averaging 27.4ppg and 7.4apg during the win streak.
(5)6. New Orleans (18-9)
Chris Paul's NBA record for consecutive games with a steal ended at 108 games on Christmas
day as Hornets were blown out in Orlando.
(7)7. Atlanta (19-10)
The Hawks have won seven of their last eight games and seem to be putting it together with everyone back and healthy.
(10)8. Denver (20-11)
Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup on Sunday after missing three games with an injured elbow, Melo looked fine on Sunday scoring 32 points in a win over the Knicks.
(6)9. Houston (20-11)
I would have liked to have seen Houston win either game against the Cavs
and Hornets this week but they got a quality double overtime victory against the
Jazz on Saturday. Tracy McGrady in the two losses scored a combined 15 points on
4-18 shooting from the field, McGrady sat out Saturday game versus the Jazz.
(11)10. Dallas (18-12)
Jason Terry is having a terrific season he is 7th in the NBA in fourth quarter scoring at 7.0 per game
and averages 20.9 ppg, all this and he doesn't even start. Rick Carlisle three guard lineup of Jose Juan Barea, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd has been catching other teams by surprise
(8)11. Portland (19-12)
In my season preview I said the Greg Oden would challenge for rookie of the year after 25 games 7.9ppg and 7.3rpg I will be happy if he can make the rookie team. Overall I still think he will be a terrific big man someday.
(15)12. Detroit (17-11)
The Pistons have won three games in a row, in those wins Rodney Stuckey has shown the potential that Joe Dumars has been raving about averaging 22.7ppg. Big game for the Pistons today against the very hot Orlando Magic.
(12)13. Phoenix (16-12)
Terry Porter designed a terrific play on Christmas day with the game tied at 88 that allowed Grant Hill to get an open lay up and take the lead but the Spurs were able to hit a three with no time remaining to win the game, very disappointing loss as Suns lead the entire game.
(13)14. Utah (18-14)
A very unusual stat for the Utah Jazz they are 5-11 versus the eastern conference, last year they were 21-9 versus the East.
(14)15. Miami (16-13)
The Heat's four game win streak was snapped Sunday as they traveled to Cleveland, despite Dwayne Wade's 29 points and 9 assists he was unable to hit two 3 pointers that would have cut into the Cavs lead
in closing moments. Wade will need to increase his .253 shooting percentage from behind the line.
(16)16. New Jersey (15-15)
The Nets are a dismal 5-11 at home and a bizarre 10-4 on the road. The Nets play the Bulls on Monday who have lost their last seven road games.
(18)17. Milwaukee (14-17)
After a very impressive win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, the Bucks lost a barometer game to the Detroit Pistons 76-87. The Bucks have two very tough road games against the Spurs and Rockets before returning home for a home and home with the Bobcats.
(17)18. Chicago (13-17)
The Bulls have lost their last four road games and today they play the Nets on the road before returning home to play the NBA's hottest team the Magic.
They then go on the road to play the unbeaten at home Cavaliers.
(19)19. Philadelphia (12-17)
The 76ers started their six game losing streak by losing to the Celtics and the Nuggets, they still have the Jazz, Clippers, Mavs and San Antonio. I say they go 1-3 in their remaining games the game versus the Clippers will be the battle of the heartless.
(22)20. Charlotte (11-20)
The Bobcats are surprisingly third in the NBA in points allowed at 93.5 but are last in the NBA in scoring at a meager 91.4.
(20)21. New York (11-18)
Their was a lot of playoff talk surrounding the Knicks but after dropping their last six games, Mike D'Antoni said he wants the Knicks to focus on what they do best, which is???
(23)22. Memphis (10-20)
They don't have a great record but the Grizz do have a solid core of Marc Gasol, OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay to build around for the future. With Derrick Rose slipping, OJ Mayo has to be the leading candidate for rookie of the year.
(21)23. Indiana (10-20)
What a brutal week for the Indiana Pacers Tuesday they lose by one point to New Jersey, three points to the Grizzlies on Friday and two points to the Hornets on Sunday. The Pacers are 3-6 in games decided by three points or less.
(25)24. Golden State (9-23)
Without Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette and Jamal Crawford the Warriors were able to hand the NBA Champion Boston Celtics their second consecutive loss of the season. Stephen Jackson 28 and Marco Belinelli's 22 led the way for the Warriors
(24)25. LA Clippers (8-21)
Two weeks ago I said that I expect to see the Clippers start winning some games, since then they have lost four of six games and I think it is safe to say I was wrong.
(27)26. Toronto (12-18)
In November Chris Bosh averaged 26.4ppg and 10.2 rpg in December it appears as those the turmoil withing the Raps organization is getting to Bosh as his stats dropped to 19.6ppg and 9.2rpg.
(28)27. Washington (5-23)
With their season all but over the Wizards management still plans to have Arenas return once he is fully healed.
(30)28. Minnesota (5-24)
Kevin McHale is 1-9 as head coach of the Timberwolves, McHale was able to get his first victory against the Knicks. Rumor has it Sebastian Telfair is being shopped around.
(29)29. Oklahoma City (3-28)
Earlier in the year I was disappointed with Kevin Durant and his lack of improvement, well in December Durant was terrific averaging 25.6ppg and 7.5rpg after averaging 22.9pg and 4.1 in November.
(26)30. Sacramento (7-24)
After they were blown out at home by 45 points to the Celtics the Kings continued their winless streak against the East.
The only cool thing for the fans of the Kings on Sunday was that Micheal Phelps was in the house.
| 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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