TheHoopsForum Power Ranking
By Ron Campbell
1/5/2009
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With my beloved New England Patriots being eliminated from post season play last Sunday my football season ended, there is no chance that I will watch another game this season, I am in full NBA mode.
Sunday was upset day in the NBA as Toronto defeated the Orlando Magic 102 to 108, the Wizards came out on top against their bitter rivals the Cavs 77 to 80, Knicks got past the Celtics 88 to 100, Mavs get blown out by the Grizzlies 82 to 102, the Detroit Pistons broke their six game Sunday losing streak with a win at the Clippers 88 to 87, the Pistons are the NBA's hottest team winning seven games in a row, six of the wins
came against sub .500 teams, the Pistons can make a statement this week if they can continue to win with games at Portland, Denver and Utah.
Last week I wrote a blog about how the Timberwolves wer a bunch of tweeners all playing out of position and not being properly utilizied, well they responded by winning three out of four games, which proves I have no idea what I am talking about.
(1)1. LA Lakers (27-5)
The Lakers are rolling winning six in a row, with the Celtics and Cavs struggling the Lakers find themselves with the best record in the NBA. Kobe Bryant, after a slow start, really picked it up in December averaging 28.3ppg.
(3)2. Cleveland (27-6)
Cleveland like Boston had troubles this past week losing to both Miami and Washington, Cleveland plays the Bobcats at home Wednesday before Boston comes to town on Friday.
(2)3. Boston (29-6)
The Celtics lost to a Blazers team that was without its best player Brandon Roy and were out hustled by the Knicks on Sunday. This week could be disastrous for the Celtics with games against the Bobcats, Rockets and Cavs, they will need to have a strong week to retain the number one seed in the eastern conference.
(4)4. Orlando (26-8)
The Magic like the Celtics and the Cavs lost two games this past week. They lost to the Pistons and Heat. Dwight Howard will defend his slam dunk crown on all star weekend.
(5)5. San Antonio (22-11)
Roger Mason went 0-6 from the three point line Friday in a win against Memphis, but followed up the horrible performance by going 5-5 from three in a win against Philly.
(12)6. Detroit (21-11)
Detroit is the NBA's hottest team winning their last seven games, Rodney Stuckey has been playing like an all-star during this stretch averaging 22.9ppg and 5.0apg.
(7)7. Atlanta (22-11)
The Hawks lost a tough game in overtime to the Nets 91 to 93, but the Hawks were able to get the win against the banged up Rockets on Saturday 100 to 103. The Hawks, in my opinion, deserve two all stars Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby.
(8)8. Denver (23-12)
Nene is having his best season as a pro averaging 14.7ppg and 7.9rpg and his .618 field goal percentage is tops in the NBA. George Karl won his 900th career game on New Years Eve with a win over the Raptors.
(6)9. New Orleans (20-10)
Tyson Chandler had a terrific season last year averaging 11.8ppg and 11.8ppg but this season he has totally regressed averaging only 8.8ppg and 8.1rpg.
(10)10. Dallas (20-13)
Dirk Nowitski has stated that we will consider opting out of his contract in 2010 and taking less money for the 2010-11 season so the Mavs can sign a big free agent. What is Dirk thinking isn't Mark Cuban a billionaire?
(9)11. Houston (21-14)
Tracy McGrady did not play Saturday against the Hawks as he continues to experience soreness in his left knee, McGrady wants to play thru the injury but he has been killing the Rockets going for 11-36 from the field in the last three games he
played.
(13)12. Phoenix (19-12)
Shaquille O'Neal passed both Dominque Wilkins and Oscar Robertson this past week on the all time scoring list to find himself currently sitting at eight. Shaq is having a terrific season his best since his most recent championship run in 2006, Shaq is currently averaging 17.2ppg and 8.9rpg.
(11)13. Portland (20-14)
Brandon Roy has missed the last three games for the Blazers and expect him to miss about three more games with a sprained right hamstring.
(15)14. Miami (18-14)
With Dwayne Wade doing everything but selling popcorn and beer its hard to notice any effort from other Heat players but Daequan Cook is having a strong sophomore case 10.1ppg and shooting .426 from behind the line.
(14)15. Utah (19-15)
Bad news for the Jazz, Carlos Boozer who has missed 21 games will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
(16)16. New Jersey (16-18)
Devin Harris like Brandon Roy is nursing an injured right hamstring, but don't expect Harris to miss as many games as Roy. The Nets play Kings, Grizzlies and Bucks this week.
(17)17. Milwaukee (16-19)
Good news for the Bucks is that they have played 21 road games second most in the NBA and will play the majority of it games at home for the remainder of the season. Micheal Redd is shooting a career low .343 fom behind the three point line.
(26)18. Toronto (14-20)
The Raptors have shown some life and got a win against the Magic Sunday, the Raptors have won against the Magic in the Air Canada Center eight of the last nine times these teams met.
(18)19. Chicago (14-20)
The Bulls have lost their last three games and with Kirk Hinrich, Luol Deng and Drew Gooden
out, I don't expect them to fair to well against Kings, Wizards and Thunder.
(19)20. Philadelphia (13-20)
Elton Brand has missed eight games and counting and the 76ers continue to disappoint going 2-6 without their
power forward.
(20)21. Charlotte (12-22)
The Bobcats are last in the NBA in scoring averaging 91.2 points per game, the Cats have only reached the 100 point mark ten times this season.
(21)22. New York (13-19)
Mike D'Antoni has chose to start Jared Jeffries instead of Al Harrington over the last three games, D'antoni wants more defense in the starting lineup. Harrington continues to play very well his 30 points against Boston marked Harringtons fourth 30 point outing since joining the Knicks.
(22)23. Memphis (11-23)
The Griz snapped a four game losing streak with the win over the Mavs on Sunday, but the Griz are only 2-8 after winning four games in a row three weeks ago.
(23)24. Indiana (12-21)
For a long time Paul Pierce was not given the same media attention or praise as some of the other NBA's elite players, he wasn't a flashy player, wasn't the best dunker and he wasn't a winner, Danny Granger is the new Paul Pierce.
(24)25. Golden State (10-25)
The Warrior's lead the NBA in points allowed with 111.3 per game, the Warriors' problems center around lack of size in the frontcourt but Brandon Wright and Anthony Randolph seem to always land in Nellie's dog house.
(27)26. Washington (7-25)
Feel good win for the Wizards as they beat the Cavs on Sunday, the acquisition for Mike James
has helped as he has averaged 11.8ppg in 13 games with the Wiz.
(28)27. Minnesota (8-25)
Ryan Gomes played great this week scoring 17 points per game while the wolves won three out of four games. Wolves have a pretty nice schedule this week with a game at Memphis and at home against Oklahoma City and Milwaukee.
(25)28. LA Clippers (8-25)
The Clippers are the holders of the NBA's longest losing streak with seven in a row but Mike Dunleavy and company must be pleased with the play of Eric Gordon who has really come on after a slow start. Gordon has averaged 17.8ppg in the last 12 games for the Clippers.
(29)29. Oklahoma City (4-30)
Jeff Green has played well as of late averaging 20ppg over the last five contests. Nenad Krstic is having problems with his Visa but expect to see him playing soon.
(30)30. Sacramento (8-26)
Kevin Martin is back and has played very well averaging 28.3ppg thru three games, but for some bizarre reason he has not started, granted he has received starter minutes, 34 per 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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