Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed the last week of basketball as much as I did (though, unless you're a Cavs fan, I doubt you did). Check out how the rankings have shuffled around this week:
The Fab 5- It's time to welcome a new member to the fab 5.
#1- Cleveland Cavaliers- They've won 7 in a row, 12 of their last 13, and if they can win their next 6 games (not an easy task, but the schedule isn't terribly daunting) then they will be on the same pace they were last season at the half-way point. Cleveland beat Atlanta in their home-and-home this week, which gives them the nod over the injury-prone, reeling Boston Celtics.
#2- Boston Celtics- They've lost 3 of their last 4, but the reason they stay #2 is because they beat Toronto convincingly without Rondo, Pierce, AND Garnett. The feat becomes even more impressive when you throw in the fact that Toronto was on a 5-game winning streak. Boston fans have to be a bit worried about their injuries though: Garnett will be out 10 days, Pierce was scheduled to miss 2 weeks, and Rondo missed a game.
#3- Los Angeles Lakers- The Lakers have been very unimpressive since Christmas. They lost to Phoenix, and almost lost to Sacramento and Golden State. I'm not saying the Lakers can't/won't win it all, but they're not the best team in the league at this moment in time.
#4- Orlando Magic- The Bulls are playing better, but the Magic shouldn't be losing to them. I maintain that Vince Carter will be the downfall of this team. He chucks up like no other, and that's a beautiful thing to see as a Cavs fan. Orlando will be a tough team to beat in the playoffs if they get hot like they did last year, but they aren't nearly as good as they were in the ECF.
#5- San Antonio Spurs- Welcome my pick from the off-season for the Western Conference to the conversation. After hovering around .500 for a while, this team has won 5 in a row and 8 of 10 to move to a 20-11 record, good for 3rd in the West. They've got an abundance of scoring, and you know they're well-coached. Will their age catch up to them like Boston? We'll see.
The Rest
#6- Atlanta Hawks- Lost 3 in a row to Cleveland, Cleveland, and New York. You can't lose 3 in a row in the East race unless you're Boston with injury problems. Atlanta's good, but not great.
#7- Dallas Mavericks
#8- Portland Jail Blazers
#9- Denver Nuggets- Don't sleep on this team in the playoffs. Billups has been hurt, but they're still damn good.
#10- Phoenix Suns
#11- Oklahoma City Thunder
#12- Houston Rockets
#13- Memphis Grizzlies- Won 7 of 10. Beat the Cavs. Probably beat some other good team that I don't care about. These guys are really good. REALLY good. Zach Randolph better be in the all-star game.
#14- Toronto Raptors
#15- Utah Jazz
#16- Miami Heat
#17- Chicago Bulls- Won 4 in a row: welcome back Vinny.
#18- New Orleans Hornets
#19- Sacramento Kings- Hard to drop Sacramento for their performance without Tyreke. All they do is compete, and it's great to watch.
#20- New York Knicks- The look on Mike D'Antoni's face when Nate dropped 40 was priceless. "Damnit, I was right about benching him, but I wish he didn't single-handedly help us beat one of the best teams in the league on the road". Oh, such a typical coach.
#21- Los Angeles Clippers- Blake's coming back. Can't wait.
#22- Charlotte Bobcats
#23- Milwaukee Bucks
#24- Philadelphiz 76ers
#25- Golden State Warriors
#26- Detroit Pistons- This is the worst Detroit has been in the last decade.
#27- Washington Wizards
#28- Minnesota T-Wolves
#29- New Jersey Nets- Can't say the Nets are worse than the Pacers. They will have a worse record, but they have a future. I don't think you can say the same for Indiana.
#30- Indiana Pacers- The Nets have talent, they're just young. The Pacers............
Don't discount the banishment of T.J. Ford to the DNP-CD list as something that could put a little fire under the Pacers. The combo of Watson and Price have played well at the 1 and Luther Head is putting up legitimate point totals of late. Once Dunleavy gets back his mojo and Troy Murphy and Danny Granger return from injuries the Pacers might be able to make some noise. Additionally, I think it is crazy to rank them below the Nets who have essentially zero percent chance of winning on a nightly basis.
ReplyDeleteYour logic is compelling, Ez. But the Pacers deserve this punishment for having lost to the Knicks by almost 50 points. Maybe next time Zeus will return the Nyets to their rightful position.
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