RANK (LAST WK)REC.
1 (1) Celtics 26-2
Winning 18 straight will earn any team the first spot this early in the season. A 26-2 overall record have led many experts to predict whether this team can win 73 games and beat the record held by the 1996 Bulls team that went 72-10. The Celtics are playing superb, but they have had the perfect season too. No injuries to date. Point guard Rondo and Center Perkins are playing superb this season. Tony Allen, Eddie House and Leon Powe are playing great off the bench and everything seems to be working in the Celtics favor early on. Barring injuries, something all the other contenders endured this season, the Celtics could seriously challenge the Bulls. Winning 73 games though is not going to happen. I wouldn’t put my money on an aging team going the entire season with no injuries to their starting five.
2 (3) Cavaliers 23-4
Before last week the Cavaliers had gone 1-4 on the road against teams with winning records. Their win against the Nuggets in Denver highlighted a 3-0 week. Lebron continues to be the leading candidate for the NBA MVP award. Questions: Will the Cavaliers stay pat or make the following trades. 1. Varajao and Wally for the Heat defensive stopper Shawn Marion or, 2. Wally and Boobie for the Nets Vince Carter?
3 (2) Lakers 21-5
The State of Florida was not good to the Western Conference Champions Los Angeles Lakers who suffered two straight losses to the Heat and Magic. The Lakers are not playing championship defense and maybe G.M Mitch Kupchak is scratching his head over not trading Lamar Odom to the Kings for defensive juggernaut Ron Artest when he had the chance.
4 (4) Magic 21-6
The Magic Maintained their 4th rank with a 3-0 week with two quality wins, over the Spurs and the Lakers in Orlando. Center Dwight Howard continues to be the leading candidate for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
5 (7) Hornets 16-7
After a subpar 5-5 start, the Hornets have quietly gone on to win 11-2 including four straight and have the identical record of 16-7 like last season. Maybe they can improve on that, but the four teams ahead of them will make it a very tall order to move up.
6 (11) Rockets 18-9
The Rockets recent success is due to three things. For one, they are healthy and having Artest, T-Mac and Battier back in the lineup has definitely tightened up their perimeter defense. Secondly, the move to bring Artest of the bench and start Battier has been masterful, not to mention point guard Aaron Brooks is also in the starting lineup. What this has done is allow the Rockets to return back to what they were familiar with last season, and that is establishing Yao and allowing the offense to run though him. Like I’ve always said, if Yao averages 25ppg, 10rpg and 2.5bpg, the Rockets will be a serious contender. In three games last week, Yao averaged 26.6ppg and Artest has adjusted and providing a major lift off the bench. Note: Watch out for Aaron Brooks, his speed allows the Rockets to initiate their offense quicker and get easy baskets. 7 (6) Spurs 16-10
The Spurs will be there when it counts. Even though losses to the Magic and Hornets led to a 1-2 week, the Spurs are still a contender in my book. They scored 13 to the Hornets 27 in the fourth quarter and loss a seven point lead entering the quarter and ultimately the game which stopped them from posting a 2-1 week. However, I do not expect them to get out of the West if they stay pat with no changes to their current roster.
8 (8) Hawks 17-10
The Hawks almost went 3-0 but lost 88-85 to the Celtics in Atlanta. They are definitely a threat, but the top 3 teams in the East are pretty locked in. The only thing that concerns me about the Hawks is, down the stretch of games Joe Johnson becomes their entire offense. There is no ball movement whatsoever. Either he takes his man one on one or, he passes to his teammates whom aside from Bibby are not good jump shooters.
9 (5) Nuggets 17-10
The Nuggets have been on a roll since trading for Billups, going 14-4 until last week. Three straight losses to Houston, Cleveland and Phoenix have brought them down to earth a little.
10 (14) Trail Blazers 17-10
I really like the Blazers, but this talk about being a contending team is a little over blown. A 2-0 week was great, but the Blazers will contend when center Greg Oden averages 15ppg, 12rpg, 3.5bpg. With those types of numbers he will own the paint, especially defensively. By then, which I predict will be during the 2010-11 season, LaMarcus Aldridge, Rudy Fernandez and Brandon Roy of course, will be solid enough to handle the perimeter.
11 (12) Suns 16-11
Since trading for Jason Richardson the Suns have gone 3-1 with their lone loss to the Blazers in Portland. The Blazers had to get a career high 52 points from Brandon Roy to give them a 124-119 win over the Suns. With an aging Shaq and Amare who wants to be a great defender but lacks the discipline, the Suns simply do not have the makeup to be a great defensive team. Trading for Jason Richardson helped re-indentified them as the offensive team that they are. Like last season, you can expect them they try to outscore teams. Obviously that is not a recipe for a championship team, but then again I don’t think even the Suns players believe they are a championship contender.
12 (10) Jazz 17-12
Boozer used to be one of my favorite players in the league when he played for the Cavaliers. Since deceiving the Cavs into allowing him to become a free agent only to bolt to the Jazz for more money, I have looked at Mr. Boozer in a different light. Since bolting the Cavs, Boozer has played in 251 out of 357 possible regular season games for the Jazz. While waiting to have his third MRI on his injured quad that’s kept him out of 17 games this season, Boozer claims he will test the free agent market at the end of this season. I know players are supposed to look out for their families, but with a great coach like Sloan and a great point guard like Williams for a teammate, his comments were inappropriate, especially after being out for 17 games already this season.
13 (9) Mavericks 15-11
If the season ended today, the Mavs would not make the playoffs. A 2-2 week did not help their cause obviously. Even worse, was watching Devin Harris outplay Jason Kidd. Harris had 41 points and 13 assists to Kidd’s 17 points and 7 assists giving the Nets an impressive 121-97 win over the Mavericks. The Nets and Mavs exchanged both players in a trade last season. In all fairness Devin could not put up those numbers in Dallas because the Mavs are loaded with scorers and that is why having Kidd, a play making point guard was a better fit for the Mavericks. A 15-11 record is not really that bad, but it wouldn’t be good enough to make the playoffs in the West if the season ended today.
14 (15) Heat 14-12
Like I said before, the Heat are not a contender but they will make the playoffs because they have Dwyane Wade. However, somebody needs to step up because the Heat cannot expect Dwyane Wade to put up big numbers every night for them to win games. In three straight losses Dwyane Wade averaged 17.66ppg on 33.9 percent shooting. In their last two games, both wins, Wade averaged 39ppg while making 55.3 percent of his shots. Wade played in 51 out of 82 games in each of the previous two seasons before this one, and if the Heat players don’t step up, they could risk losing him to another injury. The guy needs help, simply put!
15 (17) Nets 3-13
Devin Harris continues to be the leading candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award. His 24.4ppg, 6.7apg average might be good enough to give him his first all-star invitation. The Nets are also currently a playoff team which increases his chances.
16 (13) Pistons 14-11
The Pistons had another subpar week going 1-2 last week. In their last game on Sunday coach Michael Curry benched Iverson down the stretch against the Hawks in Atlanta, and Iverson was noticeably angry on the bench. Iverson did play 41 minutes in the game, but to be bench down the stretch was a shocker to everyone. Could that be the beginning of the end for Iverson in Detroit or, did the first year head coach set himself up to be fired, which seems to be the recent trend in the nba this season.
17 (16) Bulls 13-14
It’s funny how a15-11 record has the Mavs out of the playoffs in the West but 13-14 mark has the Bulls sitting in the seventh seed in the East. Rookie Derrick Rose recently loss his lead in the rookie of the year race to O.J.Mayo but had a comeback game with 24 points, 3 assist to give the Bulls a 106-98 win over the Jazz in their last game. Ben Gordon had me concern when he passed up a guaranteed 6 year $66 million contract extension from the Bulls this summer, but his team leading 20.9ppg might be solid enough to get him more money next summer. I expect the Bulls to move him rather then lose him to free agency before the trading deadline.
18 (22) Bucks 13-16
The Bucks capped off their 3-1 week by winning their last two games by a combined 58 points. They are making a push for the playoffs in the East.
19 (26) 76ers 12-15
The 76ers went 2-1 without Elton Brand who is out with a shoulder injury for at least a month. Their lone loss was a one point heartbreaker to the Indiana Pacers at home. I expect point guard Lou Williams and forward Thaddeus Young to step up in his absence. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the 76ers improve while Brand is out.
20 (16) Pacers 10-17
A 3-1 week will put you in discussions but making the playoffs is still a distant memory for this team. Highlights: The Pacers are the only team to beat both the Lakers and the Celtics this season. Also, Danny Granger is the leading First Time Candidate to make the all-star team this year.
21 (18) Knicks 11-16
I was hopeful when the Knicks first traded Crawford and Z-Bo for Al Harrington that they would make the playoffs, but that was only because of Mike D’Antoni’s coaching style. I honestly thought Harrinton would flourish under D’Antoni and he did early on. Over the last four games though all losses, Al Harrington is averaging 15.5ppg on 29.4 percent shooting. The Knicks will never make the playoffs with Al putting up horrific numbers like those.
22 (19) Grizzlies 9-17
After winning four straight the week before, the Grizzlies loss three straight last week. You can expect the Grizzlies to be inconsistently especially when a rookie leads the team in scoring. Mayo, the nba leading candidate for the ROY Award had a subpar week averaging 13.5 on 44 percent shooting in two losses.
23 (27) Bobcats 9-19
I’ve been high on D.J. Augustine all season and even though he is averaging 13.2ppg and 4.6apg, his career high 29 points against fellow rookie Derrick Rose served notice. Newly acquired Boris Diaw and Raja Bell are playing inspired basketball again. I expect the Bobcats to make at least one more if not two trades before the deadline.
24 (20) Raptors 10-17
The expectations for the Raptors were very high coming into the season, but things have plummeted to say the least. The Jermaine O’Neal trade has been a total disaster and the Raptors are trying to find answers with nowhere to look. They are stuck with O’Neal’s contract and their immediate future looks bleak.
25 (23) Clippers 8-19
The Clippers have turned the corner and Z-Bo is playing like a monster. Will they make the playoff? No. Will coach Mike Dunleavy get fired? No, the owner is a bit tight when it comes to spending and will not waste money on another coach while still paying Dunleavy, especially knowing the team is not playoff bound this season.
26 (24) Warriors 8-20
Jamal Crawford is capable of putting up big points as evident in the Warriors 110-103 win over the Charlotte Bobcats when he scored 50 on 14 for 26 shooting. The same Crawford can shoot his team out of games also, as evident in the previous three games all losses when he averaged 19.33 shot attempts per game while making only 34.4 percent of his shots.
27 (25) Kings 7-21
Firing Reggie Theus was the worse coaching firing this season. The Kings traded away Bibby and Artest in the off season and have been without their leading scorer Kevin Martin for some games this season. Yet, a good coach gets fired. Since firing Reggie the Kings are 1-3 with their lone win over the Timberwolves, the second worse team in the nba. Personally, I think G.M.s around the league have been firing coaches lately to save their own tails and this was clearly the case in Sacramento.
28 (28) Wizards 4-21
I guess 3-11 is an improvement by new head coach Ed Tapscott, considering the team was 0-10 under former head coach Eddie Jordan. I guess in Washington’s case the firing was justified considering there are two former all-stars on that team, Caron Butler and Antawn.
29 (30) Thunder 3-25
The Thunder are playing better under new head coach Scotty Brooks. They are still losing a ton of games but they have been very competitive as of late I must admit.
30 (29) Timberwolves 4-22
Rumors has it, Kevin McHale is trying to replace himself with Flip Saunders, a former coach of the Timberwolves who was previously fired by McHale. McHale has gone 0-7 since taking over the coaching helm two weeks ago and he epitomizes my claim to a tee, of a G.M. firing a head coach to pass the blame.
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