RK (LW) TEAM REC
1 (1) SPURS 20-3
The San Antonio Spurs are off to their best start in franchise history at 20-3. In previous seasons, the Spurs played a lot slower, but not this one. With a 106.4 points average this season, the Spurs are tied with the Lakers for third in the league in scoring.
2 (5) CELTICS 19-4
The Celtics are currently sporting a 10-game winning streak and they don’t seem to be slowing down. Ironically, the Celtics were also 19-4 after 23 games last season but ended up going 31-28 over their last 59 games so let’s wait and see what happens over the next 20 games, before crowning them Eastern Conference champs.
3 (6) MAVERICKS 19-4
I think Mark Cuban tried to diffuse his team’s `12-games winning streak by claiming that Miami was the best team in the nba. Regardless of that, the Mavericks are the hottest team in the league right now. Since installing forward Stevenson in the starting lineup per the request of the Maverick other starters, the team has a 16-2 record.
4 (8) HEAT 17-8
The word out of Miami is that the Miami Heat have finally figured it out. I disagree with this claim. I don’t understand why Lebron James is deferring to Dwyane Wade when they are both on the court at the same time, especially if Lebron is supposed to be the best player in the nba.
5 (5) LAKERS 17-7
From the looks of things, it appears that the Lakers will finish with the second best record in the West behind the San Antonio Spurs. I don’t see the Lakers overtaken the Spurs without their starting center Bynum in the lineup.
6 (10) THUNDER 17-8
The Thunder one-two punch of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are averaging a monstrous triple-double with 50.9ppg, 12.2rpg 11.7apg and the rest of the team is simply filling in.
7 (10) JAZZ 17-8
Consistency has been the key for the Utah Jazz all season long. They have not wowed anyone, but somehow they are tied for the best third best record in the Western Conference.
8 (4) MAGIC 16-8
The Magic have lost four out of their last five games, but considering they are in the East there’s no reason to be alarmed. I expect them to finish with the third or fourth seed by the end of the season behind the Celtics and Heat for sure and perhaps behind the Bulls.
9 (14) BULLS 14-8
The Bulls loss their first two games when Carlos Boozer returned, but since then they have reeled off five straight wins. Boozer averaged 17.2ppg and 8.4 rebounds during the Bulls five-game winning streak and it looks like the Bulls have finally found the low post scorer they’ve been coveting since Derrick Rose came aboard two season ago.
10 (12) KNICKS 16-9
I honestly thought the Knicks overpaid when they signed Amare Stoudemire to a 5 year/$100 milliion contract, but I must admit I was wrong. So far Amare has been the best investment made by any team last summer. He is averaging 26.2ppg, 9.1rpg and 2bpg and the Knicks are sporting an eight-game winning streak. How could you argue against that?
11 (9) HAWKS 16-9
The Hawks are 5-2 without Joe Johnson who is set to return with the team shortly. I know the Hawks could not afford to lose Johnson during the summer, but was he really worth the 7 year/$126 million he received? With him the Hawks are 11-7 .611, without him 5-2 .714. I guess in the long run it was worth signing him, but their record indicates that they’ve been better without him this year.
12 (7) NUGGETS 14-9
The situation in Denver continues to get sticky. Carmelo Anthony recently said he will only sign an extension with the Knicks, which clearly tells me his heart is no longer with the Nuggets. I guess the Nuggets are looking for the perfect sucker who will be willing to rent Carmelo for the rest of the year, because it is clear he is not going to re-sign with any team other than the Knicks. The question is how long will the Nuggets and Carmelo continue to play their cat-and-mouse game?
13 (11) HORNETS 14-9
I guess it’s official now that the nba will take over the New Orleans Hornets and operate like an Escrow holder at least until they can secure a buyer for the team in hopes of keeping the Hornets in New Orleans. I expect their free fall to continue, because it’s obvious no moves will be made until a new owner is secured and for whatever reason, that has been wearing on the players.
14 (16) TRAIL BLAZERS 12-12
The Blazers are benefitting from being in a watered down Western Conference where a .500 record (12-12) is good enough to make the playoffs. Injuries to key players mainly Roy has hurt their team, but somehow if the playoff were starting today, the Blazers would be seeded eighth in the Western Conference.
15 (15) PACERS 11-11
Word out of Indiana is that newly acquired point guard Darren Collison is unhappy with the point guard rotation. I think he thought he would have a free ride, but T.J. Ford has been a proven veteran, which means Collison will have to work hard if he expects to reclaim the point guard position full time. I think he has the talent and this could end up being a blessing in disguise, because ultimately, I expect Collison to be the Pacers point guard of the future.
16 (19) BUCKS 9-13
Bucks center Andrew Bogut is leading the league in blocks with 2.94 per game and the Bucks are obviously one of the best defensive teams in the league, but scoring 97 points in back-to-back games helped them win their last two outings. Hopefully this can be a sign of good things to come on the offensive end because they are one of the slowest teams in the league.
17 (13) PHOENIX 11-12
The Suns are still one of the most prolific offensive teams in the league and are second in scoring with 108.1 point per game, but they have taken over the title of the league’s worst defensive team allowing their opponent 109.5 points per game.
18 (20) GRIZZLIES 10-14
The Grizzlies are coming off a four-game road trip in which they won their last two games. I would consider that a very successful road trip for the Griz. I still believe they are a team with some upsides, but so far they have been a little disappointing this season.
19 (21) ROCKETS 9-14
The Rockets are averaging 104.9 points per game and are also giving up the exactly 104.9 to their opponents. Yao Ming continues to be a mystery and his glory days may be behind him, because I don’t think we will ever see a healthy season out of Yao again.
20 (17) RAPTORS 9-14
The Raptors are a very efficient team on the offensive end, but unless they improve on the defensive end, they will always be a team struggling to make the playoffs. As of right now, they are one game out of the playoffs in the East behind the Bucks.
21 (26) 76ERS 8-15
The Sixers are 5-2 over their last seven games and one of the two losses was a one point heart breaker 102-101 to the Celtics. For now it appears that Iggy is staying put and trade rumors for him may have fizzled off since their hot streak. I believe the Sixers are one of the best teams under .500 and they will make the playoffs if they can stay healthy.
22 (22) BOBCATS 8-15
The Bobcats were barely good enough to make the playoffs last season and losing center Tyson Chandler and guard Raymond Felton has really set them back. I am not sure what the Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has in mind, but he cannot afford to lose head coach Larry Brown, because without him, the Bobcats will in all likelihood miss the playoff.
23 (18) WARRIORS 8-15
I was fortunate to be in attendance when the Warriors hosted the Heat in Oakland and it was really sad to see that the Warriors did not put up a fight, especially in the second half of that game. I know Steph Curry is out, but the Warriors played with absolutely no urgency.
24 (23) CAVS 7-17
I doesn’t surprise me that the Cavs have lose their last eight games, but the most surprising stat is the 93.2 points that the Cavs are scoring this season, which is 29th in league. I thought the Cavs would struggle defensively after losing Lebron, but for them to be 29th in scoring under new head coach Byron Scott’s up tempo offense is shocking to me.
25 (24) PISTONS 7-18
The Pistons are dead last in rebounding at 38.8 rebounds per game and offensively the once discipline Pistons have absolutely no structure. I guess things will continue to go downhill for the Pistons until they address their ownership issue.
26 (28) TIMBERWOLVES 6-18
The Timberwolves are first in the league in rebounding with 45.8 led by Kevin Love’s 15.6, which leads the league in rebounding. The Wolves have a great future that will only come to fruition when they address their perimeter deficiencies, which could be as early as next season.
27 (25) WIZARDS 6-16
The Wizards Josh Howard is scheduled to return soon to give the Wizards a much needed boost on the offensive end. John Wall assist should go up once that happens, because he will have another player running the break that can finish.
28 (27) NETS 6-18
The Nets have to make a trade. This team appears to be completely stagnant and I just don’t see any upside. Of course they will win more than the 12 games they won last year, but I don’t think the addition of new head coach Avery Johnson has had any real impact on the team’s improvement.
29 (29) CLIPPERS 5-20
The Clippers are another one of those teams that need a check up from the neck up. Baron Davis returned from an early season injury, but has clearly not been himself. Kaman is still out and Blake Griffin has continued to dominate. However, the Clippers look like a team with no direction right now.
30 (30) KINGS 5-16
The Kings are struggling and now word is Tyreke Evans is day-to-day with a foot injury. This team was projected to move up this season, but so far they are the most disappointing team entering week 8 and are ranked 30th for second straight week in my power ranking.
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