RK (LW) TEAM REC
1 (1) SPURS 54-12
The Spurs had an impressive 3-0 week, led by Tony Parker’s 23.8ppg. Like I predicted after the all-star break, I expected Parker to be the Spurs MVP following the break and he hasn’t disappointed.
2 (2) CELTICS 47-17
There was a time this season when the Celtic’s Rajon Rondo was averaging over 15apg, but that seemed like a long time ago because Rondo has clearly slowed down as of late due to nagging injuries and his team have slowed down with him. Last week Rondo averaged 9ppg along with a subpar 5.7apg to lead the team to a 1-2 record. Of all the Celtics players, Rondo is the one that must be at full strength in order for the Celtics to make it to the NBA Finals. He is clearly the engine that runs that team.
3 (5) BULLS 47-18
The Bulls are sporting a 6-game winning streak led by Derrick Rose, the overwhelming favorite to win the NBA’s MVP Award. However, there are still 17 games left in the Bulls season so I will have to reserve my vote until the end of the season.
4 (4) LAKERS 47-20
The Lakers are back to their winning ways and have won 9 of their last 10 games in convincing fashion. It’s unfortunate that they waited until after the all-star break to get their act together, but then again, it must be really difficult staying focus for an entire season especially after coming off back-to-back titles.
5 (3) MAVERICKS 47-19
Before Saturday’s 96-91 loss to the Lakers, the Mavericks had a 20-3 record in their previous 23 games. The Mavericks loss each of those games by only a point, which clearly shows how dominant they’ve been. Second year guard Rodrigue Beaubois’s return should strengthen the Mavs backcourt and help fill the perimeter void left by Caron Butler, who is out with a season ending injury.
6 (6) HEAT 45-21
After finally beating a championship contending team (Lakers), the Heat ended that week with one of their most impressive outings this season by beating the Grizzlies 118-85. Those wins didn’t really impress me because the Heat has what it takes to be a dominant team. It will be interesting to see if they can continue at this pace to finish the season strong.
7 (8) THUNDER 42-23
One of the reason I’m reserving my vote for MVP is because of players like Kevin Durant. The guy is leading the league in scoring for a second straight season. The Thunder are also sporting a 3-game winning streak and are expected to finally have newly acquired center Kendrick Perkins join the team following a knee injury.
8 (7) MAGIC 42-25
If Dwight Howard had a better supporting cast, the Magic would have a better record and Howard would definitely be the leading candidate to win the MVP Award. Howard has been an absolute beast, but his team has not really follow suit.
9 (10) NUGGETS 39-27
When the Nuggets traded Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups the consensus around the league was that the team was in complete rebuilt mold. Well it only took a few games for that thinking process to change, because the Nuggets have really excelled since the trade. The team has been without Danilo Gallinari, the player who is expected to replace Melo as the team’s starting small forward for the last 6 games, yet the Nuggets have a 7-2 record in the post Melo era.
10 (13) HORNETS 39-29
Following a nasty injury in Cleveland, CP3 was expected to be out for a while, but after only 2 games he was back in the fold with a monster 33 points and 15 rebounds performance to lead the Hornets to a 115-103 win against the Kings. The guy is a true warrior and in mine opinion is still the best pure point guard in the NBA.
11 (12) HAWKS 38-28
Newly acquired point guard Kirk Hinrich definitely makes the Hawks a better team, but in all honesty does anyone think they can beat the Celtics, Bulls, Heat or Magic in a 7-game series? Unless you’re a Hawks fan, the answer is no, which means they are currently only the fifth best team in the Eastern Conference.
12 (9) TRAIL BLAZERS 37-29
The Blazers began their 4-game road trip with two impressive wins over the Magic and the Heat, but they ended up losing their next two games against the Bobcats and Hawks. In all, they finished the week and their road trip with a 2-2 record which is considered a decent outcome for a road trip.
13 (11) GRIZZLIES 36-31
The Griz had a subpar week going 1-2 and did not gain any ground on Phoenix even though Steve Nash was out. I still expect the Grizzlies to finish with the eighth spot, but the Suns and Jazz will be lurking in their rearview mirror and will gladly take over the spot if there’s any slippage on the part of the Griz.
14 (14) KNICKS 34-31
Word out of New York is that the Knicks intend to sign their newly acquired point guard Chauncey Billups to an extension and why not? At worst, they get to keep him for an additional year. At best, they sign him for an additional two seasons and by 2012, he will be in the final year of an expiring contract making him the perfect trade chip if the team chooses to go after the Hornet’s Chris Paul.
15 (15) 76ERS 34-32
The Sixers posted a 2-2 record which was not great, but good enough to maintain the seventh seed, a position they will end up with at the very worse. However, I think this team may be getting a little greedy and might even move up to the sixth seed by the time the season ends.
16 (16) SUNS 33-31
The Suns were without Nash who is listed day-to-day with a pelvic injury, when they were annihilated in a 118-88 loss to the Magic. I expect Nash to be back sooner rather than later because without him, the Suns have absolute no shot at making the playoffs.
17 (17) ROCKETS 33-34
The Rockets are a game under .500 and still have a chance to make the playoffs. They are currently only 3 games behind the Grizzlies and along with the Suns and Jazz should give the Grizzlies a run for the final spot in the Western Conference.
18 (18) JAZZ 34-33
The Jazz obviously have a good chance of making the playoffs, but truth be told, I am not as optimistic as the rest of their fans are. I don’t have anything against Ty Corbin, the Jazz new head coach, but if I were a betting man, I would have definitely put my money on them making the playoffs if Jerry Sloan was still their coach. Under Corbin or in the post Sloan era, the Jazz have a 3-10 record, which is why I don’t think this year’s Jazz will make the playoffs.
19 (20) WARRIORS 30-36
The on again off again Warriors were back on again and had a nice 3-1 record in week 20. Even more impressive was the fact that they stopped Kevin Love’s double-double streak at 53 games when they held love to 6 points and 12 rebounds.
20 (19) PACERS 28-38
Word out of Indiana is that ownership might be looking to completely overhaul the front office. I’m not sure if that means Larry Bird is next in line to be fired, but something has to be done. Since posting a 7-2 record after firing former head coach Jim O’Brien, the team has only won one game over their last nine outings.
21 (21) BOBCATS 28-38
The Bobcats finally got back on track and are sporting a 2-game winning streak following a 6-game losing streak. The race for the eighth seed in gearing to be a dog fight in the East and the first team that wins a few games in a row might take over the lead for good.
22 (23) BUCKS 26-39
Before Sunday’s nightmare game against the Celtics, the Bucks were riding high on a 3-game winning streak. In reality though, 2 of their wins came against the Wizards and Cavaliers with their last being a very impressive 102-74 blowout win against the Sixers. Unfortunately, the Bucks followed up their impressive win against the Sixers with a record low 56 point outing against the Celtics.
23 (22) CLIPPERS 26-41
The L.A. Clippers are out of playoff contention and the only thing left to do is to use their last 15 games to improve, but in order to do that they need to be at full strength. Unfortunately, Eric Gordon is out again after reinjuring his wrist and may be out for a few weeks.
24 (25) NETS 21-43
Yes, the rumors are actually true! The Nets are sporting a 4-game winning streak. Call it the Deron Williams effect. The team finally has a closer and the rest of their players are following suit and playing well. The main beneficiary has been Nets forward Chris Humphries. He has been an absolute beast over the Nets last four games averaging 17ppg and 17.25rpg.
25 (24) PISTONS 23-44
The Pistons are not going anywhere this season. They stayed pat at the trade deadline which only leaves buyout scenarios at this point. Then again if a buyout was going to occur, it would have probably been done by now. Tayshaun Prince was the player most likely to be bought out, but from the looks of things, this team will probably finish the season with their current roster.
26 (26) RAPTORS 18-48
The Raptors last four losses were by 7, 1, 2 and 5 points respectively. I understand they were all losses, but the Raptors were in each of those games rather than being blown out. There is no consolation for losing, but as the seasons wears down there are some signs indicating that the Raptors will be a much better team next season.
27 (29) TIMBERWOLVES 17-51
It’s finally over! Kevin Love’s double-double streak ended at 53 games against the Warriors. The funny is I thought when Love streak ended it would be because he was short on rebounds, but surprisingly, it was points or lack thereof that ended his streak. Love got 12 rebounds, but was held to only 6 points on 1-6 shooting.
28 (27) WIZARDS 16-48
At full strength the Wizards are currently a lottery team, but with Lewis, Blatche and now Nick Young all suffering from injury bug, losses are bound to pile up. This team could mimic the Oklahoma City Thunder in that they have some excellent young players with unlimited potential.
29 (28) KINGS 15-49
The Kings got a steal when they traded for Marcus Thornton, a second year guard from the Hornets. I expect Thornton and Cousins to have a breakout season next year, the only question is whether it will be in Sacramento or Anaheim California.
30 (30) CAVALIERS 12-53
Is the season over yet? The Cavaliers management cannot wait for the summer. I expect the Cavaliers to make the playoffs next season and depending on how well they do in the draft, they could easily be one of the best teams in the league.
No comments:
Post a Comment