RK LAST RK
1 (2) THUNDER 17-3
By virtue of having the best record in the NBA, OKC has to be ranked first entering week 6. However, here's a stat you might find very interesting. Only one of the Thunder 17 wins came against a team with a plus .500 record.
2 (1) BULLS 17-5
It was a real gutsy effort to go on the road and almost get a win against the Heat in Miami without Deng. Rose shot 11-of-28 from the field and it seemed like deja vu all over again. I know it's early, but the Bulls need to make a big splash by the trade deadline if they expect to get out of the East, or else I can see them relying heavily on Rose once again and that will not lead to a championship.
3 (9) HEAT 15-5
The Heat went 5-1 during their last six games before Wade returned and once he did, he told Lebron to continue to be aggressive. Moving forward, I think that advise will serve well, because Lebron has a tendency of taken a backseat to Wade way too often. Miami did not lose the Finals because of Wade, they lost the Finals because Lebron was very passive on offense. If Lebron can maintain his season average in the playoffs and the FINALS, the Heat will win the championship this season.
4 (7) HAWKS 15-6
One thing I can say about the Hawks this season and that is they win the games they are suppose to win. Against sub .500 teams they have a 12-1 record this season, but they are only 3-5 against teams with .500 or better records. Collectively the Hawks top four scorers have all increased their scoring since Horford went down.
5 (6) SIXERS 14-6
The Sixers have the stingiest defense entering week 6 to go along with the league's fourth best offense, but the next 7 games will be a solid measuring stick on how good this team really is. Each of their next 7 opponents have a plus .500 record.
6 (5) NUGGETS 14-6
The Denver Nuggets have the second best record in the West mainly because they lead the league in points at 105.8 and assist with 24.4 per game. Timofey Mozgov is emerging as a solid center for the Nuggets. In their last 10 games, Mozgov averaged 8ppg, 5.6rpg and 1.6bpg in only 20.8 minutes per game. The Nuggets posted an 8-2 record during that stretch.
7 (4) PACERS 13-6
The Pacers Danny Granger claimed that he and center Roy Hibbert deserves to make the all-star team because of their record. I think Granger makes a strong case for Hibbert who is averaging 14.2ppg, 9.8rpg and 1.7 blocks at the center position. Unfortunately, Granger is only shooting .383 percent from the field so as of now, I doubt he's on track to make the all-star team.
8 (8) CLIPPERS 11-6
CP3 is back from his injury and the Clippers are 2-1 since, but the highlight of the week had to be Billups return to home town Denver Colorado. Billups scored a season high 32 points to lead the Clippers to a 109-105 win over the Nuggets in Denver. If I had to point out one negative for the Clippers it would have to be the fact that Blake Griffin is making on 50 percent of his free throw attempts. He must improve on that and add a consistent 18-foot jumper in order for the Clippers to take the next step.
9 (12) MAVERICKS 13-8
Since starting the season 1-4, the Mavs have gone on to win 12 of their last 16 games. The bad news is Dirk and Lamar Odom are both having a terrible year. They average a combined 25.8 points with only 10.1 rebounds per game. Just to put things in perspective, last season Dirk and Lamar averaged a combined 38.1ppg and 15.7rpg. Obviously Dirk has been slowed by a knee injury and Odom is still adjusting to leaving the Lakers, but I expect them to eventually come around.
10 (13) ROCKETS 12-8
The Rockets have been on a tear as of late, winning 9 of their last 10 games. According to Rockets new head Kevin McHale, the players have settled into their roles, which was something that wasn't happening in the beginning of the season when the team had a 3-7 record. To add to that, I think the Rockets players were on egg shells early on, because most of them expected to get traded before the arrival of Samuel Dalembert.
11 (11) JAZZ 11-7
The Jazz backcourt tandem of Devin Harris and Earl Watson are averaging a combined13.1ppg, 8.9apg, which to me is not enough. Just a few years ago, Harris averaged over 21ppg and even last year he averaged 15.8 points a game. This season, he's down to 9.2ppg, which is a disappointment. The Jazz will not make the playoffs with Harris averaging 9.2ppg, because they definitely need his offense.
12 (16) TRAIL BLAZERS 12-8
The Blazers are two players deep at every position, but there are some staggering stats that needs to be pointed out. Jamal Crawford and Raymond Felton - the Blazers only point guard - are averaging a combined 23.5ppg. Great right? Absolutely not! They make only 8.4 of their combined 23 shot attempts, for a miserable .365 shooting percentage. Their percentage from 3s is far worse. They make only 2 of the 7.4 3-pointers they attempt per game, which is only 27 percent. No matter how you slice it, those number are just atrocious and that explains the Blazers inconsistency early on.
13 (15) LAKERS 12-9
The Lakers have really struggled as of late. A 3-5 Record over their last 8 games and a 2-7 overall road record should have Lakers fans concern. A Bynum-for-Howard trade will make the Lakers better, but unless Kobe gets another player to help him on the perimeter, the Lakers will have no chance of winning a title this season.
14 (3) MAGIC 12-8
With the exception of the Tuesday 102-83 win in Indy, the Magic had one of their worst week in recent history. As if a 24.6 shooting percentage and scoring only 56-points against the Celtics wasn't bad enough, the Magic followed it up by blowing a 27-point lead to the same Celtics team just a few days later. Dwight Howard called out his team, Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy looked dejected and the Magic team as a whole look like a total mess right now.
15 (14) SPURS
With two straight losses, the Spurs are actually tied with the Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Spurs are only 2-8 on the road this season so you have to be concern if you are a Spurs fan, because the Spurs are about to enter a very crucial stretch. Ten of the team's next 13 games are on the road, so either the Spurs will overcome their road demons, or they could find themselves falling out of the playoff picture. I expect them to figure it out.
16 (17) CELTICS 9-10
The Celtics looked very impressive with back-to-back wins over the Magic, but then they reverted back to their poor early season play, by allowing the Cavs to go on a 12-0 run to end the game, which led to a 88-87 loss in Boston. Despite the loss, the Celtics players have a much better body language than they did a few weeks ago.
17 (17) GRIZZLIES
Until last week the Grizzlies were doing their best to stay in the playoff race, but with 3 straight road losses, the Griz now find themselves one game behind the Lakers for the eighth and final playoffs spot in the West. I'm not sure if coach Hollins is trying to motivate his troops, or the rumors are true - that Z-Bo may be out for the season - but Hollins is believed to be preparing his team to move forward as if Z-Bo will not be returning this season.
18 (19) BUCKS 8-11
The Bucks are winners of four of their last six game, with impressive wins over the Heat, Rockets and Lakers, but they can't seem to get a break. Actually Andrew Bogut - the Bucks starting center - can't seem to get a break. The poor guy went down with yet another injury (ankle), and is expected to miss 8-to-12 weeks.
19 (21) CAVALIERS 8-11
With Bogut out 8-to-12 weeks and the Knicks falling apart, the Cavalier just might get lucky and sneak into the playoffs in the East. Currently they are tied with the Bucks for the eighth seed and I'm sure their 12-0 run to end the game in Boston for a 88-87 win, will give them a little momentum moving forward.
20 (20) TIMBERWOLVES 9-11
For those of you jumping on the bandwagon claiming that rookie Ricky Rubio should win the ROY Award, I think you need to hold on. I know Rubio is third in NBA in assists and steals with 8.8apg and 2.3spg, but I cannot turn a blind eye on his poor .371 shooting percentage, especially with the Cavs' Kyrie Irving making over .516 percent of his shots. Rubio is a phenom, but for him to take the next step, his shooting will have to improve.
21 (18) SUNS
Maybe it's a financial decision to hang on to Steve Nash, considering Forbes just estimated the Suns value at $450 million. Perhaps the Suns management figures, why trade Nash, when they clearly will not get equal value in return. So if that means bleeding the guy dry and milking him for every ounce of what he has left, then so be it. To me, this has been one of the saddest story lines in the NBA, because I really believe Nash deserves a chance to be on a contender.
22 (22) KNICKS
With only one win in their last 10 outings, It would be fair to say that the Knicks are the most disappointing team so far this season. Things are so bad that the Knicks had to sit Carmelo (wrist and ankle), but the reality is they figure they are just as bad without him. If I were the Knicks I would trade Amare and Chandler for Dwight and Jameer Nelson like yesterday. Unfortunately, I think coach D'Antoni will be the first to go.
23 (24) WARRIORS 6-12
The Warriors are currently 4.5 games out of the playoffs and their chances of making it are dwindling by the minute, but it is not over yet. Steph curry is back, which will definitely help, but the Warriors need a big man and Chris Kaman is on the trading block. If the Warriors acquire Kaman, he could easily average 12ppg, 10rpg and 2 blocks, which ironically is even better than what Tyson Chandler or DeAndre Jordan would've given the Warriors had the team landed one of those players. With Kaman, the Warriors would then have a decent chance of making the playoffs.
24 (25) NETS 7-14
I expect Deron Williams to really put his foot to the medal and take over the scoring load, because not only do the team need it, but anything could happen in the Eastern Conference. Currently the Nets are only 2 games out of the playoffs.
25 (27) RAPTORS 7-14
Bargnani returned for two games and averaged 30.5ppg to lead the Raptors to two straight wins, but a calf injury caused him to miss the team's last two games. The good news is test showed no significant damage, but unfortunately Barnani will be out indefinitely.
BOTTOM FEEDERS
26 (23) KINGS
It's only a matter of time before the Kings leave Sacramento. The reason I say this, is because rather than spending money on free agents, the team decided to remain bad with a bunch of young players. The good news is they are situated well below the cap for next season, the bad news is it probably won't be in Sacramento.
27 (30) WIZARDS 4-16
After being ranked 30th for most of the season, the Wizards finally moved up a few spots. They are 2-1 over their last 3 games, but before you jump for joy Wizards fans, it needs to be noted that both wins came against the Charlotte Bobcats, the team with the worse record in the NBA.
28 (26) PISTONS 4-17
I know there's no constellation price for almost winning, but the Pistons came real close to defeating two of the best teams in the East. They lost 101-98 to Miami and Atlanta needed a 107-101 OT win to defeat the Pistons. That said, I expect this team to be on my bottom feeders list for a while.
29 (29) HORNETS 4-16
This team is a bottom feeder right now and probably won't make the playoffs, but I expect them to move up in the standings once Eric Gordon returns. Speaking of Gordon, he turned down a 4 year/$50 million extension, because he was looking for a max deal in the neighborhood of 4 years/$61 million or 5 years/$80 million. With Gordon playing in only two games this season due to injuries, coupled with the fact that the NBA is trying to find a buyer for the Hornets, I knew a max deal was not going to be offered. Obviously the league intends to keep the team in a great position financially, so that it is appealing for a new buyer.
30 (28) BOBCATS 3-18
The Bobcats are have the worst record in the league, so as expected they enter week 6
ranked 30th. Regardless of how bad the Bobcats are, at least Michael Jordan - the team's owner - will not lose money this year, thanks to his hard line stance during the collective bargaining negotiations.
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