RK LAST WK
1 (1) BULLS 40-10
The Bulls is perhaps the only team that actually plays hard on every possession. How else would you explain the Bulls record with and without Derrick Rose? With Rose in the lineup the Bulls are 28-6 and without Rose, the Bulls have a very respectable 12-4 record. This is the reason why Rose will not repeat as the league's MVP, even if the Bulls end up with the best overall record.
2 (3) THUNDER 37-12
The Thunder have been inconsistent as of late, but they sure saved their best for their last outing against the Heat. They dominated the Heat all game, with Kendrick Perkins scoring a season high 16 points and defending the paint against drives. Kevin Durant dominate Lebron for the time in their head-to-head matchup and the Thunder sure look like a team that expects to make it to the NBA finals.
3 (2) HEAT 35-12
It was shocking to see the Heat post a 4-1 record over their last 5-games, especially with Lebron playing the way he has over the last 4-games. I don't think Lebron has ever had a more horrific 4-game stretch during the regular season like he's had over the last four games. James averaged only 17ppg on a miserable .382 percent shooting. I don't buy the fact that he's hurt, I think he's just been disengaged, a sight that has become far too familiar over the last several years. The addition of center Ronny Turiaf should definitely help, because he can defend as well as Joe Alexander - the Heat current starting center- but Turiaf is a far better defender. When Joel Alexander is in the game, if feels likes the Heat are playing 4-on-5 on offense, because he is a definite non-factor.
4 (4) SPURS 33-14
Stephen Jackson could not be happier. After falling out of grace with Scott Skiles - the Bucks head coach - and barely playing for a Bucks team that probably won't make the playoffs this year, to re-joining a winning organization like the Spurs, Jackson is definitely a winner in this situation. Matter of fact, the re-union will is benefiting both sides, the Spurs and Jackson.
5 (6) MAGIC 31-18
The Magic did not pull the trigger on trading Dwight, and this will ultimately be a grave mistake. For starters, they will not even make the Eastern Conference Finals and in about a year from now, Dwight Howard will ask to be traded next season, once it becomes evident that the Magic are not good enough. I just feel bad for New Jersey.
6 (5) LAKERS 30-19
Ramon Sessions was an excellent trade for the Lakers. The team really needed an athletic backcourt mate for Kobe and they found it in Ramon Sessions. The key to the Lakers success would come do to whether Kobe is willing to share the ball and trust in his team.
7 (11) HAWKS 30-20
The Hawks have been playing well as of late. It took 4 OT against the Jazz, but the Hawks came out victorious and extended their current winning streak to four games. Over their last five outings, Joe Johnson - the Hawks $126 million man - earned his paycheck by averaging 23.2ppg to help lead the Hawks to a 4-1 record.
8 (13) PACERS 28-19
The Pacers have solid front court, but for most of this season, their backcourt has been a big question mark. After trading for Barbosa and welcoming back Hill - who was out with an injury - the Pacers now have a nice 3-guard rotation of Hill-Barbosa-Collison, which should serve them well down the stretch. On any given night, any of those three guards are capable of putting up big numbers to help the team as evident by Hill's 24-point performance on only 9 shot attempts in the Pacers 125-104 win over the Bucks.
9 (8) CLIPPERS 27-21
After losing three of their last four games and 12 of their last 20, whispers are getting louder that new Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro has lost his team. Rather than accept the fact that the team simply has not recovered from losing Chauncey Billups - the Clippers glue and emotional leader - the L.A. media are setting up Del Negro to be the fall guy and yes, he does share some responsibility, but he is definitely not the main reason why the team is free-falling right now.
10 (9) MAVERICKS 28-22
Mavericks fans have finally reached their limit with Lamar Odom's miserable performance this season and have now resulted into booing him. The poor guy DNP against the Spurs was followed by a 13-minute 0-for-2 stint against the Rockets. At this point, I think it is in everyone's best interest to buyout Odom's contract and set him free, because Dallas is simply not the answer.
11 (14) SIXERS 27-22
Just when it seem like Evan Turner was proving he was worth being the number 2 pick in last year's draft, he took a turn for the worst during the Sixers last 5 games. Even though Evans averaged 31 minutes a game, he only managed to score 30 points over the last 5 games for a 6ppg average. The Sixers have a 2-3 record during that stretch.
12 (15) JAZZ 26-23
I predicted that Devin Harris would have a much better second half of the season and obviously, as Harris goes, so does the Jazz. Over the team's last 5 outings Harris averaged 13.6ppg and 7.6apg to lead the Jazz to a 4-1 record during that stretch. Thanks to their 6-game winning streak which was finally ended in a thriller 4 OT loss to the Hawks in Atlanta, the Jazz are now a part of a 3-way tie for the seventh seed in the Western Conference.
13 (7) GRIZZLIES 26-21
The Grizzlies are going through a tough stretch since the return of Zack Randolph - the team's leading scorer from last season - and dropped in the standings since his return. I understand a 4-6 record over their last 10 games has Grizzlies fans a bit antsy, but I expect this team to get back on track.
14 (16) CELTICS 26-22
The Celtics lead the league in assist with 23.8 and they have the league's third best defense in terms of opponent points allowed at 90.5ppg, which is an indication that they do share the ball thanks to Rondo and their defense in still one of the league's elite despite the age of their aging star players. For as inconsistent as this team has been all season, I still consider them a major threat in Eastern Conference and they could surprise a lot of teams in the playoffs.
15 (19) ROCKETS 26-23
The Rockets are hanging on to the final playoffs spot for dear life, but with the Jazz emerging, the Rockets could be the odd team out. The Rockets 26-23 record has them tied with the Jazz and Nuggets for the last two playoffs spots in the West and at this point, they look like their weakest team in my opinion.
16 (12) SUNS 25-24
After a rough game against the Magic in which he had a season low 2 assist with 5 turnovers, Nash recovered to dish 17 assist against the Pacers to halt the Suns two games skid. Even though I'm rooting for Nash to make the playoffs and though the Suns are only a game out, I still believe this team will come up short, but I'm not going to bet against Nash either.
17 (10) NUGGETS 26-23
The JaVale McGee experiment has gotten off to a rough start, though no fault of McGee who is averaging 13.6ppg, 8rpg and 2.3bpg in his 3 games with the Nuggets. The team has a 1-2 record with McGee and are losers of their last two games. Danilo Gallinari - thumb injury and out indefinitely - is the most bothersome news out of Denver this week.
18 (17) KNICKS 24-25
The Knicks have a 6-1 record under new interim head coach Mike Woodson currently have a 1.5 game lead over the Bucks for the eighth and final playoffs spot in the Eastern Conference. I expect the Knicks to ultimately beat out the Bucks and make the playoffs.
19 (20) TIMBERWOLVES 24-26
Kevin Love has been as absolute beast as of late. He followed up a 51-point, 14-rebound game with a 30-point, 21-rebound performance to help his team beat the Nuggets 117-100 in the Wolves last outing. Nuggets head coach George Karl said Kevin Love is not a "poor man's" Larry Bird, he is simply Kevin Love and this drew some criticisms, but I didn't understand why? Love's 26.3ppg and 13.8rpg this season is as good as anything Bird, or any other power in league's history has ever posted. To me, he is no poor man's Larry Bird, he's simply KEVIN LOVE, the best power forward in professional basketball today!
20 (21) TRAIL BLAZERS 23-26
The Blazers have a 3-3 record since firing head coach Nate McMillan and are currently 3 games behind the Rockets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Basically I don't see anything changing. Like I said before, the Blazers problem is a players issue and not a coaching issue and until they change this current roster, the Blazers will not make the playoffs, which rules out this season.
21 (18) BUCKS 22-26
After winning 6 straight, the Bucks stumbled recently by losing 2 of their last 3 games. The Bucks are currently 1.5 games behind the Knicks and though that is not a huge margin to overcome, I don't think the Bucks have enough to get them over the hump. Newly acquired socring machine Monte Ellis could be the answer, but so far, it appears that he's doing his best to not be seen as a gunner. Unfortunately, the Bucks need Ellis to be their leading scorer for them to have any chance of making the playoffs. That was why they traded for him!
22 (22) WARRIORS 20-27
Well, for as much as it hurts me, being that I live in the Bay Area, I think it's fair to say that the Warriors will not make the playoffs this season. Fans expressed their disapproval of the Monte Ellis trade, by booing the Warriors owner during Chris Mullin's number retiring celebration, which to me was classless and thoughtless. Even with Ellis, the Warriors were not going to make the playoffs this season, so the Warriors management used this opportunity to bring in Bogut, a top 5 center in the league. My only concern is whether he can stay healthy, because if he does, the Warriors will be a far better defensive team and will definitely make the playoffs next season.
23 (25) CAVALIERS 17-29
If you are a Cavaliers fan, don't be mad because your team lost 6 of their last 7 games, be thankful and enjoy the development of Kyrie Irving. The more the Cavs lose, the more they increase their chances of drafting Kentucky's Anthony Davis, a player who could make the all-nba defensive team as a rookie next season.
24 (23) KINGS 17-31
The Kings have been playing well as of late. After a 3-game winning streak, the Kings suffered two heart breaking losses in their last two outings, a 103-102 loss to Utah, followed by a 111-108 loss to the Warriors. Both games were winnable, but ultimately wouldn't have changed anything. This team is still lottery-bound, but their future sure looks bright.
25 (26) RAPTORS 16-33
Before sitting out against the Bulls due to sore knees, the Raptors DeMar DeRozan had been playing well as of late. In the Raptors previous 4 games, DeRozan averaged 22.5ppg on .522 percent shooting, but the Raptors were still only 1-3 during that stretch. Obviously this team is also lottery-bound.
BOTTOM FEEDERS
26 (24) PISTONS 16-32
The Pistons were playing well before embarking on their current road trip. The Pistons had won 4 of 5 before the road trip, but since then, the team has won only 1 of their last 7 games. What more do expect from a team that is 28th in the league in both scoring at 90.2 points and rebounds at 39.5 per game?
27 (27) NETS 16-34
Since joining the Nets, Gerald Wallace is averaging 13.4ppg on .392 percent shooting from the field and .279 from 3s, I doubt those kind of numbers will do anything to sway Deron Williams to re-sign. Chris Humphries on the other hand is having a career year, averaging 13.5ppg and 11rpg, but obviously he's playing for an extended contract, because he is currently only has a one-year $8 million deal with the Nets. So as it stands, the Nets have Wallace, Humphries, Lopez, rookie MarShon Brooks as their cornerstone and to me, that is not going to be enough to sway Williams to stay. The good news is, those players are good trade pieces, not to mention, the Nets still have some nice draft picks this summer.
28 (28) HORNETS 12-36
The Hornets Emeka Okafor has been sidelined since Feb 13 due to sore knees and may be out for a while, so buying out Kaman contract became less attractive to the Hornets management. Now that the deadline has passed, Kaman will not be bought out, so teams like the Heat, Pacers and Rockets that were hoping to add Kaman for their playoff run, will have to wait until he becomes a free agent this summer.
29 (29) WIZARDS 11-37
Adding Nene should give the Wizards the post scorer they desperately needed, but his overall health is what concerns me in the long run. Nene has already missed 2 of the 5 games he's been with the Wizards due to back spasms. Obviously the Wizards will go as far as Wall will take them, but unfortunately Wall has been very inconsistent all season long.
30 (30) BOBCATS 7-39
The Bobcats will finish the season as the worst team in the NBA, so I expect them to hold on to their 30th rank for the rest of the season. They are the lowest scoring team in the league with a miserable 87.4 points per game and 29th in rebounding with 39.4 per game. Those numbers will not change, but at this point it really doesn't matter because this team is already looking to next season, beginning with this summer's draft.
No comments:
Post a Comment