Dec

21

Slam Dunk Central NBA Power Rankings

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Power Ranking 

Introducing our newest feature here at Slam Dunk Central; our NBA Power Rankings. We felt that starting our PowerRankings at this juncture of the season was an ideal time. Doing NBA PowerRankings in the preseason serves no genuine purpose, except to speculate. Now that the season’s nearly at the one-third mark, we feel we have reached the  perfect time to analyze the Association’s 30 clubs. Having said all that, here is the first of a weekly series of NBA Power Rankings, courtesy of Slam Dunk Central:

  1. Boston Celtics. A 14-game winning streak looked doable going into their game in Orlando at Christmas, except that the 76ers got in the way. Not a problem though, as long as Garnett and Pierce keep doing what they’re doing.
  2. Los Angeles Lakers. L.A. is gonna have to quit relying on Kobe so much for their offense if they hope not to implode somewhere around February. Matchup of the week: Artest vs. LeBron James on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas!
  3. Atlanta Hawks. Their defense was improved during their six-game win streak this week, although their offense took a dump against Chicago on Saturday. Joe Johnson dropped 40, but Josh Smith and Marvin Williams went 3-for-19. The pair need to step it up.
  4. Orlando Magic. Someone needs to tell Vince Carter that shooting your way out of a slump rarely works as he is shooting for the year a career-low 40%. Superman needs more touches if Orlando expects to get better. Good thing that Jameer Nelson is returning soon.
  5. Cleveland Cavaliers. Mike Brown needs to recognize that if he expects his team to go far in the playoffs, he needs a big man not named Shaq. Anderson Varejao is hardly the answer at the 5, so maybe a visit to the waiver wire or a trade may remedy that problem. King James needs another passing option.
  6. Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs made a statement when they beat Cleveland Sunday without Dirk Nowitzki – no mean feat there. Speaking of which, Dirk is questionable for Tuesday.
  7. Denver Nuggets. Like the Lakers, the Nuggets are too reliant on Carmelo Anthony’s offense. Chauncey Billups was truly missed against Memphis and New Orleans this past weekend. He’s expected back Wednesday against Atlanta.
  8. Phoenix Suns. They’re a team of contrasts; they’re undefeated at home, but get owned on the road. Their undefeated streak will be sorely tested as Cleveland, the Lakers and Boston come visiting in the next eight days. I smell a drop in the rankings on that alone.
  9. Portland Trail Blazers. Not that Andre Miller’s the reason, but Portland won three of 4 this past week. Now if they can win a few games on the road.
  10. Utah Jazz. Nice to see Carlos Boozer stepping it up. They were kinda  flat against Atlanta on Friday, but haven’t lost two in a row since the second week of the season. Now that’s consistency.
  11. San Antonio Spurs. It always helps that they won five of their last 6 games, although to be fair, they did the deed against soft teams. The cake walk continues as only two of their next 9 opponents are playing above .500 (Portland and Miami).
  12. Houston Rockets. The Rockets have won 8 of their past 11, and T-Mac is back. All’s good right? Not exactly; Carl Landry and Chase Budinger are hurt.
  13. Miami Heat. The Heat are 2-9 when Dwyane Wade shoots less than 42%. D-Wade had to take 31 shots just to score 28 against Portland, which is never good. He’s going to have to improve that mark as there aren’t too many scoring options outside of Quentin Richardson (Yikes!!).
  14. Oklahoma City Thunder. They’ve lost four of their last 5 and their defense has taken a collective dump. And it doesn’t get any better as they have to next face the Lakers and Phoenix.
  15. Memphis Grizzlies. This weekend was the Zach Weekend; he averaged 29 PPG and 20 RPG in those two games. That rarity proved that even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. Don’t get too spoiled, Grizzlies fans.
  16. New Orleans Hornets. Folks, CP-3 is back. During his first seven games back, he’s averaging 17.9 PPG and 14.4 APG – Paul-like numbers. If anything, he needs help from Peja and David West.
  17. Sacramento Kings. Since Kevin Martin’s been hurt, Tyreke Evans has averaged at least 18 PPG in 18 of the past 20 games. There’s a reason why he’s the front-runner for the ROY.
  18. Milwaukee Bucks. I can’t really dog the Bucks as they lost three heartbreakers, courtesy of Kobe on Wednesday, Brandon Jennings missing a jumper at the horn to tie the game at Cleveland and Tyreke Evans racing past Andrew Bogut to lose on Saturday. The effort’s definitely there. Snakebitten’s more like it.
  19. Toronto Raptors. The bad news is that they lost to Miami and Orlando. The good news is that they spanked the Nets (heck, who hasn’t done that?). It’s a safe assumption that they miss Jose Calderon.
  20. Los Angeles Clippers. Clippers fans better enjoy the rarified air that is 12-14; their schedule’s a killer: At San Antonio, at Houston, at Phoenix, home against Boston and at Portland. Freefalls are not fun.
  21. Chicago Bulls. Winners of three of their past 5, they’ve picked up their defense. Derrick Rose scored 32 against Atlanta Saturday, which should allow him to be more of a hybrid (combo?) guard and not exclusively a point guard.
  22. Detroit Pistons. Even I didn’t expect the Pistons to be 11-16, which is to me overachieving – but I digress. Rip’s injured again and Ben Gordon’s hurt, as well. The lack of continuity is gonna be their Achilles’ heel (pun semi-intended).
  23. New York Knicks. As good as Nate Robinson is, coach D’Antoni insists on not playing him. Which seems to work as they are 5-0 at home this month and have three more at MSG this week, including Miami. Hey Mike, play Nate, will ya?
  24. Indiana Pacers. The only good thing for this week going for the Pacers is that Roy Hibbert held Tim Duncan in check on Saturday; they also blew a double-digit lead agaisnt these same San Antonio Spurs. Now I know how the Nets fans feel.
  25. Charlotte Bobcats. Not much good news for the Bobcats. They lose five of theor last 6, then lose Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace to injuries. Life isn’t too good in North Carolina, is it?
  26. Washington Wizards. Arenas, Jamison and Butler are all nursing minor injuries. After getting owned in Oakland (Golden State) and Phoenix, Washington returns to some home cooking.
  27. Philadelphia 76ers. Wow, what a contrast. They come from behind to beat the Celtics only to lose at home to the Clippers. The freakin’ Clippers. On the bright side, Lou Williams came back early and Iverson isn’t exactly healthy these days. Someone should’ve told Ed Snyder that Iverson isn’t “the answer.”
  28. Golden State Warriors. After their huge win over Dallas before Thanksgiving, they’ve managed to lose 11 of 13, with the wins coming against Indiana and New Jersey (a recurring theme here?). Fortunately for them, they do have Stephen Curry. At their rate of losing, maybe the Warriors will force Don Nelson to retire. Keith Smart needs to be running that team.
  29. Minnesota Timberwolves. A fun fact: Although they’re 5-23 (typical T-Wolves), they’ve beaten Utah twice and found a way to slow down Tyreke Evans. there’s some light at the end of the tunnel – or in the T-Wolves’ case the Chunnel – when they get to face every NBA teams’s punching bag – the New Jersey Nets.
  30. New Jersey Nets. Now that Kiki Vandeweghe’s in charge, they have lost seven straight since they won their first two of 3 under him. they have a homestand coming up, which means…probably nothing – except more of the same. It must not feel too great to be Brook Lopez these days.

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