As we near Thanksgiving, it might be hard to transition from football to basketball. The NBA season is long, but as I mentioned last week in my first Power Rankings article, I'll be dissecting the teams from top to bottom every Wednesday -- all season long. Here is what I have for the second installment.
BIGGEST RISE: Washington Wizards from 22nd to 14th.
BIGGEST FALL: Chicago Bulls from 10th to 19th.
(Editor's note: "LW" indicates each team's ranking from CheChe23's previous week. —RTW)
| CheChe23's Power Rankings: November 21, 2007 | |||
| TEAM | RK (LW) | W-L | COMMENT |
 | 1 (1) | 8-1 | Boston remains number one for the second consecutive week despite losing their first game of the season Sunday (Paul Pierce missed a shot at the end of regulation that would have forced overtime). Regardless of the minor blemish, Boston still looks like the team to beat. Rajon Rando leads the C's in field goal percentage (57.5%) and assists per game (4.8) not to mention he's averaging over 10 points per game as well. |
 | 2 (2) | 9-2 | The Spurs came out of their Texas round-robin with a loss to Dallas and a win against Houston. The remainder of November should be fairly simple after their match-up with Orlando tonight. Tony Parker is as consistent as his team. Parker's number this season are nearly identical to his averages over the last three seasons (18 points, almost 6 assists, and just over 3 rebounds per game). |
 | 3 (5) | 9-2 | The Suns are hot. Phoenix already has 10-point victories over Cleveland, Charlotte, Houston, New York, Chicago and Orlando. Leandro Barbosa is leading the Suns in scoring (19.9) and Shawn Marion is pulling down 11.7 rebounds per game (almost 2.0 more than last season). Production from Grant Hill has given the Suns an edge on both ends of the court, but don't pretend Hill will be playing 30 plus minutes per night all season -- throughout his career he's averaged just 52.9 games per season. |
 | 4 (8) | 8-2 | Dallas keeps winning and continues showing they are nothing but business this season. Dirk might be making an early case for back-to-back MVP's, but as solid as Dirk is night in and night out -- Josh Howard is just as good. Howard is averaging almost 23 points per game, grabbing his usual six rebounds and shooting almost 55% from the floor. 15 points and 6 assists a night from Devin Harris is a nice plus. |
 | 5 (7) | 8-3 | The Nuggets pulled ahead of the Jazz for the Northwest division lead thanks to a six game win streak in which they won each game by an average of almost 20. The winning might continue as they have should-win games in four of their next six. Denver's the NBA's highest scoring team and they've started to play defense -- holding teams to just under 100. Surprising stat: Linas Kleiza is averaging 11.5 points per game. |
 | 6 (9) | 10-2 | After winning over the seemly unbeatable Boston Celtics and becoming NBA's fastest team to reach 10 wins, the Magic are flirting with the top five in my power rankings. It might be time to recognize that Orlando is a contender for the Eastern Conference title. Player of the Week Dwight Howard is putting up numbers are on par with the best power forwards in the NBA (DH is second in the NBA in rebounds per game) and his teammates are playing great around him. Plus, with a $2.6 million injury exemption (from Tony Battie), the Magic are looking to sign a big body for more glass help. |
 | 7 (6) | 8-4 | I don't really know what was wrong in the 20-point loss to the Pacers Saturday, but I don't really think it's a big deal. The Jazz are still scoring (third in the league) and they're still unselfish (first in the league with 26.7 assists per game). Friday's game against New Orleans should be a good test for the Jazz and a good indicator of where both teams should be ranked. |
 | 8 (12) | 9-3 | Losing Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler might be reason enough to keep the Hornets out of the top 10, but the 9-3 record is hard to ignore and the injuries arn't supposed to be lengthy. I was convinced over the weekend that New Orleans could be for real after watching David West score 40 and lead New Orleans to the win against the Grizzlies in Memphis. West has scored in double figures in every game this year and is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. A close loss to Orlando on Monday night without Paul at point is a good sign for the Hornets. |
 | 9 (16) | 7-3 | The Lakers have put together four straight wins to move all the way from 16th into the top 10. It's hard to deny that the Lakers belong in the top 10 after they finished a week beating fellow top 10 hopefuls Houston, Detroit and Chicago. Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmer are playing well enough to keep Kobe's mouth shut, but how long will the love last? |
 | 10 (4) | 6-4 | Detroit has lost three of the last four games after starting the season winning five of their first six. Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups have been absent from two games this year and Antonio McDyess has missed three games. I'm thinking that the Pistons are starting to show their age, but still a top ten team nonetheless. |
OUTSIDE THE TOP 10:
11. Houston Rockets (6-5): Houston's already playing games without Tracy McGrady, who is a perennial causality for Houston. I'm not counting the Rockets out, but they are definitely down.
12. Toronto Raptors (5-6): The Raptors are in the top 10 in rebounding and assists, but need to play better at home -- things could be worse.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (5-6): The Cavaliers don't need to sign Varejao when they are getting a career best 12.1 rebounds per game from Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Daniel Gibson is scoring well (26 points in last night's loss, 11.6 per game), but needs to have better vision (3 assists per game, 2 turnovers).
14. Washington Wizards (5-5): Washington is finally starting to roll (five straight wins). The Wizards are getting a great boost from Brandon Haywood who is putting up 10 points and 10 rebounds on a nightly basis.
15. Charlotte Bobcats (6-4): Charlotte is an all-around team that gets contribution and production from their entire roster -- The Bobcats are a wannabe Raptors.
16. Milwaukee Bucks (5-4): The Bucks have a roster full of talent, they are just trying to put the pieces together.
17. New Jersey Nets (4-7): New Jersey hasn't won since Nov. 8th -- the game before Vince Carter got injured (six straight losses).
18. Sacramento Kings (4-7): Sacramento hasn't let the Bibby injury stop them -- they got 26 points and six assists from Beno Udrih in a win against Detroit Sunday. With Ron Artest, Kevin Martin, Brad Miller, John Salmons and Francisco Garcia, the Kings might just keep up in the Pacific division.
19. Chicago Bulls (2-8): Following the Loul Deng injury, there's not much hope for Chicago right now. Kirk Hinrich is reminding me more and more of Rex Grossman. But Joakim Noah might be the answer (7/10, 16 points, 8 rebounds last night).
20. Memphis Grizzlies (3-7): The Grizzlies have lost three of their last four by a combined total of eight -- I'm still keeping them in the top 20.
21. Portland Trail Blazers (4-7): Still winless on the road (0-7) but unbeaten at home (4-0) -- four straight home games coming up could mean four straight wins.
22. Golden State Warriors (3-6): The Warriors are starting to get used to the regular season pace again, they've managed to win three in a row after dropping the first six out of the gate.
23. Miami Heat (2-8): Wade is back, Miami should start their rise up the division standings.
24. Atlanta Hawks (3-7): Atlanta is winless on the road and is falling back to earth in the standings.
25. Indiana Pacers (4-7): Five players are averaging double figures in scoring, two others are averaging 8.0 -- good depth, not enough stardom.
26. Philadelphia 76ers (3-7): With Kyle Korver injured, Willie Green and Louis Williams will get a better chance to show what they can do.
27. Los Angeles Clippers (5-4): Los Angeles is starting to realize how valuable Elton Brand is.
28. Seattle Sonics (2-10): Just keep in mind that every game-winning three put in by Kevin Durant means a worse percentage in next year's lottery.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-7): Minnesota has seen great glimpses from Rashad McCants and Al Jefferson. But it's still going to be a long year.
30. New York Knicks (2-8): Seven straight losses after starting 2-1, the Knicks are a joke.
HOT HOT HOT
1. LeBron James - James is almost averaging a triple-double and will single-handedly keep the Cavs in every game this year.
2. Chris Kaman - The Caveman has been a maniac on the boards grabbing a career best 13.3 per game and he's averaging a career best 18.7 points (better than last year's per game average by 8.6).
3. Gerald Wallace - He may have started the season slow, but Wallace is showing his fantasy value lately. He's had three straight games with 27 points and had six steals Monday in a win over Portland.
NOT NOT NOT
2. Kwame Brown - Before going out indefinitely with a bum knee, Brown wasn't doing much. His season scoring high was seven and he's averaging 5.0 rebounds per game.
3. Francisco Garcia - Garcia is a fine NBA player with a bright future, but with the return of Ron Artest and the increase in play from Beno Udrih has caused Garcia's numbers to decline.
No comments:
Post a Comment