During the madness of the NCAA tournament, the NBA starts to brew it's own form of madness. The playoffs usually begin to take form and seedings begin to lock up. This year there will likely be many playoff unknowns heading into the final day of NBA action. The playoff positions change with every game, but my rankings are a weekly thing that change just as much and this week is no different. New Orleans makes the giant leap from seventh to first and after a season of doubting the Sixers and Warriors -- I've moved them both into the top 10. Here are my rankings for the last week in March, comments are always appreciated.
BIGGEST RISE: New Orleans from 7th to 1st.
BIGGEST FALL: Houston Rockets from 3rd to 7th.
(Editor's note: "LW" indicates each team's ranking from CheChe23's previous week. —DC)
| CheChe23's Power Rankings: March 26, 2008 | |||
| TEAM | RK (LW) | W-L | COMMENT |
 | 1 (7) | 48-21 | I know it's drastic moving the Hornets from seventh to first, but how can you argue what they accomplish as a team. Led by Chris Paul, the Hornets have a roster surrounding the leader which contains quality and depth -- enough to win an NBA title. To prove they can win it all, New Orleans will have to show they can compete in consecutive nights on the road. Starting with the win over the Hawks last night, the Hornets play five more road games over the next eight days. |
 | 2 (1) | 55-15 | Boston has dropped the last two games, including a head-to-head loss to New Orleans -- which allowed me to move NO up ahead of Boston. Boston will get it's chance at revenge when they play a re-match against New Orleans on Friday (this time in Boston). Crazy stat: Boston is 7-2 sans Garnett and 6-1 sans Allen. |
 | 3 (2) | 50-20 | Another reason why New Orleans surfaced to the top spot is because Detroit lost two of three this past week. It's hard to ignore the quality of basketball that the Pistons play every night. The Pistons are ranked at the top of the NBA in point differential (2nd), average ppg allowed (2nd), assists (7th), protecting the ball (1st) and blocks (4th). |
 | 4 (5) | 47-25 | Golden State almost did Los Angeles in for two in a row on back-to-back nights, but a botched call in OT allowed the Lakers to hold on. As tight as the West has been, a win is a win and I'm sure a banged up Lakers squad will take it. They find relief in the schedule this week with Charlotte tonight and Memphis on Friday. |
 | 5 (4) | 45-21 | Utah lost to the Lakers on Thursday ending the Jazz forever-ending winning streak at home and also forfeiting their fourth spot to L.A. at the same time. For the Jazz, the Northwest division is looking like a lock and now Utah will start to focus in playing either Phoenix or San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs -- what a treat it is to be the fourth seed in the West. |
 | 6 (6) | 47-23 | The Suns are ranked third for the third straight week. No reason to move the Suns down now, especially now that Shaq is becoming familiar with the routine that they have in Phoenix. The Suns lead the NBA in assists per game (26.7) and score the leagues second most points per game. |
 | 7 (3) | 48-23 | Houston drops from third to seventh this week after going 2-3 since the winning streak. A mid-day Spurs vs Rockets game on Sunday isn't the Elite Eight, but it could be a match-up version of the NBA's Elite Eight. |
 | 8 (8) | 48-23 | It's hard to move the Spurs anywhere with the way the rest of the NBA stacks up. But after losing four straight, San Antonio has quickly regained their momentum with four straight victories. San Antonio ranks eighth, however they still make for the best bet to go to the NBA finals. |
 | 9 (11) | 45-24 | The Warriors got screwed on Monday when the refs blew the Laker game by calling a foul on Monta Ellis when it really should have been a no-call. Speaking of Ellis, are you kidding me? Ellis, so HOT right now, Ellis. I like what I see from the Warriors, but with Denver hot on their heels there is no room for error. |
 | 10 (13) | 36-35 | I watched the Boston vs Philadelphia game on Monday and fell more in love with players that I've been following on both sides. For the Celtics it was Leon Powe and for the Sixers it was Louis Williams. Williams has averaged 11.1 points per game this season and has been a big reason for the Sixers success. After watching Philly outlast Boston, I get the feeling the 76ers will be looking to make a statement when they get into the post-season -- look out Cleveland. |
OUTSIDE THE TOP 10:
11. Dallas Mavericks (45-26): The Dirk-less Mavericks beat the Clippers last night -- well of course they did, Los Angeles is under .500.
12. Orlando Magic (46-27): The Magic beat up on Philadelphia on Friday, but sandwiched that win with a loss to Washington and a loss to Atlanta. After a ten point loss to San Antonio last night, Orlando drops out of the top ten.
13. Denver Nuggets (43-28): Denver has won its last three straight games -- and they needed to. The Nuggets face Dallas, Golden State and Phoenix to finish March.
14. Cleveland Cavaliers (40-31): The Cavs aren't very good, but luckily LeBron James is. Cleveland faces three playoff teams over the next three games including a match-up with the Sixers in what could be an opening round playoffs series.
15. Portland Trail Blazers (38-34): Portland swept a back-to-back with the Los Angeles Clippers before falling to Seattle on Monday. LaMarcus Aldridge sprained his ankle and had to leave early scoring only 10 points, ending a string of nine straight games of scoring 20 points or more.
16. Toronto Raptors (35-35): Who do you think is better: Toronto or Portland? It wasn't tough to pick after the Raptors lost to the Cavs on Friday and the Nugs on Sunday. These two teams are as equal as they come, but I side with Portland this week.
17. Washington Wizards (36-34): Gilbert Arenas will be back, soon. "It feels like they are playing games with my mind," said Arenas, who should be back during the first week of April.
18. Atlanta Hawks (30-40): Atlanta is doing its best job of trying to miss the post season by losing gammes to New Jersey last Wednesday and Chicago last night. This week could be a good time for Atlanta to solidify that eighth and final spot with consecutive games against bottom-feeders Milwaukee, Chicago, New York and Memphis.
19. Sacramento Kings (31-39): Sacramento doesn't play defense. In the last 37 games, they have allowed 100-plus points 31 times.
20. Chicago Bulls (27-40): The Bulls playoff hope almost shattered with a late game collapse to the Pacers on Saturday. But with a win over Atlanta on Tuesday and Philadelphia, Atlanta (again) and Milwaukee on the schedule has me holding on to that last shred of hope.
21. New Jersey Nets (30-41): New Jersey plays two games this week against Indiana which will indirectly be a playoff series.
22. Indiana Pacers (29-42): Indiana is making a late push for the playoffs with four wins in the last five games.
23. Charlotte Bobcats (25-45): Charlotte has lost six of their last seven games.
24. Minnesota Timberwolves (18-51): Minnesota has won four of the last six games and are 6-6 in the month of March.
25. Los Angeles Clippers (21-49): Eight straight losses for the Clippers.
26. Milwaukee Bucks (24-45): Milwaukee has dropped seven of their last eight games.
27. Seattle Sonics (17-54): Seattle beat Portland on Monday for their second win this month. Maybe Kevin Durant would like the be on the Texas sweet 16 squad right now.
28. Memphis Grizzlies (18-52): When the Grizzlies won two in a row last week I couldn't believe it -- how many wins are left in that tank?
29. New York Knicks (19-51): New York is 1-11 this month.
30. Miami Heat (13-57): The only win that the Knicks have in March is to Miami.
HOT HOT HOT
1. Andre Iguodala -- The Sixers have been led by the other AI. In back-to-back wins, Iguodala has posted back-to-back 28 point games. Iguodala is averaging a miniature version of a LeBron James stat-line this past month: 21.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.4 apg.
2. Monta Ellis -- Monta Ellis has played almost as good as Conan O'Brian's :51 second ring spin. The 23-year-old Ellis was picked 10th in the 2nd round -- makes me wonder what NBA GM's even look at as drafting credentials. I thought Ellis played great last year, but he's outdone himself this season. The Warriors wouldn't be close to the playoff picture if it weren't for this guy. Rebounds, assists, steals, speed, hustle and points. This past month Ellis is averaging 22.4 ppg and 6.1 rebounds, he averaged 26.0 ppg in February.
3. Joel Przybilla -- After 17 rebounds last night there was no way I could ignore what the Minnesota native Przybilla has done on the glass recently. He recorded a career best 25 rebounds Saturday. This month Joel has averaged 10.8 rebounds per game, he's averaging 8.1 on the season.
NOT NOT NOT
2. Smush Parker -- Every game Smush Parker has played, all six, the Clippers have lost. He is trying to replace Sam Cassell, but after sitting out nearly all of the season (some saying he'd NEVER come back) Parker has averaged 6.2 points, 1.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game since returning.
3. Ike Diogu -- I picked Diogu even though he's really never been HOT because I noticed that he was drafted in the same draft as Monta Ellis (HOT) and selected in the same slot as Andre Iguodala (9th overall, HOT). Diogu had high hopes for NBA success after playing well enough in his senior season at Arizona State to get selected top 10, but this season hasn't proven Digou should be compared with Iguodala.
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