Roundball Ruckus
October 27th NBA Power Rankings
Previous (July) rankings in parentheses.
1. L.A. Lakers (1) - Pau Gasol is good. And looks like a praying mantis. Kobe will be good enough. And looks like a f****r.
2. Miami (2) - Losing first game to Boston in Boston doesn't change anything for me.
3. Orlando (3) - Vince Carter looks a lot more solid than last year. Most balanced team in the east.
4. Utah (5) - Undefeated preseason means more to a team with so many new pieces.
5. Dallas (4) - Tyson Chandler looks better than he has in years. Mavs with an athletic C? Sounds good.
6. Oklahoma City (9) - Jump to 6 more about concerns with other teams than belief in Thunder.
7. Boston (7) - Still old, but KG looks healthier than last two years. Will climb if they stay healthy.
8. Houston (10) - So many offensive options, such strong defense. Only concern is that with a hobbled Yao there's still no real go-to guy.
9. Atlanta (14) - Yes, they overpaid Joe Johnson, but that won't hurt them this year. New offense (Think Jazz with more improvisation) has looked like a perfect fit for personnel.
10. Portland (6) - Oden hurt again. Rudy sad. No backup PG. Nate McMillan still doesn't know how to coach.
11. Milwaukee (15) - Dirty Lip looking good. Maggete ready. Brandon Jennings another year older.
12. Chicago (11) - Funny that they only dropped a spot. Color me skeptical of Boozer's quick return.
13. Denver (8) - Carmelo Anthony doesn't strike me as the type to keep his focus through the trade/extension noise. Even if he does, injuries to Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen have left them very thin up front.
14. Phoenix (12) - They are asking a lot of a Canadian who's closer to 40 than 30.
15. San Antonio (13) - They'll probably prove me wrong. It will still be boring.
16. Memphis (16) - Like Houston, but worse!
17. L.A. Clippers (19*) - Blake Griffin has looked like a force, if he stays healthy. . . well, it's still the Clippers.
18. New Orleans (20*) - Ariza is a much better fit alongside Chris Paul than he was in Houston, but this team is still too shallow to contend in the West.
19. Philadelphia (21*) - Evan Turner is the big name rookie, but second year PG Jrue Holiday will be the player that makes the 76ers better this season.
20. Washington (22*) - I'm starting to believe the Wall hype. Blatche should shoot less, JaVale should think more. Arenas seems to have been effectively neutered, which is good for the basketball team, bad for overall units of happiness.
21. Charlotte (18) - Aside from S-Jax and G-Wall this roster is really, really bad.
22. Cleveland (17) - When it rains it pours. I think Byron Scott was a bad choice, and is there a team with lower morale?
23. Sacramento (23*) - Tyreke's a freak, will take another step forward this year, and eventually be crazy good. DeMarcus Cousins will likely take more time.
24. Indiana (24*) - I think they'll be ahead of Cleveland and Charlotte soon. Collison's the real deal and Hibbert will take a step forward. A lot to like here.
25. New York (25*) - Stoudamire is a great player. And Raymond Felton is an upgrade over Duhon, but Nash made D'Antoni, not vice versa. Still I could see them making a jump similar to Indiana's.
26. New Jersey (26*) - They'll probably be better than last year, which isn't saying much.
27. Detroit (27*) - Poor Detroit. . . poor, poor Detroit. But hey, I heard Ford's expanding there.
28. Golden State (28*) - The idea that they can get better without changing strategies is laughable. David Lee is a good fit. . . for the failing strategy.
29. Toronto (29*) - Goodbye Hedo and Bosh, hello Linas Kleiza and Leandro Barbosa.
30. Minnesota (30) - How does this happen? If you were Ricky Rubio would you ever come to the NBA?
*I didn't rank 19-29 last time around.
Previous (July) rankings in parentheses.
1. L.A. Lakers (1) - Pau Gasol is good. And looks like a praying mantis. Kobe will be good enough. And looks like a f****r.
2. Miami (2) - Losing first game to Boston in Boston doesn't change anything for me.
3. Orlando (3) - Vince Carter looks a lot more solid than last year. Most balanced team in the east.
4. Utah (5) - Undefeated preseason means more to a team with so many new pieces.
5. Dallas (4) - Tyson Chandler looks better than he has in years. Mavs with an athletic C? Sounds good.
6. Oklahoma City (9) - Jump to 6 more about concerns with other teams than belief in Thunder.
7. Boston (7) - Still old, but KG looks healthier than last two years. Will climb if they stay healthy.
8. Houston (10) - So many offensive options, such strong defense. Only concern is that with a hobbled Yao there's still no real go-to guy.
9. Atlanta (14) - Yes, they overpaid Joe Johnson, but that won't hurt them this year. New offense (Think Jazz with more improvisation) has looked like a perfect fit for personnel.
10. Portland (6) - Oden hurt again. Rudy sad. No backup PG. Nate McMillan still doesn't know how to coach.
11. Milwaukee (15) - Dirty Lip looking good. Maggete ready. Brandon Jennings another year older.
12. Chicago (11) - Funny that they only dropped a spot. Color me skeptical of Boozer's quick return.
13. Denver (8) - Carmelo Anthony doesn't strike me as the type to keep his focus through the trade/extension noise. Even if he does, injuries to Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen have left them very thin up front.
14. Phoenix (12) - They are asking a lot of a Canadian who's closer to 40 than 30.
15. San Antonio (13) - They'll probably prove me wrong. It will still be boring.
16. Memphis (16) - Like Houston, but worse!
17. L.A. Clippers (19*) - Blake Griffin has looked like a force, if he stays healthy. . . well, it's still the Clippers.
18. New Orleans (20*) - Ariza is a much better fit alongside Chris Paul than he was in Houston, but this team is still too shallow to contend in the West.
19. Philadelphia (21*) - Evan Turner is the big name rookie, but second year PG Jrue Holiday will be the player that makes the 76ers better this season.
20. Washington (22*) - I'm starting to believe the Wall hype. Blatche should shoot less, JaVale should think more. Arenas seems to have been effectively neutered, which is good for the basketball team, bad for overall units of happiness.
21. Charlotte (18) - Aside from S-Jax and G-Wall this roster is really, really bad.
22. Cleveland (17) - When it rains it pours. I think Byron Scott was a bad choice, and is there a team with lower morale?
23. Sacramento (23*) - Tyreke's a freak, will take another step forward this year, and eventually be crazy good. DeMarcus Cousins will likely take more time.
24. Indiana (24*) - I think they'll be ahead of Cleveland and Charlotte soon. Collison's the real deal and Hibbert will take a step forward. A lot to like here.
25. New York (25*) - Stoudamire is a great player. And Raymond Felton is an upgrade over Duhon, but Nash made D'Antoni, not vice versa. Still I could see them making a jump similar to Indiana's.
26. New Jersey (26*) - They'll probably be better than last year, which isn't saying much.
27. Detroit (27*) - Poor Detroit. . . poor, poor Detroit. But hey, I heard Ford's expanding there.
28. Golden State (28*) - The idea that they can get better without changing strategies is laughable. David Lee is a good fit. . . for the failing strategy.
29. Toronto (29*) - Goodbye Hedo and Bosh, hello Linas Kleiza and Leandro Barbosa.
30. Minnesota (30) - How does this happen? If you were Ricky Rubio would you ever come to the NBA?
*I didn't rank 19-29 last time around.
posted by b r christensen at 10/27/2010 09:48:00 AM
5 Comments:
I think your #4 may be overrated.
Yeah, I think you might be right. There ARE 80 games left, but the Jazz' have been unsightly. Not like Wizards bad, but bad.
Brad, I think you misspelled your post title.
I was going to post earlier about how I wasn't too concerned with the bad back-to-back performances, but I will the team's 32 assists against OKC speak for itself.
Just a heads up: we have a 4 game road trip next week that includes a back-to-back against the Heat and the Magic, so don't be all Chicken Little when we are at 5-5.
I'm totally with you on the whole "it's a long season" thing. And, honestly, I'm not surprised by the start. I think it will be January or February before the Jazz really hit their stride. And I fully expect .500 basketball up until that point. The team is just that different.
Yikes. I was about to disown the Jazz after that abysmal start against the Clippers. I know Big Al hasn't exactly been meshing with the offense, but I have been really disappointed by Raja so far. Makes the Matthews absence all the more painful.
What worries me the most is not that this is a bad team, but that it feels like a very unJerry like team.
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