Post by pistons521 - MIA on Apr 21, 2009 1:43:53 GMT
So...I procrastinated a little too much and now the power rankings have changed since I started them. But I put a lot of work into what I worked on, and incorporated a cool new link system into it. Vote if you want, that'll be cool
It's been about two weeks since the last power rankings, and a lot has already changed. The surging Kings [see Media Center front page] may very well be the hottest team right now, while the Bobcats continue to give hope to its long overdue fans. Underachieving teams like Boston and Miami remain to be inconsistent while teams like Detroit and Minnesota have fallen off quickly. See how the league looks below:
Records based off of January 9th. +/- based off of last power rankings.
(EDIT) When I started doing the Bucks I decided to incorporate links into my descriptions...like when you read articles/blogs online and they always have links to sources and stuff. Links will be colored green.
--The Bottom Five--
30.
Indiana Pacers (0) [5-27]
It's a race to the bottom for Blake Griffin and Indiana leads the pack. Nothing is changing for this franchise this season. Maybe John Salmons' new rating will help the Pacers a bit.
29.
Portland Trail Blazers (-2) [9-25]
Peja Stojakovic has cooled off since his hot start and the Blazers have suffered. The GM of the team was fired recently and now the Blazers have absolutely no direction while they continue this downward spiral. Recruiting a star GM will be hard for this organization and bringing them out of the dumps will be even harder.
28.
Philadelphia 76ers (+1) [9-25]
Only so much can be said about these teams that are hanging around the back of the field. Philly moves up a spot simply because other teams are getting worse. It's well known the 76ers are eying the first pick, and right now they have a decent shot at it by recently getting rid of more veteran talent for expiring contracts and youth.
27.
Houston Rockets (+1) [9-23]
Blah blah blah blah blah. Same story for these bottom teams. Lack stars, need trades, going nowhere. Rumors have it that Houston is looking for a legit center to hold down the paint, though.
26.
Milwaukee Bucks (-2) [8-24]
With every cloud there's a silver lining, and for this club it has been Greg Oden's performance. The last two games for the Bucks he has averaged 30.5 PPG 16.5 RPG and 3 BPG.
--Stuck in Transition--
25.
Denver Nuggets (-5) [12-23]
The Nuggets continue their slide to the bottom and by giving up higher rated veteran talent for youth, it may continue to be downhill for this club. At least the future looks decent with Rodney Stuckey, David Lee, and Carmelo Anthony.
24.
Memphis Grizzlies (+1) [12-20]
Jason Terry is on a rampage as he tries to bring his team out of this funk. He scored 41 in a Grizz win over the Bulls recently but that's the only win that has come out of Memphis in the last four games.
23.
Los Angeles Lakers (+3) [12-22]
LA had a huge win over their arch rival the Los Angeles Clippers recently, and followed it up with a smashing of the Indiana Pacers. Perhaps the newly hired GM has inspired these young Laker boys.
22.
Orlando Magic (-8) [14-17]
Since the last power rankings the Magic have gone 2-7 while playing a tough schedule against teams such as Detroit, New Jersey, Toronto, Charlotte, and just recently the Clippers - all losses.
21.
Washington Wizards (0) [15-18]
Although Washington had an impressive win to snap Utah's winning streak and bring them within one game of the coveted 8th playoff spot in the east, they haven't been able to string together a good run to really make their case legit.
--The Muddled Middle--
20.
Boston Celtics (+1) [16-19]
The misery continues for the Celtics with a 20 point loss to Dallas, a 29 point loss to Atlanta, and another 22 point loss to Atlanta. In fact, the only win for Boston the past week has been over the lowly Wizards.
19.
Dallas Mavericks (-8) [17-18]
The Mavericks have hit a slump since the last power rankings, going losing 7 out of the last 10. Things have only been getting worse as Shaq is out of the lineup now and surely to cause more hurt for these Mavs.
18.
New York Knicks (-1) [15-16]
The Knicks embarrassing loss to the Wizards was offset by their impressive win over the Thunder. Perhaps bringing in Antonio Mcdyess and Leandro Barbosa will help the Knicks' continual climb up the Eastern standings.
17.
Miami Heat (+1) [17-18]
A disappointed GM told coach Tom Izzo to replace Ben Wallace with Marc Gasol in the starting lineup, and it paid off with wins over Minnesota, New Orleans, and Portland. When Gasol is healthy he has proven he is a force to be reckoned with and the Heat are slowly gaining ground now, sliding into the 8th spot in the East recently.
16.
Los Angeles Clippers (-6) [17-14]
The Clippers have had a rough couple of weeks going 2-5 with losses to the Kings, an embarrassing blowout loss to the Lakers, and a close overtime loss to the Celtics. It is this authors opinion that Iverson, all the while a productive scoring machine, is a cancer to any team he is on, and if the Clippers want to be successful then they need to dump him elsewhere while he still has some value.
15.
Sacramento Kings (+8) [13-19]
The Kings are incredibly hot right now. Kobe Bryant has sparked fire under this young team and his inspiration and leadership has trickled through the ranks. The Kings are on the verge of making the playoffs, and as of January 9th they were riding a 7 game winning streak. In my opinion they just need to make one to two moves to make this team a legit playoff contender.
14.
Minnesota Timberwolves (-8) [16-15]
What an up-and-down season it has been for the 'Wolves. First they started out 1-5 and in a lot of trouble, then they went on a huge tear led by Amare Stoudemire, and now they have hit another slump dropping all the way to the 8th spot out west. If this team can find consistency they could be a strong force.
13.
Cleveland Cavaliers (+6) [16-15]
12. Toronto Raptors
11. Chicago Bulls
--The Pretenders--
10. Detroit Pistons
9. New Jersey Nets
It's been about two weeks since the last power rankings, and a lot has already changed. The surging Kings [see Media Center front page] may very well be the hottest team right now, while the Bobcats continue to give hope to its long overdue fans. Underachieving teams like Boston and Miami remain to be inconsistent while teams like Detroit and Minnesota have fallen off quickly. See how the league looks below:
Records based off of January 9th. +/- based off of last power rankings.
(EDIT) When I started doing the Bucks I decided to incorporate links into my descriptions...like when you read articles/blogs online and they always have links to sources and stuff. Links will be colored green.
--The Bottom Five--
30.
Indiana Pacers (0) [5-27]
It's a race to the bottom for Blake Griffin and Indiana leads the pack. Nothing is changing for this franchise this season. Maybe John Salmons' new rating will help the Pacers a bit.
29.
Portland Trail Blazers (-2) [9-25]
Peja Stojakovic has cooled off since his hot start and the Blazers have suffered. The GM of the team was fired recently and now the Blazers have absolutely no direction while they continue this downward spiral. Recruiting a star GM will be hard for this organization and bringing them out of the dumps will be even harder.
28.
Philadelphia 76ers (+1) [9-25]
Only so much can be said about these teams that are hanging around the back of the field. Philly moves up a spot simply because other teams are getting worse. It's well known the 76ers are eying the first pick, and right now they have a decent shot at it by recently getting rid of more veteran talent for expiring contracts and youth.
27.
Houston Rockets (+1) [9-23]
Blah blah blah blah blah. Same story for these bottom teams. Lack stars, need trades, going nowhere. Rumors have it that Houston is looking for a legit center to hold down the paint, though.
26.
Milwaukee Bucks (-2) [8-24]
With every cloud there's a silver lining, and for this club it has been Greg Oden's performance. The last two games for the Bucks he has averaged 30.5 PPG 16.5 RPG and 3 BPG.
--Stuck in Transition--
25.
Denver Nuggets (-5) [12-23]
The Nuggets continue their slide to the bottom and by giving up higher rated veteran talent for youth, it may continue to be downhill for this club. At least the future looks decent with Rodney Stuckey, David Lee, and Carmelo Anthony.
24.
Memphis Grizzlies (+1) [12-20]
Jason Terry is on a rampage as he tries to bring his team out of this funk. He scored 41 in a Grizz win over the Bulls recently but that's the only win that has come out of Memphis in the last four games.
23.
Los Angeles Lakers (+3) [12-22]
LA had a huge win over their arch rival the Los Angeles Clippers recently, and followed it up with a smashing of the Indiana Pacers. Perhaps the newly hired GM has inspired these young Laker boys.
22.
Orlando Magic (-8) [14-17]
Since the last power rankings the Magic have gone 2-7 while playing a tough schedule against teams such as Detroit, New Jersey, Toronto, Charlotte, and just recently the Clippers - all losses.
21.
Washington Wizards (0) [15-18]
Although Washington had an impressive win to snap Utah's winning streak and bring them within one game of the coveted 8th playoff spot in the east, they haven't been able to string together a good run to really make their case legit.
--The Muddled Middle--
20.
Boston Celtics (+1) [16-19]
The misery continues for the Celtics with a 20 point loss to Dallas, a 29 point loss to Atlanta, and another 22 point loss to Atlanta. In fact, the only win for Boston the past week has been over the lowly Wizards.
19.
Dallas Mavericks (-8) [17-18]
The Mavericks have hit a slump since the last power rankings, going losing 7 out of the last 10. Things have only been getting worse as Shaq is out of the lineup now and surely to cause more hurt for these Mavs.
18.
New York Knicks (-1) [15-16]
The Knicks embarrassing loss to the Wizards was offset by their impressive win over the Thunder. Perhaps bringing in Antonio Mcdyess and Leandro Barbosa will help the Knicks' continual climb up the Eastern standings.
17.
Miami Heat (+1) [17-18]
A disappointed GM told coach Tom Izzo to replace Ben Wallace with Marc Gasol in the starting lineup, and it paid off with wins over Minnesota, New Orleans, and Portland. When Gasol is healthy he has proven he is a force to be reckoned with and the Heat are slowly gaining ground now, sliding into the 8th spot in the East recently.
16.
Los Angeles Clippers (-6) [17-14]
The Clippers have had a rough couple of weeks going 2-5 with losses to the Kings, an embarrassing blowout loss to the Lakers, and a close overtime loss to the Celtics. It is this authors opinion that Iverson, all the while a productive scoring machine, is a cancer to any team he is on, and if the Clippers want to be successful then they need to dump him elsewhere while he still has some value.
15.
Sacramento Kings (+8) [13-19]
The Kings are incredibly hot right now. Kobe Bryant has sparked fire under this young team and his inspiration and leadership has trickled through the ranks. The Kings are on the verge of making the playoffs, and as of January 9th they were riding a 7 game winning streak. In my opinion they just need to make one to two moves to make this team a legit playoff contender.
14.
Minnesota Timberwolves (-8) [16-15]
What an up-and-down season it has been for the 'Wolves. First they started out 1-5 and in a lot of trouble, then they went on a huge tear led by Amare Stoudemire, and now they have hit another slump dropping all the way to the 8th spot out west. If this team can find consistency they could be a strong force.
13.
Cleveland Cavaliers (+6) [16-15]
12. Toronto Raptors
11. Chicago Bulls
--The Pretenders--
10. Detroit Pistons
9. New Jersey Nets