Post by Boston Celtics on Oct 2, 2008 21:16:10 GMT
January 14th: Power Rankings - Division 1
Gold.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS (18-6 | 6W)
Until last week this place would have been the home of the Boston Celtics, a secure number 1 spot in the Power Rankings. The Lakers made all their trades early in the season and have noticably climbed the standings ever since. Jettisoning the, at times, laclustre Lamar Odom and center Pau Pasol for a Tony Parker/Yao Ming combo has paid off, and Kobe is playing better than ever! All else unchanged, this team will win the championship!
Silver.
BOSTON CELTICS (19-7 | 1W)
The Celtics made their first major move of the season about a week ago, sending Rajon Rondo and Glen Davis to Golden State for Monta Ellis and Austin Croshere and the impact has been noticable - in a bad way. Clearly Monta Ellis needs to be given time to learn the Celtics system, but in a year in which you're vying for the championship you cannot afford to drop any games. The recent 11 day injury to Ellis will set the Celtics back even further, regardless of the MVP form of Kevin Garnett.
Bronze.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS (19-8 | 1L)
Surprised You shouldn't be! The Wizards have been tearing it up all season and are showing exactly what they're capable of when Gilbert Arenas is healthy! Agent Zero leads the league in scoring (33.3ppg) and is putting up MVP worthy numbers across the board! Washington are yet to make any major moves this season, but with this kind of a streak they're hot on the heels of the Celtics and maybe even the Lakers, regardless of the scare they faced versus the Pistons two days ago.
4.
DENVER NUGGETS (19-9 | 1W)
The 'scoringest' team in the league, with 300 more points, in total, than any other team in Division 1! 'Melo and AI are dominating on offense game-in, game-out and we're seeing what might've been had Marcus Camby's defense not been swapped for a potentially soiled pair of underpants in real life. The Nuggets always look good on paper and they're finally paying off their massive salaries! Look for the Nuggets GM to make one or two minor moves which could see Denver over the hump and into the 1 or 2 spot later this season!
5.
DETROIT PISTONS (15-8 | 3W)
Everso quietly, the Pistons are stirring in the East. Atleast, that was until they faced the Washington Wizards and blew them out by a 43 point margin!! The Wizards have been used to laying the smackdown themselves all season and maybe Detroit just gave them the best wake-up call of all! A stable and consistent Pistons team has a great chance of making a push and dislodging the 3rd or 4th place teams on this list.
6.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (14-8 | 1W)
It's true I've been carrying on about the importance of continuity and chemistry so far in this post. But forget about all that because Dallas just traded half their lineup and beat the Spurs by 40 points this evening! Sometimes trading bites you in the ass, sometimes it rubs warm marshmallow filling all over your thighs - and Dallas has achieved the latter! Completing a very European frontcourt, with Andrei Kirilenko joining MVP candidate, Dirk Nowitzki, it will be fascinating to see Dallas climb the standings if they continue this new found lease on life!
7.
PHOENIX SUNS (16-9 | 3W)
Fresh off of beating the Boston Celtics and with Amare Stoudemire in the prime of his life, the Suns are closing the gap on the mighty top teams on this list quickly! It may be a surprise then to see them slip to seventh on the list, but when you ship Steve Nash for David West, and then West gets a long-term injury, your current form doesn't matter! Phoenix will struggle if they cannot stay healthy. Trading with San Antonio may mean you catch the injury bug!
8.
ORLANDO MAGIC (11-10 | 1L)
You can't really say 'well done', or 'nice work there, sir!' because Orlando haven't had a stable GM all season. The first one disappeared, the second one was absent and went AWOL and the third one just signed up. Maybe it's helping their cause Who knows! But a couple of nice moves by their second tenured manager brought in Raymond Felton and ditched the unpleasantness of handling Rashard Lewis without rubber gloves. Orlando wont win the championship this season without some trading undertaken by God himself, but they've got the pieces to improve and go further than ever in the future. Atleast they've got Dwight Howard to tide them over for entertainment!
9.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (11-12 | 1L)
Surprise team number 2 (Washington was the first, by the way)! Philly doesn't look great on paper like in real life, this was before Elton Brand, but that isn't stopping them from staying well away from the drop zone. The Sixers struggled whilst Iguodala was injured, but he's back now, and that lay-period only went to show just how good Andre Miller can be! Miller is posting freakishly awesome numbers (22.2ppg, 8.9apg) on this otherwise drab team and is leading them towards brighter things than relegation playoffs!
10.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS (11-15 | 3L)
The Spurs continue their luck flowing on from Dynasty Five. San Antonio has been ravaged by injuries, big and small, to almost all their major players so far this season and their fragility is characterised primarily by the crushing absence of Manu Ginobili for 9 weeks. In-between injuries they managed to offload David West and acquire their first point guard of the year - Steve Nash, and the move should be paying dividends in the long run. Should be is the major phrase here though. A healthy Spurs, now with a true playmaker, could seriously contend for the championship for the next three seasons. Right now though, they're just staring into the bottom of a beer can.
11.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS (9-12 | 5L)
The New Orleans GM was involved in a flurry of trades about a month ago, but has it made the Hornets actually any better than they already were New Orleans has been losing a lot recently, but not losing badly. I mean, when you've got a stretch that involves Washington, the Lakers and Celtics you're bound to slip up once or twice. But the Hornets have faltered at every game recently, including one against Toronto too. I bet Tim Duncan misses San Antonio right now.
12.
HOUSTON ROCKETS (9-17 | 3L)
As bad as things look in Houston, they ride atop the next few teams purely because they don't look as bad as the others. Houston has managed to stay relatively injury free, and whilst the Rockets GM has made some questionable trades, the pursuit of talented youth should keep them from being relegated whilst improving simultaneously. Looking at the shape of things though, the Rockets have absolutely zero chance of a championship berth this season or the next unless some serious work is done to bring in some superstars to lead the team more capable than, say, Michael Redd.
13.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (11-14 | 5L)
Ouch. The Blazers are not looking too hot. It was only two weeks ago when Portland sat atop a four game win streak and I personally counted them among the surprise teams in Division 1. Overachievers. Not any more. Despite some marvellous trading early in the season by Portland's GM, it seems there's only so far you can get without a credible 3 point threat. TJ Ford, Ronnie Brewer and Travis Outlaw do not fit that category.
14.
SACRAMENTO KINGS (10-16 | 1L)
The Kings have made no changes and that's exactly why they're languishing around the dropzone. The Artest, Kevin Martin, Brad Miller situation was never going to win a championship in real life, and it's not going to do it here either. As things stand, Sacramento will be lucky to escape the relegation playoffs, and luckier if they don't lose them!
15.
TORONTO RAPTORS (9-17 | 1W)
After some early season heroics, some questionable trades have sent the Raptors skydiving toward Division 2. Before a recent win versus New Orleans stopped the bleeding, the Raptors were on a terrifying 7 game slide and it looks like their undersized youth may need to grow up a little bit - and soon! What Toronto needs is a scorer and right now their number 1 option is Lamarcus Aldridge... and that says it all really.
Dropzone 16.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (8-17 | 1W)
Credit must go to the Cleveland GM. It's tough realising that, using NBA Live, Lebron cannot carry you all-the-way like in real life and embracing the effort to build around the young stud whilst staring relegation in the face! The Cavs have mustered their way out of the bottom two and it will take some serious bad luck for them to drop back down. Whether or not they can get out of the automatic dropzone, whether or not a Josh Howard, Lebron James frontcourt can work together all remains to be seen. But atleast changes are being made and things are looking up!
Dropzone 17.
UTAH JAZZ (6-15 | 1W)
Utah seem to have reached a bit of a yo-yo period after their initial nosedive into shit-city. Their league-tied second worst losing streak of 12 games straight means they'll be in the basement for much of the forseeable future. Unlike Cleveland it's hard to see a future without Utah last or second last in Division 1. Baron Davis must be elated to have escaped Golden State and he'll have Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mehmet Okur lolloping (it's a word) around with him in Division 2 next season unless some serious changes can fix things in Salt Lake Shitty.
Dropzone 18.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (4-19 | 1L)
I'm sorry, okay. I'm really, really sorry, Golden State! I've taken you from the warm bosom of your championship calibre team at D5 and dropped you here, on the side of road, in the middle of nowhere, next to a sewage works, in a desert, after a nuclear war... next to a BLACK HOLE. The Warriors are obviously trying to get somewhere. Moving their ineffective sixth man, Monta Ellis, in exchange for a true point guard, Rajon Rondo, might make some difference - and it did atleast stop a holocaustic 17 (yes, seventeen) game act of seppukku that we all watched in horror. But something truly momentous must happen for Golden State to make it out of this season high and dry.
Gold.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS (18-6 | 6W)
Until last week this place would have been the home of the Boston Celtics, a secure number 1 spot in the Power Rankings. The Lakers made all their trades early in the season and have noticably climbed the standings ever since. Jettisoning the, at times, laclustre Lamar Odom and center Pau Pasol for a Tony Parker/Yao Ming combo has paid off, and Kobe is playing better than ever! All else unchanged, this team will win the championship!
Silver.
BOSTON CELTICS (19-7 | 1W)
The Celtics made their first major move of the season about a week ago, sending Rajon Rondo and Glen Davis to Golden State for Monta Ellis and Austin Croshere and the impact has been noticable - in a bad way. Clearly Monta Ellis needs to be given time to learn the Celtics system, but in a year in which you're vying for the championship you cannot afford to drop any games. The recent 11 day injury to Ellis will set the Celtics back even further, regardless of the MVP form of Kevin Garnett.
Bronze.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS (19-8 | 1L)
Surprised You shouldn't be! The Wizards have been tearing it up all season and are showing exactly what they're capable of when Gilbert Arenas is healthy! Agent Zero leads the league in scoring (33.3ppg) and is putting up MVP worthy numbers across the board! Washington are yet to make any major moves this season, but with this kind of a streak they're hot on the heels of the Celtics and maybe even the Lakers, regardless of the scare they faced versus the Pistons two days ago.
4.
DENVER NUGGETS (19-9 | 1W)
The 'scoringest' team in the league, with 300 more points, in total, than any other team in Division 1! 'Melo and AI are dominating on offense game-in, game-out and we're seeing what might've been had Marcus Camby's defense not been swapped for a potentially soiled pair of underpants in real life. The Nuggets always look good on paper and they're finally paying off their massive salaries! Look for the Nuggets GM to make one or two minor moves which could see Denver over the hump and into the 1 or 2 spot later this season!
5.
DETROIT PISTONS (15-8 | 3W)
Everso quietly, the Pistons are stirring in the East. Atleast, that was until they faced the Washington Wizards and blew them out by a 43 point margin!! The Wizards have been used to laying the smackdown themselves all season and maybe Detroit just gave them the best wake-up call of all! A stable and consistent Pistons team has a great chance of making a push and dislodging the 3rd or 4th place teams on this list.
6.
DALLAS MAVERICKS (14-8 | 1W)
It's true I've been carrying on about the importance of continuity and chemistry so far in this post. But forget about all that because Dallas just traded half their lineup and beat the Spurs by 40 points this evening! Sometimes trading bites you in the ass, sometimes it rubs warm marshmallow filling all over your thighs - and Dallas has achieved the latter! Completing a very European frontcourt, with Andrei Kirilenko joining MVP candidate, Dirk Nowitzki, it will be fascinating to see Dallas climb the standings if they continue this new found lease on life!
7.
PHOENIX SUNS (16-9 | 3W)
Fresh off of beating the Boston Celtics and with Amare Stoudemire in the prime of his life, the Suns are closing the gap on the mighty top teams on this list quickly! It may be a surprise then to see them slip to seventh on the list, but when you ship Steve Nash for David West, and then West gets a long-term injury, your current form doesn't matter! Phoenix will struggle if they cannot stay healthy. Trading with San Antonio may mean you catch the injury bug!
8.
ORLANDO MAGIC (11-10 | 1L)
You can't really say 'well done', or 'nice work there, sir!' because Orlando haven't had a stable GM all season. The first one disappeared, the second one was absent and went AWOL and the third one just signed up. Maybe it's helping their cause Who knows! But a couple of nice moves by their second tenured manager brought in Raymond Felton and ditched the unpleasantness of handling Rashard Lewis without rubber gloves. Orlando wont win the championship this season without some trading undertaken by God himself, but they've got the pieces to improve and go further than ever in the future. Atleast they've got Dwight Howard to tide them over for entertainment!
9.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (11-12 | 1L)
Surprise team number 2 (Washington was the first, by the way)! Philly doesn't look great on paper like in real life, this was before Elton Brand, but that isn't stopping them from staying well away from the drop zone. The Sixers struggled whilst Iguodala was injured, but he's back now, and that lay-period only went to show just how good Andre Miller can be! Miller is posting freakishly awesome numbers (22.2ppg, 8.9apg) on this otherwise drab team and is leading them towards brighter things than relegation playoffs!
10.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS (11-15 | 3L)
The Spurs continue their luck flowing on from Dynasty Five. San Antonio has been ravaged by injuries, big and small, to almost all their major players so far this season and their fragility is characterised primarily by the crushing absence of Manu Ginobili for 9 weeks. In-between injuries they managed to offload David West and acquire their first point guard of the year - Steve Nash, and the move should be paying dividends in the long run. Should be is the major phrase here though. A healthy Spurs, now with a true playmaker, could seriously contend for the championship for the next three seasons. Right now though, they're just staring into the bottom of a beer can.
11.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS (9-12 | 5L)
The New Orleans GM was involved in a flurry of trades about a month ago, but has it made the Hornets actually any better than they already were New Orleans has been losing a lot recently, but not losing badly. I mean, when you've got a stretch that involves Washington, the Lakers and Celtics you're bound to slip up once or twice. But the Hornets have faltered at every game recently, including one against Toronto too. I bet Tim Duncan misses San Antonio right now.
12.
HOUSTON ROCKETS (9-17 | 3L)
As bad as things look in Houston, they ride atop the next few teams purely because they don't look as bad as the others. Houston has managed to stay relatively injury free, and whilst the Rockets GM has made some questionable trades, the pursuit of talented youth should keep them from being relegated whilst improving simultaneously. Looking at the shape of things though, the Rockets have absolutely zero chance of a championship berth this season or the next unless some serious work is done to bring in some superstars to lead the team more capable than, say, Michael Redd.
13.
PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS (11-14 | 5L)
Ouch. The Blazers are not looking too hot. It was only two weeks ago when Portland sat atop a four game win streak and I personally counted them among the surprise teams in Division 1. Overachievers. Not any more. Despite some marvellous trading early in the season by Portland's GM, it seems there's only so far you can get without a credible 3 point threat. TJ Ford, Ronnie Brewer and Travis Outlaw do not fit that category.
14.
SACRAMENTO KINGS (10-16 | 1L)
The Kings have made no changes and that's exactly why they're languishing around the dropzone. The Artest, Kevin Martin, Brad Miller situation was never going to win a championship in real life, and it's not going to do it here either. As things stand, Sacramento will be lucky to escape the relegation playoffs, and luckier if they don't lose them!
15.
TORONTO RAPTORS (9-17 | 1W)
After some early season heroics, some questionable trades have sent the Raptors skydiving toward Division 2. Before a recent win versus New Orleans stopped the bleeding, the Raptors were on a terrifying 7 game slide and it looks like their undersized youth may need to grow up a little bit - and soon! What Toronto needs is a scorer and right now their number 1 option is Lamarcus Aldridge... and that says it all really.
Dropzone 16.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (8-17 | 1W)
Credit must go to the Cleveland GM. It's tough realising that, using NBA Live, Lebron cannot carry you all-the-way like in real life and embracing the effort to build around the young stud whilst staring relegation in the face! The Cavs have mustered their way out of the bottom two and it will take some serious bad luck for them to drop back down. Whether or not they can get out of the automatic dropzone, whether or not a Josh Howard, Lebron James frontcourt can work together all remains to be seen. But atleast changes are being made and things are looking up!
Dropzone 17.
UTAH JAZZ (6-15 | 1W)
Utah seem to have reached a bit of a yo-yo period after their initial nosedive into shit-city. Their league-tied second worst losing streak of 12 games straight means they'll be in the basement for much of the forseeable future. Unlike Cleveland it's hard to see a future without Utah last or second last in Division 1. Baron Davis must be elated to have escaped Golden State and he'll have Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Mehmet Okur lolloping (it's a word) around with him in Division 2 next season unless some serious changes can fix things in Salt Lake Shitty.
Dropzone 18.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (4-19 | 1L)
I'm sorry, okay. I'm really, really sorry, Golden State! I've taken you from the warm bosom of your championship calibre team at D5 and dropped you here, on the side of road, in the middle of nowhere, next to a sewage works, in a desert, after a nuclear war... next to a BLACK HOLE. The Warriors are obviously trying to get somewhere. Moving their ineffective sixth man, Monta Ellis, in exchange for a true point guard, Rajon Rondo, might make some difference - and it did atleast stop a holocaustic 17 (yes, seventeen) game act of seppukku that we all watched in horror. But something truly momentous must happen for Golden State to make it out of this season high and dry.
§
2008 D5 Champions
2007 MVP - Tim Duncan
