30-New Jersey Nets: Brook Lopez and Chris Douglas-Roberts have been huge for a team that's in desperate need of bright spots to celebrate after canning their coach and taking shittiness to a historical low with an 0-18 start.
29- Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Love's recent return won't hurt their shallow frontcourt, but this team still has little valuable experience, a confusing point guard dilemma and far too many holes to be close to the playoff picture.
28- New York Knicks: Recent inspired play had caused some undue optimism at MSG; this semi-talented team has some nice pieces who will occasionally sting teams like the Suns who show little defensive resistance. But this team's still a cohesion-lacking bunch of kids in contract years playing for a team with by far the most uncertainty surrounding its upcoming offseason. Anyone who thinks they'll be able do it consistently is kidding themselves.
27- Indiana Pacers: Danny Granger's ailing foot is a potential crisis for the Pacers. If he goes down and they don't have an All-Star this year, with the Kings playing way above par and New Jersey's legendary struggles, they might sink below the radar far enough to re-claim "Most Irrelevant" status. They're certainly playing poorly enough already.
26- Philadelphia 76ers: This woeful squad's been health, consistency and competency-challenged this year and welcomes AI back with open arms. With nowhere to go but up, he'll give them a much-needed offensive boost and put fans back in the seats.
25- Golden State Warriors: Erratic. Undersized. Redundant. Inconsistent. Malcontent. Regardless of talent (and they have plenty), these aren't attributes that win you many games.
24- Washington Wizards: I can't say I've given up on the Wiz yet but the vulnerable East playoff picture suggests they'll be the first team to make a big move this year. They've got plenty of scorers but not one shoot-second playmaker and few solid defenders. The Wiz are a living defenition of incohesive talent and performing way under expectations.
23- Chicago Bulls: The Bulls clearly lost a step offensively with the departure of Ben Gordon; Derrick Rose and Luol Deng have so far failed to deliver the scoring they've needed to recover. This season's goal has to be acquiring Carlos Boozer, regardless of the short-term implications(which given the Jazz's open intentions of trading him, might not be too serious).
22- Memphis Grizzlies: 'Allen Iverson's Ex' might as well be their new title; it's how they've become known to the masses of casual fana to whom this team is now a non-factor. Their starting 5's pretty nice, but the League's shallowest bench and legacy of failure will continue to plague this team.
21- Detroit Pistons: They haven't been healthy but they haven't been particularly good either. This is another team that has plenty of potential pieces to make a much-needed trade, and with Dumars at the helm it could be anytime (last year's Iverson deal came 4 games into the season). Also, concerning at Ben Wallace's peculiar career arc, it's become clear that the guy who for most of this decade defined "blue collar" in the NBA, plays his best ball in, of all places, Detroit.
20- Los Angeles Clippers: They're playing close to .500 ball against a soft early schedule; 'bout par for the course. Blake Griffin's yet to suit up, but if he plays well enough to shake up the ROY race, it also might be enough to put them in the playoff picture.
19- Toronto Raptors: The Craptors have had a rough start, both in terms of their schedule and their level of play. Hedo's been a plug. Jose's been hibernating. Reggie Evans, one of two players on the roster who embody the defensive toughness and hustle this team sorely lacks, is in suits. Chris Bosh is playing incredibly well now that, for once, his career has purpose and direction - south of the border.
18- Charlotte Bobcats: The addition of Stephen Jackson gives them needed scoring and another building block towards the type of franchise player they'll need to move up on the League's totem pole. Playoffs might be in the cards this year; the teams fighting for the East's lower slots have been duds so far and Captain Jack could be the difference against such weakness.
17- Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans is just nasty, and probably the ROY at this point. Encouraging production from Omri Casspi and Jason Thompson are among the other reasons why this team's blowing expectations out of the water with their best player on the chilling list.
16- Milwaukee Bucks: Another team that's been without its franchise player for most of the year and benefitted from the sudden emergence of a rookie phenom. Brandon Jennings has been in a shooting slump for the past couple weeks, but this guy's clearly an All-Star in the making and a steal for a team that lost two of its best players for close to nothing this offseason.
15- New Orleans Hornets: Remove Chris Paul from this sordid mess and they're one of the worst teams in the L, so that they've managed a better record with him on the sidelines than on the court this year is puzzling. Anyhow, hes back to his old 16/15/8 steals self, so thing should be on the up and up. Emeka's been his solid but unspectacular self, filling in nicely for Tyson Chandler, but they'd be so much nastier if they had another scorer taking Peja's now useless minutes (one single-faceted spot-up shooter doing 11/game on a 37% clip: $14.2 million, look on Chris Paul's face once that whale expires/is traded: priceless).
14- Oklahoma City Thunder: These guys are the new Hawks; a team built around a solid foundation of youngsters who are going to steadily improve every year and ascend the Western heirarchy. I hope to God that they deliver on that potential quickly enough to keep the Spurs of of the playoffs this year, but I don't see it happening.
13- Houston Rockets: Playing well above the sum of their parts, the Rockets have been sparked by MIP frontrunner Aaron Brooks and even without T-Mac and Yao are thinking playoffs with an attack that's more well-rounded than Oliver Miller. Fans must be sick at the thought of what might've been, but at least in the wake of inevitable injuries to their franchise players, the Rockets are keeping things interesting.
12- Miami Heat: As The Dwyane Wade Show grinds through its predictable seventh season, the title character still sees himself surrounded by a less talented cast than a performer of his caliber deserves. Still waiting for a dynamic twist that can re-vitalize his series' plot, Dwyane knows that although he's done big things with his current network, the glory days of Season 3 are far behind them, and he'll get many offers this summer from competitors wanting to write the next chapter in his story.
11- San Antonio Spurs: Dunno what to say here. The Spurs, for the first time this millennium (and seemingly much longer), look lost. They're a year older, a little more shallow and have never been known to peak early, but this .500 start's a disturbing trend for a team that saw themselves as title threats and seem a few steps away at this point. It's far too early to call it quits but their early season nonchalance has never looked so troubled.
10- Portland Trailblazers: Now that they no longer need to wait on the requisite Greg Oden injury, all the Blazers, also beset by ailments to Nicolas Batum and Travis Outlaw (not to mention their coach and owner) can do now is pick up the pieces. The Andre Miller experiment hasn't improved them yet and they look like they've reached that ceiling where they're a move away from fucking with the West's elite.
9- Utah Jazz: While P-Milly impatiently waits in the wings, the Carlos Boozer trade value tour has been a monster so far. Despite his gaudy numbers and Utah's stable of offensive prowess, their Western ascent has been grounded by their streaky shooting and abhorrent defense. Dare I say a Jerry Sloan team's underachieving, but this team should be capable of more consistent play.
8- Dallas Mavericks: Dirk's up to his usual semi-MVP antics, but suddenly the traditionally offensive Mavs are having trouble putting up points. A healthy Josh Howard would do wonders but aside from Nowtizki and Sixth Man frontrunner Jason Terry, they're very thin on scoring right now. Players like Marion and Kidd are much more comfortable putting up points when given the kind of space another 20-point threat will create. Either way, here's hoping something falls apart for them.
7- Atlanta Hawks: Off to a torrid start (and beating tough competition), they're better than last year, but not thorough enough to be in the same conversation as the East's best teams. The key will be maintaining this play over thewhole season, which I don't see them doing. Much like Portland out West, they're that young team that might be pushing their current limits; experience will be the best tool as they mature at a slower rate this season, but with Joe Johnson's impending free agency, time's of the essence.
6- Phoenix Suns: Now that Alvin Gentry's got a full season to impose his will on Phoenix, they're back playing a style of ball that's much more suited to their roster. Their run and gun ways are amassing points and W's now that Stoudemire's healthy and they've shed a hundred pounds (and gained 20 feet of shooting range) at center. They'll play well through the regular season, but this exciting, high-scoring Suns team looks doomed to same fate as its predecessors. Their lack of defensive ability or commitment could be fatal against a legit Western team over 7 games.
5- Denver Nuggets: Picking up where they left off last season, the Nugs look like the Lakers' bridesmaids in the West again this year. Melo's stepped up and is playing on the same level as his heralded classmates while Ty Lawson's been one of the steals of this year's draft, providing the aggressive energy and scoring they lost with Linas Kleiza. Denver's proving that their lack of preseason hype as contenders was just lost in the moves everyone else made; they'll be a force.4- Cleveland Cavaliers: Despite a shaky start that included losses to the Wizards, Bulls and Bobcats, Cleveland has responded to some early-season adjustment issues with a string of impressive victories to put them back among the East's best. They've shuffled their lineup(using Varejao as an energetic 6th man makes a lot more sense), begun to show signs their offensive swag and dismissed Orlando and Phoenix like they were Braylon Edwards. Their schedule's been cushy so far but if they can continue this recent inspired play, they'll only continue to rise.
3- Boston Celtics: The Celtics are going to be a very difficult team to beat next spring. Not only are they deep roster of playoff-savvy veterans, but their stars know their windows are closing, and I'm already having visions of KG unleashing his inner William Wallace carrying this team to the Finals on one leg. They're just going through the motions while they wait; the regular season is more of formality for them than any team in the East. Keeping pace and getting a #1 seed out of it would make them the clear cut favorites to win the conference.
2- Orlando Magic: I can't say it any better than ESPN's Marc Stein: 'They've won seven in a row on the road. They've gone 8-1 since losing Jameer. They've won biggies at Boston and Atlanta and sit one disputed Miami basket away from an 11 game win streak. They've got to be #2.'
2- Orlando Magic: I can't say it any better than ESPN's Marc Stein: 'They've won seven in a row on the road. They've gone 8-1 since losing Jameer. They've won biggies at Boston and Atlanta and sit one disputed Miami basket away from an 11 game win streak. They've got to be #2.'
1- Los Angeles Lakers: Well, it happened. The Ron Artest bomb went off. Sooner than we could've assumed it would in Phil Jackson's Zen Garden. Now living it up on the Hollywood stage, Ron Ron's been making strange workout videos, doing Jimmy Kimmel in his boxers, and admitting to past on-the-job drinking, all within the season's first month...And yet nothing's happening. A few laughs have been had sure, but there's been no fines, no suspensions, (well a league investigation into his Hennesy habits can't help) just solid contributions to a Lakers team that, essentially without Pau, has earned the league's best record. Kobe's putting up another very convincing MVP argument, and even after all the offseason retooling done by the other contenders, the Lakers have to be the favorites to repeat.
No comments:
Post a Comment