Tuesday, January 15, 2008

The NBA...In January

Yes, this is the blog in which I'll tell you who the best of the best are in the League as well as mentioning the most MVP-worthy players of the 2007-2008 season. Anyways, there were some great finishes yesterday in the NBA. John Salmons had a game-winning runner for the Kings and Kobe had a game-winning pull-up J for the Lakers. So in the spirit of it all I found a YouTube video of Kobe Bryant Game Winners. Back to the actual premise of the blog though...


The STRONGER Rankings

1. Los Angeles Lakers (26-11) - Now I am a Suns fan but I'll admit that the Lakers are definitely for real. They're tied with my team, Phoenix, for the division lead and are riding a 7-game win streak. LA are also 9-1 in their last ten games. They haven't lost in the month of January. In those past seven wins, however, they've defeated their opponents by an average of 14.3 points including a win over New Orleans by 29. And, trust me when I say this, the Lakers are not a one-man show. Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, and Jordan Farmar average a combined 48.2 points per game.

2. Dallas Mavericks (26-12) - The Mavs are only one game back of the Spurs as I type this and have pulled out wins in seven of their last eight games, which included wins over Atlanta and Detroit. Dirk and Josh Howard are averaging 22 and 20 points respectively; Jason Terry and Devin Harris aren't too bad either averaging 15 and 14 points apiece. A marquee matchup coming soon will be Dallas against the Lakers on January 25th. Alas, it is not on cable TV.

3. Boston Celtics (30-6) - The Celts have dropped two games in a row and three of their last four! What is up? Well, I suppose it's worth mentioning that they haven't scored more than 86 points in those four games. What bothers me even more is WHO they have suffered losses to. That would be the Wizards...twice and the Bobcats once. They should get back on their feet by the end of the week as they have both the Sixers and Knicks coming up on their schedule.

4. Phoenix Suns (26-11) - I tried to be unbiased in putting these guys fourth. The Suns are 7-3 in their last ten games. Recently, they've lost to Utah and New Orleans and have defeated Denver. This season Phoenix is 0-2 versus the #1-ranked Lakers. On the flip side, it's been a truly collective effort for this team as six players are averaging double figures in points. Back to addressing negatives though, they are being outrebounded by an average of 47-41 and that could definitely be this team's downfall come April/May/June (the playoffs are long!).

5. New Orleans Hornets (25-12) - Even if the Hornets don't get a high enough seed to get home court advantage, they'll still win. That is why this team is #5. They have the second-best road record in the NBA at 15-5 and are 8-2 in their last ten games. They don't have a particularly difficult schedule coming up either. The Blazers are the only tough foe in their next five games. After that, however, they'll have to go on the road to San Antonio for a divisional matchup.


MVPs- 35 to 40 Games In

1. Kobe Bryant - Sorry, you're probably getting tired of seeing all the Lakers atop these lists, aren't you? Yet can you possibly justify not putting him here? He's averaging 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists (which are all above his career averages, by the way) for the NBA's #1 team. If it matters, he shoots 86% from the line.

2. LeBron James - Does someone have any clue as to why LBJ is SEVENTH in NBA.com's Race to the MVP? I sure as hell don't. Yes, his team is only 18-17 but his team is playing well again as they've won seven of their last nine games. As for King James, he's putting up crazy-good numbers: 29 ppg, 8 rpg, 8 apg. Unless the Cavs fail to make the playoffs, he should finish in the top three of MVP voting.

3. Dwight Howard - The Magic's center is averaging a cool 23 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists per contest. In his last three games he's scored 66 points and grabbed 45 rebounds. He's been held to less than 10 rebounds only FOUR times all season so don't expect to stop this guy from hitting the boards hard every single game.

4. Chris Paul - CP3 is playing better than any other point guard in America right now (sorry, Nash) while averaging 22 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals. He also shoots 37% from beyond the arc, 88% from the line, and 48% from the field. And did I mention the Hornets are 25-12?

5. Kevin Garnett - Anyone that lives north of New York is probably thinking to himself/herself, "What is this guy doing? Does he even watch basketball?" I got news for you: stats like his aren't as impressive when he plays in one of the weakest divisions, the weaker conference, and with two other amazing basketball players. As of today, KG is averaging 19 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. To the contrary, he's only had 15 rebounds in the last two games, both of which were against the Wizards and were losses for Boston.


In conclusion, I've realized that after reading this, 90% of people on the West Coast will absolutely love me. There's always next time though. But, to remind you, I wrote a blog similar to this one a little over a month ago and here were my lists way back when:

Rankings-
1. Spurs (New Rank: 6)
2. Suns (4)
3. Magic (9)
4. Celtics (3)
5. Hornets (5)

MVPs-
1. Dwight Howard (New Rank: 3)
2. LeBron James (2)
3. Kevin Garnett (5)
4. Allen Iverson (7)
5. Steve Nash (8)


That's all for now. Have a good week (if you can).

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Poll Result: 87% of voters deemed that the Tar Heels of North Carolina are unworthy of the top spot in the poll due to their recent play. However, 12% thought that as long as they were winning they should stay at #1.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

haha goat great work as usual. its Anthony E. from FanNation. my blog on here hasnt been updated lately cuz I've been on FanNation.