February Power Rankings (10-1)
Apr 8, 2019 14:26:17 GMT
Ian Noble, Shaquille O'Neal, and 3 more like this
Post by Jerry West on Apr 8, 2019 14:26:17 GMT
10 – Toronto Raptors (+2) Bryan Colangelo (36-20) (6-5)
The Raptors are back in the Top 10 after doping out of it last month.
But they’re in a weird spot since they keep losing almost every single game against the Top 4 teams of either conference. Which leads me to believe that they’re not good enough to compete for the Championship. But the worst part of it is that next year Draymond and Wiggins will become Free Agents, alongside D-Wade retiring.
That would be a good opportunity for the Raptors to build something around Kyrie and Vucevic, 2 bona fide All-Star level players, but they will be almost spending 80 million dollars with them and Ross, and they won’t be able to even get the MLE.
With the trade deadline ticking down the Raptors are on the clock to make a decision about their future.
9 – Boston Celtics (-2) Ian Noble (36-20) (6-5)
Looks like I jinxed Boston and for the first time in the year they didn’t double their loss column, although that would be impossible this month.
Boston struggled this month, with their only win against a playoff team coming against the 8th seeded Lakers, not good Boston. Despite that Boston has been way too consistent to drop far in the Power Rankings, so they land at 9 this month.
8 – Chicago Bulls (+8) Shane Battier (33-23) (9-2)
Lookout D5, here comes Chicago.
Despite losing both John Wall and Dwight Howard for the season, and even with DMC coming off a season-ending injury, the Bulls are still a contender, having the third best record of the month.
The credit must go to Kawhi who is only 2nd in points to James Harden and adds what Harden can’t on the defensive end. With him, Butler, Rondo and DMC the Bulls are currently the 3rd best defence in D5, despite a horrible start to the season, and have been the best defence ever since DMC came back.
Even tho they only rank at 7th in the standings at the end of the month, odds are the Bulls can still make a push for homecourt advantage in the playoffs and maybe surprise the teams at the top of the Eastern Conference.
7 – Minnesota Timberwolves (-1) Walt Frazier (36-20) (7-6)
The Wolves might’ve made the blockbuster move of the season trading for star forward Danilo Gallinari, but the team still didn’t have time to start gelling together. But one thing is for sure, talent-wise, the Wolves rock one of the best starting lineups of D5 and will be a matchup nightmare against any team with them having 3 players who are 6’10 or higher.
You can see them being in a really similar position as the 76’rs in the NBA, with the end of the regular season being just “practice” for the team since they won’t catch either the 1st or 2nd seeds in the West. All that matters for them it’s the playoffs.
6 - Miami Heat (+4) Shaquille O'Neal (36-21) (8-2)
With some teams struggling this month the Heat was the team that jumped behind the gatekeepers Memphis Grizzlies. Boasting an incredible month of February with wins against the Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Knicks and Raptors, they dominated their schedule against other Eastern Conference playoff teams.
It looks like adding Sabonis and moving Kanter to the bench was a great move for the franchise who sees most of their offence go through their big man with Jrue Holiday providing the assists from the backcourt.
5 – Memphis Grizzlies (0) Jeremiah Hill (39-18) (9-4)
The gatekeepers of the Top 5, Memphis Grizzlies, boasted another solid month to their collection making us completely forget about their horrible start to the season.
Mitchell is still playing off-position averaging only 2.9 assists per game sitting only ahead of Justice Winslow in terms of assists of the 30 starting PG’s of the league, but despite that Memphis remains elite at passing the ball being Top 5 in the league in assists. Imagine if they had a real PG.
4 – Milwaukee Bucks (0) Glenn Robinson (45-12) (11-2)
I was really, and I mean really close to putting the Bucks over the Hornets this month, with them surpassing Charlotte in the standings, but the current state of the teams made Milwaukee remain at 4th.
With both Jeff Teague (who’s still playing despite being on a walking boot) and Dejounte Murray out for the season, they must put their weight on AD now more than ever. But to be fair to them, AD is one of the best players in the league.
With him and Beal scoring almost a combined 50 points per game, and Lou Williams ready to take over the starting spot, the Bucks are still a contender despite the injuries.
3 – Charlotte Hornets (0) James Kay (42-15) (8-4)
The Hornets struggled this month for a team of their calibre but they’re still the favourites to make the NBA finals out of the East.
The pressure for them will only come in June for the playoffs and July when it will be time for Paul George to make his decision. But even if leaves they’ll still be contending for a championship next season with KD and Russ.
2 – Golden State Warriors (0) Chris Mullin (45-10) (12-1)
Don’t blink because the Warriors are only 3 games back from the Nuggets and are still very well in contention for the number 1 seed in West and the best record in D5 after having the best record of the month for the 2nd time in a row. But I guess that’s what you can expect from a team who is being led by arguably the best 2 players in the NBA that somehow are the perfect complementary piece for each other.
1 – Denver Nuggets (0) Alex English (49-8) (8-2)
No surprises here, the Nuggets remain the only team to reach the number one spot in the monthly Power Rankings. And yes, James Harden is still playing at an MVP level.
What else to say about them? They have 60 wins locked in the bag and they’re on pace to reach at 65, truly a historical season for this Denver team.
The Raptors are back in the Top 10 after doping out of it last month.
But they’re in a weird spot since they keep losing almost every single game against the Top 4 teams of either conference. Which leads me to believe that they’re not good enough to compete for the Championship. But the worst part of it is that next year Draymond and Wiggins will become Free Agents, alongside D-Wade retiring.
That would be a good opportunity for the Raptors to build something around Kyrie and Vucevic, 2 bona fide All-Star level players, but they will be almost spending 80 million dollars with them and Ross, and they won’t be able to even get the MLE.
With the trade deadline ticking down the Raptors are on the clock to make a decision about their future.
9 – Boston Celtics (-2) Ian Noble (36-20) (6-5)
Looks like I jinxed Boston and for the first time in the year they didn’t double their loss column, although that would be impossible this month.
Boston struggled this month, with their only win against a playoff team coming against the 8th seeded Lakers, not good Boston. Despite that Boston has been way too consistent to drop far in the Power Rankings, so they land at 9 this month.
8 – Chicago Bulls (+8) Shane Battier (33-23) (9-2)
Lookout D5, here comes Chicago.
Despite losing both John Wall and Dwight Howard for the season, and even with DMC coming off a season-ending injury, the Bulls are still a contender, having the third best record of the month.
The credit must go to Kawhi who is only 2nd in points to James Harden and adds what Harden can’t on the defensive end. With him, Butler, Rondo and DMC the Bulls are currently the 3rd best defence in D5, despite a horrible start to the season, and have been the best defence ever since DMC came back.
Even tho they only rank at 7th in the standings at the end of the month, odds are the Bulls can still make a push for homecourt advantage in the playoffs and maybe surprise the teams at the top of the Eastern Conference.
7 – Minnesota Timberwolves (-1) Walt Frazier (36-20) (7-6)
The Wolves might’ve made the blockbuster move of the season trading for star forward Danilo Gallinari, but the team still didn’t have time to start gelling together. But one thing is for sure, talent-wise, the Wolves rock one of the best starting lineups of D5 and will be a matchup nightmare against any team with them having 3 players who are 6’10 or higher.
You can see them being in a really similar position as the 76’rs in the NBA, with the end of the regular season being just “practice” for the team since they won’t catch either the 1st or 2nd seeds in the West. All that matters for them it’s the playoffs.
6 - Miami Heat (+4) Shaquille O'Neal (36-21) (8-2)
With some teams struggling this month the Heat was the team that jumped behind the gatekeepers Memphis Grizzlies. Boasting an incredible month of February with wins against the Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Knicks and Raptors, they dominated their schedule against other Eastern Conference playoff teams.
It looks like adding Sabonis and moving Kanter to the bench was a great move for the franchise who sees most of their offence go through their big man with Jrue Holiday providing the assists from the backcourt.
5 – Memphis Grizzlies (0) Jeremiah Hill (39-18) (9-4)
The gatekeepers of the Top 5, Memphis Grizzlies, boasted another solid month to their collection making us completely forget about their horrible start to the season.
Mitchell is still playing off-position averaging only 2.9 assists per game sitting only ahead of Justice Winslow in terms of assists of the 30 starting PG’s of the league, but despite that Memphis remains elite at passing the ball being Top 5 in the league in assists. Imagine if they had a real PG.
4 – Milwaukee Bucks (0) Glenn Robinson (45-12) (11-2)
I was really, and I mean really close to putting the Bucks over the Hornets this month, with them surpassing Charlotte in the standings, but the current state of the teams made Milwaukee remain at 4th.
With both Jeff Teague (who’s still playing despite being on a walking boot) and Dejounte Murray out for the season, they must put their weight on AD now more than ever. But to be fair to them, AD is one of the best players in the league.
With him and Beal scoring almost a combined 50 points per game, and Lou Williams ready to take over the starting spot, the Bucks are still a contender despite the injuries.
3 – Charlotte Hornets (0) James Kay (42-15) (8-4)
The Hornets struggled this month for a team of their calibre but they’re still the favourites to make the NBA finals out of the East.
The pressure for them will only come in June for the playoffs and July when it will be time for Paul George to make his decision. But even if leaves they’ll still be contending for a championship next season with KD and Russ.
2 – Golden State Warriors (0) Chris Mullin (45-10) (12-1)
Don’t blink because the Warriors are only 3 games back from the Nuggets and are still very well in contention for the number 1 seed in West and the best record in D5 after having the best record of the month for the 2nd time in a row. But I guess that’s what you can expect from a team who is being led by arguably the best 2 players in the NBA that somehow are the perfect complementary piece for each other.
1 – Denver Nuggets (0) Alex English (49-8) (8-2)
No surprises here, the Nuggets remain the only team to reach the number one spot in the monthly Power Rankings. And yes, James Harden is still playing at an MVP level.
What else to say about them? They have 60 wins locked in the bag and they’re on pace to reach at 65, truly a historical season for this Denver team.