2020 Season Power Rankings: December (10-1)
Feb 14, 2020 5:27:05 GMT
Allen Iverson, Glenn Robinson, and 3 more like this
Post by Jerry West on Feb 14, 2020 5:27:05 GMT
10 – Indiana Pacers Larry Bird (15-12) (+11)
After starting the season 0-7, the Indiana Pacers have followed that up by winning 15 of the following 20 games.
Indiana is the same team it was last year, no star power, but with the best rotation in the league, specially with the additions of guys like Randle, Green, Smart and Shamet in the off-season, guys that could be starting in other teams in the league.
You can question if this streak is going to continue when the Pacers start facing more Eastern teams, where they are 5-10, and the loss of Bojan Bogdanovic isn’t going to help with that (although they did get a lot in return for him).
9 – Chicago Bulls Shane Battier (19-11) (-1)
The secret to the Bulls success despite the poor roster around Kawhi and Lilliard? They being 1st and 3rd in scoring in the league, averaging a combined 58.8 points per game, they also have 2 guys in the top 10 of assists and steals. Basically, they are relying on their top guys to carry the load, maybe even a bit too much given Kawhi’s load management problems.
With Kawhi Leonard probably opting out next year, it remains a question what the Bulls will do with DeMarcus Cousins who is out for the season. Is trading him for another player on a bad contract that isn’t injured out of question? Or will they keep him in hopes of retaining Kawhi and forming a big 3 next year? Only time will tell.
8 – Brooklyn Nets Andrei Kirilenko (19-10) (-1)
Brooklyn has been slightly underwhelming this year given how stacked their starting 5 is. Unfortunately for them, seeding is important this year in the East, despite how stacked the East is there is still some quite difference between the teams fighting for the 3rd and the 6th spot.
At least it looks like their GM is aware of how important seeding is, and is trying out multiple lineups until he finds the one that clicks, but it looks like he hasn't found that lineup yet.
7 – Memphis Grizzlies Jeremiah Hill (18-11) (+6)
Memphis quickly left the early season struggles behind them and are looking scary with the addition of Bojan Bogdanovic, sitting now only 2 GB the 2nd seed in the West. Despite that, I’m not sure if one year of Bojan Bogdanovic is where you would want to spend all your future draft assets, so it remains to be seen if that gamble pays off, which for it to happen will have to end with a championship or Memphis resigning him in the off-season.
6 – Philadelphia 76ers Allen Iverson (21-9) (+5)
The Sixers have been nothing short of great this year and a great platform for LaMarcus Aldridge to show he should still be a number one option, unlike what was happening in Denver where he was the 3rd or even 4th sometimes, with him currently being Top 15 in the league in scoring while shooting over 50% from the field. It will be fun to see for how long they will keep this up, despite it looking like they already have a playoff seed in the bag.
5 – Charlotte Hornets James Kay (22-8) (-3)
I’m going to be straight with everyone on this one, I feel like the Hornets overreacted and jumped the gun on trading LeBron, here’s why.
First off, how will the players in that team feel about their General Manager not believing this group of players couldn’t compete for a championship? With Westbrook and PG entering Free Agency this year and their primes coming ever so closer to the end, it makes you question why they should have faith in a franchise that doesn’t believe they could win with LeBron but are confident of their chances of doing so with Brandon Ingram and Montrezl Harrell. Which leads to another big point, if PG and Westbrook resign, Harrell is gone in Free Agency. Which leads again to yet another question, how will Free Agents feel about a franchise that traded the league’s best player after 2 months, if LeBron isn’t safe, who is?
I feel like the right move for the Hornets would have been trading all their assets, maybe throw Christian Wood, a first and 2 seconds, and try to get rid of Noel and Snell for one of the many expiring contracts in the league. But now the Hornets are stuck in a situation that no matter what happens will end with them losing a member of their starting 5.
They were even in consideration for the Trash Bin award of the month but given how experienced James Klay is and the fact that this problem didn’t have an obvious and clear solution like what’s going on in Utah, made the award go in another direction. Question is, will Paul George and Russel Westbrook go in another direction as well?
4 – Sacramento Kings Amare Stoudemire (20-9) (+6)
I feel like the Kings have been of the smartest teams in D5 this year, by consistently taking advantage of the quick trigger tanking teams in D5, with them so far adding Danilo Gallinari and Jeremy Lamb for a fairly cheap price. Problem is they are capped for the next 2 years with probably all their players opting into their contracts except for Napier, although that isn’t much of a problem with the roster that the Kings currently have.
If I had to bet money on someone else other than the Nuggets to come out of the West this year, it would be on the Kings.
3 – Denver Nuggets Alex English (25-6) (-2)
The Nuggets remain at top of the league despite not having as good a record this month as the teams above them in this month’s Power Ranking.
Led by the ever-spectacular James Harden, the Nuggets have yet to lose on the road but are a questionable 10-6 at home on contrary to what you would expect, since Denver’s homecourt has always been one of the hardest to play on the league.
With a dominant 16-1 record against the rest of the Western Conference, the regular season remains nothing but a walk for last year’s Western Conference Champions.
2 – Boston Celtics Ian Noble (22-8) (+4)
Before anyone asks, no I didn’t get a message saying and I’m not quoting: “If I don’t get the first Golden Star Award of the Month you will banned from D5, you bloody numpty” or whatever the British say. Anyway, what a brilliant move to steal LeBron James from Charlotte and bring him to Boston alongside well-known friend Ben Simmons and a roster that on paper has everything it needs to win a title. Sure, the bench might be a little questionable, with Jerami Grant being the only good rotation piece that Boston has, but how much does that matter when your starting 5 is that good?
Plus with the amount of draft picks they currently own, including a 1st round pick from Charlotte gained in the LeBron deal somehow, I’m sure Boston can turn Amir Johnson into a better player if they choose to do so.
Boston joins now the race alongside the Bucks to become the second team to win more than one D5 title after Golden State (who already has 3).
1 – Milwaukee Bucks Glenn Robinson (22-6) (+4)
With the best record of the month, the reigning D5 champions sit for the first time in their history at the top of the Power Rankings, behind Anthony Davis putting up another MVP caliber season.
Despite Darius Garland being nothing sort of a disappointment so far, Bogdan Bogdanovic has proven to be more than capable to fill the whole that the departure of Lauri Markannen left. Not to mention they also got Mikal Bridges and Atlanta’s 1st round pick this year in the same deal. What a steal for the Bucks, and proof that they are one of the best ran teams in D5 under General Manager Glenn Robinson.
It’s gets scary to think how long and how good the Bucks will be given how young they are after just winning their first championship.
After starting the season 0-7, the Indiana Pacers have followed that up by winning 15 of the following 20 games.
Indiana is the same team it was last year, no star power, but with the best rotation in the league, specially with the additions of guys like Randle, Green, Smart and Shamet in the off-season, guys that could be starting in other teams in the league.
You can question if this streak is going to continue when the Pacers start facing more Eastern teams, where they are 5-10, and the loss of Bojan Bogdanovic isn’t going to help with that (although they did get a lot in return for him).
9 – Chicago Bulls Shane Battier (19-11) (-1)
The secret to the Bulls success despite the poor roster around Kawhi and Lilliard? They being 1st and 3rd in scoring in the league, averaging a combined 58.8 points per game, they also have 2 guys in the top 10 of assists and steals. Basically, they are relying on their top guys to carry the load, maybe even a bit too much given Kawhi’s load management problems.
With Kawhi Leonard probably opting out next year, it remains a question what the Bulls will do with DeMarcus Cousins who is out for the season. Is trading him for another player on a bad contract that isn’t injured out of question? Or will they keep him in hopes of retaining Kawhi and forming a big 3 next year? Only time will tell.
8 – Brooklyn Nets Andrei Kirilenko (19-10) (-1)
Brooklyn has been slightly underwhelming this year given how stacked their starting 5 is. Unfortunately for them, seeding is important this year in the East, despite how stacked the East is there is still some quite difference between the teams fighting for the 3rd and the 6th spot.
At least it looks like their GM is aware of how important seeding is, and is trying out multiple lineups until he finds the one that clicks, but it looks like he hasn't found that lineup yet.
7 – Memphis Grizzlies Jeremiah Hill (18-11) (+6)
Memphis quickly left the early season struggles behind them and are looking scary with the addition of Bojan Bogdanovic, sitting now only 2 GB the 2nd seed in the West. Despite that, I’m not sure if one year of Bojan Bogdanovic is where you would want to spend all your future draft assets, so it remains to be seen if that gamble pays off, which for it to happen will have to end with a championship or Memphis resigning him in the off-season.
6 – Philadelphia 76ers Allen Iverson (21-9) (+5)
The Sixers have been nothing short of great this year and a great platform for LaMarcus Aldridge to show he should still be a number one option, unlike what was happening in Denver where he was the 3rd or even 4th sometimes, with him currently being Top 15 in the league in scoring while shooting over 50% from the field. It will be fun to see for how long they will keep this up, despite it looking like they already have a playoff seed in the bag.
5 – Charlotte Hornets James Kay (22-8) (-3)
I’m going to be straight with everyone on this one, I feel like the Hornets overreacted and jumped the gun on trading LeBron, here’s why.
First off, how will the players in that team feel about their General Manager not believing this group of players couldn’t compete for a championship? With Westbrook and PG entering Free Agency this year and their primes coming ever so closer to the end, it makes you question why they should have faith in a franchise that doesn’t believe they could win with LeBron but are confident of their chances of doing so with Brandon Ingram and Montrezl Harrell. Which leads to another big point, if PG and Westbrook resign, Harrell is gone in Free Agency. Which leads again to yet another question, how will Free Agents feel about a franchise that traded the league’s best player after 2 months, if LeBron isn’t safe, who is?
I feel like the right move for the Hornets would have been trading all their assets, maybe throw Christian Wood, a first and 2 seconds, and try to get rid of Noel and Snell for one of the many expiring contracts in the league. But now the Hornets are stuck in a situation that no matter what happens will end with them losing a member of their starting 5.
They were even in consideration for the Trash Bin award of the month but given how experienced James Klay is and the fact that this problem didn’t have an obvious and clear solution like what’s going on in Utah, made the award go in another direction. Question is, will Paul George and Russel Westbrook go in another direction as well?
4 – Sacramento Kings Amare Stoudemire (20-9) (+6)
I feel like the Kings have been of the smartest teams in D5 this year, by consistently taking advantage of the quick trigger tanking teams in D5, with them so far adding Danilo Gallinari and Jeremy Lamb for a fairly cheap price. Problem is they are capped for the next 2 years with probably all their players opting into their contracts except for Napier, although that isn’t much of a problem with the roster that the Kings currently have.
If I had to bet money on someone else other than the Nuggets to come out of the West this year, it would be on the Kings.
3 – Denver Nuggets Alex English (25-6) (-2)
The Nuggets remain at top of the league despite not having as good a record this month as the teams above them in this month’s Power Ranking.
Led by the ever-spectacular James Harden, the Nuggets have yet to lose on the road but are a questionable 10-6 at home on contrary to what you would expect, since Denver’s homecourt has always been one of the hardest to play on the league.
With a dominant 16-1 record against the rest of the Western Conference, the regular season remains nothing but a walk for last year’s Western Conference Champions.
2 – Boston Celtics Ian Noble (22-8) (+4)
Before anyone asks, no I didn’t get a message saying and I’m not quoting: “If I don’t get the first Golden Star Award of the Month you will banned from D5, you bloody numpty” or whatever the British say. Anyway, what a brilliant move to steal LeBron James from Charlotte and bring him to Boston alongside well-known friend Ben Simmons and a roster that on paper has everything it needs to win a title. Sure, the bench might be a little questionable, with Jerami Grant being the only good rotation piece that Boston has, but how much does that matter when your starting 5 is that good?
Plus with the amount of draft picks they currently own, including a 1st round pick from Charlotte gained in the LeBron deal somehow, I’m sure Boston can turn Amir Johnson into a better player if they choose to do so.
Boston joins now the race alongside the Bucks to become the second team to win more than one D5 title after Golden State (who already has 3).
1 – Milwaukee Bucks Glenn Robinson (22-6) (+4)
With the best record of the month, the reigning D5 champions sit for the first time in their history at the top of the Power Rankings, behind Anthony Davis putting up another MVP caliber season.
Despite Darius Garland being nothing sort of a disappointment so far, Bogdan Bogdanovic has proven to be more than capable to fill the whole that the departure of Lauri Markannen left. Not to mention they also got Mikal Bridges and Atlanta’s 1st round pick this year in the same deal. What a steal for the Bucks, and proof that they are one of the best ran teams in D5 under General Manager Glenn Robinson.
It’s gets scary to think how long and how good the Bucks will be given how young they are after just winning their first championship.