FanNation - The Republic of Sport

November 24th 2008

Well the Thunder and the Wizards have fired their coaches. There was a major trade sending Al Harrington to the Knicks with Jamal Crawford going to the Warriors and then Zach Randolph is going to the Clippers.

 Last weeks ranking: http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/290655

 The Biggest Rise- 14- (23) Dallas, moving up 9 Spots.

The Biggest Fall-  18- (13) Toronto, Falling 5 spots.

1-(1) L.A. Lakers- Kobe is playing less minutes then ever before and they are still winning games. 11-1 record is no joke. Trevor Ariza is a good fantasy pickup as well and is bringing more consistency to the starting lineup than Odom was. 

2-(3) Boston - 13-2 but with the Lakers having a tougher schedule in the East and thats my reasoning on having the Lakers ahead of them. 

3-(2) Cleveland-Mo Williams is fitting in and this team is starting to win games more often than last year. They had an 8 game winning streak and the schedule looks to stay easy. 

 4-(6) Utah- Well the Jazzare actually winning games without Williams, Boozer, Okur, Korver, and even Kirilenko for a few games. Guys like CJ Miles, Ronnie Brewer, and Ronnie Price have really stepped it up. Kosta Koufos and Brevin Knight look like they have been in the Loudest Arena for years. The Jazz are undefeated at home and when the Starters get back this team will have a deep bench. 

 5-(7) Houston- T Mac is not the same this season, numbers are dropping like a rock but on the other hand Artest helps to fill that void. Yao Ming is starting to look like a top 10 center in the NBA. 

6- (4) Phoenix- With the new offense Steve Nash's numbers are down at 13.5 points and 7.6 assists but they are still winning games (when they score over 100).

7- (10) Orlando- Becoming one of the hotter teams in the East. Could be the new bandwagon team. I would have predicted the Pistons, Raptors, and Sixers to all surpass the team. Looks like i could have been wrong but the season is still over. 

8-(5) Detroit- Only team to beat the Lakers and then ended the Cav's 8 game winning streak. Then Mcdyess resigns with the team and they get blown out by 20+ points. Minnesota people!

9- (12) Denver- Now 8-2 since Billups took over the Nuggets offensive machine. Are they going to challenge the Jazz for the Northwest Division Crown?

10- (9) New Orleans- With the game recently between the Hornets and the Thunder in Oklahoma City fans didnt know what team to cheer for. But finally the Hornets picked up a win. They just are not looking as good as they did last year. Peja scoring is dropping as well with a .370 FG%.

11- (11) Portland- Well Oden is back playing and it is affecting Lamarcus Aldridge a little but overall this tandem front court is going to be good for years to come. 

12- (8) Atlanta- They are still playing well just not super toasty fire undefeated mode. Sorry but reality is setting in.

13-(21) San Antonio- The Spurs have gone 5-2 in their last 7 games and people in Texas can reinvest in Duncan and company once again. Roger Mason Jr is playing unreal as well. How come i didnt know who this guy was?

14- (23) Dallas- Winning 4 games straight and actually playing defense helps the team make the major jump up the power rankings. 

15- (15) Philadelphia- This week put the Sixers over .500 for the first time this season. I am still waiting for Elton Brand to get back to form but i am wondering if it will happen or not. 

16- (14) New York- Things should get more interesting with sending away Crawford and Randolph and picking up Al Harrington. 

17- (20) New Jersey- If there was a game of the week last week it would have had to been the Nets @ Raptors game. In the final seconds Carter nailed a deep 3 to send it to Overtime and then in the final seconds of OT he had an inbound Ally Opp Behind the back dunk to win the game. 

18- (13) Toronto-The losses piled up this week. O'Neal got hurt just like everyone predicted. 

19- (18) Milwaukee - Redd s out but it doesnt seem to matter with Sessions and Mbah a Moute becoming animals and putting up some great numbers. i picked both guys up in my fantasy basketball league.

20- (16) Chicago- Rose is experiancing his first West Road Trip in the NBA and the Blazers took full advantage of it last week. Next up they have the injured Jazz tonight and it should be good.

21- (17) Miami- There are only 2 consistent things the heat have right now and its not wins or losses. Dwayne Wade is continuing to be a top tier All Star while Beasley is learning to get into foul trouble and miss the 4th on a nightly basis. 

22- (19) Indiana- Rasho Nesterovic returned and put up some numbers, 21 points... But his career says that it wont stay that way. 

23- (25) Golden State- Anthony Morrow... I guess i talked about him last week. Now Al Harrington is gone and Williams wants to be traded. The guy is a 3rd string PG and i dont think he has room to talk.

24- (22) Sacramento- Man they are bad. The Maloof Brothers want Coach Reggie to be more like Rick Adelman but that leaves me with the question as to why they let him go in the first place.

25- (24) Charlotte- DJ Augustine has finally cracked Larry Browns starting lineup but now everyone is wondering when the Bobcats will change up the roster.

26- (28) Minnesota- They beat Detroit by 26 points and then they also beat the Sixers. Al Harrington looks good and hopefully he can get an All Star Apperance. 

27- (26) Memphis- They shot 54% from the field against the Kings. But they have only one 1 of the last 7 games. OJ MAYO... 

28- (30) L.A. Clippers- Well Cuttino Mobley is going to be more missed than anyone thought. Now the Clips have the problem of Randolph, Camby, and Kaman. 

29- (27) Washington- 1-10 and they fired Eddie Jordan. Dont know if things are going to change though anytime soon.

30- (29) Oklahoma City- They fired PJ and now i want to see Latrell Sprewell find PJ and a dark alley and have another WWE chokedown. Ok that was bad.