FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Dec 2nd 2008

Well I got pretty sick over the weekend out in the mountains getting my christmas tree cut down and then got lost... Well everything was alright but i did take monday off of work and just sat on the couch all day. So thats why we have a tuesday edition of the rankings. I am sorry for the delay if you have been awaiting this. But lets get on with it.

Last weeks ranking

http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/294295-nba-power-rankings-week-4

High Riser this week- 4- (11) Portland - Rising 7 spots to 4th place

Pitiful Faller this week- 15- (6) Phoenix - Falling 9 spots to 15th place

1-(1) L.A. Lakers- Still looking good. 14-1 and winning 7 straight. The Lakers bench could be the best in the League as well. ESPN reports that, "only 2 other Phil Jackson teams have started so well being the Bulls at 17-1 in 1996-97 and Lakers at 16-1 in 2001-02. They both went on to win it all."

2-(2) Boston - Second time to start the season being 16-2. The defense is back and they are looking good, just not laker good right now.

3-(3) Cleveland-Am I one of the only guys that agrees with Barkley in saying that 2010 is a ways away and we should focus on this season here and now in 2008. I think it really lame to think about what might happen a few years from now. Lebron didnt even debate back either, he just said there are alot of free agents that could move in 2010.

4- (11) Portland- Winning 6 of the last 7 games and winning on the road against Detroit was impressive. This team has one of the only Unbeated Records at home this season. This Blazer squad might be the biggets jump in the Rankings this week.

5- (9) Denver- Melo cut his cornrows if you noticed, they bring on Billups and now i am wondering why JR Smith is not playing the way he should be since his position really opened up with the depature of AI.

6- (7) Orlando- Well they have had one of the easier schedules but this team is battling injuries. Good thing they have the man of steel on their team in Howard.

7-(5) Houston- Well now we have another injury with T Mac but Battier did return. Hey i called it, this team just cant stay healthy. The year doesnt matter, this team could be elite but they need a team doctor instead of a coach.

8-(13) San Antonio- Well Parker and Manu are both back and now the Spurs are looking good. Struttin a 9-7 record the Spurs could go on a run now and show they still got some left in the tank.

9- (10) New Orleans- The team has been really inconsistent but Chris Paul is doing his thing, but he is not at the MVP level he was one year ago.

10- (17) New Jersey- Devin Harris had 47 against the Suns and I think the Mavs may have taken note and realized what they did... Vince Carter is looking like he did a few years ago, could he be playing with Heart now.

11-(4) Utah- Well the injuries are starting to catch up to them. In the past week the Jazz lost 2 home games. Williams is back but still looks a step slower than he was in the Summer. Boozer is out, Okur, Korver, AK47 have all also missed time.

12-(8) Detroit- Losing to the Blazers on Sunday was a little embarrising. Then you got a 6-6 lineup after the trade of Billups for Iverson.

13- (12) Atlanta- I like seeing Maurice Evans playing outside of LA, it had to be frustrating getting minimal minutes and playing behind an MVP guy like Kobe. They are still without Josh Smith but this team will see an improvement once he returns.

14- (14) Dallas- Well the Stephon Marbury talk could be true but i just dont see him going to Dallas but its got Jason Terry playing the best ball in years. He is the best sixth man of the year.

15- (6) Phoenix- Plenty is being questioned in AZ lately. Why they traded for Shaq, Why they got rid of D'Antoni, Why Amare is not becoming a Superstar? Not big problems but still being talked about. Whats up with the Defense? D Wade had 43 points while D Harris got 43 points.

16- (18) Toronto- Bosh is playing outta control beyond MVP caliber play. Oh and O'neal is still injured.

17- (16) New York- Well AL Harrington is looking great as a Knick and guys like David Lee could become leaders of this team. I dont know why people are looking forward to 2010 since the team is respectable again for once. Love it now...

18- (15) Philadelphia- Will Elton Brand ever play on a winning team. I really thought this would be the year that he would really break out and the Sixers would contend for the Eastern Title, every game i look to be more wrong about that prediction.

19- (20) Chicago- Man i havent been excited to watch a rookie play every game since Vince Carter or Chris Paul. Derrick Rose is the real deal and they took a good win over the Jazz in Utah.

20- (19) Milwaukee - Is anybody else on the Raymon Sessions bandwagon... This guy could get a big contract next season. Between the Spurs and the Bucks there have been a few guys that have really stepped up this season.

21- (17) Miami- Beasley can still the ball, that was intense wasnt it. But monday nights game was really the Jamal Crawford vs Dwayne Wade show. Intense game. Miami wins in Oakland.

22- (22) Indiana- They got a tough road trip ahead this week, why dont you go check that out.

23- (25) Charlotte- Whos going to get traded in the first Larry Brown orchestrated trade for the Bobcats?

24- (24) Sacramento- Kevin Martin is supposed to return tonight and I actually have him on my fantasy team. So now i have to decide if i want to sit Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Raymon Sessions or Ronnie Brewer for Kevin Martin. Its a hard life, i am pretty stacked at the guard position. I also have Nate Robinson on my injured resereved.

25- (23) Golden State- I like the Jamal Crawford trade i just wonder what happens when Monta Ellis comes back to the team because they are going to have a lot of guards. At least they got someone that can run the fast point that Nellie likes to run.

26- (26) Minnesota- People might disagree with my ranking here. Plus whats up with Kevin Love. I expected more, are people in Minny angry that OJ Mayo seems to be thriving in Memphis. The Mike Miller portion of the deal is working out though.

27- (28) L.A. Clippers- Well with Kaman going down they can work Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby into the starting 5 quite nicely but what happens when Kaman comes back. There is talk of trading Kaman while his value is high and focusing on Camby and Zach. STUPID... Camby gets hurt every year and Kaman is YOUNGER.

28- (27) Memphis- Losing 10 of the last 11 games is pitiful. Man the Grizzlies have Mayo... oh by the way Rudy Gay's numbers are down a little bit but that guy can ball it up.

29- (30) Oklahoma City- Winning 2 of 16 games, thats bad too. Durant is moving to SF which was his position his ENTIRE LIFE. They beat Memphis, not to cool but it was win #2 for the season.

30- (29) Washington- The Crap of the crap, i mean they play in the East as well. The Gilbert contract still is killing this team, can you imagine 3 years from now... haha, i cant either. Deshawn Stevenson is in a slump as well and that doesnt help. Well first day back at work since last week really is busy, sorry this took so long to finish up and get ready, but we are finally ready for some comments.