Post by the original michael on Jul 30, 2020 5:53:20 GMT -8
Day 90 Power Rankings
1. Sacramento Kings
The best team in the league...again. Is it getting annoying to anyone else to see the Kings always so elite? Have to tip your cap and give credit where credit is due. ashes and the Kings seem to win nearly every deal and even after losing Marcus Camby in free agency a few years ago, the team did not seem to miss a beat. This is most definitely the team to beat in the league.
2.Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are that one team that is always good, but can never win that big playoff matchup. Can this be the year Kevin Garnett and Keith Van Horn get their ring? Probably not. It's the Kings to lose again. It's probably time for 2 years left to look in the mirror and realize he may never win with this roster he has sat on for nearly 5 seasons. Time to tear it down sir!
3. Chicago Bulls
I'm a huge fan of this squad built by Play and insane . One question though, why isn't Lou Williams starting and getting more minutes at the 2? Maybe they want the defense of Larry Hughes, but Lou Williams is a vastly superior player. After sniping Tony Parker from the Rockets in free agency, the Bulls took off and don't have many holes on their roster. The trade of Amare Stoudemire for Kenyon Martin was huge and should pay dividends quickly.
4. Washington Wizards
It's a deep team with a lot of depth, but they lack a true super star. You can argue that Peja Stojakovic is one, but I'll say NO. He turns the ball over way too much and plays no defense. This team looks like they are built for the regular season and I'm expecting a Round 2 exit in the playoffs.
5. Utah Jazz
Young, deep, and talent. That is how I would describe the Utah Jazz. The Jazz and JR won the title in season 1, could they win it again this year? It would not surprise me. The only question for me is, are they ready now? We'll see. If not, they'll be back next year and the year after.
6. Detroit Pistons
Tim Duncan and Gilbert Arenas. Arguably two of the league's elite players playing together in Detroit. Galo has done a great job to acquire those two, now he needs to work on building up the rest of the roster. It wouldn't shock me to see the Pistons win the finals, or lose in the first round. I'm not too sure how this team will perform during the playoffs.
7. New Orleans Hornets
Injuries have plagued the Hornets of late, but they are still right there in the middle of the playoff picture. I love their guards and wings, but their bigs leave a lot to be desired. Big Z is solid, but outside of that, they are lacking. Can Von and the Hornets compete with the beasts in the East? We'll find out.
8. New York Knicks
This is Skillz most interesting team in my opinion. He probably isn't title ready, but who knows. That could have changed while I am writing this article. This team does appear more built for the future with Devin Harris, Nene, Hilario, RJ, and MARTY.
9. Miami Heat
This team could be a lot higher if it were not for injuries. They were ravaged with injuries all season and are finally healthy-ish. Larry Johnson is still out another 23 days unfortunately, but the Heat should be a team that makes some playoff noise. It would not shock me to see them make a deep run in the playoffs.
10. Philadelphia 76ers
The Yao Ming era in Philly has come and gone and it's now Chauncey Billups' team. I like his bigs in Nenad and Dalembert. *I love bigs who rebound, defend, and don't score* They have elite defense on the wings with Posey and Battier. On paper, this should be one of the league's better defensive teams.
11. Golden State Warriors
The CY Warriors are for real. The addition of a real big man in Theo Ratliff has paid off huge for the Warriors. Do I think they are a title team? No, but they are not in jeopardy of missing their CY and should compete and maybe win a playoff series.
12. San Antonio Spurs
John is a busy man working at the hospital. Real world obviously takes priority over FBB, but his team is suffering due to it. Any roster that has had Tracy McGrady and Jamal Crawford for multiple seasons should compete at a high level. The addition of Zo was huge, but they still lack pieces. Gary Trent can't start for them. If they get an upgrade at PF, watch out.
13. Los Angeles Lakers
Baron Davis looks rejuvenated. Ricky Davis is elite. This team is solid, but lacks the quality bigs. Elton Brand is nice and Ernest Brown is a solid #3 big, but Nanz needs to go out and acquire another one to compete.
14. Dallas Mavericks
Dwayne Wade was out in Dallas, but now @aaronjh has brought him back. The Mavs appear to be in the middle of a re-tool right now, rather than a rebuild. They are not a title team now, but next year, watch out.
15. Los Angeles Clippers
Dimitris Diamantidis is a star. We know this. If this team had a full time active GM, maybe they would be in better shape. But their GM had personal issues that takes priority. The Clippers look like a team primed for a 1st round exit.
16. Minnesota Timberwolves
Is Bosh available? Will Jeb deal him? It looked like that would happen, but then he changed course after Spencer essentially told him NO. The Wolves need to make a move though and should probably look to play Jason Richardson a little more, even off the bench.
17. Portland Trailblazers
My man Orlando Magic Johnson also appears to be in a re-tooling stage right now. They traded JO for Iggy and are getting younger. A core of Calderon, JJ, Howard, Iggy, Curry is SOLID. If they can add a star to go along these guys, WATCH OUT FOR PORTLAND!
18. Phoenix Suns
Power moves by Andrew recently, acquiring Deron Williams and Amare Stoudemire to team up with Pau Gasol. Talk about name power. If these guys can perform to their name value, the rest of the league will be on notice.
19. Houston Rockets
The Rockets are pickless this year. That is fine though, because believe it or not I think Go Niners is in good shape. He has Vince Carter and Ron Artest - very valuable trading assets and has all of his picks going forward. Obviously they are on the outside looking in this year, but the future in Houston can be bright. I'm expecting and hoping to see a full out tank in 2007 and 2008, while he trades off Vince and Artest for a plethora of youth/picks.
20. Toronto Raptors
GAME and the Raps were hit with the injury bug early. Then they made a power move acquiring Yao Ming. A team of Yao and Ray should be able to compete in the East? Shouldn't it? The team will add a lottery pick to go along with their core and should be better next season...if Yao re-signs.
21. Orlando Magic
They are tanking obviously. They waited a while to deal Shard and ended up giving up a 08 1st to dump him, meanwhile, Shard was traded for an 08 1st a few days later. Yikes. Right now they are in no mans land in the middle to end of the lottery. Al Jefferson looks like a great prospect, so there is that for trapstar23 .
22. Memphis Grizzlies
Oh, Erbes . Erbes rhymes with Herbs. Maybe he's on the herbs which is why he made the trades he did? I know he's entering CY next year, but a core of Deron and Dwight with CAP space and a top pick in 2006 would have been the play. Now they are going to struggle to make CY. I hope they make it, he's a good DUDE.
23. Boston Celtics
Another clear tanking team is Boston and Lasagna and tears of failure . Not much to say here other than I like the Bogut/Gortat front court. Solid!
24. Seattle Super Sonics
Man, Mark did a great job. The Sonics were dead when he took over, now they have Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and a boat load of draft picks. Give this man the credit he deserves. What a turn around in just 1+ seasons.
25. Denver Nuggets
Ok what is Royal doing? He has a mid to early lotto pick in a poopy draft and has some bad deals? Will he try and dump those deals? That is the hot rumor right now. It may make sense since the contacts of Fizer, Rose, and Dermarr are crippling his roster.
26. Indiana Pacers
The initial rebuild went great, acquiring Ariza and Josh Smith. The first year of the tank went awful, ending up with 2 busts in CJ Miles and Fran Vasquez. Charlie V and Ersan look like talents, but that is not what you tank for. Now, in 2006, we are struggling to get to the bottom of the standings. If we miss out on the top players, we may be in trouble.
27. Milwaukee Bucks
nybombers3 has been a very active GM since taking over for chipper. The team is clearly in phase 1 of their tank and will likely be tanking again next season. Not much else to say, at least they have a direction and a very active GM.
28. New Jersey Nets
Is greeme washed? This is the gossip around the league right now. I'll say NO. He's just tanking and tanking hard. I expect my man greeme to be back in the thick of things within a few seasons.
29. Atlanta Hawks
How about footy ? Many called him a cheater for his DC, but I think he outsmarted us all! Bynum looks interesting, but he is the only piece on that roster right now. They need Roy or LMA or another top prospect to team with Bynum. If this pick drops 4 spots in the lottery, they may find themselves in trouble.
