Power Rankings: Best of the Rest
Jan 20, 2013 12:35:24 GMT -5
Post by donatello2424 on Jan 20, 2013 12:35:24 GMT -5
11. Utah Jazz (15-10)
The Jazz have the offensive firepower to compete with the best of them, however their defense leaves a lot to be desired. Westbrook is still very raw. His turnovers problems do not help and he isn’t a great outside shooter, which would be beneficial to have with Gordon and McGrady. Their bigs are not that great and that does hurt them. If you could replace Freeland and Bass with guys who are slightly better, this team would be a contender for a top 4 spot in the west.
12. Cleveland Cavaliers (16-11)
Most top teams have at least two players who can score 20+ ppg. The Cavs have one in Melo but lack that second one. Some of that is offset with the fact that they have 4 other guys who are all 15+ ppg guys. Fernandez got paid, mainly due to the worry someone would max him. He is good but his defense is a tad weak and he has taken a step back. I don’t really like Evans at pg but it has to do for now. Darko is very underrated for what he does and he should get paid this offseason. Thompson isn’t great but he does his job as a good offensive option who can reboundly slightly. Whiteside off the bench is great.
13. Houston Rockets (16-13)
The Rockets recently made a huge trade where they shipped MVP Yao for Dwight. While they take a step back from Yao to Howard, they are still a decent team. Howard is all ratings and no production. Pau is a solid offensive option and pairs well with Dwight for an inside offense. Dalembert is great off the bench for his blocks and the ability to spell Dwight and Pau. I still don’t understand the Ivey at PG thing but he does produce. Conley has the better ratings but not the production. Ginobili should be better than he is, quite sad. Tucker is one of those defense sf’s, nothing more.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (12-11)
Lakers made a big trade but this is about their team now. Favors had the potential to be good, he just needs some help. Bogut is a great player for his production, though his rebounding is less than ideal. I despise Peja because he keeps turning down my MLE to sign for the MLE. Beasley is all offense. Deron is good and is one of the top pg’s in the league. I’m not sure about their trade as it seems they are giving up a lot for CP3, who might not be better than Deron.
15. Golden State Warriors (14-12)
I forgot Shaq was still in the league. At 39 he is a shell of his former self but that doesn’t matter at the Bay Area Retirement community. But seriously, they have an average starter age of 33.2. Take out Rondo (the outlier) and the age jumps to 35.25. Pierce and Dirk are still very solid players, averaging 23 and 29 ppg respectively. KG is still good but is also a shell. They lay limp into the playoffs, but more than likely they will roll. They need some guys to retire so they can fully rebuild. I do find it funny that KG is injured with a groin pull. C’mon KG, you too old for that shit.
16. New York Knicks (10-12)
The Knicks have turned it on as of late, going 7-3. The Knicks are the star studded team, having three different guys that could all be #1 options on any other team. Outside of Wade, Bron, Ming they aren’t exactly strong, but they aren’t weak. Nene is a scoring big and Hansbrough does a bit of it all, but they just need a warm body in the post next to Yao. Llull is the Nene of the backcourt. Just stand there and look pretty as everyone else handles the ball. The Knicks will shoot up these ratings so they won’t stay down here for long.
17. Portland Trailblazers (13-13)
Ray Ray is still in this league, wow. Last year they traded away Redd and they are hurting because of it. DeRozan is a solid scorer who can rebound, but he doesn’t have the defense that he needs. Their bigs aren’t that good. Horford busted big time and Hibbert never improved that much. Lawson is solid but he is another no defense guy. Derrick Williams looks promising but this team is one of those that is too bad to make the playoffs and too good to be a high lotto pick.
18. Seattle Supersonics (15-18)
Just a couple of years ago the Sonics were a top team…what has happened? They aren’t bad by any means, they just aren’t that good. Boozer is okay but his rpg and bpg make him a bit restrictive. Amare is a great scorer and looks to be a solid post defender. Rashard Lewis is a plus rebounder at small forward and is in the last year of his contract. I can see him bolting for a long-term big pay day as he still has some stuff left in the tank. Losing AI crippled this team and they are struggling to find someone to kill in. Rashawn Terry is not that. Might be time to salvage what value they can out of Shard and Amare and blow this bitch up.
19. San Antonio Spurs (12-15)
The Spurs have a good foundation. Klay looks solid and performing very well for a rookie. Barbosa is expiring but he can still produce, though I’m not sure he is a great choice at point guard. Outside of those two, they don’t have much. Noah is okay but he doesn’t look like a great starter. Young could be decent, but he is just in the wrong offense for his skills. Gallinari and Morris play some small forward, but none is amazing. They are in the situation where they are too good for a high pick and too bad to make the playoffs. Barbosa and Klay are making this team win too many games.
20. Milwaukee Bucks (14-20)
Baron is doing his thing with nearly 31 ppg and 11 apg. That being said, why is he still on this team? The Bucks are not a playoff team (2 back of the Knicks who are surging). Jermaine O’neal provides their number 2 20 ppg guy but this team can be better. Why Cook is starting over someone…say a Azubuike is beyond me. Kelenna has proven he can score but he is just rotting on their bench. Hawes is okay. Not great and not amazing. Chandler over Jefferson is another question mark, but I can let that one pass. If Kelenna could be a 17.5 ppg guy it would dramatically improve this team.
21. Philadelphia 76ers (10-16)
Because when you have a sophomore pg, you use your top 10 1st round pick on another pg. I don’t understand why they took Knight, or why he is starting at pg, but whatever. I like Jimmer as a backup combo-guard though. There really isn’t much to this team outside of Wall. Their bigs are pretty bad. Vucevic is okay I guess.
22. Orlando Magic (11-17)
Going from Bron to Harden can take some getting used to, but I do like Harden. Harden can light it up, just not defend. George looks like he could be a solid starter with some help. The third pick in the draft, Faried, has done decent enough, but not amazing. His blocks are nice, his rebounds just need to catch up with their ability. Kanter looks like he could be a bust. This team has a lot of youth, they just need to wait it out.
23. Denver Nuggets (9-16)
Rose can score. He can also pass and rebound. What he can’t do is hold on to the damn ball. 4 topg is horrible and makes it to the point where he might have to be a sg. Sucks but he is the new AI. Roy is good and can score in bunches. Bosh is okay but he really lacks a position. Maybe Rose will have a magical next TC and lower his topg by 1 per game, or maybe he will be maxed and you have a decision: deal with his topg at point guard or play small with Roy at SF and Rose at SG.
24. New Orleans Hornets (11-24)
The Hornets were the lucky landing place of Blake Griffin after skillz flipped him. Blake is showing his talent by averaging nearly 24 ppg. The problem Is they don’t really have anything else. Crawford’s percentage are ridiculous but he and Blake don’t really fit together. Green is a decent scorer but no defense. The good is that they should have another top pick to add to Blake and build a solid percentage.
25. Washington Wizards (9-17)
Butler is such a huge steal. 21 ppg is amazing. His defense is meh but he is young and can score. Jonas has good ratings for a rookie, but where is the production? There really isn’t much to talk about here. They have four rookie guards, none who are that good (Kemba is averaging 16 ppg). Kinda funny that the 20th pick can’t even get a minute on a tanking team.
26. Indiana Pacers (9-18)
Still kinda bitter about Oden bolting, so it makes me feel kinda good that his new team is doing this badly. Cousins is solid as his 20 ppg is nice, but where is his rpg? 8 rpg? Seriously? Leonard has good ratings, just not the production. Tucker has the production though, mainly due to the offense catered for Cousins. I like how they have a player named Darngton. Not Darington, but Darngton.
27. Los Angeles Clippers (7-24)
Clippers have a bit of an identity crisis. They suck, however they have decent players. Blake, Joe Johnson, Jason Richardson, Andrei Kirilenko, and Okafor are all solid rotational guys on contending teams…so what are they doing on the Clippers? The Clippers do have Pasons as a solid offensive player, but they need to try and dump some guys.
28. Boston Celtics (5-21)
The Gregz with their 20 ppg are solid. Greg Smith has really surprising me. Outside of them though, lol.
29. Memphis Grizzlies(5-16)
Might as well tank for another young player to pair with Kyrie and OJ. Both are very god players who you can build your team around. 20 ppg from Kyrie and 22 ppg from mayo (though his topg are equal to his apg, not good). Maybe another first can give them that 3rd option and they can find the other pieces.
