The NBA on Christmas is the gift that just keeps on giving. It starts with a 12:00 game and goes all the way till the late 10:30 game out on the West Coast. But like some gifts, some games were bad some games are good. With a little over ¼ of the season gone we are starting to see some trends and tendencies.
The Sports Whisperer’s Top 11 NBA Power Rankings:
11) New York Knicks (16-14) The Eastern Conference in the NBA is terrible. Other than the Cavaliers there is not one legitimate team that can compete for a championship. The Knicks should get better as their new players and team gets acclimated to one another and their coach Jeff Hornacek. The Problem with New York is their system is straight out of the mid 90’s. Everything late in the game is isolation. Where most teams have developed ball movement the Knicks continue to hold the ball. Derrick Rose and Carmelo Anthony are the ultimate ball stoppers. If Hornacek can’t get this team to share the ball more effectively they will be mired in mediocrity.
10) Utah Jazz (18-13) No one is paying attention to the Jazz and that is probably the way head coach Quin Snyder likes it. The Former Duke player and Missouri head coach has really evolved and grown in the coaching ranks over the years. His team doesn’t have a ton of star but when healthy, Gordon Hayward and George Hill have been spectacular. The two are averaging 42 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists per game. Center Rudy Gobert is a double/double machine. He is averaging 12 points, 12 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
9) Boston Celtics (18-13) Out of all the lower top 10 teams, the Celtics have the highest ceiling. PG, Isaiah Thomas, is averaging 27 points and 6.2 assists per game. He is a legitimate candidate for the MVP Award. Avery Bradley is developing into one of the best two-way players in the NBA. He is averaging 17 points per game and leading the team in rebounding (7.2). After a slow start, free agent, Al Horford has really been playing well. He is averaging 15.7 points, 7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Brad Stevens has this team playing hard and unselfishly every night. They should win 50 plus games.
8) Memphis Grizzlies (20-13) The Grizzlies love to wear teams down, they are physical and methodical. The play hard every night, but the problem is they just don’t have enough scorers. Only Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are averaging more than 18 points per game. Come playoff time their lack of offense will be their downfall.
7) Oklahoma City Thunder (19-12) Russell Westbrook may be the first player to average a triple-double in a season since Oscar Robertson. Westbrook has thoroughly thrived without Kevin Durant. He is averaging 31.7 points, 10.4 rebounds, 10.9 assists per game. Billy Donovan is a very good coach and the only way for the Thunder to compete with Golden State in the playoffs would be to go big. They can’t beat the Warriors going small. I expect Center Stephen Adams and Power Forward Enes Kanter to play huge roles in the second half of the season. Both should average 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. If OKC can maximize their size and run the pick and roll effectively they can be a legitimate threat.
6) Toronto Raptors (22-8) The Raptors will run through the Eastern Conference but as we have seen time and time again, they match up horribly against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Raptors will win 55 or more games but I can see them getting knocked out by the Celtics or Knicks. The Raptors just don’t have weapons on offense.
5) LA Clippers (22-11) Power Forward Blake Griffin will miss months due to injury and Chris Paul missed the past few games with a strained hamstring. Injuries happen to every team in the NBA but Griffin and Paul are the two most important pieces for the Clippers. If Doc Rivers can’t get this team to a Western Conference Finals, should he be fired?
4) Houston Rockets (23-9) The Rockets are fun to watch. James Harden has cooled off somewhat but he is still averaging 27.5 points and 11.9 assists per game. Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson are providing a ton of scoring from downtown. The Rockets have been winning by playing a fast-paced. They are first in the league in scoring but until they can get a defensive mindset they won’t be a serious threat to win a title. They don’t have to be great defensively but they must be good situationally in the last few minutes. They recently lost to the Spurs, after leading by 13 points with 3 minutes left to play. The Spurs got stops, the Rockets couldn’t. This will haunt them come playoff time. You can’t just win one way and expect to win a title.
3) San Antonio Spurs (25-6) Kawhi Leonard has been everything for this team. He is averaging 24.4 points and 2 steals per game. He has become a great offensive player and he is still a “lockdown” defender. Spurs fans have got to be disappointed in LaMarcus Aldridge, He is only averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds per game. On Christmas Day, LA had 33 points and 9 rebounds. He started the game shooting 10 for 10. Hopefully, for head coach Gregg Popovich, this will get him out of his season-long funk. Patty Mills and David Lee provide great leadership and skills coming off the bench. Spurs should win 60 games
2) Golden State Warriors (27-5) Kevin Durant has been the best player all year for the Warriors. He is shooting 53% from the floor averaging 26.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. No one is talking about Stephen Curry even though he is 24 points and 6 assists per game. This is one of the best shooting teams in the history of the NBA and they will win over 65 games if they stay healthy.
1) Cleveland Cavaliers (23-7) The Cavaliers beat the Warriors on a Kyrie Irving game-winning basket. The Cavs were down 14 in the 4th quarter but never panicked, never lost faith. The Cavs have now beaten the “Dubs” 4 straight games. (three last year in the NBA Finals and 1 on Sunday). Two times during the game Kevin Durant had a monstrous dunk. The Cavs answered with a Kevin Love inbound pass across the court to LeBron James for an easy basket. The Warriors are like Mike Tyson in a way. Tyson would land a big punch and opposing fighters wouldn’t hit back. Same thing with GS, they hit a big three or score in bunches and they break teams will. The Cavs never let that affect them. Cleveland is a better/deeper shooting team than GS and they are not intimidated by them. The Big three of Love, James and Irving are averaging 70 points, 22 rebounds and 14 assists per game. Their bench is filled with role players who are thriving. Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert and Richard Jefferson are solid professional’s, day in and day out.
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