Hoops Haven

Every two weeks,‭ ‬we at the Haven,‭ ‬will rank the Top‭ ‬16‭ ‬Teams based on their performance during the previous 2 weeks.‭ ‬This will be our end of December rankings of the ’09-’10 season. Previous rankings are inside (). Where does your team rank?

1) LA Lakers     25-6     (2) – The Lakers continue to roll along, going 6-2 since our last rankings where they held the #2 spot.  Don’t take too much stock in their stinker of a game on Christmas vs Cleveland, Coach Phil Jackson has surely made them forget about it already.  Gasol(17.4 ppg, 11.8 rebs, 1.8 blk) and Kobe(30.4 ppg) are the best 1-2 punch in the league.  What sore finger?

2) Cleveland     26-8     (7) – If you blinked in the past two weeks, you may have missed Lebron and the Cavs surging to the NBA’s best record by going an impressive 8-1 since our last rankings.  They look back to last season’s elite form behind the stellar play of Lebron(28.9 ppg, 7.8 ast, 7.3 rebs), who was the NBA Player of the Month for December.  Mo Williams has stepped up his game(17.3 ppg, 4.3 ast) to provide a Robin to Lebron as Batman.

3) Orlando     23-8     (3) – The Magic have hit a plateau among the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.  Even though they went 5-2 since our last list, something just isn’t right in Orlando.  Vince Carter has slumped recently(15.5 ppg over his last 5 gms) while the club seems to be relying more on their “Superman” in the paint, Dwight Howard(17.4 ppg, 13.3 rebs, 2 blk), who is once again leading the league in boards.  Getting Jameer Nelson back earlier than expected has helped steady the ship.

4) Boston     23-8     (1) – Similiar to Orlando, the Celtics have slumped(3-4) mainly because of injuries.  Losing their captain, Paul Pierce, for 2 weeks has been devastating with the club losing 3 straight to sub-par teams.  Garnett has been fighting leg issues as well.  So far, Rasheed Wallace(9.2 ppg) has been a slight dissappointment by primarily shooting too many threes and by not being able to keep his emotions in check.  Coach Doc Rivers will have to limit his aging nucleus’ minutes to keep his veterans fresh come post season.  

5) Atlanta     21-10     (6) – When the Hawks run, they win.  When thay are forced to play a more of a half court game, they struggle.  The Hawks move up one spot in spite of going 4-4 since last ranking.  Joe Johnson(21.7 ppg, 5 ast) continues to lead while Al Horford(13.7 ppg, 9.8 rebs) is continuing to improve alongside Josh Smith(15 ppg, 2.4 blk) up front.  Jamal Crawford(16.9 ppg) gets my vote for 6th Man of the Year.

6) Dallas     22-9     (5) – I don’t know why experts continue to doubt the Mavs.  They keep winning behind MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki(25.5 ppg, 8 rebs) and the ageless wonder, Jason Kidd(9.6 ast).  Isn’t he 40 by now?  Jason Terry(16.5 ppg, 3.9 ast) has provided excellent spark off the bench.  Dirk is back now that he has Carl Landry’s teeth extracted from his elbow.

7) Phoenix     21-12     (8) – The Suns move up one spot despite their lackluster December(7-9).  The Suns finally were held under 100 points in a game, but still possess the firepower to blow out opponents.  Steve Nash(18.4 ppg, 11.2 ast) continues to lead the league in assists while Amare Stoudemire is once again becoming an elite big man by leading the Suns in both scoring(18.5 ppg) and rebounding(8.6).

Denver     20-12     (4) – The Nuggets have finally hit a rough stretch(2-7) since seemingly being on cruise control for most of the season.  Melo(30 ppg) has relinquished his stranglehold on the NBA scoring lead to Kobe(30.6 ppg) primarily because the team is missing their leader Chauncey Billups to distribute the rock.  J.R. Smith(15.4 ppg) has been superb upon returning from suspension by providing another scoring option.  All will be right once “Mr Big Shot” returns.

9) San Antonio     18-11     (10) – Don’t look now, but the might Spurs are starting to get it together by going 6-2 since our last ranking.  They are getting healthy and are finally getting a big contribution from Richard Jefferson(13.5 ppg, 3.6 ast) who is looking like his old self.  Tim Duncan(19.8 ppg, 10.3 rebs, 2 blk) has been a rock in the paint, when healthy.  Tony Parker(16.4 ppg) is again rounding back into All Star form.

10) Portland     21-13     (11) – Despite numerous injuries, the Blazers continue to win, going 6-2 since our last poll.  Brandon Roy has put his squad on his back by averaging more than 26 ppg in his last 10 games.  LaMarcus Aldridge(16 ppg, 8.5 rebs) has been tremendous at PF, but has now succumbed to the injury bug.  They will have to bring in some front-line help to continue to contend out West.

11) Utah     18-13     (9) – The Jazz continue to play well(4-2 since last ranking) as a 2nd tier squad out West.  Carlos Boozer(19.4 ppg, 10.7 rbs) continues to be one of the premier PF in the game.  Point guard Deron Williams leads the team in both scoring(19.9 ppg) and assists(10.1 ast).  Mehmet Okur(13 ppg, 6.8 rebs) has quitely been one of the better centers in the Western Conference.  

12) Houston     19-13     (12) – Despite the T-Mac drama, the Rockets continue to be a sleeper team.  They went 5-3 since our last rankings behind the stellar play of point guard Aaron Brooks, who leads the team in both scoring(17.6 ppg) and assists(5.1 ast).  Louis Scola(14.5 ppg, 9 rebs) continues to mix it up in the paint and leads the team in boards.  Carl Landry(16.7 ppg, 6 rebs) is making a run at 6th Man of the Year.

13) Oklahoma City     17-14     (13) – The “Durant-ula” is putting the league on notice that the Thunder are coming of age and are apparently for real as evidence of their above .500 record to this point.  Kevin Durant(28.4 ppg) is 3rd in the NBA in scoring and leads the Thunder in rebounding(6.9 rebs).  Point guard Russell Westbrook(16.2 ppg, 7 ast) is morphing into an upper echelon floor general.  They are a veteran post up guy who can rebound away from contending.

14) Miami     16-13     (14) – Dwyane Wade(26.6 ppg, 6.1 ast) continues to carry this team on his back by leading the Heat to a 4-2 record since our last ranking.  To this point, the Heat are the definition of a mediocre team, beating the bad teams but losing to the elite squads.  Everyone is still waiting for super soph Michael Beasley(15.5 ppg) to assert himself.  

15) Memphis     15-16     (NR) -  The Grizz are starting to gel behind the stellar play of “Z-Bo” Zach Randolph who has been the NBA’s best PF by averaging 26 ppg and 14 rebs over his last 8 games.  Consequentially, his squad has gone 6-2 over that span.  Rudy Gay(21 ppg) is bordering on becoming an elite SF, while OJ Mayo(17.7 ppg) is starting to regain his shooting stroke.  Can they sustain their hot pace through the rest of the season?

16) Toronto     16-17     (NR) – It’s hard to imagine but the Raptors would be the #6 seed in the East if the playoffs began today after winning 5 straight games.  Chris Bosh(23.8 ppg, 11.3 rebs) is leading this team almost singlehandedly.  Hedo Tukoglu has been a dissappointment with his 13.5 ppg, 4 rebs, and 4 ast.  Andrea Bargnani(16.7 ppg) is a good 2nd option.  With Bosh’s possible fleeing Toronto next Summer, they might be in the market for some frontcourt help.

The Best of the Rest:

New Orleans, Sacramento, Milwaukee, Chicago

Teams On the Rise:

Cleveland, San Antonio, Oklahoma City

Teams On the Slide:

Boston, Denver, Miami

updated  12/31/09