Backdoor Cut: NBA Power Rankings Week Nine

Time for my newest NBA Power Rankings

Music to listen to:  High Roller by The Crystal Method

30- Sacramento Kings (5-22) Its unfortunate that I keep having the Kings in this spot but what have they proven to move above the Rankings’ basement? Now it looks like they’re going trot out yet another starting lineup for tonight’s contest against the Clippers, inserting Francisco Garcia in the small forward spot to help point guard Tyreke Evans with scoring. Its not going to help.

29- Cleveland Cavs (8-22) As much of a Knicks fan as I am, the rumors of them getting Anderson Varejao in a trade for Chris Duhon are comical. There’s no chance that the Cavs will trade away their most valuable commodity for a backup point guard, especially when Cleveland already has Mo Williams. This is the silly season of trade rumors.

28- Washington Wizards (7-21) Trading away Gilbert Arenas will ultimately prove to be a smart move for the franchise because this allows John Wall to develop freely in the backcourt. You would just hope that his teammates would show some more excitement about it. JaVale McGee and Andray Blatche got into a fight this week, which is slowly become an annual tradition among Wizards’ teammates to fight against each other. Its like they want to get their Feats of Strength portion of Festivus too seriously. To add more insult to injury, President Obama didn’t show up for their game against the Heat. Bad times for Washington.

27- Minnesota Timberwolves (7-24) What does LeBron James have against Minnesota and wants the Wolves to get contracted? They have a potential All-Star in Kevin Love, the potential of Michael Beasley and prospects of getting Ricky Rubio to play in the NBA soon.

26- Toronto Raptors (10-19) The Raptors are only two games out of the final playoff spot in the East and they’re nine games below .500. Almost as bad as the NFC West in the NFL this season but close.

25- Charlotte Bobcats (9-19) LeBron, if you want to look at a franchise to contract, look no further than Charlotte. That’s not fair, we’ll get to some other squads that can get sent packing but the resigning of head coach Larry Brown highlights another low light for a franchise that hasn’t been able to recapture the excitement of a city that supported the Hornets greatly in the 1990’s. Blame goes to the coaching, management (I’m looking at you Michael Jordan) and ownership. You can’t have the worst offense in the league, lose games and expect people to be excited about your product.

24- New Jersey Nets (9-21) Considering that they didn’t have nine wins last season until late March, this is a step up.

23- Detroit Pistons (10-20) What trade commodity would intrigue you most? Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince. Bulls fans are hoping that the Hamilton trade rumors are true, bringing the former UCONN star to Chicago but that’s probably not going to happen.

22- Golden State Warriors (11-18) Courtesy of Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Warriors haven’t had an All-Star since Latrell Spreewell in 1997. You could make a case for Monta Ellis breaking this streak but with guards such as Kobe Bryant, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul…its not going to happen this season. If David Lee stayed healthy this whole season, maybe.

21- Memphis Grizzlies (13-17) Prime candidate that would get contracted if that ever happened in the NBA, LeBron. On the court, the defense continues to disappoint. Their first two games in 2011 are at Utah and at the Lakers on consecutive nights. Ouch.

20- Indiana Pacers (13-15) I know that the Grizz beat the Pacers head to head but I like the overall direction of the Pacers more at this moment.

19- Los Angeles Clippers (9-22) He’s arguably the most exciting player in the NBA right now, but Blake Griffin isn’t an MVP candidate or an All-Star at this time. Actually, he may make a case for the latter but I wouldn’t even have him in my top-five MVP list at this time. However, his highlight dunks and keen overall basketball skills (he’s already a top bank shot artist right, close behind Tim Duncan) are welcomed for a Clippers’ franchise that could sure use the joy.

18- Philadelphia Sixers (12-18) Nice win at home over Denver this past week but now start an eight-game road trip, which begins with two winnable games at Golden State and Phoenix.

17- Milwaukee Bucks (12-16) How do you lose starting point guard Brandon Jennings and than proceed to get wins at the Lakers and Kings?

16- Phoenix Suns (13-16) Even after trading away two starters to Orlando, the Suns are still second in the NBA in scoring and they will need to get points because the defense still isn’t good enough to get wins. Host Philadelphia, Detroit and go to Sacramento for their next three contests, all winnable games.

15- Portland Trailblazers (15-15) Portland was actually 5-2 without Brandon Roy which either shows the elite depth of your squad or the lack of value in your perceived top player. For the Blazers, it’s a mix of both. Roy may come back Monday for Portland and he will be needed because the next three games are at Utah, Denver and hosting Utah again.

14- Houston Rockets (14-15) Do the Rockets seem to have potential to become the latest example of the Ewing Theory with Yao Ming out for the year. Even more important question for your NBA heads out there. Who do you more willing to take a chance on at this moment? Ming or Greg Oden?

13- Denver Nuggets (16-13) An already emotional year for the Nuggets became more difficult with Carmelo Anthony’s family tragedy. If the Nuggets can make it though the trials and get some players healthy, a playoff position is within their grasps.

12- New York Knicks (18-12) Excellent home wins over Oklahoma City and Chicago helps validate New York’s recent winning streak. Is it too preposterous to start the Raymond Felton All-Star campaign?

11- Atlanta Hawks (19-13) Beat Orlando before the trades and when Dwight Howard was out sick with a stomach virus. At best, Atlanta is the third-best team in its own division.

10- New Orleans Hornets (18-12) I can’t shake the Hornets’ losses at Indiana and Detroit earlier this season and that’s preventing me from making them better than a top-10 team in the league despite the excellent overall record.

9- Utah Jazz (21-9) I’m a mark for the Jazz but the squad hasn’t had a major win in weeks and that knocks it down some spots. More importantly, the return of Mehmet Okur will make them a legitimate championship team when he’s fully incorporated with the rest of the squad.

8- Oklahoma City Thunder (21-10) Nice win over Denver on Christmas and Kevin Durant made scoring 44 points in a game look as easy as possible, he’s that gifted of a scorer. What I liked more was the emergence of James Harden as a third-scorer. The Thunder need for him to be an essential piece because Durant and Westbrook can only do so much. The defense still has to improve but the Thunder have the personnel to do it.

7- Los Angeles Lakers (21-9) I know that a team with single digit losses and a two-time defending champion being ranked seventh is harsh but the loss to Miami on Christmas concerned me, particularly the lack of inside post play, including defense. Chris Bosh of the Heat was able to get to the rim with ease and that shouldn’t happen when you have Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom on your team.

6- Orlando Magic (18-12) I think the trades will ultimately help them because they finally have two players who can create their own shots in Jason Richardson and especially Hedu Turkoglu, which will open up the flow of the offense in a major way. The home wins over Boston and San Antonio should be the start of a good run for the Magic.

5- Chicago Bulls (19-10) Derrick Rose is my quarter of a season MVP so far and that includes all of the usual suspects. When Joakim Noah comes back, the Bulls may be the team that will ruin everyone’s desired Eastern Conference Finals matchup between Miami and Boston.

4- San Antonio Spurs (26-4) Have had an excellent start to the season but the loss to Orlando on the road last Thursday put some light on the Spurs limitations, particularly on back-to-back games. Their next four games are the Lakers, at Dallas, Oklahoma City and at Boston. If they finish 2-2 in this stretch, I would be surprised in a positive way.

3- Miami Heat (23-9) The Heat have decided to rebound as a team, put more effort on defense and allow James to perform as the best player in the league with Wade supporting him. When you include Bosh finally showing some assertiveness, that’s how you go from starting the year 9-8 to being 14-1 in your last fifteen contests.

2- Boston Celtics (23-5) We all know that Boston always starts their seasons well in this current era but can the Celtics find away to pace their older roster over the next few months and not lose position in the standings. You know the Celtics want as much home court for the playoffs as possible but Miami, Chicago and Orlando are lurking there as well.

1- Dallas Mavs (23-5) The Mavs have wins over Boston, Miami and San Antonio, are 12-3 against teams with a record of .500 and better, plus are 10-1 on the road. That’s enough of a case for me.

Those are my thoughts. What are yours?