RSS
2009-10 NBA: Preseason Power Rankings Part I
Aside from the free agent frenzy that took place right after players could sign with new teams, this has been a quiet NBA offseason.
Some big names (Shaq, Ron Artest, Vince Carter) have changed teams, while some guys who were thought to have been on the trade block (Tracy McGrady, Richard Hamilton, Amare Stoudemire) have stayed with their respective squads.
The draft came and went with no sure thing coming out off the 2009 class. Blake Griffin would be considered a sure thing had he been drafted by any team other than the Clippers. But I digress.
The officials went on strike, leading to replacement referees taking over for the preseason. The replacements are bad. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" bad. A game between the Rockets and Celtics last week saw 75 fouls called and 102 free throw attempts.
All that aside, the start of the 2009-10 season is on the horizon and I oculdn't be any happier. It seems like eons ago that the Lakers (my favorite team) hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy in Orlando.
Going into the season, the Lakers look poised to become repeat champions for the seventh time in team history.
But what about the rest of the league? Which teams can challenge L.A.? Which teams would stink on Xbox?
What follows is a countdown of teams in the league - from worst to first. How bad they'll be is "detailed" by the division they're placed in.
The Fried Bologna Sandwich Division
30. Sacramento Kings
Sacramento won just 17 games last season and finished the season with the worst record in the league. Francisco Garcia, who averaged a shade under 13 points a game in 65 games last season and signed a four-year, $23 million extension, had been expected to contribute and help get the team out of the NBA cellar. Kings fans will have to wait for that contribution. Garcia is out four months with a wrist injury because an exploding exercise ball. If that's not an omen, I don't know what is.
29. Milwaukee Bucks
Two-guard Michael Redd is coming off ACL surgery and has missed 96 games the last three seasons. When healthy, he's a scoring machine. The Bucks better hope Redd can channel his inner Pete Maravich and drop 65 a game because that's the only way they'll be able to compete. Milwaukee also went from having Ramon Sessions as its starting point guard to Luke Ridnour. That's like a guy going from chick who played Charlotte on "Sex and the City" to the one who played Samantha. Neither's that good, but it's obvious one's better than the other.
28. Memphis Grizzlies
You know those guys you play pick-up ball with who always get out on the court and go for theirs and can't grasp the "team" concept? Memphis has a team full of those, including "Me, Myself and I" Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. Sure, he's 34, but you mean to tell me a first-ballot Hall of Famer with a career scoring average of 27.1 ppg (5th all time) could only get a call from Memphis? That says a lot. Another "me first" guy Memphis picked up this summer is Zach Randolph. Randolph could be the best low-post player in the game, but he's certifiably insane. He could be the first player to get a "DNP-COMMITTED" in a box score. To add insult to injury, the Grizzlies play in the toughest division in the league, with Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio. It's like they're taking a knife to a gunfight every night.
The White Castle/Telway/Comet Burger Division
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have promise. Minnesota has the best post player in the league under 25 in Al Jefferson. The Kelly Rowland to Jefferson's Beyonce is second-year power forward Kevin Love, who nearly averaged a double-double last season in 81 games. The T'Wolves picked up Sessions - a decent guard- from Milwaukee to man the point. But the team plays in what could be the second toughest division in the league: the Northwest, with Denver, Portland, Utah and Oklahoma City. Minny could look good at times and awful at others.
26. New Jersey Nets
Devin Harris (21.6 ppg, 6.9 apg in 69 games last season) is a superstar in the making and 2008 lottery pick Brook Lopez (13 points, 8 boards and 2 blocks a game) could form a solid inside-outside combo with Harris. But when Bobby Simmons ($11,242,666) is the highest paid player on your team you've got some serious issues. Could you imagine if Tito was the highest-paid Jackson? Me, either.
Part II coming tomorrow
Some big names (Shaq, Ron Artest, Vince Carter) have changed teams, while some guys who were thought to have been on the trade block (Tracy McGrady, Richard Hamilton, Amare Stoudemire) have stayed with their respective squads.
The draft came and went with no sure thing coming out off the 2009 class. Blake Griffin would be considered a sure thing had he been drafted by any team other than the Clippers. But I digress.
The officials went on strike, leading to replacement referees taking over for the preseason. The replacements are bad. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" bad. A game between the Rockets and Celtics last week saw 75 fouls called and 102 free throw attempts.
All that aside, the start of the 2009-10 season is on the horizon and I oculdn't be any happier. It seems like eons ago that the Lakers (my favorite team) hoisted the Larry O'Brien trophy in Orlando.
Going into the season, the Lakers look poised to become repeat champions for the seventh time in team history.
But what about the rest of the league? Which teams can challenge L.A.? Which teams would stink on Xbox?
What follows is a countdown of teams in the league - from worst to first. How bad they'll be is "detailed" by the division they're placed in.
The Fried Bologna Sandwich Division
30. Sacramento Kings
Sacramento won just 17 games last season and finished the season with the worst record in the league. Francisco Garcia, who averaged a shade under 13 points a game in 65 games last season and signed a four-year, $23 million extension, had been expected to contribute and help get the team out of the NBA cellar. Kings fans will have to wait for that contribution. Garcia is out four months with a wrist injury because an exploding exercise ball. If that's not an omen, I don't know what is.
29. Milwaukee Bucks
Two-guard Michael Redd is coming off ACL surgery and has missed 96 games the last three seasons. When healthy, he's a scoring machine. The Bucks better hope Redd can channel his inner Pete Maravich and drop 65 a game because that's the only way they'll be able to compete. Milwaukee also went from having Ramon Sessions as its starting point guard to Luke Ridnour. That's like a guy going from chick who played Charlotte on "Sex and the City" to the one who played Samantha. Neither's that good, but it's obvious one's better than the other.
28. Memphis Grizzlies
You know those guys you play pick-up ball with who always get out on the court and go for theirs and can't grasp the "team" concept? Memphis has a team full of those, including "Me, Myself and I" Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. Sure, he's 34, but you mean to tell me a first-ballot Hall of Famer with a career scoring average of 27.1 ppg (5th all time) could only get a call from Memphis? That says a lot. Another "me first" guy Memphis picked up this summer is Zach Randolph. Randolph could be the best low-post player in the game, but he's certifiably insane. He could be the first player to get a "DNP-COMMITTED" in a box score. To add insult to injury, the Grizzlies play in the toughest division in the league, with Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio. It's like they're taking a knife to a gunfight every night.
The White Castle/Telway/Comet Burger Division
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves have promise. Minnesota has the best post player in the league under 25 in Al Jefferson. The Kelly Rowland to Jefferson's Beyonce is second-year power forward Kevin Love, who nearly averaged a double-double last season in 81 games. The T'Wolves picked up Sessions - a decent guard- from Milwaukee to man the point. But the team plays in what could be the second toughest division in the league: the Northwest, with Denver, Portland, Utah and Oklahoma City. Minny could look good at times and awful at others.
26. New Jersey Nets
Devin Harris (21.6 ppg, 6.9 apg in 69 games last season) is a superstar in the making and 2008 lottery pick Brook Lopez (13 points, 8 boards and 2 blocks a game) could form a solid inside-outside combo with Harris. But when Bobby Simmons ($11,242,666) is the highest paid player on your team you've got some serious issues. Could you imagine if Tito was the highest-paid Jackson? Me, either.
Part II coming tomorrow
Labels: 2009-10 NBA, Allen Iverson, Basketball, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, New Jersey Nets, Sacramento Kings
posted by Jason Carmel Davis at
2:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home