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2009 Power Ranking

Updated: 1/29/10 2:49 am

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1.Cleveland Cavaliers36-11 After beating the Lakers twice, and having the best player in the NBA in Lebron James, they are now the top dog in our rankings.
2.Los Angeles Lakers35-11The defending champs have the 2nd best record in the NBA despite injuries to Artest, Bynum, and Gasol. The big issues are the decline of Fisher and the health of Kobe.
3.Boston Celtics29-14 Rondo?s young legs are leading the way but off season acquisition Rasheed Wallace needs to stop shooting all those 3?s (41% field goal percentage from the floor) and KG needs to be healthy for this team to win one more title as constructed.
4.Denver Nuggets31-14All Star Carmelo Anthony has stepped up his game, but they are the only contender with a sub .500 record on the road. The speed of Lawson will keep Fisher on the bench in a playoff matchup.
5.Atlanta Hawks29-15 The Hawks were an early season surprise. They have cooled down since but still have the Celtics number; and 6th man of the year candidate Jamal Crawford fits well with this club.
6.Orlando Magic30-16In recent games Superman has shot well from the FT line, but Rashard Lewis has not meshed as well with Vince Carter as he did with Turkoglu last season
7.Dallas Mavericks30-16The Mavericks are an impressive 16-9 on the road. They have a bench and depth but there are still questions on their defense and if they are physical enough in the post.
8.San Antonio Spurs26-18San Antonio has benefited from playing so many home games in the early part of the season. They need to improve on their road record to allow Popovich to keep Duncan and Ginobli fresh and away from an early playoff matchup with Lakers.
9.Portland Trail Blazers27-20Batum,Outlaw, and Fernandez will all be back in the next couple months, but can they make a playoff run with Fab 5 Howard as their center?
10.Utah Jazz 27-18Out of the top 10 because they are under .500 on the road, .500 in conference and 3-7 in the division. This team may benefit the most from the trade deadline passing, as rumors claim cap relief a more important goal than winning.
11.Phoenix Suns27-21The 8 seconds or less Suns are back as the Big Shactus was last seen on an ESPN commercial in the desert and not clogging the lanes at US Airways arena. To not be pretenders the Suns need Amare to be a force on both ends of the court.
12.Houston Rockets24-21Aaron Brooks has turned into the pre-injured Gilbert Arenas, leading Houston to an 18-13 Conference record. Lack of star power and sub .500 road record makes you wonder how many calls will they lose because of the names on the back of their jerseys?
13.Oklahoma City Thunder 24-21Wow, this time last year this team would be in the bottom 1/3 of the rankings. Durant is a top 5 offensive weapon and they have a winning road record but still have trouble in conference 9-15
14.Memphis Grizzlies25-19Who knows how much better the Grizzlies' record would have been without the distraction of Iverson and the broken jaw of Thabeet. Brandon Jennings, Tyreke and Stephen Curry probably would have been better picks than the aforementioned Thabeet
15.New Orleans Hornets 25-20David West has been hampered with injuries and Chris Paul is still wondering about the Byron Scott firing and the ownerships commitment to winning after two salary dumps in trades. At least Thornton was a 2nd round steal.
16.Toronto Raptors25-22Chris Bosh and company is on a recent hot strak. This team composed primarily of foreign player sure has not disproved the stereotype as it lacks defense intensity and physical toughness.
17.Miami Heat23-22This team has difficulty versus the Wester Conference but has a winning record on the road and in conference. The acquisition of playoff veteran Rafer Alston should pay divdends come playoff time.
18.Charlotte Bobcats22-22Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace are proving a great combination while both play hard nosed defense, one is the athletic freak and the other is a playmaker with no conscious. 3-16 on the road is not going to cut it to make their 1st playoffs in franchi
19.Chicago Bulls22-22Derrick Rose is finally injury free and playing to the potential we all witnessd in the playoffs versus the Celtics. Noah has emerged on defense but they still lack the pure scorer that Ben Gordon provided, plus an offensive presence in the post.
20.Los Angeles Clippers20-25Chris Kaman has taken his game up a notch while Baron Davis can be the best point guard in the NBA on any given night, but outside of Eric Gordon they lack high efficiency shooters and lose focus during spurts of games.
21.Milwaukee Bucks19-25Brandon Jennings was a steal. To think if Milwaukee had passed on him he likely would have slid into the 20s. They now have a center (Bogut) and a point guard to build around. The season ending injury of Michael Redd is depressing.
22.Sacramento Kings 16-28Evans and Thompson were good talent selections by GM Petrie, but neither will ever be a great fit at PG or at Center. Tyreke is a combo guard and Thompson is more of a PF but with Martin, Greene, Casspi and Hawes, they have a great young nucleus.
23.New York Knicks18-27Gallinari and Chandler are 2 wings who can shoot 3's and team has cap space in their pursuit of King James, but they would be in a better position in landing him had they drafted Jennings as their PG and Blair to get rebounds instead of Douglas pick.
24.Indiana Pacers16-30Danny Granger is a great player and Roy Hibbert is continuously working and tranforming into a good center. But this team, needs to start swinging for the fences instead of hitting singles in the draft.
25.Golden State Warriors13-31Ellis turned into a star. Curry, Wright, Randolph still have loads of potential and it is great to see Nelson give chances to D-leaguers (Morrow, Azubuike, and CJ in the past and now Martin, Tolliver and Hunter). Mullin dismissal ended We Believe Era.
26.Detroit Pistons15-29Dumars tried to rebuild too soon and might pay the price, signing expensive free agents Villanueva and Gordon was a mistake. In the NBA, to properly rebuild you need to draft in the top 5. If only he had drafted someone other than Darko in 2003.
27.Philadelphia 76ers15-30A.I. is not the problem but he is no longer the Answer either. The contract of Brand was a mistake. Igoudala is a great player but is a secondary player not the go to guy they thought he would be when A.I. first left town.
28.Washington Wizards14-30Gilbert Arenas days on the team appear over. It was a mistake for them to trade their top 5 pick for Foye and Miller. Jamison & Butler (29) are too old for a rebuilding project. Time to try to trade them and acquire picks, young talent, or cap space.
29.Minnesota Timberwolves 9-38While Flynn and Rubio got the preseason hype, Ramon Session is a keeper himself. Al Jefferson keeps this team relevant. Fans in Minnesota are already wondering if the Timberwovles got the top pick how they would handle Rubio and Flynn.
30.New Jersey Nets4-40Nets are historically bad. Losingt by30 to a GSW team who had 8 players in uniform and 3 of them were players that had just signed 10 day cotracts from the NBDL. On paper they have building blocks with Harris and Lopez, but culture/attitude must change.