1. Miami Heat (Last Week: 6)
Sherman Alexie was quoted in 2008 as saying: ”A thousand years from now people will be talking about LeBron James as they talk about Hercules now.” And you know what? He’s probably right. Completely on point.
2. Washington Wizards (Last Week: 4)
Those youngbloods in the nation’s capital are talking playoffs after a winning record in January and Feburary (thus far). Whatever floats your boat guys; I’m just happy to have a dynamic backcourt and a frontcourt that makes sense. When you think about the fact the team is likely to get another high draft pick in a few months, suddenly your worldview on the Wizards becomes far more rosy.
3. Denver Nuggets (Last Week: 5)
It took a little while for these Nuggets to assume their rightful positions as League Pass gods, and it was well worth the wait. Even on a bad night, the Nuggets are still one of the funnest teams to watch because of their high-octane offensive sets and insane defensive intensity. They’d probably be #2, but Andre Miller’s strange pointshaving experiment (two head-scratching threes in OT and a blown tip in from an offensive rebound after a missed free throw) yesterday kept the Wizards safe.
4. Houston Rockets (Last Week: 11)
It’s amazing how much more fun the Rockets are when Jeremy Lin is playing well. And Mr. Lin, who averaged about 19 and 7 over the last week, has indeed been playing well. We should see what he eats during Februaries; they tend to be pretty solid months for him.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder (Last Week: 1)
You wouldn’t think it’d be fun to watch a team beat everyone else by an average of 8 (!) points a game. But that’s why you don’t have a basketball blog; you’d be very wrong.
6. Chicago Bulls (Last Week: 15)
My liberated fanhood of this team has reached Freedarkonian levels. Nate Robinson winning Player of the Week for the East? Just another pleasant surprise in a season of pleasant surprises for the team from the Windy City. I rarely get excited for a rehabbing player to return, but I am just so curious how D-Rose is going to change this team, and whether that change will be.
7. San Antonio Spurs (Last Week: 3)
While watching the San Antonio Spurs destroy the Brooklyn Nets two nights ago, I had a thought: why do the Spurs get this reputation of being a “don’t count out the old guys!” team? At 27.9 average years, the Spurs are middle of the road in terms of age. And each of the years they won the finals (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007), they were a presumptive favorite, and nowhere near an underdog. What’s more, their run to the WCF last season was the farthest they had been since 2007. So I’m down to watch the Spurs, just with the understanding that (1) they are a known, feared commodity, and (2) their window for contention is closed, and has been for some time. There. I said it.
8. Los Angeles Clippers (Last Week: 8)
They weren’t winning while CP3 sat, but that didn’t matter because they were still Lob City. It’s probably unfair to put the responsibility of saving the Dunk Contest squarely on Eric Bledsoe’s shoulders, but hey, that’s why they pay them the big bucks.
9. New York Knicks (Last Week: 7)
The return of Ray Felton has made this team exponentially more enjoyable to watch. Why did they trade him in the first place?
10. Golden State Warriors (Last Week: 2)
The Warriors better thank their lucky stars that the two editors of this blog are lifelong Dubs fans. I can’t think of anyone else who would let a team that’s allowed 118.5 points per game over their last 4 to remain in the top ten of any power ranking, let alone League Pass Power Rankings. But once suckers, always suckers, I guess.
11. Brooklyn Nets (Last Week: 12)
The Nets are still trying to figure out their identity, with Gerald Wallace recently ripping into his team after a few lackluster performances in a row. But after the embarrassment that was the Nets effort under Avery Johnson, I’ve seen enough of the PJ Carlesimo era to know that this somewhat talented team will always compete.
12. Toronto Raptors (Last Week: 25)
This isn’t a judgement on the trade for Rudy Gay, as I think it was a terrible deal for the Raptors. No, this is a judgement on how exciting it is to have two fast, athletic attacking slashers in Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan on the court at the same time.
13. Boston Celtics (Last Week: 22)
Raise your hand if you thought the Celtics would be better without Rajon Rondo. Okay, not put it down because you are a liar. They’re likely to crash down to earth because a starting point guard does not Avery Bradley make, so enjoy it while it lasts.
14. Los Angeles Lakers (Last Week: 10)
At this point, you’re still mainly watching for the soap opera, but there have been a few games over the past weeks where the Lakers show sustained glimpses of what they could be if all that talent was working in harmony. We’ve made fun of the Lakers as much as anybody, but for the sake of good basketball, would love to see Dwight get healthy, Nash roll back the years, and a couple Kobe heroballs.
15. Indiana Pacers (Last Week: 9)
As a whole, the Pacers may be the ugliest team in the league to watch, but that whole is made up of some sublime individual parts. Roy Hibbert’s post defense. David West’s elbow jumper. Paul George’s maturation. Tyler Hansbrough’s faces. When you watch the Pacers, choose one player and just watch them the entire game.
16. New Orleans Hornets (Last Week: 19)
This is wholly premature…but are the Hornets going to make the playoffs next year? Like the Wizards with John Wall, this team makes a lot more sense with Eric Gordon in the lineup. Throw in another year of development (and bulking up) for Anthony Davis, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
17. Memphis Grizzlies (Last Week: 23)
Tayshaun Prince looks really, really weird in the Grizzlies blue and light blue.
18. Portland Trail Blazers (Last Week: 13)
Those “Damian Lillard for the All-Star Game” proclamations sure died down fast. That’s the problem with living on the highs and lows of an NBA player, especially a rookie. Right about now is when the rookie wall usually hits; it would be unusual for him not to suffer a dip in his play. Never fear, he is still an amazing talent.
19. Utah Jazz (Last Week: 21)
If I were to compile a list of the ten dreamiest soccer players, Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos would certainly make the list (though Iker Casillas is number one, obvi). Does that mean Gordon Hayward is one of the dreamiest basketball players?
20. Cleveland Cavaliers (Last Week: 14)
The Kyrie show is starting to get old. Don’t get me wrong, I still love watching him play, but the rest of the Cavs are soooooo bad (notable exception: Tristan Thompson) that it outweighs his brilliance at times.
21. Minnesota Timberwolves (Last Week: 16)
A Ricky Rubio-led team is almost always in the top 15 by default, but Ricky Rubio isn’t quite back yet. When he is, they’ll climb.
22. Dallas Mavericks (Last Week: 20)
Fine I’ll say it: it has been immensely satisfying watching Vince Carver this year. For all of the (some of it deserved) shit he has gotten throughout his career, from attending his college graduation the day of a playoff game, sulking his way out of Toronto, and, most importantly, to NOT being Michael Jordan, VC is a pretty damn player that may be, dare I say it, Hall of Fame worthy. It’s a good thing, because that’s about the only thing worth watching on the Mavs.
23. Sacramento Kings (Last Week: 24)
Yawn. How many small forwards can one team have? Unless Boogie Cousins is improving, and right now he’s not, there’s nothing to see here.
24. Detroit Pistons (Last Week: 17)
My likelihood of watching the Pistons is tied directly to the amount of minutes Andre Drummond is likely to be on the court. With that number falling to 0 after his recent injury…
25. Charlotte Bobcats (Last Week: 28)
Can we talk about Clyde Drexler for a minute? Great player, possibly bad human being. With Michael Kidd-Gilchrist lying on the floor after getting whacked in the head and a STRETCHER ON THE FLOOR, Drexler yucked it up, retelling stories about when he got hit in the head, making fun of Dwyane Wade for being a flopper. Clyde, shut up.
26. Orlando Magic (Last Week: 26)
There was a moment in time in which it looked like the Magic might make a run at the 8th seed in the playoffs. After going 1–9 in their last 10 games, that moment has passed.
27. Milwaukee Bucks (Last Week: 27)
Oh Herb Kohl. After res-signing GM John Hammond to a long deal, Bucks owner Kohl is doubling down on mediocrity for the next half decade.
28. Philadelphia 76ers (Last Week: 18)
An already borderline unwatchable team loses their most watchable player (Thaddeus Young), their injured star (Andrew Bynum) shows no sign of returning to the court anytime soon, and they are on the outside looking in for the playoffs? Jrue Holiday’s ascendance will continue to play out in basketball Siberia.
29. Atlanta Hawks (Last Week: 29)
Please, please trade Josh Smith. Continue the demolition that started by trading Joe Johnson to the Nets. Free Josh Smith from his comfortable position, and let some other team try to mold him from the potential superstar that he is into the second coming of Ben Wallace.
30. Phoenix Suns (Last Week: 30)
The Suns are looking to trade Jared Dudley, and under-the-radar very good player signed to a very team-friendly long term contract, for Iman Shumpert, a player coming off of a torn ACL that, for all his potential, hasn’t proven yet that he will be a very good NBA player? Business as usual, it seems.