NBA Power Rankings: Week 23

NBA Power Rankings

1	Los Angeles Lakers We should have never doubted the Lakers when they told us to wait for the switch to go off.  With two weeks left in the regular season, no one is playing better basketball than Los Angeles.  LA has won 15 of their last 16, and there is no reason to think that they can’t make a run to overtake San Antonio for the top spot in the West.
2	Chicago Bulls The Derrick Rose/LeBron James MVP debate should have ended this week when James gave his endorsement to the Chicago point guard.  But while the Bulls have overtaken the Celtics for the top spot, there are some concerns heading into the playoffs.  The Bulls need Noah to be healthy and continue to improve on that road record if they have hopes of making it back to the NBA Finals for the first time since Jumpman.
3	San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are in trouble.  All season we talked about how it could all come crashing down if this aging roster could not stay healthy.  Things looked very “Phoenix” for a while with Duncan able to stay on the court and Pop keeping an eye on everyone’s minutes.  But now with Duncan and Ginobli banged up, the Spurs are at risk of losing the home-court advantage in the Western Conference.
4	Dallas Mavericks The Mavs have fought furiously to keep up with Los Angeles’ run, but my guess is they will be destined to finish 3rd in the Western Conference and either face Portland or New Orleans in the first round.  If Caron Butler is back, as he says he will be, they should have a fighting chance to make it to the Western Conference finals.
5	Miami Heat The loss to Cleveland certainly was an unexpected bump in the road as Miami charges after Boston and Chicago, but I do not think it is reflective of the state of Heat basketball.  Currently tied with Boston for second place, Miami plays five of their final seven games against teams with sub-.500 records.  They aren’t just trying to overtake Boston, they’ll have a shot to take home-court from Chicago as well.
6	Boston Celtics After holding court over the Eastern Conference for much of the season, Boston finds themselves at risk of falling to the 3-seed in the playoffs.  Recent losses to Charlotte and Indiana have not helped their cause, especially with a final stretch that includes road games against San Antonio, Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami.
7	Oklahoma City Thunder Kevin Durant’s scoring has gone down in the month of March, and might cost him his second straight scoring title.  However, the Thunder went 14-2 in the month of March and will likely clinch the 4 seed and get home-court advantage in the first round.  If Durant’s struggles allow the Thunder to make it to the Western Conference Semifinals, I think KD will be fine giving up the scoring title.
8	Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets continue to surge, now 13-4 since trading Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks.  Sitting a full five games behind Oklahoma City, Denver’s greatest task for the playoff picture is fighting off Portland and New Orleans from taking their spot.  Denver moves fast and has been playing with confidence, but they need to improve their half-court execution to give themselves the best chance with the playoffs slow down their game.
9	Orlando Magic With Dwight picking up another technical, we are reaching the point where the new rule might really hurt Orlando in the playoffs.  If Dwight misses a game in the playoffs it could end up costing the Magic a series.  With Toronto, Milwaukee, and two matchups with the Bobcats on the horizon, the Magic should be able to keep their cool and add to their win count.
10	New Orleans Hornets Huge win for New Orleans on Wednesday night to beat the Blazers and take control of the 6-seed in the playoffs.  Even without David West, the Hornets bench has answered with inspired play and Monty Williams looks like a bright young coach once again.
11	Portland Trail Blazers Portland suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Hornets, but with their recent play and no David West there should be every opportunity for Portland to reclaim that sixth position before the playoffs start.
12	Atlanta Hawks If you listened to Josh Smith’s postgame comments following the Orlando win on Wednesday, you can tell that the Hawks have their feet on the ground.  They have not played their best basketball this season, and likely have another matchup with the Magic coming in the first round of the playoffs.  It’s all business if Atlanta wants to avoid another first round exit.
13	Memphis Grizzlies Unreal production from the Grizzlies bench to help keep this team in the playoff hunt.  With big time wins over Boston and San Antonio, you can tell this team is planning on delivering that postseason berth even without Rudy Gay.
14	Philadelphia 76ers With an experienced coach and inspired play recently, the Sixers are no one that you would want to face in the 1st round of the playoffs.  Sitting comfortably in the 6th spot, they will be one of the reasons Boston, Chicago, and Miami are fighting for the 1 and 2 seeds.
15	Houston Rockets Houston really needs Memphis to stop knocking off giants if they want to complete this playoff push.  But with four out of their final seven games coming against playoff-bound teams, they will need to do some giant killing of their own to make the cut.
16	Charlotte Bobcats Just when you assume that the Bobcats are tanking the season, Paul Silas inspires a four-game winning streak that has pulled Charlotte one game out of 8th place.  Even though a playoff berth would likely result in another sweep, it would be a huge endorsement for Silas who has gotten it done without Gerald Wallace and a banged up Steven Jackson.
17	Indiana Pacers Their recent losses have allowed Charlotte and Milwaukee to climb back into the playoff race.  If Indiana falls out of the postseason, it will erase much of the feel-good attitude for new coach Frank Vogel in Indiana.  The coach needs this postseason berth to validate his spot with the franchise.
18	Milwaukee Bucks Milwaukee’s blunder against the Bobcats will hurt a lot more if Charlotte makes the playoffs and Milwaukee gets an early vacation.  The schedule guru’s were not kind to the Bucks either, with 7 of their final 10 games being played on the road.
19	New York Knicks The Knicks narrow victory over the Nets may have revealed more bad than good from their recent slide.  The Knicks have been outscored in the fourth quarter in their last eight games and have struggled to finish when it counts.  We’ll see if holding off New Jersey inspires New York to “find it” again before the playoffs start.
20	Phoenix Suns As well as Steve Nash has played recently, the Suns have not been able to get the must-win victories needed to really push the Grizzlies for the playoffs.  With the playoffs likely out of sight, I hope Alvin Gentry allows Nash to play as many minutes necessary so the 37-year-old all star can win his 5th assist title.
21	Utah Jazz After a 27-13 start, the Jazz have gone 9-25.  That’s not a flip-flop, that’s a full blown recession.  That home-court advantage in Utah? Erased.  At this point their injury woes are only increasing their chances with the ping pong balls.
22	Golden State Warriors Just let the guards play.  Curry and Ellis continue to put up impressive numbers as a scoring duo, and at this point lets just see how many points they can get.
23	Los Angeles Clippers Losing Eric Gordon for 26 games has really hurt the Clippers this season, but if you are going to blame him for the keeping Blake out of the playoff hunt you have lost your mind.  Don’t forget LA started the season 5-21.
24	Detroit Pistons Detroit hasn’t quit, for some odd reason.  Now I’m starting to actually think they do have the pieces to build a team for the future.  The frontline of Monroe – Jerakbo – Daye – with Stuckey at the helm doesn’t sound all that bad.  Heck, that team could make the Eastern Conference playoffs next year considering how weak the field has been in 2011.
25	Sacramento Kings Playing in Sacramento has kick-started Marcus Thornton’s individual numbers, and his numbers have helped string together some wins for one of the sadder stories in the 2010-2011 season.  With a move looking inevitable, Thornton’s season average of 12.1 points per game seems like old news compared to the 24.5 he is averaging in his last 10 outings.
26	New Jersey Nets Part of me was kind of hoping that the Nets could pull off the upset in the Garden on Wednesday as a feel-good boost for Avery Johnson and Deron Williams.  But the heart-wrenching loss was their 8th in their last 9 games.  The only win?  An overtime victory against Cleveland – eish.
27	Toronto Raptors At 20-54, it is not unlikely that we will find the Raptors finishing this season with their worst record since 1997-1998.  The confusing thing is that they have played really well… for like a couple quarters at a time.  The inconsistent play has become a trademark of this bunch, and it might be time to look into making some moves this offseason.
28	Washington Wizards Trevor Booker is done for the season with a crack in his foot.  But he can still host Wale at Oxygen after the Heat game!
29	Cleveland Cavaliers Inspired win for Cleveland and good to see them dedicate the Miami victory to their fans.  I did not know until the game that Cleveland has still been averaging a 98% sellout during the regular season.  Shocked, but impressed.
30	Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love’s aggravating groin has been just one major reason for a series of frustrating games for the Timberwolves in the last week.  Also, playing for the Timberwolves.

Chip Patterson writes for CBSSports.com’s Eye on College Football and contributes at TheHoopDoctors.com.

Does Derrick Rose Shoot Too Much For the Bulls to Win a Title?

I can’t say enough good about Derrick Rose. I’ve repeated ad nauseam this season that if it were up to me, Rose would be the unanimous MVP because he’s the primary reason that the Bulls went from the 8th seed in the East last season to possibly ending up being number one this year. In fact, if you remove Rose from Chicago’s roster, the Bulls would have plenty of ping pong balls bouncing around come draft lottery time in a few months. And if I had to pick one Point Guard to start my franchise with today, he’d definitely be the guy. It’s no secret that he’s the focal part of Chicago’s offense, but as the playoffs near, I wonder how successful they will be with him shooting as much as he does.

Early on in the season, when the Bulls were still without Carlos Boozer, Rose had no choice but to keep shooting. With Boozer out and aside from Rose, Luol Deng is the best offensive weapon the Bulls have. Deng is solid, but I wouldn’t categorize him as a second scorer on a team that is to be taken seriously. I like him as a third option. Because of the lack of offensive fire power early on, I had no problem with Rose taking as many shots as he was. When Boozer finally came back, I thought Rose’s shot attempts would taper off, but they haven’t. Rose is still jacking them up with the same frequency. This formula appears to be working for the Bulls because, again, it looks like they will end up number one in the East and they have been consistent all season long.

I wonder how the Bulls will fare come playoff time because traditionally, teams where the Point Guard is the primary option on offense don’t typically win NBA championships. Rose leads the NBA in shots taken per game with 20.2 attempts per night (The NBA’s leading scorer, Kevin Durant, takes 19.7 per game). The next most shots taken on the Bulls is 14.2 by both Boozer and Deng. That’s quite a disparity. The last time a team won an NBA title where the Point Guard was the go to man on offense, Isiah Thomas was leading the Bad Boy Pistons to the promised land about two decades ago. This doesn’t mean that Rose and his 25 and 8 aren’t good enough to get it done come playoff time, but if history is an indicator, this isn’t a formula for success.

If the entire unit is healthy when the playoffs roll around, the Bulls are going to be a very tough out. Who knows, maybe this Bulls squad is different. Maybe they can win it all they way they’re operating. It will certainly be interesting to see if Rose can do his best Isiah Thomas impersonation. Or, perhaps it’s simply a matter of scoring Point Guards who happen to be from Chicago who have what it takes to get it done? If so, they will be hanging another banner in the United Center. We’ll see.

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook

Is Chauncey Billups a Hall of Famer?

Sometimes as basketball fans, we get so caught up in admiration of the guys who make their living above the rim, that we often overlook players who don’t possess those qualities in their game, but are equally as effective. To put a name with that description, look no further than Chauncey Billups. In his 14th year in the Association, Chauncey is the youngest 34 year old I have ever seen and is still getting it done with the Knicks. His production isn’t that far off from when he was in his prime and has been one of the most consistent players that have ever come around. As his career winds down in the next handful of seasons, it’s never to early to kick around the idea of his Hall of Fame worthiness because his candidacy will likely be judged based on what he has accomplished already as opposed to what lies ahead.

A journeyman early on in his career, it wasn’t until his 6th season that he finally landed in Detroit where he became a household name and earned the moniker “Mr. Big Shot.” Even while he was in Detroit, when people named the best Point Guards in the league, for some reason Chauncey was an after thought. I think that was primarily because it took him a while to finally settle in in the league, so people tended to forget about him. But the way he was able to resurrect his career with the Pistons was incredible.

Chauncey was the driving force behind the Pistons’ championship in 2004 on a team that was void of a superstar, but filled with blue collar guys who knew their roles. Billups had that team working like clockwork and it seemed as if they were in the Eastern Conference Finals every year. He has hit more clutch, big game shots than anyone in his era and earned Finals MVP honors from the ’04 run. When he finally hangs it up (which doesn’t look like anytime soon the way he’s still playing) Chauncey will go down as one of the more under appreciated and overlooked players from his generation. He is/was the epitome of a floor general and I don’t think he’s ever been out of control during a single play in his career. He is very savvy and methodical in his craft and is still one of my favorite Point Guards today.

Aside from leading Detroit to their first championship since GM Joe Dumars laced them up, we really saw Chauncey’s worth when he was dealt from Detroit to his hometown of Denver in the Allen Iverson deal. The Pistons instantly struggled right as the Nuggets became a legit contender in the West. His immediate impact in Denver showed many just how much of a difference maker he really was.

If he never dribbles a basketball again, I would say that he is a Hall of Famer based on what he’s accomplished so far, not to mention the fact that he’s still playing at an extremely high level. He has career averages of 15.5 points and 5.6 assists but while he was in Detroit, he posted numbers of 17 and 7. But his impact on a team far outweighs anything that shows up on the stat sheet. He may not be  first ballot Hall of Famer but I think he should get in. Having said that and judging by the fact that Reggie Miller struck out in his first year of eligibility, I don’t think Chauncey will get in, but again, I think he should.

What do you think? Is Chauncey Billups is a Hall of Famer?

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook

Meet Austin Rivers’ Girlfriend Brittany Hotard [PICS]

On many occasions we have highlighted one of the Top High School recruits in the nation, Austin Rivers, who has committed to attending Duke next season. Under the tuteledge of Coach K, he’s sure to develop into one of the top scorers in the college ranks and definitely will be a top NBA draft prospect. We have shown you what Rivers can do on the court through highlight videos, but what about the off the court Austin Rivers? Thanks to our boys at Frathouse Sports we have the following images of Austin’s girlfriend and cheerleader Brittany Hotard after the jump (check out Frathouse for more pics of Brittany). Here’s what Frathouse Sports had to say about Brittany:

A few months ago we asked ‘Who is Austin Rivers Girlfriend‘ after spotting her with Austin, the #1 recruit in the class of 2011 and son of Doc Rivers, in the crowd at a Duke game…well we’ve found her! And while we like what we see, we’re not liking what we’re hearing.

First off her name is Brittany Hotard and she started dating Austin when she was a senior and he was a sophomore. But ever since she graduated from Winter Park in ‘09 she’s basically been his shadow…going to most his HS games home and away and sitting by his mom to make sure she’s on the Austin River’s money train when it takes off.

To her credit she did go to a Wallace State Community College for a year where she cheered, while she’s been waiting on Austin to graduate.

Is Diamond DeShields the Next Notable Female Dunker?

We all remember the footage of Lisa Leslie throwing down the first dunk in WNBA history, Michelle Snow jamming it at Tennessee, then Candace Parker winning the McDonald’s Dunk Contest in 2004 over both JR and Josh Smith. Then of course everyone was amazed by current Baylor stand-out Brittney Griner dunking a basketball as early as 10th grade in Houston, Texas.

Of course, the most notable female dunker prior to the ones listed above was the 6‘7 Georgeann Wells at West Virginia in 1984, who is credited as being the first female to dunk a ball in an NCAA game period. She was so far ahead of her time that no female even got high enough to dunk for another 10 years in women’s basketball.

But as training methods improve and players pick up the game at an much earlier age in recent times, it was inevitable that more and more females are attempting to join their male counterparts by jamming the rock in high school games.

The next high profile female star to flush it may be sophomore Diamond DeShields of Georgia, who has already thrown it down in practice but never in a game. If the last name sounds familiar to baseball fans, it should, since Diamond is the daughter of 16 year MLB veteran Delino DeShields and is actually coached by former Pacers and Raptors star Antonio Davis on her AAU team, the 13U Georgia Ice. Other famous daughters on the Ice include siblings of Ken Griffey Jr, former NBA Slam Dunk Champion Dee Brown, and the coach’s daughter Kaela Davis.

In only the 10th grade, Diamond has already outgrown her famous father to measure a cool 6 feet and has developed into quite the ballplayer who is capable of tip ins and alley-oops but is dead set on dunking in a sanctioned game. We’ll be sure to keep tabs on Diamond.

Check out Diamond DeShields attempting to  dunk in practice:

Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.  Allen also provides content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.

Top 10 NBA Bloopers of the Season

As we near the twilight period of the NBA season and teams are gearing up for the playoffs, we thought we would take a quick look at the ‘lighter side’ of the 2010-2011 NBA season. There have been many ups and downs for teams and players, but these on-court bloopers made our short list of some of the best. Another bat in San Antonio? Batman Ginobili to the rescue….

First Look: Under Armour Fall/Winter Basketball Collection

The team from Under Armour invited us to take part in the unveiling of their upcoming Fall/Winter collection so you know over at The Hoop Doctors we were mostly interested in the basketball aspect. For those not familiar with Micro G technology and how it translates into a basketball sneaker it consists of padding that locks your foot in and keeps you low to the ground as well; making for a very lightweight shoe.

What to look for? The UA Micro G Juke features a HeatGear compression sock liner looks has the potential to be the spearhead of Under Armour’s basketball line. Still in it’s sample phase, the Micro G Juke would be a solid choice for any explosive players who make quick cuts and like responsiveness in a shoe.

Under Armour takes brings their functionality into the realm of hoops with their basketball line as displayed here.

UA Micro G Clutch Sample in a Midnight Navy/Red and ‘Cool Grey-esque’ colorway.

UA Micro G Supersonic Sample in Blue/White and Red/Black colorways.

UA Micro G Juke Sample in Black/Black-White.

They also hinted at an expansion on UA flagship player Brandon Jenning’s UA Black Ice line. Maybe a Black Ice II? The Hoop Doctors have you covered when more info is made available.

Kourt Kicks: 3/29

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat:
Ramon Sessions looks to make a move in the Reebok Zig Slash while Mike Bibby tries to guard in the Air Jordan OneSixOneSeven.

Houston Rockets vs. New Jersey Nets:
Brooke Lopez, Goran Dragic, and Ben Uzoh in the adidas adiPure, Zoom Kobe VI, and Nike Hyperfuse respectively.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors:
Serge Ibaka in the adidas adiPure is challenged by Epke Udoh in the Nike Hyperdunk 2010.

Sacramento Kings vs. Phoenix Suns:
Omri Casspi wearing the Nike Hyperfuse misses a block on Marcin Gortat in the Nike Hyperdunk 2010.

Coach K Takes a Shot at The Fab Five

While the aftermath of Jalen Rose’s comments about Duke in ESPN’s “The Fab Five” film were continuing to cause controversy and ill feelings, I was secretly wondering to myself why we haven’t heard from Mike Krzyzewski on the matter. While I can only assume that he did not respond because he was a tad busy with that little NCAA tournament thing, he has finally broken his silence and has addressed Rose’s claims.

On “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000 in Chicago yesterday, Coach K was as asked to respond to Jalen stating that as a teenager, he felt as if ” [Duke] only recruited black players that were Uncle Toms.” Begrudgingly, Coach K responded:

“Obviously, that was a poor choice of words and very insulting to everyone here at Duke but especially, not just African-American players, but any African-American students. When you judge within a race, you start judging, like you put categories as to who you are. I think that’s just the wrong thing to do.”

In the documentary, Jalen also said “schools like Duke didn’t recruit players like me.” Coach K also responded as to why none of the Fab Five ended up at Duke.

“We were very successful against them and, to be quite frank with you, we recruited Chris Webber. I didn’t recruit Jalen Rose because we had Grant Hill and I’m happy with that. We didn’t look at the other, Juwan Howard [because] we knew he wasn’t going to come to Duke. The other two kids we didn’t think were the caliber that could play as well as Thomas Hill and Brian Davis and Billy McCaffery.”

I really wish Krzyzewski would’ve expounded on why he was so sure that Juwan Howard would not have come to Duke. Personally, that’s what I would’ve been interested in learning. But then again, those interviewing him (one of which was former Blue Devil, Jay Williams) didn’t ask him to explain unfortunately, so we’ll never know. I do find it interesting, however, that Coach K basically said that Jimmy King and Ray Jackson weren’t good enough  to play at Duke. Coach K also went on to talk about the legacy that the Fab Five left at Michigan:

“They had a heck of a run, but they didn’t leave anything, they didn’t establish anything there. The guys that I had established something that Jay Williams continued to do 10 years later — the standards of what it meant to be a Duke basketball player.”

Krzyzewski is a rather mild mannered guy and I didn’t fully expect him to rip into Jalen, but for him to say “they didn’t establish anything there” is a pretty big statement from a guy like Coach K who seems as uncontroversial as they come. I think that’s a very powerful statement by him. “The Fab Five” documentary resonated throughout the sports world for about a week after it aired so much so that Grant Hill even responded. Therefore, I was somewhat surprised and disappointed that those interviewing him didn’t delve a bit deeper. It was barely talked about in the 16 minute interview. But at least we got something because I didn’t think we’d ever hear from Krzyzewski on the matter.

If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook

Knicks Fans Have a Good Memory [PIC]

Each week, The Hoop Doctors will poke a little fun through cartooning at the latest discussions about the NBA and its characters, which may or may not be happening around the proverbial ‘water-cooler’. We hope you get a couple of laughs along the way, and if you are thinking about writing us hate mail for mentioning your favorite player, team, or coach….we would welcome the opportunity to ignore it. This week we take a look at “Knicks Fans Have a Good Memory”:

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