Champ’s Power Rankings: Week 5

give it time Brandon Jennings.

  

1. Los Angeles Lakers: The Champ is sure that the Lakers are glad that Pau Gasol’s injury hasn’t kept him out until Christmas. Sure the Suns have more road wins, but a 19 point rout  by the Lakers earns them the top spot this week, again. A good early home schedule and wins against teams like the pathetic Nets leave LA looking good early.

2. Phoenix Suns: The Pacific Division certainly looks good this year. First team to 14 wins? Impressive. With Steve Nash dishing out double digit assist nights and the team scoring in triple figures, the Suns are winning ball games.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers: Lights out shooting against the Top-10 Dallas Mavericks cancels out the ugly loss despite a late comeback against the Charlotte Bobcats. Undefeated when the team scores 100, the Cavaliers are slowly clicking.

Champ’s Power Rankings: Week 4

Playoffs?

1. Los Angeles Lakers: OK, an early home schedule is good and all, and Pau Gasol is back and doing work, and everythings clicking. But, there is no but, the Lakers are the number one team in the league. However, I’m not sure Kobe’s increased scoring is a good sign or not.

2. Atlanta Hawks: Disclaimer: Yes I am writing this after watching their cold effort in their falling to the Orlando Magic, at home. But coming into Monday this team was still on fire, yes they deserve to be here now. Next week? watch out.

3. Denver Nuggets: Coming into the season I was concerned about Denver. Yes, drafting Ty Lawson is a HUGE plus, but they made no offseason moves to improve the team. But then, Carmello Anthony stepped up, he finally is dishing out points and rebounds like a true superstar. Tracking Anthony’s development at a recent trip to the pool really sold me on the Nuggets, they’ve come a long way. They had Allen Iverson around this time last year.

Champ’s Power Rankings: Week 3

the kid can play

1. Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets keep winning, in the West. Carmelo looks like he’s playing with more determination than ever, second in the league in scoring, the team is winning on the road, and J.R. Smith has had a hot return off of his seven game suspension, possibly due to his desire to be called by his real first name: Earl. The Nuggets’ ascent is surely helped by the Lakers’ current slump, but for now the Nuggets are enjoying their time as the Western Conference’s best team.

2. Atlanta Hawks: The Ivy Leaguer is a prophet, the Hawks have raced to an early 8-2 record. They have beaten both the Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic, does a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers earn them a spot in the Eastern Conference elite?

3. Phoenix Suns: The Suns sit at the three position this week. With a very respectable record of 9-2, with losses coming to the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers (last year’s NBA Finals) both played on the second game of back-to-back series, the Suns still impress the Champ.

Champ’s Power Rankings: Week 2

 

 

Week Two showed the Beast in Chris Paul, however the Hornets still struggled.

 

1. Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers played without Bynum and Gasol last night and still resulted in victory. The Lakers are the top dogs in the league right now. No questions about it. Lamar Odum also translated well into his role on Keeping up with the Kardashians.

2. Boston Celtics: A slip up against the now formidable Phoenix Suns lost some credibility as well as the near win over the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves cost the C’s to slip to #2 in my rankings. However, they still head their own conference and very well could earn homecourt advantage, minus any major injuries.

3. Phoenix Suns: Surprised? Maybe a little but the Suns are the hot team in the league for now. You forget this team has Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire, and Jason Richardson. As well as a rejuivenated Grant Hill and an up-and-coming Channing Frye. Will they stay at three? Probably not, but this is Week Two.

Champ’s Power Rankings: Week One

The 2009-2010 season has been one of immense scoring, and tremendous excitement.

1. Boston Celtics: I am no fool. The Celtics are legit, at this point in time the C’s are  the best team in the league. Their offense is clicking, Rasheed Wallace looks more like a contestant for the All Star Weekend NBA 3 Point Contest, rather than the Sixth Man of the Year. Rondo got his extension, a safe move to protect young talent on an aging team. Things are working out in Boston, and as of week one, no team can touch them.

2. Orlando Magic: Just ask The Octagon, the Magic are very potent. The depth of this Magic Team is simply incredible. Their scoring recalls the glory days of the Phoenix Suns under Mike D’Antoni. Just think with J.J. (Get me a record deal!) Reddick scoring 27 points in the absence of Vince Carter, as well as Rashard Lewis’ suspension and Pietrus’ injury the Orlando Magic offense firing on all cylinders is truly scary.

3. Los Angeles Lakers: I can’t bring myself to rank the Lakers any lower than third, they are: 1. still the best team substantially in the Western Conference 2. temporarily lacking the frontcourt depth that Pau Gasol brings and 3. they are the Los Angeles Lakers, the same Lakers that have won 15 NBA titles, brought in guys like Gasol and Ron Artest, and will continue to do anything to win Kobe another ring.

Season Preview: Denver Nuggets

Fun Fact: These nuggets were fried at a McDonald's in Denver.

History:

Founded as the Denver Rockets in 1968 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association, the Denver Nuggets found modest success, reaching either a tiebreaker or the playoffs every year while they were an ABA team, but this was more likely because of the ABA’s playoff system (eight of eleven teams reached the playoffs each year, and as the league began to contract, eight of ten teams made the playoffs). Of the nine seasons as an ABA franchise, the Rockets/Nuggets (the name changed in the summer of 1974 so as not to compete with the Rockets team name used by Houston) had a winning record in six seasons, and only won three playoff series, reaching the ABA Finals in the last year of the league’s existence. Led by Dan Issel, David Thompson, Bobby Jones, Marvin Webster, and coached by a very young Larry Brown, even after the team moved into the NBA, they were still successful, extending their tiebreaker/playoff streak to twelve.

August and Everything After

Trying to correctly guess what team is going to sign Allen Iverson is less accurate than a shot in the dark. Allen Iverson has recently tweeted about possible suitors and landing destinations, hinting that a possible deal is in the works. The teams reported to be interested in the future Hall-of-Fame guard have included the Heat, Bobcats, Knicks, Grizzlies, and Clippers. Now, the actual interest these teams have in Iverson could be overblown or underplayed, depending on the actual team. The term “fit” will almost never have been so loosely applied as when Iverson eventually inks a deal with any team.

Earn Your Scars

Chris “Birdman” Anderson has taken a vow to be carried out up until the point where he shares his vows with his potential future better half. That vow is one of the most sacred and prestigious ones that a man can make: he will not shave his beard until his wedding day. This wedding is still quite a distance away from now, essentially putting his beard at that point into a thicker, more passionate version of Grizzly Adams in his hairiest of days.

Inside the Name Part 5

When it comes to naming a team in the National Basketball Association, in my opinion, the name can fall in any one of five categories. Unbeknownst to many so-called “fans” of basketball, there is an unspoken hierarchy among the various team names. Well, unspoken until now. In a “Paints in the Point” exclusive, we go…

INSIDE THE NAME

In Part One of “Inside the Name,” we looked at animal team mascots in the Association.

In Part Two of “Inside the Name,” we looked at the assorted alliterative team names found within the Association.

In Part Three of “Inside the Name,” we looked at team names in the Association that actually make sense, given their geographic location.

In Part Four of “Inside the Name,” we looked at team names that didn’t bother to change their name (and in some cases, their logo) after relocating their team to a new city.

Another week has passed, and now we move on to…

Part 5: Unacceptable

At last, we’ve reached the end of our journey through the various team names within the Association (for those who had problems viewing the images associated with Part Four, the images have been fixed, so feel free to read it again). The reason that these last four names have been saved for the last part is because they are simply “unacceptable.” They’re Kwame Brown to Michael Jordan, the player to be named later to a player actually named in a trade, the Product 19 to your Lucky Charms, the Rocket Power to your Hey Arnold!,  the quality of my articles to the quality of The Custodian’s articles.

When I think of “Product 19,” I think of an industrial-strength cleaner. That’s not the best way to compete with other cereals, considering when I think of “Lucky Charms,” I think they are magically delicious.

These “unacceptable” names are the ones that confuse, perplex, and otherwise make people go, “huh?” if they think about the name.

Inside the Name Part 3

When it comes to naming a team in the National Basketball Association, in my opinion, the name can fall in any one of five categories. Unbeknownst to many so-called “fans” of basketball, there is an unspoken hierarchy among the various team names. Well, unspoken until now. In a “Paints in the Point” exclusive, we go…

INSIDE THE NAME

In Part One of “Inside the Name,” we looked at animal team mascots in the Association.

In Part Two of “Inside the Name,” we looked at the assorted alliterative team names found within the Association.

Two weeks have passed, and now we move on to…

Part 3: Names That Make Sense

The names aren’t ferocious. They don’t roll off the tongue that well, much to the chagrin of marketers and advertising executives. But what they do have is an identity that fits into their city. Take a look at the image below. Can you identify the thing that doesn’t belong?

One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong.

Want to know the answer?

Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City

The New Orleans Hornets roster for the 2009-2010 season is shaping up to be about as new as Brandon Jennings’ haircut.

With the luxury tax imposing, the Hornets simply cannot compete in the free agent market, no Hedo Turkoglu, no Rasheed Wallace, or even Trevor Ariza. While players like six foot wonder Chris Paul speak out about how other teams are improving through the free agent market, the Hornets’ management remains as neutral as the Danish in World War I.