Power Rankings: January 8, 2009

Completely unrelated to the Power Rankings... but... Vlade Divac is now a European scout for the Lakers. He has a 15 or 16 year old son who is starting to play and according to Vlade is quite an adept passer. Enjoy the photo of a young, spry Vlade Divac... and in case you were keeping track at home, I went 4-4 on my picks the other night... enjoy the vig vegas (you will).

Now, onto the rankings....

30. Oklahoma City (5-31) – Russell Westbrook gets love from John Hollinger (http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/story?storyId=3815526). Durant having a phenomenal sophomore season and everyone in Seattle is still ripping their eyes out. [pv wk 30]

29. Sacramento (8-28) – Kevin Martin returns… losing continues. Sac-town faithful remembering the days when they poisoned Kobe…. And still couldn’t defeat the Lakers. [27]

28. Clippers (8-26) – Injuries to B. Diddy and Zach Randolph not helping this team. Eric Gordon looked great against the depleted Pistons the other night, and I’m still high on Al Thornton. [26]

27. Washington (7-27) – nice win over Cleveland in the crab-dribble game. [28]

26. Minnesota (10-25) – 4-1 in last five, but trading Mayo is looking like a huge mistake at this time. Wouldn’t an OJ-Al Jefferson combination be lethal down the line? [29]

25. Golden State (10-27) – Is there anyone who looks more awkward in a suit than Stephen Jackson? Someone get that man some sweats and a wife beater to wear on the sidelines. On the bright side, Crash Ellis was looking quite dapper on the bench last night. [24]

24. Memphis (11-25) – Mayo shooting almost 40% from beyond the arc…. I wonder if he has a calendar up like an inmate in prison just crossing off the days until he gets to go to New York, LA or Chicago. [23]

23. Indiana (13-22) – I don’t even know what else to say about the Pacers. They went 3-2 this week, so that’s a plus. [25]

22. Charlotte (13-23) – win over Celtics at home keeps them ahead of the Pacers. [22]

21. New York (13-20) – Became the third or fourth team in history to beat the team with the best record in the NBA (Boston) one night and lose to the worst team in the NBA (OKC) the next. Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2008-09 New York Knickerbockers. [21]

20. Toronto (15-21) – 3-2 since last edition of the power rankings, including wins over Orlando and Houston, but loss to Milwaukee keeps them at bay. [20]

19. Chicago (15-20) – Only win in the last week was against Sacramento and their 3 losses drop them to their lowest ranking since November. [17]

18. Philadelphia (15-20) – Iggy Hop had 28 the other night in their win against Houston. [19]

17. Milwaukee (17-20) – Don’t look now but Bucks would make the playoffs if they started today…. And get swept in round 1. [18]

16. New Jersey (18-18) – Still the surprise of the year for me, sitting at .500 almost halfway through the season. [16]

15. Miami (18-16) – Disappointing loss to Denver last night. Just couldn’t quite get over the hump. D-Wade and Co. are a true joy to watch though. [15]

14. Utah (21-15) – Still 9th in the West and Utah has their lowest ranking of the year this week… [13]

13. Phoenix (19-13) – Diaw averaging 15, 6 and 4 since trade for the Bobcats… I’m just sayin…. [11]

12. Houston (22-15) – 2-3 week causes 3 spot drop. [9]

11. Dallas (21-13) – 3-1 last week sparks leap to 11th! [12]

10. Detroit (21-12) – 7 game win streak snapped last night by the Blazers. [14]

9. Atlanta (22-12) – Struggles this week against Orlando and New Jersey cause fall to 9th. [7]

8. Portland (21-14) – Nice win over Detroit without Brandon Roy. They need him healthy to be elite though. [10]

7. New Orleans (21-11) – Solid win over Lakers on the road, but drop a spot due to the red-shot Nuggets. [6]

6. Denver (25-12) 5-0 record this week vaults them 2 spots. Also, how intriguing is Chris "Birdman" Andersen... i mean... he's the poor man's Josh Hamilton in terms of drug comebacks.[8]

5. San Antonio (23-11) – 3-1 since last power rankings, but Orlando’s tear causes drop to 5. [4]

4. Boston (29-8) – 2-6 in last 8, including losses to Charlotte and Knicks…. KG is right, ANYTHING IS POSSSSSSSIBLE!!!! [2]

3. Orlando (28-8) – 4-1 record with win over Atlanta, coupled with Boston’s struggles moves Magic to their highest ranking of the season. [5]

2. Cleveland (28-6) – 2-2 week after rise to #1, causes fall to #2. [1]

1. Lakers (28-6) – 2-1 against Utah, Portland and New Orleans at home, combined with win over Warriors, led to a 3-1 week and a return to the top spot. Estimated time till the curse of the Power Rankings strikes them down…. Friday vs. the Pacers [3]