Power Rankings: January 27, 2009

First, I'd like to apologize for both myself & Anthony for the lack of content recently... it's been busy at work for both of us.... Hopefully we'll be updating the blog more often.

Second, look at Dirk. He is one tough german....

30. Washington (9-35) – Only single digit-win team remaining in the L. Between them and the Clippers, I’m not sure who the bigger disappointment is. [29]

29. Sacramento (10-35) – 0-4 week puts Kings at the bottom of the Western Conference. Even their normally loyal fans are getting tired of their recent failures. Think about how far they have fallen since the Bibby-CWebb-Vlade days…. Has there been a worse fall from grace in the NBA over the last 5 years? [27]

28. Clippers (10-34) – EG dropped 41 in a victory over the Thunder. And in the same week, they gave up 46 to the Durantula & 42 to Bynum… solid defense Clippers. [pv wk 30]

27. Oklahoma City (10-35) – 2-1 week leads to highest power ranking of the year for the Durantula and the Thunder. 46 point, 15 rebound performance against the Clippers highlighted the week’s performances. [28]

26. Memphis (11-32) – 0-3 last week… 9 game losing streak…. 27th is calling their name next week. [26]

25. Golden State (14-31) – 1-2 since last power rankings causes fall back to 25th. Paging Crash Ellis! [24]

24. Indiana (17-27) – 2-1 week for Indiana and they’re back in 24th. In talks with Mr. Robertson, we both love Danny Granger. He might have the most hoops to tie/win at the buzzer in the L this year. [25]

23. Minnesota (16-27) – 3-1 week and all of a sudden the T-Wolves are separating themselves from the West’s worst. [23]22. Toronto (18-28) – 2-1 week. Keep your trash north of the border, the Lakers don’t want any of it. [22]

21. Charlotte (18-26) – Bobcats come west to Staples this evening. Unfortunately, DJ Augustin will not silence me tonight. [21]

20. Chicago (18-27) – 0-3 week for the Bulls causes drop behind the Knicks…. Probably don’t even deserve to be ranked this highly. [19]

19. New York (19-25) – 3-1 week as the Knicks move to 19th. Wilson Chandler is still one of the better on-ball defenders I’ve seen against Kobe this year. [20]

18. New Jersey (20-25) – Repeat after me… The Nets are who we thought they were! THE NETS ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE! [17]

17. Milwaukee (22-26) –I just found out today that Joe Alexander’s nickname is Vanilla Sky. How tremendous is that? And he’s not in the dunk contest? Travesty. [18]

16. Philadelphia (21-22) – Currently the 7 seed in the East… This leads to two conclusions: (1) the League is top heavy this year and (2) the 76ers are better without Elton Brand. [16]

15. Miami (24-19) – Probably deserve to be ahead of the Pistons after there upset of Orlando and the Pistons general failures at life… however, they stay here….. It’s for their own good. [15]

14. Detroit (24-19) – Anytime you’re tweaking your lineup to find the best mix 30 games after someone like AI’s arrival means trouble. [13]

13. Utah (25-20) – If the playoffs started today, the Jazz wouldn’t be in it. Wow. Fortunately for them & unfortunately for Dallas, they don’t. I still expect the Jazz to bounce back. [12]

12. Dallas (25-19) – I still can’t get over Dirk’s haircut in that “Where …. Happens” NBA commercial. [14]

11. Phoenix (25-18) – Courtney Sims reporting to Phoenix today… number of points he’ll score against the Spurs Thursday night will match his number and his team’s win total that night…. 0. [11]

10. Atlanta (26-18) – Holding strong to that 4 seed in the East. The only question is whether they prefer the Heat or the Pistons in round 1. [10]

9. Houston (28-18) – Par for the course for the Rockets last week… T-Mac returns, Yao goes down, team goes 2-2. [9]

8. Portland (27-17) – 2-1 week for the Blazers. Is there a deeper team in the League right, I mean, they can go Roy-Blake-Fernandez-Rodriguez-Bayless-Outlaw-Aldridge-Oden-Pryzbilla-Batum-Webster… and I still didn’t even get to Diogu or Channing Frye. [8]

7. New Orleans (27-14) – 2-1 week causes slip to 7th, especially when the loss is to lowly Minnesota. [6]

6. Denver (29-15) 2-0 week allows for them to leap the Hornets. I know I sound like a broken record here, but trading AI for Chauncey is turning out even better than anybody hoped. In other news, how many teams could trade AI and still lead the league in tattoos…. I mean, between K-Mart, the Birdman & J.R. Smith, the Nuggets have it locked up. [7]

5. San Antonio (29-14) – Loss to Lakers was only blemish of the week. Spurs hold firm at #5. [5]

4. Orlando (33-8) – As predicted, the curse of the Power Rankings struck Orlando last week as they went 0-2. Sports Illustrated had a very interesting article on JJ & Adam Morrison, chronicling their success in college and relative failures in the NBA last week. I suggest reading it. In other news, the coaching job Stan Van Gundy has done this year is second to none. [1]

3. Cleveland (34-8) – 3-0 week for the Cavs allows them to hold their own at #3. Kobe said Lebron was MVP. Kobe didn’t mean it, but this man agrees with #24. [3]

2. Lakers (35-8) – Jewish Jordan Farmar’s return, as well as a stomping of the Spurs, highlight a 3-0 week where Andrew Bynum went for 42 in a win against the Clippers and not a single opponent cracked the century mark against the Lakers. Laker fans continue to chant, “WE WANT TACOS!!!” – (side note: Lakers fan receive free tacos from Jack in the Box if the team gives up less than 100 points and wins at home). [2]

1. Boston (37-9) – 3-0 week including a drubbing of Dwight Howard and the Magic puts them atop the Power Rankings for the first time in 2009. [4]