Ending March 26, 2009

Total Pro Sports – Let me start off by say that I AM SO SORRY.  It has been a hectic couple of weeks and I was not able to post the Power Rankings for last week with work, exams and of course March Madness all in the same week.  What is also shocking is that so much has happened in these two short weeks.  They have been big risers and big droppers as well.

For starters, the Suns, who were though to be completely out of the playoff picture, have been showing signs of life winning five in a row.  Dallas better watch out.  Also the Bulls seem to have that final eighth spot in the East all sewn up as many of their competitors have fallen behind.  James is still king as the Cavs are still playing the best basketball right now with Kobe and his Lakers close behind.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league at this weeks NBA Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Record	Change	Comment
1		58-13	-	The Cavs have been steamrolling their competition winning ten in a row.  They have a relatively soft schedule with a three game home stand against MIN, DAL and DET and then one the road against WAS.  ORL might give them trouble though
2		56-14	-	Not only have the Lake Show clinched a playoff berth but also their division and possible home court advantage until the NBA Finals.
3		53-18	-	The Magic have won eight of ten including last night`s close contest against the Celts where Dwight Howard had a 20pt 20reb night.
4		54-19	-	BOS and ORL are tied for second place and with their whole team of the injured list, look for the Green Machine to make a run for second place.
5		47-24	-	An embarrassing loss against OKC on the road and two tough losses at home against BOS and HOU have hurt the Spurs, but they have a relatively easy schedule facing 4 team with under .500 records.
6		47-26	1	The Rockets are walking a thin tightrope. On one side, they are only a game behind the Spurs for second place and possibly home court advantage until the conference finals. On the other hand they are also only half a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets for third place.  It will be even tougher as they face a surging Suns team and the Lakers next week on the road.
7		46-25	3	Only 2 games separate the Nuggets from having home court for the first round of the playoff to being first round fodder for the Lakers and Spurs
8		42-30	4	Winning eight of their last ten has helped the Hawks clinch a playoff spot and possibly home court for the first round of the playoffs.  They`ll have a tough road ahead facing BOS twice along with LAL, Magic and a surging 76er team.
9		37-33	6	Philly is on of the hottest teams in the league right now winning 7 of 10 including three in a row.  They are only half a game behind from Miami for fifth place in the East.
10		34-38	6	The Bulls seem to have that 8th seed locked down as many of their rivals have fallen behind giving them at least a two game cushion.
11		44-25	2	They are one game behind the Nuggets for home court advantage in the first round yet only half a game ahead of UTA and POR for the unenviable task of facing either the Lakers, the Rockets or the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs
12		38-33	1	They are almost assured a playoff birth but also an early first round exit by either the Celtics or the Magic if they don`t watch out.  Philly is gaining ground behind them.
13		34-36	1	Losing 7 of ten has knocked the Pistons down to seventh in the East so instead of getting knocked out by BOS in the first round, they will be booted by ORL
14		44-27	6	POR, UTA and DAL are at the unenviable position of being first round fodder for the Lakers, Spurs or Rockets.
15		44-27	7	How the mighty have fallen!!!  After having a potential chance at home court for the first round of the playoffs to being first round fodder for the Spurs.
16		43-28	5	Oooh boy!!!! The Mavs must be worrying now with the Suns winning five in a row closing their gap to three games for the final playoff berth.
17		40-31	5	The Suns who were on the verge of collapsing into a black hole have found some life winning six in a row and coming within three games of Dallas for the last playoff spot.
18		31-40	1	They have lost 2 in a row, but the Cats still have a little scratch in them as they have moved to 9th place in the East and being 2 and a half games behind the Bulls for the final playoff spot.
19		31-41	1	The Bucks seemed to have lost the locking of horns against the Bulls as they are a full 3 games behind the Bulls for the final playoff spots and losers of eight of ten.
20		30-41	2	The Nets have also lost any chance of going to the playoffs as they are sliding down the standings.  They are now 4 games behind the Bulls for the last playoff spot.
21		30-42	1	The good news is that the Pacers have won two in a row.  The bad news is that they have little or no chance attaining a playoff spot trailing the Bulls 4 games for the final playoff spot.
22		28-43	1	Bag `em and tag `em, Doc.  The Knicks are dead in the playoff chase having lost six in a row.
23		26-45	-	If the Knicks keep losing, maybe the raps will have a chance to move up one in the rankings.
24		25-47	-	It is official: the Warriors are mathematically out of the playoff chase.  Now all of the pressure is off.
25		20-51	-	Must’ve been quite the morale booster beating the Spurs in such a close game, but they are still a team just waiting for the season to end and the lottery to begin.
26		20-52	-	Same for the Wolves
27		17-53	-	The Grizz have started to hibernate for the lottery
28		18-54	-	It looks like all the Clipper’s injured players are back.  Don’t make much difference though
29		15-55	-	The Maloofs may be frowning on the outside, but deep down they are all smiles.  If the Kings keep doing this badly interest in keeping the team will be so low that the Maloofs can bring their team closer to home in Vegas
30		17-56	-	Yah!!! Gilbert Arenas might be coming back!!! Boooo!!! It doesn’t make much of a difference, does it?

There you have it—a ranking of the best of the best and the worst of the worst in the NBA.  Hope you have enjoyed reading it as I have enjoyed writing it. Be sure to check back next week with our NBA Power Rankings for week 16. And you can also check out my other work on my site JT’s  Hoops Blog.