Power Rarnkings - Week 11

[Thunder GM (Tiago)]

30	30		1-10	They got a W but still have the worse team statwise. Trading Bynum for a contender that still believes in his return is a nobrainer. Still, we see the Clips winning another matchup until the end of the season. Having the two first picks in next year's draft is becoming a huge possibility since they have also MIL 1st
29	28		2-9	Strange strategy. They now have arguably the worst team in the league, and only have picks in 2014. They will need a perfect FA period in the summer to improve enough to make a run at the PO next season. MKG is a great start, though
28	29		2-9	It seems every trade DET makes, their team gets worse for the future. A lot of questionable trades for a rebuilding team points to a state of total disarray from their GM. The Pistons actually lost to the LAC last week and that's saying something
27	26		2-9	Finally the Nets made a decision and in the last few weeks totally embraced the rebuilding mode. They now possess a bunch of young guys that can become good players in the future, and a when healthy franchise player in Eric Gordon. Also, they free some cap that can be important in the summer
26	27		2-9	The Wiz are in the B5 in 5 of the 9 stats, and they are only better at this moment than the previous 4 teams. But the return of their star PG and the pickup of Alan Anderson (even if he's cooling down a bit as expected) can make this team climb a few spots, but they are not making the PO this season. Time to start thinking about next year.
25	25		2-9	The Rockets continue to slump after being smacked around by the Nuggets this week. They improved their PG situation after getting Vasquez for Lin, in a deal that included swapping a late bloomer in Patterson for a player with great potential but little space to play, but also got Boozer for the long term with a hefty salary for KMart’s 1 year deal. We’ll see if this hurts their rebuilding process in the future
24	23		3-8	They’re stuck in Fantasy Hell with a team not good enough in the most tough ESPN league. At the moment they still have 5 really good trade assets in their roster, along with their own 1st rounder and only 15M commited for next season. So things might not be that bad in Dallas right now. At least they’re not the Cowboys
23	16		3-8	Completely out of the playoff picture, the Jazz have suffered from various injuries crippling their playoff hopes. With only 8 contributing players, being 2 down isn’t easy and Utah must be already watching a lot of college ball, with 9 picks in the 2013 Draft, 2 of those much likely in the lottery
22	22		3-8	Another team with very few players contributing, the Knicks already have a nice project in place, long term. With 5 players under contract until ’16 and 5 1st rounds in this year’s draft and 37M available in Free Agency it appears the blueprint is going according to plan smoothly in MSG Headquarters
21	24		5-6	The Hornets keep on wheelin’ and dealin’, bringing DWill to town this week in exchange for Hill and a returning Gordon. They are on the brink of being in the Playoffs but have been performing above expect due to scheduling reasons. They’re in the B5 in five cats and despiste being on the T10 in 3, they’ve just needed their opponents to be even worse week to week. And usually that doesn’t last
20	17		5-6	Jsmooth and Jeff Teague are not enough to make the Raptors competitive as they only have 2 cats above league average, specially with Bargnani always in street clothes. Even if they are only 1 game behind the 8th spot in the East, it seems it’s time to move on and start thinking about next season as the teams ahead of them are much stronger.
19	18		7-4	We are aware that the Kings are 74 but we can’t overlook the fact that 5 of these W have been against the bottom 3 teams in the League. Statwise the Kings are above average in only 1 Cat and are B10 in 4 cats. Off course this team has changed a lot, and now they have a very good core with Westbrook, Lin, Cousins and some other small pieces, so this ranking will be higher in the future for sure
18	20		6-5	Another team benefiting from being in the same ESPN League that features the bottom 3 teams in our rankings. The Lakers are still bottom 10 in 5 cats, and they hope Nash, Kobe, George can keep up and Ilyasova and Jamison can improve by Playoff time. If only Bogut could play some time this season…
17	21		5-6	Another team that seems uncertain if they should contend or rebuild, but their GM is doing a nice job in keeping both options available. A mix of youth and some veterans, is still one of the most inconsistent teams around. They have only 1 T10 cat but also only 2 B10. With some luck they can reach the Playoffs
16	13		4-7	The Wolves have been one of most tormented teams this year due to injury. Rubio’s slow comeback and Love’s disappointing season (when he’s playing) have thwarted their plans. They still have a very deep team and a lot of players overachieving, but in the most difficult division it will take a very good run and some luck to be back in the playoff race.
15	12		8-3	Leading the worst division in the league, the Cavs are only above league average in 1 cat, which is remarkable. Their awesome averageness has been affected by the absence of Varejão in the last few weeks and they’ve dropped two in a row, first a close one to the lowly Lakers and last week they were pummeled by the Pacers. They might be guaranteed in the playoffs but they aren’t scaring anybody at the moment
14	6		6-5	With the season in full swing Memphis is coming down the statboards. They’re right at league average in 5 cats and their roster still filled with Grizzlies is to take a toll in their playoff hopes. They look afraid to lose anything by trade and that may cost them dearly at the end of the year
13	7		7-4	The Bulls are also in the “Losing Gas” tier at the time. Despite being T3 in 3 cats, they’ve got 4 cats in the B10. DRose is nearing his return, but Chicago needs for Wallace to comeback soon and produce well in order to be at the top in the end of the season. They still have some assets they could trade to improve their chances
12	15		4-7	After a very slow start and a few shrewd moves along the way, the Nuggets are already in the T10 in 2 cats and very close to it in another 4. The recent addition of Tyreke will only improve their chances of making the Playoffs and once there it’s anybody’s game
11	9		8-3	They continue to be a 3-3-3 team (3 good cats, 3 average and 3 really bad) but they’ve more quiet in the market in the last few weeks than expected. Their current configuration is not enough to be a true contender, but they still have the cap and roster space necessary to try and improve without losing too much assets.
10	19		7-4	The Pacers is now 9 spots higher than in our last rankings. A lot of changes in the last 4 weeks and now have 2 great PG and 3 very good big men. They are still bellow league average in 5 cats, but that will change soon. It will be a close battle between them and the Cavaliers in the Central, but Indiana just seem better at this moment
9	14		8-3	After a big win against the Thunder a few weeks ago that could push them again to the top 5, they posted some bellow the average weeks and are at this moment close to losing to DEN in a very important matchup. Their weekly stats are better than any team outside of the top 10, but they are letting the top teams slip away statwise. Top 10 in 4 cats, but below average in 3, the Blazers need to change gears soon
8	11		7-4	The Heat are improving again after a bit of a stalemate, still being in the T5 in 3 cats and improving into above league average positions in another two, starting to look like a more balanced team. They don«t have the depth others contenders possess and still depend a lot on the number of games MIA has each week, so scheduling will be crucial come playoff time
7	10		8-3	They’ve climbed the ladder with a high number of trades, possessing only one player from the original roster. In the T10 in 4 cats and around league average in another 4, the Hawks only possess one bad stat cat, so they matchup well every week. They’re tied up in cap space so improving their squad won’t be easy, but with their current makeup they won’t be bullied around by anybody in the Playoffs
6	8		6-5	The Magic continue to make a lot of trades, and winning most of them. Al Jefferson fell into their lap by “miracle” and now they return to being a top team. Statwise they have 6 cats in the T10 and look like a real contender. The one thing they should be worried is about playoff seed, since they have a bad matchup against BOS and PHI, so they should avoid them early in the postseason. The firing of Scott Skiles also helped as Dalembert is now playing some needed mins
5	5		7-4	The Suns are still one of the deepest teams around, as they have arguably 12 players that really contribute each week. They hit the jackpot with Sanders and Barnes, and so they have been able to overcome the shaky season of Dragic and Gortat. 5 cats in the T10 but only 2 below average make them a tough matchup for every other team. How they were able to lose 4 weeks already is a mystery to us
4	3		9-2	The C’s continue to go through the field easily except for the 76ers. Despite being in the T5 in 4 cats and in the T10 in 7 cats, Gang Green matchups pretty badly against their division foe so until they tweak their team to overcome Philly they can’t be in front of them, even with a better record. Let us see if Crowder is the solution
3	4		8-3	Despite sweeping the season series with the Celtics, Philadelphia is behind them in the Atlantic division, due to two ties that resulted in losses along the way. The resurgence of DH12 has brought them to new heights and at the present time they look like the clear cut favorites to win the East and advance to the Finals. Their roster composition still possesses enough flexibility to add some pieces to make an even stronger run in March and April.
2	2		9-2	The Thunder risked some stats this season to improve their future once again, as they dealt Westbrook and Jones for Irving and Turkoglu and they seem far from being able to beat the Spurs for the #1 spot in the West. Their roster still lacks depth despite being in the T10 in an amazing 8 cats for a team that only truly has 6 contributors. Having 12M in cap and NOH 1st gives them some chances to improve their chances for this season with the acquisition of some expiring contracts
1	1		11-0	An unbeaten perfect season. 12 contributors. Top 8 in every cat other than TO !!! At this point, it seems that the only thing that can take the tittle away from San Antonio is coach Pop and his season end rotation. If the Spurs big 3 keep playing big minutes, they look unstopable