Gino's Jungle

The Truth Rankings are back!

I had taken a hiatus for multiple reasons, including lack of time and more importantly - the 10 in 10 on the Celtics Late Night Show on http://northstationsports.com.  Unfortunately, technical difficulties have prevented us from giving that to you for the past two weeks, so I've decided to bring my rankings back to Gino's Jungle!

10.  Portland Trailblazers (28-21) - The Glass Menagerie out in Oregon continues to fight but they have slipped up a bit recently.  You can't fault them because they've endured some tough opponents in the past week.  New Orleans, Utah and Houston all pulled out victories but Portland beat Dallas to keep them in the top ten.

9.  San Antonio Spurs (27-19) - The Spurs are one of the most confusing teams in the entire league this year.  I never know who is going to show up.  Beating Atlana is pretty impressive.  Losing to Chicago is not.  The rest of the Spurs games recently have gone as expected and they are still worthy of number nine.

8.  Boston Celtics (29-16) - I could go on a rant but I'll keep it short.  The Celtics are clearly struggling.  Toronto is hot on their tail in the division.  Luckily as I write this, the C's are closing out the Wizards on the road to keep Celtic nation semi-sane for one more night.  They need more than a W in Washington to move them closer to the top.

7.  Dallas Mavericks (30-17) - Any Mavs fans that read my rankings must feel like they are on a roller coaster on the opposite track of the Orlando Magic.  I've moved the Mavs up and down fairly often and it never seems to be related to their play, but rather the teams around them.  The same holds true here as Dallas seems to be in a holding pattern for the past couple of weeks.

6.  Utah Jazz (28-18) - They don't have the best record on this list but they do have the second longest active winning streak at the moment (five).   Wins over Phoenix and Portland after beating Dallas, Cleveland and San Antonio last week have vaulted the Jazz past their Western Conference rivals in Texas.

5.  Atlanta Hawks (30-16) - Atlanta has stayed the course as the #3 team in the east for the past couple of weeks.  Winning a game in Houston that I thought they would lose went a long way to keeping them in the top five...not to mention the brooms they used on the Celtics on Friday.

4.  Orlando Magic (32-16) - Important wins over Boston and Atlanta proved that the Magic are still the number one contenders in the East.  February should bring a better idea of how much of a contender they really are as they will see King James twice this month as well as making the trip to Boston on Sunday afternoon.

3.  Denver Nuggets (32-15) - Is anyone talking about the Nuggets?  Are they so high up in the mountains that people don't realize how good this team is?  At 9-1 in their last ten, Carmelo and Mr. Big Shot have this team rolling along with few bumps in the road.

2.  Los Angeles Lakers (37-11) - The Lakers wrap up their eight game road trip in Memphis tonight but yesterday's game against the Celtics was the victory that guaranteed the Lakers a +.500 record on the trip.  They have won four straight and yesterday Kobe proved once again that he is the best closer in the game.

1.  Cleveland Cavaliers (38-11) - Cleveland has certainly quieted the critics, playing championship caliber basketball for the past six weeks.  Now they've won eight in a row and show no signs of slowing down.  Will they be able to sustain this throughout a playoff run?

Check back often for all the great posts on Ginos Jungle, and don't forget to check out the Celtics Late Night Show at NorthStation Sports!

It's been a couple of weeks since I have posted power rankings on Gino's Jungle, and a lot has changed since my last post. To refresh your memory without making you look a little further down the page, my rankings looked like this before Christmas:

Lakers

Celtics

Magic

Hawks

Mavericks

Cavaliers

Nuggets

Trail Blazers

Suns

Rockets

And now for your first Power Rankings of 2010...drum roll please...

Lakers (27-6) - Cleveland soared into the top spot over the past two weeks on many popular rankings lists after beating the L.A. Kobes by 15 points in their own house. Unfortunately for the Cavs, power rankings have a "what have you done for me lately?" type of feel to them. With that being the case, the Lakers hold on to the top spot in my rankings. They just demolished the Mavs two days ago and despite losing in Phoenix to go along with their loss to the Cavs, L.A. still looks like the team to beat.

Celtics (24-8) - What's this? You really thought I was going to put Lebron James above my beloved Celtics just because he beat the guys in purple? Think again!  The banged up Celtics may have dropped three straight games (two to sub-.500 teams) but they came back without three of their starters and beat a red-hot Toronto squad.  Ubuntu was in effect last Friday as the Celtics played an all around team game and showed that they aren't pushovers just because their stars are missing.

Cavaliers (27-9) - Ok, so if there are any Cavs fans reading this they are probably livid right now.  Since Christmas the Cavs have reeled off impressive wins vs. Houston and two against Atlanta.  The team is clicking and many people are starting to eat their words from the beginning of the year when they criticized Cleveland's start.  Then the Cavs came back to earth and dropped a home game against the Charlotte Bobcats.  While their recent success has definitely been impressive, it's not enough to bump them over the C's in my mind.

Mavericks (23-11) - Dallas is currently holding a five point lead with less than five minutes to play against the Pistons.  They got smoked by Los Angeles on Sunday.  They lost to Houston before that.  But, they also recently beat Denver (sans old friend Chauncey Billups) and currently hold the #2 seed in the top-heavy Western Conference, enough to push them past the next team on the list.

Trail Blazers (22-14) - Portland continues to find a way to win despite losing so many key players to season-ending injuries.  They've won seven of their last ten and continue to look good tonight vs. Memphis.  Until Portland starts losing some games, I don't see them falling too far down the list.

Spurs (20-12) - The Spurs have seemingly come out of nowhere.  They have taken advantage of a somewhat soft recent schedule and have won eight of their last ten games.  If San Antonio had been playing some more formidable opponents it may have pushed them ahead of Portland but teams like Milwaukee, New York, Minnesota and Washington aren't exactly difficult victories.

Magic (24-10) - After losing to the Celtics on Christmas at home the Magic haven't really played that many games.  They beat Milwaukee then struggled with Minnesota before winning by twelve.  Then they dropped two road games in a row in Chicago and Indiana (tonight).  The Indiana game was their 11th loss of the year and third in their last five games.  I fully expect the Magic to bounce back and find their way back into the top five but at the moment they aren't playing like they deserve to be there.

Rockets (20-14) - I keep hearing a lot about Houston's toughness.  They hang in there with anyone and they pull out victories against the teams they should beat.  They've scored solid wins vs. New Orleans and Dallas since Christmas but are putting up a terrible 1st quarter against the Lakers as I write this.  The fact that they are  6-4 over their last ten games keeps them ahead of Phoenix for #8.

Suns (21-13) - Great wins against the Celtics and Lakers keep the Suns in the top ten even though they dropped one to Golden State on the road and one at home vs. Memphis.  They are a mere 5-5 in their last ten, and while I could've brought an unknown team into the mix this week, I figured I'd wait one more week to see if Oklahoma City or Toronto continues to make noise before throwing the Suns out in the cold.

Hawks (21-12) - The talk surrounding the Hotlanta through the first two months of the season is that they were athletic to run with anyone and finally mature enough to beat the elite teams in the league.  Atlanta couldn't beat one of those teams last week as Cleveland handled them in both games of a back-to-back "home and home" series.  Since then they've dropped games to New York and Miami bringing their losing streak to four in a row.  Wednesday's game vs. New Jersey should be enough to get Atlanta back on track before Boston comes to town.

It didn't take long for the defending champs to regain their "power" in this week's rankings.  After only stumbling once on the longest road trip they've had this year the Lakers once again proved their worth compared to the rest of the NBA.  Without further ado...

Lakers (23-4) - Maybe I bumped L.A. down to "1A" a bit too soon.  The champs are still the champs as I've been saying all year and it turns out last week's lone loss wasn't enough to keep them down.  A Christmas Day match-up against Lebron & Co. will be their toughest test to this point in the season so tune in to see if they will pass.

Celtics (22-5) - The C's hit a bump in the road (at home) against Philadelphia, playing their worst half of basketball all year to close out the game with an L.  Then they turned around and played EVEN WORSE in the first half last night against Indiana before finally figuring it out.  With Kevin Garnett's leg still ailing and today's news that Paul Pierce will be out at least two weeks after undergoing surgery to clean out an infection in his knee the next few weeks are very unclear for Boston.  This is not a good time to be going into Orlando on Christmas, but the Celts should still have a shot if KG can suit up.  Either way, that game will determine who sits at #2 in next week's rankings.

Magic (21-7) - Orlando is plugging along consistently, most recently handling Utah at home on Monday night.  They are about to tip-off against Houston tonight but it's very likely that they are looking ahead to Friday's match-up against Boston.  If Orlando can beat the C's (again) it will lock them up as the current #2 team in the league.

Hawks (20-7) - I had a hard time making a decision on this slot.  I wanted to put my #5 team here but unfortunately they lost at home last night.  So, by default, the Hawks slip in at #4.  Yes, they've lost to a couple of bad teams (NYK, CHI) but other than that Atlanta has been quietly consistent.   They travel to Denver tonight and if they can pull out a win there it will make their current record that much more impressive.

Mavericks (20-9) - Once again the Mavs have let me down.  My pre-season sleeper pick has been solid up until this point but unfortunately they suffered a let-down against Portland last night.  If I didn't consider Portland to be a top ten team and you'll see later, Dallas would have fallen out of the top five this week.

Cavaliers (21-8) - Last night's utter domination of the Phoenix Suns not only impressed me but shocked me a little bit.  The Cavs were good enough to hand Phoenix their first home loss of the season in dramatic fashion last night.  Behind Lebron James, Cleveland is quickly starting to string together some solid games and are creeping ever closer to the top five.

Nuggets (19-9) - The Nuggs haven't played yet this week but since Chauncey Billups went down with an injury they have looked shaky at best.  Carmelo Anthony is still having a career year but it doesn't seem to be enough without their floor general.  Look for the Nuggs to keep rolling once Mr. Big Shot returns to the line-up.

Trail Blazers (18-12) - Not only did Portland make a double-digit comeback against the Suns last week, but they beat the same Mavericks team I've been raving about all year last night.  The emergence of Jerryd Bayless combined with the fact that they continue to win despite having more injuries than just about any other team this year catapults them onto this list.  Fact of the day - did you know Portland doesn't pay a single player more than $7 million per year?  Talk about getting the most bang for your buck...

Suns (18-10) - Phoenix still hasn't proven that they can win on the road, posting a dismal 8-9 record away from "Planet Orange."  After getting crushed by Cleveland I'm starting to doubt that this team can run with the big boys in any arena and I don't really expect Phoenix's amazing run to continue.  They will definitely win their share of games but they still need to improve on defense...but what else is new?

Rockets (17-11) - Houston gets the nod at number ten because frankly, nobody else has been playing well enough to deserve it.  Until a team like San Antonio, Utah or New Orleans starts making some real noise, there is no reason to take Houston out of the top ten.

Check back next week to see how the Christmas games affect the rankings!

Those of you that have been following our Power Rankings here at Gino's Jungle for the past couple of weeks know that I usually start out by giving you the top five of the current week from my favorite rankings over at ESPN.com.  This week, in a shocking development, my top four matches their top four so I've decided to expand and just do a Top Ten of my own.

1.  YOUR Boston Celtics (20-4) - The C's have ripped off 11 in a row and while some would contend that their opponents have not been stellar, eight of those wins have come on the road.  Solid victories over Miami, San Antonio and the league's young guns (Oklahoma City and Memphis) coupled by the Lakers recent struggles lift the Celts to the top spot.

1a.  Lakers (19-4) - I have a hard time putting a "2" in front of the Lakers because all along I've been saying that until they hit a major roadblock and stumble or the Celtics beat them they should be #1.  Kobe's finger injury is certainly cause for concern but that loss @ Utah just didn't surprise me all that much.  The champs are still the champs (unfortunately).

Magic (18-6) - Orlando handled Indiana at home on Monday night to get back in the win column and Vince Carter has been outstanding this season.  Their performance on Thanksgiving still rings in my head and is what put them over the top of the next team on the list.

Hawks (17-6) - Yes, Atlanta has won four in a row.  Yes, they are blowing teams out at a franchise record pace.  I still can't put them ahead of a team that mopped the floor with them on their own court last month and has a better road record.

Mavericks (18-7) - This is where I start to differ with most of the rankings out there (besides Hardwood Houdini!)  As stated last week, I've liked the Mavs since before the season started and have received much ridicule for it.  At the moment they have won four in a row to sit atop their division and just got Josh Howard back into the rotation. 

Nuggets (18-7) - Denver seems to have been flying under the radar a bit.  They are 11-1 at home, but a mediocre 7-6 on the road.  Carmelo Anthony is putting together what could be the best season of his career but the Nuggets still seem to be weak in their front-court.

Cavaliers (18-7) - Lebron & Friends are rolling again despite Shaquille O'Neal missing games here and there.  With that being said, their supporting cast still doesn't impress me and I almost didn't even put them this high on the list.

Suns (17-8) - While their hot start has sort of gone by the wayside, the Suns have the luxury of a home-heavy stretch of schedule coming up.  They started it off right by running San Antonio right out of the building last night and continue to play better than most people seemed to expect.

Jazz (14-10) - Don't let their record fool you, the Jazz have been playing great basketball of late.  The beat San Antonio, Orlando and the Lakers last week and have won 10 of their last 14.  They would be higher on this list if one of those losses was not to the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves this past Monday.

Rockets (14-10) - McGrady is back and Houston surprisingly doesn't have a problem.  If T-Mac takes a slightly lesser role and lets Ariza, Brooks and Scola step up some more this team could go far.  Last night's 11 point victory over Detroit lets them round out the top 10.

Check back next week to see if anything has changed!

In preparation for this post I needed to go check out my favorite mass media power rankings to figure out how I was going to disagree with what I saw.  Upon seeing the rankings however, I realized that I actually agree with four out of the top five (Gasp!).  Without further ado, here are those rankings along with my changes, topped off with a quick reflection on my Bucks preview.

Lakers

Magic

Celtics

Cavaliers

Hawks

As I just said, I agree with four of these teams being in the top five, including the top three teams in the same order.  Being the diehard fan that you know I am, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that my opinion about Lebron and the rest of the Cleveland Cry Babies is slightly different.

As usual, I had the luxury of waiting to see what happened on Monday and Tuesday before making a decision on my top five.  Last night the Cavs dropped a squeaker to the A.I.-less Grizzlies (is anyone really surprised that they are better without "The Answer"?)  Meanwhile, my #5 team won a close game at home against Phoenix.

Lakers - The champs are the champs until they hit a bump in the road or get knocked off by our Celtics so until then they stay at #1.

Magic - See above and insert "Eastern Conference" in front of "champs."  Look out on Christmas as the Celts look for revenge in Orlando.

Celtics - Eight game winning streak, KG is stronger every day and Rondo held a clinic for rookie Brandon Jennings last night.  Even though the franchise replaced Marquis Daniels (wrist surgery) with Tony Allen on the active roster this team should keep rolling.

Hawks - Atlanta has been the most inconsistent team in my top 5 to this point in the season but their 8-2 record vs. teams at or above .500 can not be overlooked.  Their home and home slate against Cleveland at the end of December should speak volumes of how strong this team really is.

Mavericks - My friends have been giving me grief about Dallas since before the season started.  I've been calling them my "sleeper" West team all year, insisting that this would be the year they finally break through and not choke in the playoffs.  Up until this point it seemed as though that grief was deserved but after the early return of star forward Josh Howard last night the Mavs finally seem to be living up to the potential I saw before the season.

Last night's Celtics game was closer throughout the game than I expected but the outcome never really seemed to be in doubt as the Celtics essentially dominated the Bucks on the defensive end.  Rajon Rondo showed rookie Brandon Jennings that you can control a game without scoring 50 points (or ONE point in the first 2+ quarters for that matter).  He was one rebound away from a triple-double, tallying 11 points and 13 assists to go along with five steals which contributed to the Celtics' total of 17.  He also held Jennings to just 17 points on 7-19 shooting and forced him into four turnovers.  The C's held Milwaukee to 43% shooting while shooting 52% themselves and the only real issue was stopping Andrew Bogut who had 25 points and 14 rebounds as well as four assists (but seven turnovers!)

On to DC where Agent Zero and the Wizards look to cast a spell and break this winning streak...check back throughout the week for updates - you'll hear from me on Sunday from the Windy City!

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 Each Monday morning I make it my ritual to head over to a certain worldwide leader in sports and check out the latest NBA Power Rankings.  Quite often I find myself agreeing with the rankings and thoroughly enjoying the clips of information they provide on each team.  Lately however, things have seemed to change (Celtics, #6?) and I’m starting to question these rankings. Due to the fact that I don't really agree with them anymore I’ve decided to provide my own weekly top five in comparison with said rankings.  I’ll start by providing the top five from the “other guy” then rattle off my own with a little piece of opinion on why I think the way I do.  Also keep in mind that I’m factoring in anything that’s happened on Monday or Tuesday which does not factor into the competition’s.

The other guy:

1. Lakers

2. Suns

3. Magic

4. Cavaliers

5. Hawks

6. (Celtics)

My top 5:

Lakers– This is the only spot on the list where we agree.  The champs are looking stronger than they have all year and I’m currently watching them rip the Hornets to shreds.  Until someone beats them down, they stay at the top as much as I hate it.

Magic – Since their sound beating of the then first place Hawks on Thanksgiving the Magic made a big comeback on a scrappy Milwaukee team and beat up on the hapless Knicks in MSG.  Neither of those games are anything to be real proud of but they seem to be playing better than most of the other teams on this list despite losing their starting PG.

Celtics – Maybe there is some bias showing through here but the Celtics seem to be “back.”  Tonight, they thrashed Charlotte in a game that I originally thought would be a trap.  This was on the heels of a very solid victory in Miami over D-Wade and the Heat.  Throw in KG’s knee looking stronger every game and I think it’s safe to say the Celtics are starting to earn this spot.

Hawks – Atlanta has been playing extremely well and already beat the Celtics at home but they just did not seem to show up on Turkey Day.  Since then they dropped one to a very vulnerable Pistons team that was playing without their top 4 players.

Suns – Phoenix is yet another team to have beaten the Celtics at home and still show up behind them in my rankings.  The luxury of writing these on Tuesday night is being able to see scores like PHO 99 NYK 126 and wonder if D’Antoni’s old team laid down for him.  They will bounce back but until then, they fall just inside my top 5.