Weekly NBA Power Rankings
By Cortez Strickland PA SportsTicker Staff Writer
PA SportsTicker’s weekly NBA Power Rankings season finale.
1. Boston Celtics - They have taken on all comers and came away smiling. No, for real, they have beaten every team in the NBA at least once.
2. Los Angeles Lakers - Kobe Bryant will add an MVP trophy to the Lakers’ remarkable season.
3. New Orleans Hornets - Chris Paul should be up for a number of awards, but the one that he deserves the most is MVP.
4. San Antonio Spurs - You can’t be called a dynasty without defending your title at least once.
5. Detroit Pistons - Coach Flip Saunders needs to get the Pistons back to the NBA Finals or assistant Terry Porter could be running the show come next season.
6. Utah Jazz - The key to Utah’s return to the Western Conference finals rests on the shooting of Mehmet Okur.
7. Phoenix Suns - General manager Steve Kerr better have his fingers crossed.
8. Houston Rockets - The 22-game winning streak will be all but forgotten if Tracy McGrady falls on his face again in the first round.
9. Orlando Magic - It’s time for Rashard Lewis to start earning his $100-plus million contract.
10. Golden State - I bet team president Chris Mullin is wishing he didn’t trade Jason Richardson away.
12. Philadelphia 76ers - Andre Iguodala and Co. have a tough draw with the Pistons in the opening round.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers - Injuries could send “King James” and his court on an early vacation.
14. Dallas Mavericks - Don’t be surprised if the Mavericks get bounced in the first round again.
15. Denver Nuggets - ‘Melo and AI helped the Nuggets to a 50-win season, barely qualifying them for the playoffs. Now, the most inconsistent team in the league should have a short stay in the postseason.
16. Portland Trail Blazers - Can’t wait to see Greg Oden run the floor with Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge next season.
17. Atlanta Hawks - “Hotlanta” is buzzing with its first playoff berth in nine years. Too bad, it won’t be for long after a first-round matchup against the Celtics.
18. Toronto Raptors - What happened to Andrea Bargnani’s breakout season?
19. New Jersey Nets - It’s time to clear house near the Hudson River, starting with Vince Carter.
20. Indiana Pacers - The first move Indiana needs to do in the offseason is find a buyer for Jermaine O’Neal’s contract.
21. Sacramento Kings - Despite battling injuries to several key players, first-year coach Reggie Theus did one of the better jobs this season.
22. Chicago Bulls - Expect a lot of changes in the “Windy City” in the offseason.
23. Charlotte Bobcats - The Bobcats are just one player away from making that leap to be a playoff-bound club.
24. Minnesota Timberwolves - When Boston’s Danny Ainge captures the Executive of the Year Award, he should just hand it over to friend, former Celtic and Timberwolves GM Kevin McHale.
25. Memphis Grizzlies - If it was my choice, Rudy Gay would get the Most Improved Player Award as evidenced by a 10-point jump in his scoring average this season.
26. Seattle SuperSonics - Here’s one alarming stat, Kevin Durant registered his first double-double of the season in the campaign’s finale. Wow!
27. Milwaukee Bucks - The Bucks made a good choice in putting new general manager John Hammond in charge.
28. Los Angeles Clippers - Al Thornton should blame coach Mike Dunleavy for not getting the ROY award.
29. New York Knicks - Fans in the “Big Apple” are counting down the seconds until Isiah Thomas finally gets the boot from Donnie Walsh.
30. Miami Heat - With the first pick in the 2008 NBA draft, the Miami Heat select …
