NBA Power Rankings: Abracadabra!
Written January 22, 2009 by Jay Horne
1. Orlando Magic (33-8)
The Magic has won 7 straight games and 16 of their last 18. The Magic have posted 6 straight scoring performances over the century mark. However the scoring is not the reason behind the success, but rather the defense. The Magic have the 3rd best scoring defense in the NBA holding teams to 93 points per game meaning Orlando is getting it done on both ends of the court. Tonight the Magic are favored by 5 points over the defending-champion Boston Celtics.
2. Boston Celtics (35-9)
Boston seems to have found the momentum once again winning their last 6 games. Ray Allen has knocked down 24 points on average in his last 3 outings and the Celtics are getting help all over the court shooting 51% as a team in their last 5 games. Boston squares off with Orlando tonight in a big game among the top teams in the NBA.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers (32-8)
Delonte West has a broke wrist and Zydrunas Ilgauskas has a fractured left ankle meaning the Cavs will have some depth issues. They will be expected to struggle in recent weeks. However if the Cavs can’t lose at home (20-0) and earn home court advantage at seasons end, how will they be beat in the post season?
4. L.A Lakers (33-8)
The Lakers knocked off Cleveland on Monday night in a big way 105-88 and have won 6 of their last 8. The Lakers sport the best scoring offense in the league with 108 point average and have reached 100 or more points in 12 straight games. The Lakers have a light stretch of games coming up and the possibility of racking up some wins is likely. The Lakers are 14.5-point favorites against the Wizards in L.A. tonight.
5. San Antonio Spurs (28-13)
The Spurs are officially back on track winning 8 of 10 in the month of January. Tim Duncan is averaging a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Despite the success, New Orleans and Houston are closely behind in the Southwest with both teams trailing two games or less.
6. New Orleans Hornets (26-13)
New Orleans has won 3 straight games and has a rather weak schedule ahead of them in the next few weeks. Also, the Hornets will get 7 of the next 10 of those games at home meaning the wins should keep coming. Chris Paul leads the league in assist with 11 per game and has also been knocking down shots recently giving the Hornets a big lift.
7. Denver Nuggets (28-15)
The Nuggets are treading water since losing Carmelo Anthony (21ppg, 7rpg) to a broken hand. Denver has split their last 4 games. The Nuggets desperately need to rattle off a few wins before they embark on an 8 game road trip to start off the month of February. However, Anthony should be back around the start of February ready to help the Nuggets on that long road trip.
8. Houston Rockets (27-16)
The Rockets are doing everything necessary to stay right with New Orleans and San Antonio. The Rockets have knocked off 3 straight wins and 6 of their last 7. The Stage is set for the Rockets to really gain some ground with 10 of the next 11 games coming from opponents who are well below the .500 mark on the season.
9. Portland Trailblazers (25-17)
The Trailblazers are pretty up and down winning every other game seemingly. However, the Trailblazers really need to take advantage of the Nuggets injury problems and road schedule and try and close the 2 ½ games that separate the two in the Northwest standings.
10. Philadelphia 76ers (20-21)
The 76ers were on life support after the month of December with a dismal 13-18 record. However, Andre Iguodala and Andre Miller have had big nights in recent weeks leading Philadelphia to 7 straight wins before a close loss to Dallas on Monday. Still if the 76ers could make another similar run, things could get interesting.
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