5 Minute Misconduct
Chris Etling - November 29th, 2007Ranking the unrank
There’s been an interesting divide in professional basketball so far this season. Sure, there are a group of solid teams at the top, all of which are championship contenders. After that, though, there’s a group of mediocre teams, and then a selection of rosters that just plain stink.
In the early going, the Suns have struggled to find consistency, even during their eight-game win streak that ended against Golden State on Tuesday night. Leandro Barbosa has been abysmal at the free-throw line, Amare Stoudemire has struggled with foul trouble, and both Stoudemire and Raja Bell have been fighting off injuries.
This may end up being a positive by the end of the season though.
The Spurs have cornered the market on sleepwalking through the regular season and then stepping up to a new level in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Suns have raced through the 82-game marathon…but they generally hit a wall at some point during the postseason. Maybe this will make a differece come April.
Then again, it’s not like the Suns are getting much rest right now; Strawberry, Piatkowski, Tucker and Marks have all been buried on the bench as the starters continue to play heavy minutes.
Still, there have been glimpses of Suns greatness, particularly the 47-point first quarter against Sacramento, an impressive display of shooting (18 for 21).
There’s still a lot of season left, but we have an idea who is worth mentioning and who isn’t. With that in mind, here are the top 16 teams right now, eight from each conference:
1) BOSTON:
The Celtics have had no problem so far integrating their big three, and are playing great defense. But all three veterans are playing 40+ minutes a game.
2) Phoenix:
Their defense is better when Brian Skinner is on the floor. Stoudemire must stay out of foul trouble. Also, Nash’s high turnover rate is a bit of a concern.
3) San antonio:
Typically boring efficient play. Manu Ginobaldy has been effective coming off the bench and is the early leader for Sixth Man of the Year. However, Tim Duncan’s numbers are down across the board.
4) ORLANDO:
Sure, they still paid Rashard Lewis way too much money. But Dwight Howard finally has some outside scoring to rely on against all the double teams he faces, and might be the MVP so far.
5) UTAH:
Carlos Boozer is becoming a ruthless scorer, with a variety of unstoppable moves at his disposal in the low block. AK47 is all over the place as usual, and Deron Williams continue to improve.
6) dallas:
Jason Terry coming off the bench is good, but Devin Harris has been inconsistent and Dirk Nowitzki may disappear at any moment. Still enough depth to be a top contender.
7) New orleans:
Chris Paul is scary good and makes the rest of a ragtag offense move smoothly. Tyson Chandler probably makes the Bulls more sad every game he plays.
Detroit:
Detroit isn’t as good as it was a couple years ago, but they’re still one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, whatever that’s worth. They could stand to get Chris Webber back, though.
9) Cleveland:
The Cavs are finally winning when LeBron gets a triple-double, with two victories last week. One problem: Anderson Varejao recently said he had no interest in returning to the team, thanks to his overblown salary demands.
10) Milwaukee:
Good play from Yi, great play from Michael Redd. Still have to wonder about their ability to keep going at this pace.
11) Denver:
Racked by injuries. With a worn-down Allen Iverson and constant disabled list visitors Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin, this problem isn’t going away any time soon.
12) Houston:
Speaking of injury problems…as usual, the Rockets can’t keep T-Mac and Yao on the floor at the same time.
13) Toronto:
Chris Bosh is solid, T.J. Ford is streaky, and Jamario Moon is exciting. If Bosh remains healthy, the Raptors could be a top-four seed in the East.
14) L.A. LAKERS:
Kobe’s kids won’t keep this up indefinitely, particularly when Derek Fisher realizes he’s not a kid anymore.
15) new jersey:
With Kidd, Jefferson and Carter, they’ll always make the playoffs in the Least. Anything beyond that is too much to expect.
16) Washington:
They’ve played well so far without Gilbert Arenas. Don’t expect that to continue indefinitely.
MINOR PENALTIES:
• So Pittsburgh is supposed to be a top-three team in the AFC, maybe even in the same tier as Indy and New England? Please. They lost to a severely depleted Broncos team a few weeks back, and barely escaped Monday Night Football with an embarrassing 3-0 victory over the winless Dolphins. Sure, the weather was awful, but it’s not like Miami gained an advantage (especially missing all their running backs). Color me unimpressed.