Kleeman's Last Word

Power rankings and a Ginobili for MVP push

I will save you the page-long eyesore. If I had to rank teams now--and if my list meant something--here is how I would do it.

1. San Antonio Spurs - Coach Pop told reporters he does not think this Spur team has progressed to point of last year's eventual champion. Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni doesn't buy it. I don't either.

2. Boston Celtics - After a rocky West coast swing, the Celts have regained that stingy defensive identity. Admit it, you did not think this team could be this good defensively. Championship level teams play with a purpose (it also helps to have Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce) and I see it in this squad. Veteran point guard Sam Cassell just joined the Boston party. Good news for them, bad news for everyone else.

3. Detroit Pistons - If Rasheed Wallace decided to give a damn every time he played, he could be the best player in the world. His and the other veterans' sometimes lethargic play concerns me (see entry, Pistons lose to LeBron James in conference finals). However, a young bench and loads of playoff experience make doubting this Eastern Conference giant a stupid move.

4. Houston Rockets - Read the entry below before calling me a homer.

5. Los Angeles Lakers - I must agree with Coach Popovich - a committee should be in place to swat away rotten deals like the Lakers get Pau Gasol for nothing trade with the Memphis have-no-brains Grizzlies. To say that pairing a World-class power forward with the best athlete in the Milky Way Galaxy scares me would be an understatement. Kobe can already beat teams by himself. I shiver when I imagine what he'll do with better players around him. If this team plays better interior defense and gets that opponent field goal percentage down, the Lakers will move up.

6. Cleveland Cavaliers - The Cavs are not a better team than any of the others that trail them on this list. But they have the MVP and a solid supporting cast. Give LeBron James four guys from your local YMCA and the ball and he will win you a ballgame. If Boston or Detroit wants to dance in the Eastern Conference Finals, one of them will have to beat LeBron. Good luck with that.

7. Utah Jazz - Jerry Sloan's bunch plays like a champion at home but falters like clay pigeons on the road. This team should also play much more consistent defense. Memo to West playoff hopefuls: do not draw this team in the playoffs without home court advantage (or leave a player with the same nickname open from behind the arc). Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams surprised pundits with a conference finals trip last season. Anybody with eyes and ears (tuned to the crowd at Energy Solutions Arena) knows it could happen again.

8. Dallas Mavericks - Struggle, schmuggle. The Mavs may have lost two important games to their interstate rivals in the last week, but that means little come playoff time. Call them chokers and underperformers. I don't think this team can win it all, even with a hall of fame point guard now running the offense, but no one will beat them in a series if they treat them like pushovers.

9. New Orleans Hornets - The West is so good, isn't it? How is this stunning squad in ninth place on your list? How can a team with a stealin', assistin', scorin'--I have run out of superlatives for Chris Paul--machine not crack the top six? Answer: the West is good. See above.

10. Phoenix Suns - Shaquille O' Neal has lifted the Suns' rebounding and shot blocking numbers. Trouble is, they also have to guard somebody, which has rarely happened in a miserable stretch of allowing more than 116 points per game. A team with two-time MVP Steve Nash should never be ignored. However, if the Suns want to advance to the NBA Finals, they might do well not ignoring that guy in the corner. Or that guy dunking in the paint. Or the All-Star with a wide open 20 footer. You get the idea.

11. Denver Nuggets - I question this team's streaky defense. Marcus Camby cannot swat or rebound this team to defensive respectability by himself. Still, the Nuggets have two shotjackers in Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony who can torch anybody with sudden scoring outbursts. The latest mile-high victim is number one on this list. When those two pure scorers get going, prepare for a long night and a really cold shower afterward.

12. Orlando Magic - Dwight Howard was Superman at an engaging All-Star Weekend in New Orleans. His team was not so super in a blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. I keep waiting for this team to explode on a furious run. A lot of teams could be inserted here in Orlando's place, but why not go with the team whose second most productive player is an ugly guy from Turkey?

MANU FOR MVP?
My vote would go to LeBron James, but why is Emanuel Ginobili not mentioned in this year's Maurice Podoloff Trophy discussion? What does this superstar and multi-league champion have to do to nudge himself into the MVP talk?

To prove I have not taken up a crack habit, here is a quote from Phoenix Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni from a Mike Monroe piece in the San-Antonio Express News.

“I’ll tell you what,” D’Antoni said, “since watching him in Europe and watching his maturity here, and this is a shame, he’s one of the best players in the world, without a doubt, but he never gets mentioned. He didn’t even make the All-Star team, which is a travesty.

“I think he exemplifies everything you want a player to be: great in the clutch, great at getting after a loose ball, great at defense, great at offense, unselfish; takes a contract for less money to make his team better.

“I don’t think there is one superlative you can say that is too much about him. Not (in San Antonio), but in the world he is unappreciated. Maybe because he is unorthodox, whatever. I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what, you can’t get a better player than him.

“You can debate Kobe or LeBron. Fine. But he is right there in the debate.”

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 11:56 PM