My Power Ranking has Boston at #2

The Celtics have won nothing. I believe champions and especially dominating ones like Golden State will be the number one team until they win or lose their last playoff game.

This kind of thing is always dependent on health and stamina. If Horford and Tatum did not play today, I doubt the win streak would have continued.

I am giving the Celtics the #2 slot because even though the sample pool is small, twelve wins in a row and how they have been won counts for more than a typical pool of 14 games.

I was hopeful of dropping the Cavs out of the top ten, but until Isaiah makes or fails the comeback, they are an unknown.

I base this list on current standings along with my personal evaluation of individual teams. My tie breakers come from the gut. This is for entertainment purposes only.

1)  Golden State
2)  Boston
3)  Houston
4)  Memphis
5)  Minnesota
6)  Detroit
7)  San Antonio
8 ) Toronto
9)  Denver
10) Cleveland
11) Orlando
12) New Orleans
13) Washington
14) Milwaukee
15) Knicks
16) Portland
17) Oklahoma
18) Clippers
19) Utah
20) Philly
21) Charlotte
22) Miami
23) Indiana
24) Brooklyn
25) Lakers
26) Suns
27) Atlanta
28) Dallas
29) Sacramento
30) Chicago Bulls

Please feel free to say I nailed it or if you disagree with any of the selections.

I expect the Celtics to be able to survive the current injuries. I do not expect Hayward to come back for the playoffs, but if he does, he could give us some Kirk Gibson/Willis Reed production for a winning atmosphere. I think Brad Stevens is playing the role of Terry Francona not worrying about what we see as in bad games from young players but as an opportunity to allow a swarm of raw Dustin Pedroia's to find their way.

Al Horford has taken a leap. The Stevens' Effect works on all players.

Danny is biding his time. A twelve game winning streak usually allows for that. I think history shows that Ainge is his own guy and never satisfied with fan favorite fool's gold. If he makes a move or two at the trading deadline and with picking from retired/free agents, that if he does something big or otherwise seals up any holes, I think that'll signify he thinks we can win it all as in right now this year.

The poll is for where people think the Celtics will be for this year. Regular season is one thing, but playoffs also matter. I am asking people to go with their instincts. Theis has emerged. Brown and Tatum are holding their own. Smart is shooting at historic low numbers, yet he still puts up plus for plus-minus and we are winning games with him as the starting point guard. He is impressive for the assist-turnover ratio. I think his shooting problems are psychological. I think he needs a sports psychologist more than anything. It shouldn't be that tough to be mediocre when you've been playing basketball your whole life.

Last year was good for Marcus. He added the post up and he shows he can drive to the hoop. He needs to stop shooting so much unless he is in the zone. Feed the pig. Starve the bricklayer. Brown was feeling it. He can be streaky. Smart needs to let the offense come to him more like Tatum does. I think Smart and Brad will figure it out. Marcus Smart gives us a chance to win every game. Unfortunately, he can lose us some games if he doesn't start hitting the minimum.

Smart might be the best player in all of basketball if you could isolate out shooting. He should practice free throws and the mid range shot. I watched Toronto back off of him for wide open 15-18 footers. Rondo could hit those. It would help his game. He definitely can't afford to regress from his stellar free throw shooting from last year.

The Knicks are certainly not a better team than OKC. Or a few others you have below them - the Clippers, Portland, Philly.

There's something about Oklahoma I don't trust. I think Carmelo is overrated. I think the league is seeing an increase of parity within its middle class. Poser teams with stars might no longer work. Hard working teams that play together may be rewarded more frequently.

I think the Knicks are addition by subtraction.

Perhaps I am overrating them. My gut says teams with diva are in for a wake up call. I think Philly and the Knicks are similar, but the Knicks are a little more seasoned with their rebuild.

I see stormy weather for Washington. I think Toronto and Detroit are legit for the East. Top four should be us, those two and the Cavs. Cleveland better hope Isaiah comes back and is dominant. I would take LeBron and a healthy Isaiah over Westbrook's hog ball plus Paul George.

Things feel different this year. I think the Clippers are in trouble.

Phil Pressey,
I think you made a huge mistake - you didn't put Lakers at 26, 27, 28 or 29.
I hope you realize it and make appropriate corrections. Thank you.

AK

sinus007 wrote:Phil Pressey,
I think you made a huge mistake - you didn't put Lakers at 26, 27, 28 or 29.
I hope you realize it and make appropriate corrections. Thank you.

AK

Well, even if you place the Lakers in the 2-5 tankathon bracket, that doesn't guarantee the pick will convey. I imagine our first Brad year had to have the worst roster. I think Utah ended up fourth and us fifth due to a tiebreaker. We ended up with the #6 pick. The Lakers could match the first Brad Stevens' year and then we will have to wait for Sacramento.

There is a big scandal out in California which could help add up to more ping pong balls, but that topic is banned.

It's all about the karma. There is always an extra variable or two that can't be quantified or explained.

It forms the basis of all Marcus Smart debates. It is the unknown and unspoken.

I must admit that I did not look closely at teams 1-30 and selected Boston at #2 behind juggernaut Golden State.

dboss wrote:I must admit that I did not look closely at teams 1-30 and selected Boston at #2 behind juggernaut Golden State.

Thanks for voting. I added my list for all 30 teams sort of for selfish reasons. I am not too knowledgeable on basketball except for the Celtics. Then it comes down to which teams play us more often. It really comes down to one's gut.

The main point was yes, where do the Celtics stand in terms of NBA power. The four of us who voted all picked the C's at #2 behind the obvious best team.

Celtics-Houston should be interesting.

With Kyrie and Al back, the Golden State game in a few days should be a barn burner.

Tonight at Brooklyn should be easy. I want the lads to calm down and hit their shots like they're capable. I want more Tatum. He is a pure shooter. I want Brown to be more efficient. I want guys to step up so Marcus isn't forced to heave up shots.

I think Smart is the next question mark. He is shooting worse than ever. It is nice he was a perfect 6-6 in the last one for free throws.

As Smart goes will probably tell how much of a chance we have to win it all. His shooting seems to be the biggest question mark left. He worked hard in the off-season getting into shape and working on his form. Maybe he is about ready to break loose and become a borderline all-star before Jaylen does.

Smart as borderline all-star means we can win #18 this year. If the season ended right now, I have no clue whether Danny would go all in on him or make a trade/let him walk.

Marcus has so much composure in all aspects of basketball that I'm a bit surprised he hasn't done better for jump shooting. He might not fit in if he can't make threes. Or he might fit in, but his flaws and the salary cap won't gel. He really only deserves something like $65 million/five years. If he gets offered Evan Turner and beyond money, I don't see how Ainge keeps him. Maybe I'm wrong and ownership won't mind the luxury tax.

I was waiting for one more year to evaluate Isaiah. It was the same situation. He plays as if he's worth $20 million, but some team would offer him $30 million. I needed to see Isaiah take it up a notch and dominate like Tiny Archibald with not just points but assists. I was happy with his defense as long as his pg skills improved. But then came the trade. It's water speculation under the bridge.

Oklahoma wasn't able to keep Harden. It will be extremely interesting what Danny does over the next couple years. This off-season was exceptional for mixing it up. I try to take it one year at a time because it always changes. Yet, I never bought into the idea that this would take a while. I'm not guaranteeing we will win it all, but I think it can be done.

I voted for the C's to #2. Before the season started I thought that the C's were still another year and another player away (either another cut above average scorer or quality Big) to be serious contenders for the championship. In spite of or because of Haywood's injury, the C's timetable seems to be accelerating faster than I had anticipated. GS is still on a tier above all the other teams.