NYKC Power Rankings: 12/29/08

This is the first edition of our weekly power rankings here at NY Knicks Central.  These rankings are based on a mathematical formula that takes into account certain numbers and stats such as offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency, W-L record, and strength of schedule.  To see an explanation of how the ratings are calculated go here.

Here are some things to note in this week’s edition:

• Yes that is the Cleveland Cavaliers at the top ahead of Boston and LA.  Cleveland deserves the credit for simply blowing the competition out of the water.  They have blown out the bad teams they were supposed to and their efficiency ratings are so good that they project an expected winning percentage of .909.  That’s a 74-8 projected record.  No they won’t do it but that’s how good they have been.  A 25-2 stretch will do that for you.
• One team that needs to be in the discussion of the elite is the Orlando Magic as the numbers indicate.  This team is quietly 24-6 and everyone knows they can score with the shooting of Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.  Having Dwight Howard to clean up and mistakes in the lane sure helps a lot also.
• After the slow start the Spurs have climbed back to being a legit title contender as they slide in at #5.  Age and depth is still a concern but at least the defense is back to where it should be.  Roger Mason is a good fit there.
• My one sleeper team going forward is Milwaukee.  Scott Skiles has gotten this team to play really good defense as their defensive efficency is alost identical to that of the Spurs.  They can’t win a title without a legit go to scorer but they’ll be in the mix come playoff time.
• One team that should get hot soon is Portland.  Based on their efficiency ratings they are a low-50 win team and they have played a rather tough schedule.  This young club will be on the rise again soon.
• Enough already.  Here are the rankings in their entirety.

 

Rank	Team	Off Eff	Def Eff	Exp Win %	Win %	Win % L10	SOS	NYKC Power Rating
1		110.5	96.1	.909	.867	.900	.472	85.1797
2		107.6	95.3	.881	.875	.800	.485	83.1553
3		109.7	99.9	.824	.833	.800	.489	79.0927
4		106.4	97.0	.821	.800	.900	.439	78.4622
5		105.4	101.2	.662	.667	.800	.466	65.7458
6		106.8	102.7	.656	.655	.700	.496	64.4195
7		105.7	101.4	.665	.645	.600	.518	63.7806
8		105.7	102.3	.632	.667	.700	.515	63.7345
9		111.0	105.9	.685	.613	.500	.518	62.8088
10		104.6	101.3	.629	.645	.700	.496	62.7767
11		104.9	101.7	.625	.600	.700	.491	61.1641
12		104.8	101.6	.625	.563	.500	.476	57.8949
13		108.4	106.6	.569	.571	.500	.540	55.9746
14		104.1	103.4	.528	.607	.600	.459	55.1944
15		103.4	102.4	.540	.552	.600	.451	54.0618
16		100.5	101.5	.459	.452	.500	.522	46.7308
17		106.6	108.9	.413	.500	.400	.453	44.1722
18		102.2	105.3	.379	.433	.400	.550	41.4588
19		98.9	101.9	.379	.414	.400	.492	40.2924
20		102.7	105.9	.376	.400	.400	.542	40.2234
21		102.7	104.9	.413	.333	.300	.557	39.2425
22		100.1	103.1	.381	.355	.400	.508	38.7524
23		101.7	106.3	.325	.333	.500	.481	36.0705
24		103.3	107.8	.331	.379	.300	.508	36.0104
25		96.7	103.2	.255	.276	.500	.499	31.0036
26		103.0	109.8	.258	.281	.200	.517	28.5221
27		101.4	109.1	.230	.179	.200	.532	24.1829
28		99.4	110.3	.152	.226	.200	.533	21.7180
29		98.9	108.4	.180	.172	.100	.510	20.2945
30		96.1	106.9	.147	.097	.100	.499	16.2495

Coast to Coast: 9/23/08

Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.

• The biggest news of the last 24 hours has to be the retirement of Shareef Abdur-Rahim as the USA Today is reporting.  He played 12 seasons and averaged 18.1 points, 7.5 boards, and 2.5 dimes for his career.  ”I came to grips with the fact that, health-wise, I won’t be able to get back to the condition and level that is needed to play in the NBA,” Abdur-Rahim said. “My right knee has become arthritic over the years, and is to the point where it won’t allow me do the things and play at the level at which I’m accustomed to playing. As tough as it is to come to grips with, it’s the reality.”  
• Hoopsvibe is reporting that the Spurs have signed former Hawk Salim Stoudamire.  This is a good move by the Spurs to bolster their bench.  Their lack of depth and age was exposed in the playoffs against the Lakers.  Stoudamire can shoot it as well as anyone and can become their three point sniper off the bench.  
• The Boston Globe is reporting that the NBA has confirmed that Darius Miles will be suspended for the first 10 games of the season.  Miles’ contract is nonguaranteed but the Celtics want him to contribute and help fill the void left by the departure of James Posey.  Do not expect Miles to make any significant contributions.  You just can’t count on him at the moment.
• The Oklahoman is reporting that the Thunder is expected to reveal the official team uniforms on Monday.  The rumor is that the road unis will be sky blue and the home ones will be white.
• Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer on Mike Conley: “Rudy Gay is the best player the Grizzlies have, and rookie O.J. Mayo will likely be the most talked about. But I tend to think that second-year point guard Conley is the most important played on this year’s team.”  I agree somewhat but I do believe that O.J. Mayo will become a star and end up being the best player from this past year’s draft.
• Chad Ford of ESPN.com is reporting something interesting about the draft class of 2009.  ”NBA scouts continue to offer dire warnings about the NBA draft class of 2009. After two stellar years, thanks to amazing college freshman classes, a draft drought may be on the way.  ”Even if you assume everyone declares for the draft next June,” one longtime NBA executive said, “you’ll struggle to find much star power or depth next year. My scouts are walking around depressed already and it’s September.”"
• Mike Bibby of the Atlanta Hawks on last year’s playoffs, from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “I think we definitely could have beaten them,” Bibby said. “We just didn’t play well on the road at all, and I mean at all. But things happen for a reason. Maybe that was the start for us to excel this season.”

Coast to Coast: 9/22/08

Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.

• There are some professional athletes that get it and there are some that don’t get it.  Dwayne Wade gets it.  LeBron James gets it.  So does Chris Paul.  You can tell how smart and bright these guys are by the way that they carry themselves.  However, Josh Howard is one of those that just doesn’t get it.  A moron said something really stupid.  Let’s just move on.  Realgm.com explains the situation in detail including labeling him as the problem child.
• Meanwhile the AP is reporting that Mark Cuban has said on his blog that Howard realizes his comments were wrong and that he apologized.
• We have talked about the Zach Randolph situation plenty but one possible destination floating around for him to land is Golden State.  The 3 years and $48 million left on his deal is a huge roadblock though to any potential trade.  The San Francisco Examiner is reporting that for the Warriors to acquire Zach, they would likely have the unload another bad contract in the deal such as Stephen Jackson or Al Harrington.  Unlike Randolph, Jackson and Harrington only have 2 years left on their deals.  Also Harrington can opt out after this season but he is set to make a whopping $10 million this year regardless.  It just makes it hard to imagine a trade between the two teams.  I don’t think the Warriors would trade one of their bad contracts for an even worse contract that lasts for one extra year.
• The Orange County Register is reporting that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has made the most obvious statement of the day: that the Lakers gave up less to get Pau Gasol than the Grizzlies originally wanted.  Thanks for that hard hitting analysis Mitch.  You fleeced them, I understand that.
• Slow news day in basketball so that is it for today.  I do want to say congratulations to the US Ryder Cup team who played wonderfully all weekend long in their upset over Europe.  Hunter Mahan, Boo Weekley, and J.B. Holmes were all huge for the home team.  Golf fans need to get to know these names soon.

Zach to Memphis Deal Falls Through

It is now official that Zach Randolph will not be headed to play in Memphis.  Alan Hahn of Newsday has reported that the Grizzlies have decided to pass on a potential deal to acquire Randolph.  The potential deal was supposed to send Randolph to Memphis in exchange for center Darko Milicic and guard Marko Jaric.  The Grizzlies did not feel it was a good enough deal for them to take on the 3 years and $48 million still remaining on Randolph’s deal.  The Grizzlies were asking the Knicks to throw in a first round draft pick for 2009 but this is something that the Knicks just could not afford to do (especially since the Knicks are without their first round pick in 2010).

This is disappointing news for the Knicks as this is the one player that they needed to unload the most.  He has a big contract, does not play defense, has ballhog-like tendencies, and is a bad character guy (I recall reading something about how he demanded a trade in the middle of the locker room), and does not seem like a good fit for Coach D’Antoni’s offensive scheme.  The interesting thing to watch will be how D’Antoni plans to use Randolph if the Knicks cannot unload him before the start of the season.  Will he be in the starting lineup even though he does not appear fit for an up and down pace?  He is a double double guy with All-Star level offensive talent so that will be something to watch.

The other question to ask is if there is another team that might be tempted by the talents of Zach.  I can’t see a team really wanting to take on the big contract at the moment.  Denver could be a possibility as they do not have a really good low post scorer like Randolph is.  If you put Randolph along with A.I. and Carmelo, there will be very few teams that will be able to make stops against them.  However, that would also make the Nuggets the team that is the least interested in playing defense in the NBA, if they aren’t already.

Coast to Coast: 8/29/08

Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.

• The Grizzlies made the big move of the day as they have signed Iranian center Hamed Haddadi as the AP reports.  This was a move the Grizzlies wanted to make to improve the rebounding and defense on their front line.  Does this mean that the Zach Randolph to Memphis talk will die down?  Probably not since they still don’t have a true low post scorer but this was still a nice signing for Memphis.  Haddadi averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds at the Olympics in Beijing.  Terms of the deal have not been released.
• The Canadian Press is reporting that the New Orleans Hornets have signed free agent and former Sun Sean Marks.  Marks is a nine year veteran who is the first person born in New Zealand to play in the NBA.  This adds some needed depth to their frontline.
• The Oklahoma City franchise has not announced officially its nickname being the Thunder but it looks like that will happen soon.  The Oklahoman reports that there was a slip-up in the season ticket plans printout for the Orlando Magic.  For the December 5th game it says, “Magic vs. Thunder.”  You can see the slip here.  Nothing is official though as the announcement is not until September 3rd. 
• The Orange County Register is reporting that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has seen Andrew Bynum working out and likes what he is seeing.  He also expects Bynum to be healthy and ready to go for training camp which starts at the end of September.  I don’t expect Bynum to be great in his first year back from a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.  But the Lakers don’t need him to be great.  They just need a solid 12 points and 10 boards on average from him and they’ll be in great shape.  How about the starting five of Fisher, Kobe, Odom, Gasol, and Bynum?  That’s a lot of length and athletic ability that will be tough to matchup with.
• Also Andrew Bynum’s trainer has given some insight at AndrewBynum.com into the tough workout schedule Bynum has been going through lately to prepare for his comeback season: “It all begins on the track at about 7:30-8:00 a.m. each morning for a serious hour and a half workout. We must begin early because after all,……. this is “Hotlanta” and after 9:30 a.m. one could practically melt!  Immediately following extensive work on the track we move on to resistance (weight) training in the weight room for about a one-hour session.  Basketball is the last activity for the morning/afternoon session and varies from one to three hours.  Later that evening he is again put to the test for one more conditioning activity which usually lasts for about an hour and a half.  That only leaves time for healthy eating and much needed sleep.  This guy is a serious worker; you almost can’t give him enough.”
• The Seattle Post Intelligencer is reporting that even though the lawsuit for the city of Seattle against Clay Bennett and Co. cost the city $2.9 million, the city still came out of it ahead financially.  However, they still came out in the red where it really matters: -1 in the number of NBA franchises.
• The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Rockets forward Chuck Hayes had surgery to repair his broken nose and will be out four to six weeks.  But there is a good chance he will be ready to go for the start of training camp.
• The Miami Herlad has reported that Pat Riley has said that he plans on keep the core players of the current Miami Heat team intact.  So do not expect any major trades or shakeups prior to the start of the season.  However, you should expect some sort of move to help them with their weakness at center as Riley said, “Now, we’re just trying to fortify with pieces. We still need help in the post.”  Jamaal Magloire and DJ Mbenga won’t exactly be huge helps.
• The Miami Herald is also reporting that Thursday August 28th was declared as Wade Day by the City of Miami in honor of his gold medal winning accomplishment.  The Heat also unveiled a banner in his honor at AmericanAirlines Arena.  Some really cool stuff here.  He sure deserves it.
• I absolutely love the game of Rudy Fernandez from Spain who will be joining the Portland TrailBlazers this year.  Apparently I’m not the only one as the Oregonian has some thoughts from his new coach Nate McMillan: “I was so impressed with him that it was to the point where after the second time I saw him, I didn’t sleep that night because I was moving my rotations around.  I swear I did not sleep. I could not sleep thinking about him. Because I’m saying, ‘We can put him here, do this with him, do that with him and Brandon (Roy), and do this… So he’s playing for us. Oh yeah. I see that right now.” 

Zach Randolph to Memphis?

Well the Zach Randolph rumors are starting up again with the possibility that he will be sent to the Memphis Grizzlies.  Memphis has been known to be looking for a good low post scorer and that is what Randolph is.  Memphis was originally intertested in Josh Smith but lost out on that as he is staying in Atlanta.  Memphis apparently isn’t interested in giving up any of its good core players for Randolph though.  The rumor is that Darko Milicic would be sent to New York as part of the trade.

Well I highly doubt that the Grizzlies will be willing to make a better offer.  I know I would have huge concerns about his attitude and lack of defensive ability.  So it comes down to how badly the Knicks want to unload Randolph.  I think this deal has a good chance of going down but not right away.  Donnie will probably keep looking for a better return for Randolph but it’ll definitely be hard to find.  But when you have both Eddy Curry and Randolph, two low post scorers that don’t defend, I think you have to move one of them.  Plus it could be nice to have a big man like Darko off the bench instead of the fatso known as Jerome James.  But there is still a month to go until training camp.  There will be plenty of more Randolph rumors until then.