The Basketball Oracle Power Rankings: Edition #1

Unfortunately we weren’t very active for the first couple of weeks of the season, but now we are back and here are the first batch of Power Rankings!

The Ron Artest Effect

Last season, the Lakers were a fairly mediocre defensive team.  They would constantly be scoring and allowing over 100 points a game while usually playing respectable defense the other teams’ best player, but allowing a role player to have a career night.  But with the addition of Ron Artest, the Lakers are #1 in opponent FG% and opponent 3P FG% this season, while allowing teams to score only 96 points a game while playing at a fast pace.  The main reason for this is the addition of Ron Artest, with a little credit going to the return of Andrew Bynum.  Artest has been one of the best one-on-one defenders ever in his career, and this season is bringing a defensive intensity to the usually offensive-minded Los Angeles Lakers.  Ron Artest has shut down every star player the Lakers have gone against this season, other than Carmelo Anthony, but that should change the next time they face off against the Nuggets.  Artests’ defense is one of the key factors as to why the Lakers are #1 in the power rankings of many websites.

Rank	Team	Record	Description
1	Los Angeles Lakers	12-3	The Lakers have been cruising as of late, and should continue for at least another week or two with their easy, home-loaded schedule.
2	Orlando Magic	13-4	The Magic earned the #2 spot with a Turkey Day blowout of the former #1 seeded Hawks in Atlanta.
3	Phoenix Suns	13-3	The Suns have been the surprise team this season with the best record in the NBA, but they lost badly to the Hawks and Lakers, and probably won’t be able to keep this excellent play up for the remainder of the season.
4	Atlanta Hawks	12-4	The Hawks were another surprise team this season, but a bad loss to the Magic puts them right back below the Celtics and Magic in the standings.  Though, they did have an impressive win in Boston.
5	Boston Celtics	12-4	Struggling early this season, but should turn it around soon and be back at the top of the East in a 3-horse race with the Lakers and Magic for best record.
6	Denver Nuggets	12-4	The Nuggets proved they are a contender with their blowout of the Lakers in Denver, but they have had an extremely easy schedule, as well as the easiest 5-game stretch in NBA history (New Jersey, @ Minnesota, New York, Minnesota, Golden State).
7	San Antonio Spurs	8-6	The Spurs started off the season badly, but have caught fire the past week and are riding a 4-game winning streak.
8	Cleveland Cavaliers	12-5	The Cavaliers are disappointing this season, and it appears that Shaquille O’Neal is not a good fit for them.  They need a Chris Bosh or David West to win a ring for the king.
9	Dallas Mavericks	12-5	The Mavericks have had impressive wins this season, but they need to consistently be able to beat good teams.
10	Portland Trailblazers	12-7	Same problem as the Mavericks.
11	Miami Heat	9-6	An impressive win of the Magic, and a disappointing loss to the Wizards.
12	Oklahoma City Thunder	9-7	The Thunder have been very good this season (for their standards) and have an above .500 record, but don’t expect it to be that way at the end of the season.
13	Utah Jazz	9-7	The Jazz are consistently inconsistent.
14	Charlotte Bobcats	7-9	The Bobcats have been a fantastic defensive team this season, but they just can’t get enough points on the offensive end.  They need a 25+ ppg scorer in order to have any chance in the playoffs.
15	New Orleans Hornets	7-9	The Hornets are 4-3 under new head coach Jeff Bower, but expect that number to increase once Chris Paul is back.
16	Sacramento Kings	7-8	The Sacramento Kings are a legitimate Top 16 team for the first time in a long time.  Impressive at home with a 6-2 record, but terrible on the road with a 1-6 record.
17	Milwaukee Bucks	8-7	The Bucks started out the season as one of the top teams with an 8-3 record, but since then they have only lost.
18	Chicago Bulls	6-8	The Bulls are on a bad 4-game slide due to a tough West coast trip.
19	Houston Rockets	8-8	Started off the season strong, but have faltered lately.
20	Indiana Pacers	6-8	The Pacers need to make some major changes, because no matter how good Danny Granger gets, they will never go past the 1st round.
21	Toronto Raptors	7-10	The Raptors start out every season expected to be a top team with a strong core of Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, and Jermaine O’Neal/Hedo Turkoglu, but every season they disappoint.
22	Memphis Grizzlies	6-10	The Iverson experiment failed badly, but at least now they can give more minutes to young soon-to-be stars OJ Mayo and Mike Conley.
23	L.A. Clippers	7-10	They beat the Detroit Pistons, big deal?
24	Washington Wizards	5-10	Gilbert Arenas + Antawn Jamison + Mike Miller + Caron Butler = 5 wins and 10 losses? At least they have beaten the Cavaliers.
25	Golden State Warriors	5-10	The Warriors are banged up right now, so you can’t expect them to be able to win games.
26	Philadelphia 76ers	5-11	How bad are they playing right now? Well, they are the one team in the league that really SHOULD sign Allen Iverson.  They’re in trouble.
27	Detroit Pistons	5-11	Of the 28 teams in the NBA, they have the longest losing streak at 7 games.  In case you didn’t know, the Timberwolves and Nets were officially merged into the D-League last night.
28	New York Knicks	3-13	The worst team in the league right now.
29	Minnesota Timberwolves	1-15	Well, they are #1 in my D-League power rankings.
30	New Jersey Nets	0-16	Well, they are #2 in my D-League power rankings.

I’m No Punk I Just Want To Be Paid

Coming off something of a disappointing season and the losing of a series in the Eastern Conference Finals in the NBA . One can well understand the urgency of Danny Ferry as GM of the Cleveland Cavaliers . Ferry knows that in order for the franchise to remain relevant and to be still in the good graces of their superstar , LeBron James . The GM will have to surround the player with talent that’s commensurate to James’ liking and his talent.

LeBron James (left) and Shaquille O'Neal seen here prior to the 2006 NBA All Star Game . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ L . Otero ............

Now , while many might question the team’s acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal from the Phoenix Suns via a blockbuster trade, as seemingly is the custom concerning O’Neal. As of late the only thing that one can associate with O’Neal and his game . May well be the fact that he’s still somewhat quicker on his feet than that of former star of the ” The Golden Girls ” , Betty White . Agility and guile are no longer a part of Shaq’s repertoire. But Ferry’s presence of mind may well have been , that in order to keep his erstwhile star happy, he had to do something extravagant. O’Neal’s game though with flashes of brilliance still, as he deems fit to use it. It’s a long way off from what it once was. In Phoenix , he was ill-suited to the team’s up tempo style. And seeing him lumbering up and down the US Airways Arena like a pregnant pachyderm wasn’t at all how one likes to remember the once dominant superstar.

In the midst of this all we now have to remember that James is in the final year of his contract. And with the gluttony of elite free agents due in 2010 . It’s understandable that the player is hedging his bets at present. He’s stated that it is his wish to remain a Cavaliers’ player at present. But it wasn’t so long ago , he was stating that he could see himself spending his entire career with the franchise. That may well have been pleasing to ear of the franchise’s owner, Dan Gilbert . Bearing in mind, that Gilbert got a large cash infusion by selling a minority stake in the franchise, to a prominent Chinese businessman. And he no doubt views having James within the fold , will make the franchise much more of marketing tool for the Far Eastern market. And at the same time raise both theirs and that of James’ visibility, there also in that particular market.

James (center) seen here with Rich Paul (left) and and former high school teammate Brandon Weems (right) at an event for the launch of the new Nike Air Max LeBron VII shoes , held at the Ed Davis Community Center in Akron , Ohio . picture appears courtesy of ap/photo/ Jason Miller ................

Clearly this’ll be a make or break year , for not only James but also for O’Neal and the Cavaliers’ franchise. And if they’re to have any semblance of success. Then it’ll not only James and O’Neall but also the rest of the team to makes themselves all the more prominant in that success on the field of play. The nucleus of the team will be built around James , Mo Williams , Zydrunas Ilgauskas , Anderson Varejao and Daniel Gibson. But much of that’ll also be predicated upon the benchwarmers also contributing to the productivity of the team as well.

And for coach Mike Brown , he too can ill afford to have this team underachieve this season. Anything short of an appearance in the Confernce Finals . And more likely than not , he’ll be out of his position as coach of the Cavaliers. The situation for the franchise is as grave as that !

Source Yahoo Sports in conjunction with AP :

LeBron says he wants to keep his options open

By Tom Withers AP Sports Writer

AKRON, Ohio-(AP) LeBron James is unlikely to accept a contract extension from the Cleveland Cavaliers until after the 2009-10 season, when he can become a free agent.

At an event to unveil his latest signature sneaker for Nike , James , who has given no indication as he plans to leave the Cavs, made his strongest comment yet about to his future. The NBA’s reigning MVP said he signed a contract in 2006 with an option so he could have more flexibility once it expires . cont’d …………….

_________________________________________________________
In order to read this article in its entirety just click on the text headlined link shown above

________________________________________________________

In no uncertain terms, anything less than appearance in either the conference or NBA Finals. And a win of the latter and the probability will be that James will depart from the franchise , where he’s made it his home for the last six years. And as much as it might anguish the Cavaliers’ fans. The player has done as much as he possibly can, given the resources made available to him. That being said when one considers that this time around he’ll have O’Neal in his corner. If he should fall short of what had been previously accomplished by both Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade , with Shaq as a partner . Then the daggers may well come out and questions’ll be asked if James is now merely cashing it all in , merely for the riches from a franchise willing to shell out a king’s ransom for his services.

Global icon or not at the end of the day if it ain’t about the success. Then it’s got to be about those lovely bones !

Report: Hedo Turkoglu backs out of commitment with Blazers

This is a stupid move by him.  Not only does he make himself look unloyal and like a jerk, but he also is now forced to sign for way less or go to the Raptors, who won’t be contending anytime soon.

Yahoo! Sports: Free agent Hedo Turkoglu has backed out of his commitment to the Portland Trail Blazers and could be signing with the Toronto Raptors, a source close to the talks told Yahoo! Sports on Friday night.

Turkoglu had agreed on a five-year, $50 million deal with the Blazers, but changed his mind and could be headed for a five-year, $56 million deal with the Raptors. Toronto would have to renounce three free agents – Shawn Marion, Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker – to create the cap space for Turkoglu.

Apparently, the Blazers are already busy exploring other free-agent options for the $9 million in salary-cap space.

Five years ago, Turkoglu was close to signing with the Phoenix Suns that now-Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo was running, but changed his mind and went to the Orlando Magic.

Rumor: Tracy McGrady for Amare Stoudemire?

This trade would surely help the Rockets a lot and would continue to ensure the Suns as a lottery team next season.  Tracy McGrady would do nothing for the Suns except be injured, while Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa would be great players for the Rockets.  The only good thing is that the Suns would get a backup point guard that they desperately need.

New York Post: According to the same source that disclosed Terry Porter was about to be fired as Suns coach, the Rockets are leaning toward swapping Tracy McGrady’s expiring $22M contract, Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks for Leandro Barbosa and Stoudemire, who owns an escape clause after next season and is demanding an extension this summer to waive it.

Sources: Shaq Traded to Cavs for Wallace, Pavlovic

This deal will surely help the Cleveland Cavaliers since they get a big man who isn’t a jumpshooter (Ilgauskas) or someone with no offensive game (Wallace and Varejao).  As long as Shaq doesn’t clog the lane and slow down LeBron, this should really help the Cavs.

ESPN: The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns have come to an agreement on a blockbuster trade that sends Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland to team with LeBron James, according to league sources.

The deal has been agreed to in principle and is expected to be finalized Thursday according to sources.

Cleveland will send Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic to Phoenix for the future Hall of Famer.

The trade gives the Cavs a player they’ve coveted since February. With center Zydrunas Ilgauskas starting to break down, adding Shaq to the roster gives them a dominant force in the middle. The Cavs were obviously unhappy with their ability to defend Dwight Howard in the playoffs and bringing Shaq into the fold should help.

For the Suns, the move is a straight salary dump. Pavlovic’s $5 million dollar contract next season is only partially guaranteed for the amount of $1.5 million. Factor in the disparities in the contracts between Wallace, Pavlovic and Shaq and the team will save $4.5 milliion next season. However, when you factor in the savings they’ll reap on the luxury tax, it will be closer to $10 million in savings. That savings can be amplified if Wallace decides to retire and the Suns buy him out of his contract for less than the $14 million he’s owed next season.

The trade is a pretty strong admission by the Suns that they screwed up when they traded Shawn Marion for Shaq in February of 2007. Marion was a free agent this summer and, had they let him walk, their savings would’ve been $21 million not the $5.5 million they’re saving in this deal.

When the Suns made the trade they had the best record in the Western Conference. This year they finished in the lottery. With Shaq gone, the question is … are the Suns finally rebuilding?

Sources say that the team would still like to compete. They still have veterans Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Jason Richardson and Leandro Barbosa. They also have the 14th pick in the draft this year and second year player Robin Lopez.

Chris Broussard is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. NBA reporter Chad Ford contributed to this report.

Offseason Report: Cleveland Cavaliers

Offseason Report

The Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James, were eliminated by the Orlando Magic in 6 games in the Eastern Conference Finals after recording the best regular season record at 66-16, as well as having an 8-0 playoff record up until that round.  The Magic were able to beat them with their huge advantage in the frontcourt.  LeBron James is the only frontcourt player on the Cavs that is an all-star, while the Magic have 3 all-star caliber frontcourt players in Hedo Turkolgu, Rashard Lewis, and Dwight Howard.  Orlando also had a huge advantage in bench scoring.  Mikael Pietrus of the Magic outscored the entire Cavaliers bench by himself multiple times, and along with Anthony Johnson and Marcin Gortat, the bench play gave the Magic a huge advantage.  The Cavaliers main concern is acquiring a powerforward or center, and at least 1 bench player.

Unlike the Celtics, the Cavaliers will be doing most of their reconstructing through trades.  Cleveland was offered Shaquille O’Neal for Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic before the trading deadline, but mistakenly they declined.  With O’Neal they would have most likely made the NBA Finals in a primetime matchup with Shaq’s former team, the Lakers.  Since Szczerbiak’s contract is expiring, they can no longer trade him.  The Cavaliers will most likely approach the Suns with a Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic for Shaquille O’Neal deal.  Both Wallace and O’Neal have expiring contracts, but since O’Neal is a far superior player, the Suns would not downgrade their talent with no financial gain. 

The Bucks’ Richard Jefferson and the Raptors’ Chris Bosh are the biggest names that will be availabe this offseason.  Richard Jefferson would be the perfect 6th man for the Cavs, and Chris Bosh would be the perfect big man to go with LeBron James.  With Chris Bosh the Cavaliers would be equipped with a much needed post presence.  Also with the 6’10″ power forward Bosh, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Cavaliers best big man, would still be able to start at center.  Although Richard Jefferson is a small forward, the same position of LeBron, he is able to play shooting guard and would also give the Cavs a deadly small-ball lineup if they decided to put LeBron at power forward and Jefferson at small forward.  The Cavaliers would have a hard time getting both of them since Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace would have to be traded and the Raptors wouldn’t want to give up Bosh for  next to nothing unless absolutely necessary.  Richard Jefferson or Vince Carter could be had easily for just the expiring contract of Ben Wallace or Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Mexico, Here Comes the NBA

Of all the professional sports leagues in the United States, the NBA is at the forefront of expanding its’ product around the globe. Michael Jordan was the first player to become extremely popular in other countries and transcend the game of basketball, and now, players such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are following in his footsteps. David Stern has done an excellent job during his tenure as commissioner of coming up with new ways to promote the game of basketball. The NBA has taken another step to becoming more global, as it announced that a preseason game between the Sixers and Suns will be played in Mexico.

SportsIllustrated: The NBA will play a preseason game in Monterrey, Mexico, between the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 18.

The game will be the NBA’s 18th in Mexico and second in Monterrey. In 2006 in Monterrey, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets before a sellout crowd.

The Suns feature Shaquille O’Neal and Steve Nash, while the 76ers are led by Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand.