Writing the Pine

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

1. ATLANTA HAWKS (7), 8-2 – After defeating the Celtics on the road, the Hawks take over the top spot this week.  They have a difficult slate of games this week, however, as they face the Blazers, Heat, and Rockets.  Fortunately for them, they’re all home games.

2. DENVER NUGGETS (8), 7-3 – Bad loss to the Bucks but I’ll give them a pass since it was the second of two straight games, both away from home.  Oh yeah, and they destroyed the Lakers too.  And Ty Lawson destroyed DJ Mbenga.

3. PHOENIX SUNS (1), 9-2 – The Suns were never in the game against the Lakers (although I missed it since I was apparently puking my brains out somewhere on the street that night…thanks tequila).  But I guess that’s to be expected when Amare goes 2-15 from the field (not the me puking part but Alvin Gentry probably puked after that game).

4. ORLANDO MAGIC (4), 7-3 – An embarassing loss to the Cavaliers was sandwiched between two wins against terrible teams.  They stay ahead of the Cavs though because Rashard Lewis wasn’t playing and I doubt Mo Williams plays like that against them again (although he was even better the next night against Miami).

5. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS (10), 7-3 – Despite shooting poorly in the last two games against Miami and Utah, LeBron is getting to the charity stripe at will and it’s making up for his low field goal percentage.  He’s carrying his team as usual.  I expect a 4-0 week from Cleveland even though they have two back-to-backs.

6. BOSTON CELTICS (2), 8-3 – The good news: Paul Pierce was able to play against the Pacers.  The bad news: he was terrible and the Celtics lost as a result.  Terrible loss for the C’s.  Any time you give up 25 points to Dahntay Jones, you know you got problems.  The only other teams to give up at least 25 points to Dahntay Jones in his college and pro career were Princeton, UConn, Maryland, Butler, Central Michigan, the Utah Jazz, and now the vaunted Boston Celtics.

7. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (12), 8-3 – The Blazers have the league’s longest winning streak at six games.  The toughest team in that stretch?  A San Antonio Spurs team that only had Tony Parker for 11 minutes.  Still, the last four games were won on the road.  In their toughest test this season so far, they’ll face the Hawks in Atlanta on Monday.

8. LOS ANGELES LAKERS (3), 7-3 – The Lakers easily disposed of the Suns but have lost two straight since then, including one at home to the Rockets.  It seems like they are missing Pau Gasol more than we thought they would and why should that surprise us?  This is basically the same team that was eeking into the playoffs and had Kobe demanding trades before Gasol came to town (plus Artest of course).  But the Lakers have a pretty easy next few weeks that will help them gain some confidence and momentum until Pau comes back.

9. MIAMI HEAT (5), 7-2 – Why did the Heat drop four spots even though their only loss was to LeBron and co?  They needed a 3-pointer at the buzzer from D-Wade to beat the Nets.  At home.

10. DALLAS MAVERICKS (6), 7-3 – Bad loss to the Spurs who were playing without Parker and Tim Duncan.  But the worse news is that Josh Howard won’t be back until 2010.

11. MILWAUKEE BUCKS (NR), 5-2 – The two biggest regrets I have for my NBA preview: 1) Not putting Xavier Henry on the top 5 NBA prospects and 2) Not putting Brandon Jennings on the top 5 rookies.  Terrible mistakes by me.  Especially the Jennings oversight.  Kid is a stud.

12. SACRAMENTO KINGS (NR), 5-4 – The league’s most surprising team has won four straight since Kevin Martin went down with an injury.  What does that say?  Trade him.

13. HOUSTON ROCKETS (11), 6-4 – Are the Rockets falling back down to earth?  Not with that big victory over the Lakers at Staples Center.

14. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (NR), 5-5 – It’s like he’s at Texas all over again.  Kevin Durant has been playing out of his mind.  Let’s see how he leads his team against two tough road matchups against the Heat and Magic.

15. SAN ANTONIO SPURS (14), 4-4 – A disappointing start for the Spurs to say the least though they can blame it on a minor string of injuries.  They need to pick it up soon though or they’ll find themselves out of the NBA championship picture.

16. TORONTO RAPTORS (13), 5-5 – Tough loss to the Suns.  Could’ve been a real confidence booster.  And why is DeMar DeRozan still starting?

MVP/ROY WATCH

MVP
1.KOBE BRYANT (1) – As long as the Lakers are without Pau Gasol, they’ll be relying heavily on Kobe.
2. DWYANE WADE (2) – Wade’s heroics were needed to steal a win away from the Nets.
3. BRANDON JENNINGS (NR) – There is, perhaps, no player that is single-handedly responsible for more of his team’s wins than Brandon Jennings.
4. CARMELO ANTHONY (4) – Lost to Jennings in their head-to-head matchup.
5. LEBRON JAMES (NR) – LeBron might have something to say about my above statement about Jennings.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
1. BRANDON JENNINGS (1) – Looks like he can get comfortable sitting atop this list.
2. TYREKE EVENAS (3) – Leading his team to success in a starring role.
3. TY LAWSON (2) – You see him posterize Mbenga?
4. TONEY DOUGLAS (NR) – Averaging 18.8 points in his last four games.  Seemsl ike a perfect fit for the D’Antoni offense.
5. TYLER HANSBROUGH (NR) – Shooting only 36% from the field but the Pacers have won all three games he’s suited up in.  But I wonder how his teammates feel about him taking .57 shots a minute.  As a comparison, Durant only takes .52 shots a minute.

A HAIKU FOR BRANDON JENNINGS

Oh Brandon Jennings
You are better than I thought
I am regretful