Bet NBA Basketball – NBA Power Rankings: April 4
Each week during the heart of the NBA season, and once or twice during the NBA Preseason, we’ll gather the troops around the roundtable and hash out the NBA Power rankings.
The NBA odds are up on which teams will win the NBA Championship in the 2011 season! Join BetUS Sportsbook Today! CLICK HERE NOW!
We check out the stats, looks at the records, and, most importantly, we take a close, close look at the heart of each team. We encourage you to come back each week and see how the nba Power Rankings have changed. Stick with us when you’re ready to Bet NBA Basketball.
The NBA season is literally limping toward the finish line. The theme for this week’s power rankings: veteran teams struggling to stay healthy enough for the playoffs.
(Previous rankings in brackets)
1. (1) Chicago Bulls (56-20): Turns out they’re ahead of schedule. Many of us thought they needed another year of seasoning before they could tangle with Boston and Miami in the East. But the Bulls look like they could reach the NBA Finals this year.
2. (2) Los Angeles Lakers (55-21): Assuming Pau Gasol’s MRI comes back clean, the Lakers are in fine shape as the playoffs approach. Think they just sat back and laughed every time the media said they were struggling?
3. (3) Miami Heat (54-23): The Big Three have posted some of their best united offensive efforts of late. Blah, blah, blah. We get that Miami can win regular-season games. I want to see what happens in clutch playoff situations.
4. (9) Denver Nuggets (47-29): What a story! The Nuggets have won six straight. Maybe general manager Masai Ujiri knew what he was doing with the Melo trade all along. His nice haul is paying off.
5. (6) Boston Celtics (53-23): They’ll be a tough out for anyone but Shaq’s Sunday effort sums up why everyone is concerned about Boston. He returned after a 27-game absence and got injured again in six minutes. These guys are old.
6. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder (50-26): Two-game losing streak shows that they ain’t perfect and they’re unlikely to get past, say, the Lakers should the two meet eventually in the playoffs. But the Thunder look ready to win at least one series.
7. (7) Orlando Magic (48-29): Dwight Howard can only do so much. This year, I foresee an earlier exit than normal for the Magic.
8. (11) Portland Trail Blazers (45-32): Like the Nuggets, the Blazers make for a sneaky low seed. If the Spurs aren’t healthy in time, they could have trouble with the likes of Aldridge and Roy.
9. (5) San Antonio Spurs (58-19): Am I being generous by ranking them this high? Their last victory snapped a six-game skid. Little did we know how valuable Tim Duncan was to that team, even at his advanced age.
10. (8) Dallas Mavericks (53-24): How will fans one day look back at the Dirk Nowitzki/Mark Cuban era? As one of constant success? Or constant failure at the brink of success? I smell another, say, second-round exit.
11. (10) New Orleans Hornets (44-33): Even if Chris Paul has improved, even if this is one of the league’s better defensive teams, I see the Hornets as little more than a “pesky” low seed that steals a game or two from a powerhouse in the first round.
12. (12) Memphis Grizzlies (44-33): If Rudy Gay wasn’t done for the year, the Grizzlies could’ve been an intriguing underdog as a No. 8 seed. But Zach Randolph can’t do it all on his own.
13. (17) New York Knicks (38-38): As much as they may be joining Miami as a team everyone loves to hate, the Knicks can’t be taken lightly in the playoffs. You never know when Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and company will click. A three-game winning streak suggests it may be happening.
14. (13) Houston Rockets (41-36): It’ll probably be too little, too late, but the Rockets deserve credit for pulling out wins when everyone wrote them off.
15. (14) Philadelphia 76ers (40-37): Staying out late for a Lil’ Wayne concert, then losing in an afternoon game the following day shows that the 76ers still have some growing up to do.
16. (16) Atlanta Hawks (44-33): In previous seasons, the Hawks were a team people didn’t want to play as a low-to-mid-tier seed. Remember when they pushed Boston to the edge a few years back? I just don’t see it this time. 
17. (18) Indiana Pacers (35-43): Is there any chance they win a game in round one?
18. (21) Milwaukee Bucks (31-45): I’d still rather see these guys sneak into the No. 8 seed. They’ve been a huge disappointment this season but they still have upside if they get hot.
19. (15) Phoenix Suns (37-39): Steve Nash led them on a nice little run but the overall team talent to reach the playoffs was never really there.
20. (24) Charlotte Bobcats (32-44): See No. 17. Fingers crossed that neither of those two teams makes it.
21. (19) Los Angeles Clippers (30-47)
22. (23) Golden State Warriors (33-44)
23. (26) Sacramento Kings (22-54)
24. (28) Washington Wizards (20-56)
25. (22) Utah Jazz (36-41)
26. (27) Toronto Raptors (21-55)
27. (25) Detroit Pistons (26-50)
28. (30) Cleveland Cavaliers (15-61)
29. (20) New Jersey Nets (23-53)
30. (29) Minnesota Timberwolves (17-60)
