2011 NBA Power Rankings

1	Chicago Bulls	Derrick Rose should win the MVP at the end of the season.  Tom Thibodeau should win the Coach of the Year.  The roles are filled in perfectly by Boozer, Deng, and Noah.  Add in Taj Gibson, Omir Asik, and now Kurt Thomas, they can line up down low against anyone.
2	Miami Heat	It has been an up and down season.  Lebron and Wade were number 1 and 2 in scoring for the month of March.  They are the first teammates to do that in decades.  At the end of the day though, playoff basketball is a different beast.  Does Lebron give up like he did last year?
3	Los Angeles Lakers	Through the season, the Lakers were able to hide a little from the limelight because of the talents in South Beach.  Other than 4 three game losing streaks throughout the season, the Lakers have been able to turn it on and off when it matters.  But with 5 straight losses since April 3rd, Lakers fans are hoping that they still know where the switch is.
4	Oklahoma City Thunder	While the Thunder record (54-26) might not justify a 4 spot in the power rankings, the team has changed tremendously since the Kendrick Perkins and Jeff Green trade.  Following the trade deadline, Ibaka upped his blocks per game to over 3.  With Perkins defending the basket, Ibaka is free to roam for weak side blocks.
5	Dallas Mavericks	The Mavericks have been very streaky all season.  With two games until the playoffs, the question is which way will they go.  The Mavericks know what they will get from Dirk, but where is the rest going to come from…
6	San Antonio Spurs	The Spurs are the only team in the West with over 60 wins, but a team with not as much talent and old legs has looked a little slower the last few weeks in the season.  Can the Spurs match up to a very physical Memphis in the first round?
7	Denver Nuggets	The Nuggets have been incredibly well rounded, versatile, and fun to watch since the offensive black hole, Carmelo Anthony, released his hostages.  The new Nuggets are fast, defensive, and explosive.  The biggest concern is finding a closer, and when everyone else steps up their efforts, will the Nuggets have another level?
8	Portland Trail Blazers	Portland is currently 18-1 odds to win the Finals.  With a physical starting group of Andre Miller, Wesley Matthews, Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Marcus Camby and a bench of Roy, Fernandez, and Batum, this team can step up physically to any other team in the West.
9	Memphis Grizzlies	Memphis has three of the best wing defenders in the game with Sam Young, Tony Allen, and Shane Battier.  With Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, the most underrated All-Star snub, banging down low, the Spurs guards and big men will be well pressed to find an easy basket.
10	Boston Celtics	Last year after Christmas, Boston went 26-26, and fans and media alike were counting them out.  Hope is still alive that the same thing happens again this season.
11	Orlando Magic	The Magic season has been wish washy.  The team is Howard and hoards of shooters floating on the outside.  With a first round matchup with the Hawks, the Magic catch a break playing a team that has struggled since the All-Star break.
12	New Orleans Hornets	The loss of David West doesn’t leave much hope for the playoffs, but it does leave some hope for resigning West in what could be CP3’s last year.
13	New York Knicks	The Knicks have obvious stars in Amare and Carmelo, but in creating a team with such star power, the depth has been completely removed from the team.  The Knicks have good building blocks, but it will be another year or two before this team can compete.
14	Philadelphia 76ers	A huge surprise this season, the Sixers have performed way above expectations with new coach Doug Collins.  The bigger surprise is that much of this season’s push came without No. 2 overall pick Evan Turner.
15	Houston Rockets	The Rockets have the opposite problem of the Knicks.  The Rockets have been so deep this season that no player ever got any sort of rhythm.  The big question for the Rockets this offseason, what do we do with Yao?
16	Indiana Pacers	Frank Vogel took over the team midseason, and he has had a 20-17 run.  That should be enough to at least get a head job somewhere next season.  The young core of the team is there with Hibbert, Collison, George, and Hansbrough stepping up as of late, but Granger is not enough to carry the team.  They have cap space, and they need a little help getting over the top.
17	Golden State Warriors	Golden State has loads of young talent and absolutely no defense.  The backcourt of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry is explosive offensively, but both smaller guards have problems handling opposing guards on defense.
18	Phoenix Suns	The Suns are floating around in no man’s land.  With management unwilling to let Nash move to a new team, the Suns are left with only one real starter for the future in new acquisition Marcin Gortat.  What used to be a fun team with personality has been doomed for the lottery with the loss of Amare and the addition of Vince Carter.
19	Atlanta Hawks	The Hawks team often looks like the Atlanta fans: disinterested and apathetic.  The offense most commonly regresses to “IsoJoe.”  Unfortunately, Joe Johnson cannot carry an offense like Lebron.  The best question now… where is Josh Smith going to end up?
20	Milwaukee Bucks	The Bucks were expecting more from a team with several free agent additions to a surprising team last year.  But signing players that have struggled to find a winning team like Gooden, Maggette, and Salmons should have been a warning that there was no need to Fear the Deer.
21	Utah Jazz	In a year that Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams both left Utah, the future looks very different than it did at the beginning of the season.  Utah definitely missed Boozer, as Al Jefferson couldn’t replace Boozer’s athleticism.  Now with Favors, Heyward, and a couple early picks, the Jazz are looking to rebuild quickly.
22	Los Angeles Clippers	The Clippers were a great team to watch this year.  Blake Griffin was flying around the court.  Eric Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, and an engaged Baron Davis looked like a team that nobody wanted to play.  Unfortunately, that is where the roster ended.  An All-Star last year, Chris Kaman didn’t offer much of anything in the games that he was able to play.  If the Clippers can add a solid 3 to the lineup, then this team could be the best in LA in 2 years.
23	Charlotte Bobcats	What is Jordan doing?  There isn’t any talent on this team after Stephen Jackson.  Considering what other teams have gotten in return for their talent, the Bobcats have completely missed out.  Expect the Bobcats to stay below 20 for the next several years.
24	New Jersey Nets	The Deron Williams trade will either be a great move or a terrible move.  So much of that depends on him staying in NJ/Brooklyn.  With the 1 and 5 in place and with Humphries rebounding out of control, the Nets need to look for a 2 and 3.  Travis Outlaw’s ridiculous contract isn’t cutting it.
25	Detroit Pistons	This team is a mess.  Joe Dumars is the most hit or miss GM ever to grace the NBA.  After working hard to maintain and build a team that consistently competed for championships, Joe drafted Darko and extended Rip Hamilton.  Now his team protests at practice.
26	Sacramento Kings	There may just be too many hot heads on this team.  There is no veteran leadership to direct Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins.  Sacramento, at least you won’t have to watch the train wreck.  Next year: The Real NBA Players of Orange County.
27	Minnesota Timberwolves	The Wolves bright spot has obviously been Kevin Love.  But during his 53 game double-double streak, the Timberwolves went 13-40.  Minnesota now can build around Love, Anthony Randolph, and crazy Michael Beasley.  But don’t they all actually play the same position?
28	Toronto Raptors	Bright spot: DeMar DeRozen’s progress.  Less than bright spot: Everything else.  Raptors, apologize to Canada.
29	Washington Wizards	Taking John Wall for granted for a second, the secretly good move of the year was adding Jordan Crawford to the Wizards.  Crawford has nine 20 point games in his first 21 with the Wizards.  Ted Leonsis does need to chill out with the “a new big three has announced its arrival – Wall, Crawford, and Blatche.”  Blatche!  Ted, calm down and recognize that nobody in the great Washington area agrees with you.
30	Cleveland Cavaliers	Cleveland fans have one thing to be excited about.  Your owner is willing to pay $12 million for a lottery pick in a subpar draft.   That is essentially what he did by trading Mo Williams for Baron Davis.  The question now is, where do you start?