Post All Star Break Top 10 Power Rankings

[BigDaddyd8720]

Post All Star Break Top 10 Power Rankings

Aaaaaaaaaand we’re back with everyone’s favorite piece of reading material. THE TOP TEN POWER RANKINGS (post All-Star break). We had a lot of movement since the post sim 2 rankings so it should be fun to see where everyone is at now. Of course, there’s still a lot of sim league left so these will surely change again by the time the playoff power rankings come out, but for now, let’s have some fun and see where I think these teams are at right now in the season.

First, let’s take a look back at the previous rankings so we can really see who moved up, down, or not at all. From 10 to 1 the previous rankings were as follows: Nuggets, Lakers, Cavaliers, Supersonics, Nets, Clippers, Trailblazers, Kings, Bucks, Warriors. A lot has happened since the post sim 2 rankings. Spoiler alert! 3 teams fell out of these rankings. So lets, see who moved into the top 10!

10. Utah Jazz (30-22) Previous Rank- NA: One of the 3 teams that jumped their way into this list. Had we done this article two sims ago, this team may have been ranked higher. They were sitting at 25-15 and looking like a surefire playoff team. But they have faltered recently going 5-7 in their last 12. It’s a good thing it seems like the nuggets and clippers aren’t in any hurry to make some moves because the jazz could be watching the playoffs from home again. They currently have the lowest point differential of all the top ten teams. While they do score a lot of points (122.2 per game), they also give up a lot of points (119.3 per game). They need to figure out their defense fast if they want to really feel like they can compete in the West.

9. New Jersey Nets (29-21) Previous Rank- #6: They were finally able to restore Fat Lever’s potentials from when they got hit by the broken leg. But even then, they still couldn’t take control of a weak division, even when the bullets were struggling to start the season. They are pretty much middle of the pack in pretty much every team category. I mentioned last time about seeing if they would give Herb Williams more playing time and they did that this past sim. We saw him average 26.4 points per game over the last 5 games. They went 3-2 in that span but only one of those games was against a playoff team. Maybe this team just needs more playing time together.

8. Washington Bullets (31-19) Previous Rank- NA: Another team that wasn’t on the last power rankings list. This team looked like it was on its way to missing the playoffs in a weak conference. But they turned it around and have won 16 of their last 17 games, including 11 in a row. They look more like the team that won 60+ a year ago than the 12-16 team at the start of the new year. Buck Williams and Larry Nance seem like a very dangerous combo underneath for this team. This team is rolling and seem to be on their way to securing the #2 seed in the East.

7. Chicago Bulls (35-17) Previous Rank- NA: This team seemed to have made every right move this past offseason. They basically traded for the Celtics team that made the playoffs last season, traded for Alex English and Marques Johnson, and also signed Ray Williams in free agency. All these moves proved to be incredibly beneficial for the Bulls. They’ve taken care of business within their division and conference. The one knock is that they are 10-9 against the West. Yes it’s a winning record but it’s just another example of how much tougher the west is than the east. That’s not to say this Bulls team doesn’t have a chance at winning it all, just that they are going to have to find some way to improve more in order to be a true contender. But I do feel like this may be one of the sleeper teams to win it all this season. Don’t sleep on the Bulls.

6. Los Angeles Lakers (32-18) Previous Rank- #9: Of course when you trade for the best player in the game, you should move up in the rankings. Probably the most shocking trade we’ll see for a few seasons, I’m not sure anybody predicted the suns moving on from Magic this season. But the Lakers reached out and the Suns felt like they couldn’t pass up their offer. Their points per game have gone up since the trade, which was to be expected and they put together two good sims. But there is still something there that is holding this team back. It’s been 4 sims since the Magic trade and they are still kinda struggling to stay in the middle of the division. They even had two losses to the Supersonics while they were down a starter. That’s not a good recipe for putting together a championship season. I do see this team figuring it out sooner rather than later and taking over the 4 seed and then winning at least one round of the playoffs, but they need to make sure they put it together quickly if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs. Especially since they won’t be able to keep most of the players on this team after this season.

5. Seattle Supersonics (32-18) Previous Rank-#7: This team has steadily gotten better as the season has gone on. It’s hard to say for sure if they would be doing even better considering the fact they were down Darwin Cook for 2 sims but even then, they still held strong and went 8-6 while Cook was injured. Then he came back and they went 5-2. They are slowly solidifying themselves as a playoff team. If they can find a way to stay ahead of Magic and the Lakers, this team could be looking at its first playoff series win. But even with home court, they are not guaranteed a win. They are one game above .500 on the road so they will need to improve on that if they want to make any kind of run in the playoffs. Maybe they make a move at the deadline but unless they want to get rid of a core piece, they may not find many buyers.

4. Kansas City Kings (33-17) Previous Rank- #3: Slight regression from last season but still very much in control of the Midwest division. They finish up a brutal 20 game road trip (how is that even legal?!?!?) and finish up the season with a bunch of home games that should secure them at least the #2 seed, possibly even the 1 seed. 3 players scoring over 20 points a game is going to do wonders for this team in the playoffs. Trading for Toney and Leavell (must have forgiven him quickly) is proving to be very helpful for this team to try and make a run at repeat champions. And even though the Jazz are only a few games behind for the division lead, I do see the Kings holding firmly on to the top spot in the Midwest. Maybe with the Wes Unseld injury we see them make a last minute move at the trade deadline to ensure they have all the pieces they need to make another run.

3. Golden State Warriors (36-13) Previous Rank- #1: How could the #1 team in the West drop two spots in the rankings while still having Malone and Parish on the team? While they still have the #1 scoring offense in the league, their defense is what worries me. It’s nice to be able to score points, but if you can’t stop the other team from scoring either, it just puts more pressure on your team. Playoff teams will find a way to slow them down, just as they did last postseason. If they can tighten up on defense then this team may be the best bet to knock out the Kings and ruin their chances at a repeat title. But giving up 137 points to a team like the Nuggets is not going to help their case. I have all the faith in the world that the Warriors can put it all together this season. This team is incredibly deep and they get loads of production from so many players. Once they figure out how to slow teams down and not give up so many points, watch out.

2. Portland Trailblazers (37-15) Previous Rank-#4: I really wanted to put the Trailblazers at #1 in these rankings but I already had them above the Warriors and I wasn’t sure I could justify them also being above the Bucks (who have the best record in the league). I’ve said it every time I’ve done the Power Rankings, this team is deeeeeep. 8 players with double digit points per game. Currently on a 14 game win streak while playing half the games on the road is really impressive. It looked like they stumbled a little bit but they got right back on track quickly. They do have more road games than home games the rest of the way so maybe we see them stumble a bit again but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if this team continues to win and eventually takes over the 1 spot in the division and the conference. We know the Trailblazers are always going to be competing, it’s just a matter of if they can finally put it all together once they get to the playoffs.

1. Milwaukee Bucks (39-10) Previous Rank- #2: Top 5 offense to go with the #1 defense is gonna be a great recipe for winning. I’m not sure where you attack this team to beat them in a 7 game series. Barring injuries, this team looks like their record suggests, the best team in the league. Kevin McHale is leading the league in scoring and seems to be trying to do his best to knock Magic Johnson off of the MVP pedestal. Maybe they get some help this season and don’t have to play the Kings in the Finals but even then, with the way the Bucks are playing, it may not matter who they go up against. They are looking every bit like the favorite to win it all this season.

If you made it this far, you probably have nothing better to do with your life but I appreciate you reading this article and hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think in the comments

[greepleairport]

~1800 words, +5pts

here's what i think in the comments:

how dare you

note the same sim we lost to the nuggies we beat your #1 ranked team and #1 best defense, too. so ya know...