SI Power Rankings: Wizards 8th

Behind only (in order) the Spurs, Cavs, Lakers, Celtics, Magic, Blazers and Nuggets.

This would be a good time to do your own power rankings. I'm not a huge fan of them, but they do make for interesting discussion fodder.

over 2 years ago Mike Prada 17 comments 0 recs |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

My top 8

Lakers – I lived in houston while Ron was there and moved to LA during the playoffs. I have seen him a lot. He is going to get it done.

Spurs – If healthy the spurs have the talent to play with anyone. TD is still the best two way post player(Dwight Howard is close but needs to get a little better on offense.

Celtics – They may be getting older but they still managed to take the magic to 7 with out KG.

Magic – I am a little skeptical of Carter for Turk swap. Regular season will still win a ton of games. How good they are really depends on what Dwight adds to his game.

Cavs – The cavs suck. Shaq will fall on Lebron and they will both miss the whole year.

Nuggets – A full season with a very talented roster. A little undersized at center.

Wizards – Why not

Mavericks – Great regular season team with even more parts and a great pg. They also have a nice trade chip in Erick Dampier expiring contract.

by forthepeople on Aug 26, 2009 2:59 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

I like the Nuggets, but I think they could be the New Orleans of the 2009/2010 season

They’re easy to root for, but they lost some depth and talent, plus a key player is getting older. I could easily see an injury to KMart or Nene coming up at some point and them going 4 and 8 or something over that stretch, then finishing with like the seventh seed. They still could use a post scorer, too; Nene is great in the open court, but he’s not someone they can dump the ball down to.

by pantslessyoda1 on Aug 26, 2009 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions

You and I have some different criteria! I find them the hardest team in years to root for. They’re constantly yelling, preening, or flexing after dunks or really at any time they can. I find them obnoxious. It’s all made worse because they’re the kind of team that makes such a show when they’re ahead, but somehow they find a way to lose in the 4th quarter.

It is only when they play LA that I could fathom rooting for them.

by MR on Aug 27, 2009 7:23 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree

But mostly because that is too combustible a mix to not blow up two years in a row. At some point, George Karl will lose the plot because he always does (sadly).

"Would you like to shoot me now or wait till you get home." --- Daffy Duck

by George Templeton on Aug 28, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Rec'd

for the “Shaq will fall on Lebron” comment. Hi-larious.

by sierradave on Aug 28, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions

I hope SI proves to be right, but 8th seems awfully high.

by disgrunted on Aug 26, 2009 3:23 PM EDT reply actions

I thought so too

I’m surprised they ranked us ahead of Dallas, New Orleans and Utah.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Aug 26, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Not to sound too homer-ish

but I can see that, at least with Dallas and NO. The Hornets are a little bit better with Okafor, but they’re still pretty thin as far as depth and Okafor might not be able to catch alley oops like Tyson Chandler. Dallas could either be great or they could underachieve again; they’re relying on a bunch of guys who are aging and their biggest addition, Marion, could either return to being one of the top players in the league by playing with a great point guard or else he could continue to have an almost Steve Francis-like drop off as he loses even more of his athleticism. I basically think we’ll be as good as Portland and that we’ll put up similar statistics, so wherever they’re at is about right for us.

by pantslessyoda1 on Aug 26, 2009 8:50 PM EDT up reply actions

We can always rely on you to be homer-ish for our Wiz and for Nick Young… And funny thing is, I love it. And I tend to agree with you.

As far as the rankings, I wouldn’t have the Blazers THAT high. I think the Nuggets are better, despite losing some good bench guys. I don’t like Andre Miller. I don’t think he’ll fit well on the Blazers. I think it’s a toss-up for 8th between us and the Blazers.

New Orleans has some dreadful problems. As highlighted in their playoff performance.
Dallas… They are a tough one. Kidd and Nowitski may be getting older, but they can still ball it up. And Marion? This should be an interesting team to see what happens.
Utah? Still an 8-seed who will lose to the Lakers.

by se7en on Aug 26, 2009 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think it's homer-ish

There are several publications that have us in the top 8-10. I don’t think it’s homerism to agree with it. They’ve got us 4th in the east. Maybe a little optimistic, but certainly not out of line.

I think if you look around and say “let’s say teams play to expectations”. No big breakouts, no big drop-offs or injuries. I think 8-9th is about right for the Wiz. The problem is that we have more question marks than most teams. But any of those teams could suffer a crucial injury and many of the teams below us could take a jump up if someone has a breakout year.

by MR on Aug 27, 2009 7:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Ivan Carter just said the Wiz were 3rd or 4th in the East

on WPL. When Steinberg asked who they would pass to make 3rd, Ivan said “I don’t think Cleveland is going to be as good as people think they will be.”

Interesting, because he knows the team well and hasn’t been much of a homer.

by Aldo on Aug 26, 2009 5:19 PM EDT reply actions

That is interesting

I’d still have to say the Cavs are better than the Wiz, but I really hope Shaq has a negative effect on them.

Krem's Sports Blog

by Matt K. on Aug 26, 2009 8:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Cleveland will do great in the regular season, even better than last year, their depth in every position is pretty amazing. However I’m predicting a second or third round exit. I don’t think the Wizards have a shot at passing Orlando, Boston, Cleveland in the regular season but come playoffs it’s going to be a close series.

by Fundefined on Aug 26, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Glad to see we're in the top 10 but,

LA
Orlando
Denver
Cleveland
Boston
San Antonio
Portland
Washington (we will move up this year, believe that!) Eastern Conf. Finals at least, with a healthy Gil.

by qthaballa on Aug 27, 2009 3:36 AM EDT reply actions

My Top 10 for the NBA and top 8 Eastern Conf

League:
Lakers
Boston
Cleveland
San Antonio
Portland
Orlando
Denver
Washington
New Orleans
Miami

My top 8 in the East
Boston – This is their last shot, and I think they know it.
Cleveland – The Shaq experiment will not end well.
Orlando – I don’t think they realized what they lost by letting Hedo go
Washington – should make it into the 2nd round and maybe sneak past it.
Miami – Assuming Beasley gets well
Atlanta – The sleeper
Philadelphia – Edges out Chicago and Milwaukee for the final spot

by joseroig on Aug 27, 2009 5:28 PM EDT reply actions

I hope you meant Detroit

Philadelphia – Edges out Chicago and Milwaukee for the final spot

Milwaukee will not be anywhere near getting a playoff spot this season.

by lj15 on Aug 27, 2009 9:35 PM EDT up reply actions

Eighth sounds about right

If everyone stays healthy and performs at the level of their last healthy season.

However, we have a fair amount of downside risk. Gil has to prove he’s back, Brendan needs to consolidate the improvements we saw two years ago, Miller and Foye need to find their niche.

At least Gil and Brendan’s injuries were fluky things that are not likely to reoccur in the same way, which is more than can be said for some of the teams ranked ahead of us. In SA, Duncan and Ginobili are dealing with overuse injuries that are likely to reoccur, even with Pop rationing their minutes. Boston’s top four are due to start breaking down- they all have a lot more NBA minutes on their odometers than even Antawn. Ditto with Shaq in Cleveland and Kobe in LA. We also aren’t the only ones with chemistry issues to work through- almost every contender made major changes. Artest, Shaq, Vince Carter, and Rasheed all have histories of clashing with teammates or coaches.

Unlike a lot of the teams ranked ahead of us, we have a lot of upside potential. Our young players could improve, Gil could become a better distributor and start putting in an effort on D, our defensive schemes could improve a lot, etc.

My guess is that a couple of the teams that are ranked ahead of us will implode this year. I bet that at the end of the regular season, we are considered one of the top five or six teams in the league, with a puncher’s chance of winning it all. Next year and the year after, we’ll be one of the favorites. It’s gonna be fun.

by yop32 on Aug 29, 2009 12:17 PM EDT reply actions