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That seems about right (for what his opinion is worth).
http://espn.go.com/nba/powerrankings...on/2011/week/2
Spurs moving up and Stein says they may be LAL's biggest threat*.
6 (10) Spurs 4-1 The Spurs have very quietly injected their roster with some quality youth: George Hill, Blair, Splitter, maybe even sleeper Gary Neal. Which is one big reason we keep saying they might be L.A.'s biggest worry out West.
(Notice he forgot Anderson)
Behind: 1) LAL 2) BC 3) MH* 4) NOH 5) OM
Now why exactly are the Heat currently above the Hornets [when they (NOH) beat them head to head and are undefeated?]
*Although I doubt LAL fans are worried yet with that team cruising along but time will tell!
That seems about right (for what his opinion is worth).
Stein had said before the season that we were the Lakers biggest threat though so he was already on our side
People fill the comments section (in ESPN) attacking something he already explained. You might not agree with him but at least bother to read what he says. Anyone reading Stein's rankings knows this, or at least should know this. Same thing happens to Hollinger, 99% of the complaints to his rankings are from people who didn't bother to read the explanation of how the rankings are an automated system based on a formula.
Probably because the Hornets were 11 last week and Miami was 2 last week; both teams going in different directions.
You make a good point. Too many polls are slave to preseason rankings. At some point it's okay to say "oh New Orleans is way better than we thought they'd be" and make an adjustment.
EDIT: Just saw the post above. Stein's explanation doesn't really address the question with the Hornets, who've beaten a lot of really good teams so far (I see he forgot the win over "LA's biggest worry out west"). Unless there's some mathematical explanation of how they calculate "overall power", I'm unsure how the future is dimmer for New Orleans than the teams currently above them.
Not sure why ATL dropped to 9. I still think they're up there with the Spurs.
I think he said they lost to the only playoff team they faced.
Like you say, Miami is (supposed to be) a good team playing irregulary, NOH is (supposed to be) an average team playing really well. If you were forced to place a bet on the chances of either team, would you pick NOH or Miami? I believe Stein keeps things like that in mind.
I don't think Miami's #3 right now. Fact is the Hornets are the 2nd or 3rd best team in basketball right now until proven otherwise. They might be supposed to be average, but they're winning games and playing good ball. My Cowboys were supposed to be a Super Bowl team, but we can't buy a win. The guys on their team made it in the NBA for a reason.
Moving towards that mythical Power Rankings championship.
Only way the Spurs beat the Lakers is if the Lakers suffer an injury or Parker finally develops a consistent 3 point shot....
Both are rather slim...
Little that I saw on Saturday night suggested to me that I was watching the 6th best team in the NBA.
Do you watch basketball? Our success depends nothing on Parker being able to shoot 3's...Only way the Spurs beat the Lakers is if the Lakers suffer an injury or Parker finally develops a consistent 3 point shot....
Both are rather slim...
No ive never seen a Spurs game before
If you watch ESPN, thats all they ever talk about Miami this, Miami that. Judging by the media coverage in this country, it seems that there are only 3 teams in the NBA, Boston, Miami, and the Lakers.
ive said this many times and this is why well always be L.A's biggest threat, because of pop/manu/duncan. period those three are not scared of L.A at all. this is a big deal because L.A uses fear to intimidate their opponent such as the jazz/dallas/NO shoot even OKC really choked.
theres certain players that are intimidated by the L.A squad i know for a fact deron williams turns into a lil when he plays kobs and so did boozer yet they were tough against everyone else. cp3 is also intimidated ill even say parker is intimidated in a way. ppl may say this sounds stupid but if you watch players body language its amazing how much some of these players think kobe is jesus. thats why you hardlyt see kobe talk when he plays us! ginobili always out shines kobe when hes healthy
I find hollinger's automated power rankings to be more useful as they have been far more prophetic in the past.
I also know that the spurs probably won't be ranked as high on hollinger's power rankings as spurs fans might like, but the reason for this is simple - our scoring margins (of victory) have been extremely small - certainly for the past 2 games.
You look at us winning by (almost) the slimmest of margins against phoenix and houston, and then you look at the Lakers who are bull dozing through their opponents, and the disparity between us becomes all the more clear.
And all of this considering the fact that RJ is shooting out his mind at the moment. Once RJ's FG% efficiency inevitably drops (if we go by historical standards, then there is exactly a 100% chance that it will by the season's end) the team as a whole is either going to have to pick up the offensive slack (not likely) or significantly improve team defense.
Elite defense is something that can be maintained through long stretches. 65% FG shooting cannot. Right now RJ is keeping us afloat while we try to get our act together with defense and limiting turnovers, and it's making me nervous. I'm becoming antsy to see the emergence an actually sustainable elite spurs team - one that relies more on defense and less on unsustainable offensive efficiency from certain player(s).
@jester smash so far L.a has only played portland and thats w/out any bigs, so letsw wait until they play the celtics or us for that matter. i agree with the rest of your post though
Dont forget the Spurs...I counted 4 teams....
Hornets dont really have any room for growth while the Spurs, Lakers, Denver, Mavs, Portland do. Hornets are playing at maybe the highest level they'll play all season. Spurs will be the second best team in the West at the end of the day with--if there defense doesn't make serious improvement--a very slight chance at beating the Lakers. d needs to improve if they want to give LA trouble.
It's true that we have a lot of work to do, but come on, man. Even the 05 Spurs struggled against weak compe ion at times. It's not like they destroyed everyone they played.
That said, if our defense doesn't shape up, it's going to be a long season.
Miami hasn't looked terribly good thus far. I think Stein works for ESPN, who won't let employees bag on Miami.
Out of curiosity, why is New Orleans an average team? The average team in the NBA doesn't have two all-star starters, one of whom is the best in the league at his position.
IMO the difference was Manu being Manu.
without him and we are spot on among the Dallas, Blazers, Suns, Hawks of the NBA.
At the beggining of the season, did you have them making the playoffs? (even now I believe they won't make it)
2 All-star starters? Who would it be the 2nd? West?Ahead of Durant, Dirk, Timmy, Pau, Scola, Melo, Odom, Al Jefferson, Griffin, Aldridge, Lee, Randolph, Gay, (even) RJ. He is probably not even in the top5 power forwards or the top 10 forwards in general.
Last edited by Shifty; 11-08-2010 at 03:55 PM.
Right now there is no team in the NBA that is a threat to the Lakers. I doubt any team can prove it in November, maybe a legit threat will emerge in February or March but not now.
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