To everyone's surprise, in first, we have the Grizzlies. offtheheezy made a number of big reset moves right at the deadline, shipping out Latrell Sprewell, Dwayne Schintzius, Todd Day, among others, in exchange for rebuilding packages, believing this was the right time for him to hit the reset button before, perhaps in his mind, his players lost some value. Given the data as well as his highly competitive record in the Western Conference, the argument is there to show that perhaps he might have been hasty in his move and would have been better off waiting for the offseason? We will never know, but the data after 80% of the season shows that he may have just sold himself out of a championship.
In second, we have the Indiana Pacers, driven by their #1 ranked defense in the league thanks in large part to Kevin Garnett in their frontcourt. With The Big Ticket going down for the remainder of the season and the playoffs, however, the numbers here do not yet capture that part of the tale. It will be interesting to see how far AI can take the team alone come the postseason.
Coming in third are the Dallas Mavericks, led by the best backcourt in the league in Kevin Ollie and Jim Jackson. The Mavs GM recently made comments eluding to the fact that they might miss the playoffs. With eight games remaining in the regular season and with three games separating them and the ninth-place Sacramento Kings, it would be in the Mavs' best interest to hold on as much as they can to that playoff berth. Fully healthy, might they pose a threat to the Portland Trailblazers, who seem to have the first-seed locked up? They have lost 3-1 to Portland in the regular season series, but come playoff time, who knows what might happen?
Portland surprised the world in the offseason by moving young phenom Kobe Bryant for proven superstar and 3x champion, Shaquille O'Neal. Together with superstar big man Alonzo Mourning, those two have absolutely destroyed opposing teams all year long on both ends of the floor, leading the way for the Trailblazers to boast the best record in the league. With Bobby Hurley running the show, the team leads the way on offense with, perhaps surprisingly, a fairly average defense. What is equally surprising is this team not being #1 or #2 on this list.
The Utah Jazz make an appearance in fifth thanks in large part to their #2 ranked defense. They play a slow, grueling, physical, team-based brand of basketball for a team devoid of legitimate stars that have absolutely ravaged opponents all season. They have definitely surprised teams this past season with their play and are definitely going to be a dangerous opponent for any team come the postseason. It is surprising to see them in fifth, but that should go to show that they are not to be taken lightly by any stretch of the imagination, regardless of the lack of starpower they possess.
Other teams to note are the Toronto Raptors, the Los Angeles Clippers, and the Seattle SuperSonics. While these three teams are nothing special in these rankings, both the Raptors and Sonics found themselves to be trade partners in blockbuster deals with the Grizzlies right at the deadline, and so the makeup of their teams as evidenced by the numbers are significantly different at this point. Stay tuned to see how far they go. The Clippers seemed to lead the league during the first half of the season, roughly. Since, as the commissioner put it weeks ago, it would be wise for the team to look into replacing their entire medical staff given they have had notable injuries to starters every single week in the second half of their season. If they can stay healthy in the playoffs, they will be a dangerous opponent as well.
Your turn, what are your thoughts on this? Is it fairly accurate? Very accurate? Does it leave something to be desired? Does this open your eyes to something missed as you look at the standings?
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