http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2005&week=-1
Marc Stein is back and he has not changed.
Marc Stein is back and he has not changed.
ESPN training camp power rankings
- Thread starter piksi
- Start date
I thought it was an ok ranking, much better than Steve Kerr's. The nuggets and rockets still got too much love but at least he recognized that some people would be ticked about it.
Time will tell if the Heat are overrated, but right now they're a team that went to the semis in the east and then got Shaq. Gotta count for something.
Time will tell if the Heat are overrated, but right now they're a team that went to the semis in the east and then got Shaq. Gotta count for something.
For one, it will never be Shaq and Kobe, becasue Shaq is getting older by the day and Wade might have been the ROY if not for 2 others, but he still is no where close to Kobe. Its great to see what he has done till now. But he will have to develop a lot and prove himself much more before he can be there. And the way Shaq works out, we can see that he will be past his prime in a couple of years.
So may be they might do well in the weaker conference and even weaker division but they won't be able to match up the big dogs.
So may be they might do well in the weaker conference and even weaker division but they won't be able to match up the big dogs.
I've got no problem with ranking the Kings #5 in the west.
There are questions that the Kings need to adress: injuries, cohesion, etc...
EVERY team cannot be ranked at the top. Most here would concede the 1 and 2 slots to SA and Minnie. Then ESPN went on a limb and predicted improvements for Houston and Denver (who had big offseasons), you can't have teams moving up without someone else being displaced.
5 is fine for the Kings, I think.
But how about 9th and 10th for the Griz and Lakeshow respectively!! Gotta be big noise in LA and Memphis over that...
There are questions that the Kings need to adress: injuries, cohesion, etc...
EVERY team cannot be ranked at the top. Most here would concede the 1 and 2 slots to SA and Minnie. Then ESPN went on a limb and predicted improvements for Houston and Denver (who had big offseasons), you can't have teams moving up without someone else being displaced.
5 is fine for the Kings, I think.
But how about 9th and 10th for the Griz and Lakeshow respectively!! Gotta be big noise in LA and Memphis over that...
You and I don't often see eye to eye, but on this we are in total and complete agreement.
The Christmas Day game should be extremely interesting, especially from a Kings fan point of view.
Shaq knows how to play to the media and the TV audience. He's going to have a great opportunity to showcase his ability and prove he is still the game's most dominant player. I suspect he'll do it with an enthusiasm and dedication we haven't seen from him in years. He's going to be the shining star...and Kobe is going to have to really be on top of his game to even stay in the picture.
The Christmas Day game should be extremely interesting, especially from a Kings fan point of view.
Shaq knows how to play to the media and the TV audience. He's going to have a great opportunity to showcase his ability and prove he is still the game's most dominant player. I suspect he'll do it with an enthusiasm and dedication we haven't seen from him in years. He's going to be the shining star...and Kobe is going to have to really be on top of his game to even stay in the picture.
I agree with you in one sense. A motivated Shaq in the East can easily win 40 games by himself. He is gonna rip teams apart. I expect a 25-12 season out of him. But, Shaq will also miss 10-15 games with assorted foot/toe injuries.
The thing about Miami though, is outside of Shaq and a budding star in Dwayne Wade, the Heat have no one who has consistently provided decent offense. It will be a tribute to Stan Van Gundy's coaching if the Heat do in fact finish in the top 5 in the power rankings.
The thing about Miami though, is outside of Shaq and a budding star in Dwayne Wade, the Heat have no one who has consistently provided decent offense. It will be a tribute to Stan Van Gundy's coaching if the Heat do in fact finish in the top 5 in the power rankings.
On CBS SportsLine, Mike Kahn has the Kings ranked behind the Pistons, Spurs, Wolves and Pacers, which seems a lot more realistic to me. While there are a lot of Kahn-haters on this board, I thought his assessment was right on:
If the Kings were ever healthy, they might win the West, but that just seems like an impossibility with Bobby Jackson, Doug Christie and Greg Ostertag already hurt and their astonishing recent history.
Here's the link:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/7766632
Kahn also recently rated the top 50 players -- I'm sure someone has mentioned this already, but just in case -- and the Kings and Pistons were the only two teams with four players each in the top 50. The Kings had Peja (14), C-Webb (19), Bibby (31) and Miller (37); the Pistons had Ben Wallace (10), Rasheed Wallace (17), Billups (24) and Hamilton (30).
The Timberwolves, Spurs and Suns had 3 in the top 50.
If the Kings were ever healthy, they might win the West, but that just seems like an impossibility with Bobby Jackson, Doug Christie and Greg Ostertag already hurt and their astonishing recent history.
Here's the link:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/7766632
Kahn also recently rated the top 50 players -- I'm sure someone has mentioned this already, but just in case -- and the Kings and Pistons were the only two teams with four players each in the top 50. The Kings had Peja (14), C-Webb (19), Bibby (31) and Miller (37); the Pistons had Ben Wallace (10), Rasheed Wallace (17), Billups (24) and Hamilton (30).
The Timberwolves, Spurs and Suns had 3 in the top 50.
