After a week in which a national television audience got to the see the good, the bad and the ugly of the 2011 Boston Celtics, the rankings. As always, your methodology can be found here:
| Rank | Team | W | L | Off | Def | Road | SOS | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spurs | 40 | 7 | 104.302 (3) | 96.384 (7) | 1.489 | 2.131 (7) | 11.538 |
| 2 | Heat | 34 | 14 | 103.592 (4) | 95.416 (4) | 1.823 | 1.173 (27) | 11.172 |
| 3 | Celtics | 36 | 11 | 101.144 (10) | 93.778 (2) | 1.638 | 1.291 (25) | 10.296 |
| 4 | Lakers | 33 | 15 | 104.333 (2) | 97.552 (8) | 1.677 | 0.929 (30) | 9.387 |
| 5 | Bulls | 33 | 14 | 98.403 (19) | 92.09 (1) | 1.489 | 1.281 (26) | 9.084 |
| 6 | Magic | 31 | 18 | 101.82 (9) | 96.045 (6) | 1.786 | 1.351 (23) | 8.912 |
| 7 | Hornets | 31 | 18 | 98.509 (18) | 94.636 (3) | 1.786 | 2.298 (4) | 7.957 |
| 8 | Mavericks | 32 | 15 | 101.129 (11) | 97.961 (12) | 1.489 | 2.488 (2) | 7.145 |
| 9 | Nuggets | 28 | 20 | 104.597 (1) | 102.292 (24) | 1.677 | 1.755 (16) | 5.738 |
| 10 | Thunder | 30 | 17 | 102.438 (7) | 100.728 (18) | 1.713 | 2.306 (3) | 5.728 |
| 11 | Knicks | 25 | 22 | 102.908 (5) | 101.281 (19) | 1.862 | 1.695 (18) | 5.184 |
| 12 | Hawks | 30 | 18 | 99.803 (14) | 97.786 (10) | 1.896 | 0.959 (29) | 4.871 |
| 13 | Rockets | 22 | 27 | 101.957 (8) | 101.666 (22) | 1.857 | 2.026 (10) | 4.173 |
| 14 | Sixers | 21 | 26 | 98.526 (17) | 97.715 (9) | 1.787 | 1.419 (22) | 4.017 |
| 15 | Jazz | 29 | 20 | 100.554 (13) | 100.182 (17) | 1.714 | 1.634 (20) | 3.72 |
| 16 | Blazers | 25 | 22 | 98.82 (15) | 98.648 (15) | 1.787 | 1.748 (17) | 3.707 |
| 17 | Grizzlies | 25 | 24 | 98.067 (20) | 98.211 (14) | 1.929 | 1.632 (21) | 3.416 |
| 18 | Bucks | 19 | 27 | 94.314 (29) | 95.453 (5) | 1.902 | 2.548 (1) | 3.311 |
| 19 | Suns | 22 | 24 | 102.655 (6) | 103.722 (28) | 1.75 | 1.918 (15) | 2.601 |
| 20 | Pacers | 18 | 27 | 95.912 (24) | 97.854 (11) | 1.711 | 2.008 (12) | 1.778 |
| 21 | Warriors | 20 | 27 | 100.574 (12) | 103.243 (27) | 1.713 | 2.086 (8) | 1.13 |
| 22 | Bobcats | 20 | 27 | 95.716 (25) | 98.07 (13) | 1.787 | 1.31 (24) | 0.744 |
| 23 | Clippers | 19 | 28 | 98.541 (16) | 101.326 (20) | 1.34 | 2.086 (9) | 0.642 |
| 24 | Pistons | 17 | 31 | 97.74 (22) | 102.761 (26) | 1.896 | 2.278 (6) | -0.847 |
| 25 | Timberwolves | 11 | 36 | 97.416 (23) | 102.397 (25) | 1.787 | 2.016 (11) | -1.178 |
| 26 | Kings | 12 | 33 | 95.38 (26) | 100.048 (16) | 1.633 | 1.138 (28) | -1.897 |
| 27 | Raptors | 13 | 36 | 98.039 (21) | 104.127 (29) | 1.857 | 1.975 (14) | -2.256 |
| 28 | Nets | 15 | 34 | 95.231 (27) | 101.583 (21) | 1.857 | 1.672 (19) | -2.823 |
| 29 | Wizards | 13 | 34 | 95.044 (28) | 101.812 (23) | 1.787 | 1.995 (13) | -2.986 |
| 30 | Cavaliers | 8 | 40 | 92.659 (30) | 104.711 (30) | 2.042 | 2.293 (5) | -7.717 |
Last week, we explored the East playoff picture and the flotsam that had to occupy the last two slots – basically who gets the honor to get punched in the face by Miami or Boston – this week, consider the West standings:
- The Spurs, at 40-7 have an 8 game lead in the loss column on anyone else. Really, barring a health related catastrophe, it is foolhardy to discuss anyone else as the top seed.
- The 2nd position becomes very interesting. Right now, the Lakers, Jazz, Thunder, Mavericks and Hornets are ALL within 4.5 games. The swooning Jazz have slipped to 15th in the rankings, 2.5 points behind the rest of our decision set. So, with both the standings and the numbers shifting against them, we might have to strike them from consideration. (also consider their schedule at 20th ranked now, does not figure to get much easier). The Lakers have the qualitative case. Their metrics are the best, and certainly we all expect them to deliver. However, noting their 30th ranked schedule – most of their tough games are coming – while the Hornets and Mavericks have had easier slates. I’m not saying the Lakers won’t grab #2, but there is a very solid case to be made against it. Dallas/New Orleans is a real toss-up. Honestly, I just think Dallas has more answers and room for error than New Orleans, though the Hornets’ defense has been a bullwark all season.
- So if the Top 5 are known (SA, LA, OKC, Dal, NO) and Utah seems to be sliding with their #15 rank, how far can the slide go? Looking at the standings, Denver and Portland take up the 7 and 8 positions for now. However, if Denver deal Carmelo Anthony, this could fade. Portland is just trying to deal with their injury issues. In the above rankings, Denver is #9 while the Blazers are #16, so there is a pretty good case for Denver passing Utah if Melo stays. Otherwise, it is hard to envision the Jazz sliding out of the Top 8. If Denver is out, Memphis seems to be clearly the team, despite Phoenix’ record – Memphis’ fundamentals are clearly better, though their schedule could get tougher soon.
