People LOVE Power Rankings in their sports. Of course, we have one of our own but it’s not your usual rankings where we put them from best to worst team during the week. Every Monday, we look at 10 things in the NBA (well, not just the NBA) and rank them in order how much we liked each thing. Don’t agree with them? You can always make your OWN Power Rankings.
Welcome to the rankings for Week 2 of 25 in the regular season. Ready?
(PHOTO CREDIT: Tony Gutierrez/AP.)
1) Lakers/Mavericks Was a Delight
This game right here was why I love basketball. The incumbent in LeBron James got a triple-double (39-12-16). The new challenger in Luka Doncic also got one (31-13-15). The scoring and facilitating duel was one to watch. We even had a controversial play (more on that later) when Danny Green made the game-tying three to send the game to overtime. And Luka was ballin’ up fools probably in his sleep (again, that concussion protocol did not look great).
We got all the razzmatazz hop skiddily-doo. James called Doncic a bad MF’er. We look forward to seeing more of their match-ups.
And cherish it because LeBron may only have a couple of years left.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
2) That Furkan Shot
It takes BALLS to go for the win on the road. Ben Simmons had confidence in Furkan Korkmaz to bang that three. And the Sixers are still undefeated after winning in the Rose Garden (no one will ever call it whatever current name the Blazers play in).
Bonus round: look at Furkan do the dunk contest in Turkey! Cedi Osman helps him out, too!
(PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.)
3) The Nationals Are Your World Series Champs
I can appreciate anyone’s quest to be the best at what they do. And the Washington Nationals won the World Series after overcoming a 19-31 start, vanquishing the National League favorite Los Angeles Dodgers, and upending the 2017 WS champs Houston Astros.
The weird thing about this World Series is that NEITHER TEAM WON AT HOME. So much for home field advantage in baseball, right?
Congrats to the Washington Nationals!
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ross D. Franklin/AP.)
4) The 49ers are the Only Undefeated NFL Team Left
I don’t watch the NFL as religiously as I used to. But the San Francisco 49ers have always been my favorite and I think it is HILARIOUS that they’re 8-0 and the only unbeaten team left.
Also, I wish to be as handsome as quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
5) Kenny Atkinson’s Visual Aid
This is so unique to basketball. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson put out a “NO DENNIS SCOTT” sign to his players while they were defending. Okay, it’s more like “NO 3-POINTERS.” Let us remind you youngsters that Dennis Scott, who now works as an analyst for Turner Sports, was once a prolific three-point shooter for the Orlando Magic.
It’s just so hilarious to see this in the NBA. I’m just afraid everyone else will start copying and visual aids might get banned in the league.
Josh Hart, this looks familiar. 😂 #Shaqtin pic.twitter.com/hCUuQ37mlu
— Shaqtin’ a Fool (@shaqtin) November 3, 2019
6) Josh Hart Makes Fun of James Harden
OH, JOSH. YOU’RE SO FUNNY.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Ned Dishman/Getty Images.)
7) Shootout at the Capital
It is really amusing that the cities that had teams in the World Series of baseball also had their professional basketball teams playing each other on the same day. And it was extremely memorable because those dudes scored a combined 317 points. The Rockets defeated the Wizards, 159-158. And no overtime was needed.
I think what got on my nerves more wasn’t the lack of defense. It was more the people going, “BECAUSE NOBODY IN THE NBA PLAYS DEFENSE ANYMORE!!!” Never mind that we had a Knicks/Magic game that had a 95-83 tally the same night.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images.)
8) The Brawl in Philadelphia
I laughed when Charles Barkley called it a snugglefest. But I mean, NBA players know they really can’t throw a punch since that’s an automatic suspension.
Still, there was something hilarious and awful about the entire thing. The beef continued on in cyberspace. It’s the new age when fights continue in Instagram instead of a bar. Also, KAT’s mom was NOT happy about what went on. And, of course, it resulted in a two-game suspension for each giant.
Oh, and sorry, KAT, but you tapped out.
9) L2M Reports
As I’ve been told many times by other reporters who have more clout than I do, these L2M (Last 2 Minute) Reports are good for transparency. I do believe that’s a good thing.
The problem is that, while I’ll be the first to defend the NBA officials, it doesn’t seem to fix much. Because these keep happening over and over.
Okay, so Dwight Howard pulled on Seth Curry‘s jersey as Curry attempted to defend Danny Green’s game-tying three. That was bad. So do the Lakers get disciplined? Does Howard get penalized? No. They just get this piece of paper and move on.
So do the officials get a fine? Or even a lecture? Quite frankly, we don’t even know. Obviously, we all want everyone to be better. But other than transparency, what does this do? We can’t have a do-over on the play. The Mavs still lost.
I just fail to see the benefit of these. It’s basically, “Oh, you took the cookie? Don’t do it again.”
And I’m not sure if anyone is getting punished in this cookie shortage.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group.)
10) The Warriors Continue to Fall
It’s so appalling that the Warriors aren’t going to be defeated by other teams; they’re going to be defeated by injuries and circumstance. It is amazing that only ONE out of last year’s roster played in Saturday’s game against Charlotte. They lost the franchise, Stephen Curry, to a hand injury and then lost Draymond Green to an injured finger. They already lost Klay Thompson last June because of a torn ACL.
So this team that had a 5-year Finals run looks remarkably different today. As it stands now, they don’t look like a team that could win 30 in the regular season. Maybe every core member of the Warriors will be back healthy next year but right now? This entire thing sucks.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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