People LOVE Power Rankings in sports. It’s pretty stupid. So, of course, I have MY Stupid Power Rankings. I take 10 things from the NBA (or not) in the past week and rank them accordingly. You don’t like them? Make your own rankings!
So let’s get into the tenth week of the NBA regular season! What was cool and what was NOT cool?
1) Happy Holidays!
This was really awesome. On Saturday night, Jrue Holiday and the New Orleans Pelicans went against Justin and Aaron Holiday and the Indiana Pacers. It was the FIRST TIME EVER three brothers played in the same NBA game. That is really cool.
Family first, guys.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Gerald Herbert/AP.)
2) The Pelicans Are Winning
Speaking of Jrue and the Pelicans, they made it a clean sweep in the last week as they have the current longest win streak in the West at four games. And it’s not like they went through ham sandwiches; the Pellies beat the Blazers, Nuggets (on Christmas Day!), the aforementioned Pacers, and the Rockets. That’s a very impressive list.
With the #8 seed Blazers struggling, they still have a shot at the playoffs.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Joel Auerbach/AP.)
3) All That Jazz
Sure, they lost the game to the hot hot hot Miami Heat on the road but a lot of pundits were giving the Jazz a premature funeral. They went 8-2 in their last 10 games. Yeah, it’s been helped by a bit of a soft schedule but what were they supposed to do? Lose?
And that schedule will still be a bit patsy as their next 7 games are against teams under .500. Also, they did a nice trade as they dealt the oft-injured Dante Exum for bucket-seeker Jordan Clarkson. They just need someone to score off the pine and Clarkson is perfect for that. Just hope that he doesn’t give away buckets more than he gets them.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Abbie Parr/Getty Images.)
4) The 49ers Beat The Seahawks In Week 17
Yeah. I’m all about this moment. The Niners finish the NFL season at 13-3 and the #1 seed in a heart-pounding close game that ended in a goal line stand. The next few weeks are obviously going to be more important but this Niner fan will take this moment and be happy.
I can be happy for two weeks!
(VIDEO CREDIT: Mariah Carey.)
5) All I Want For Christmas Is You Hit #1
First off, the video you see a bit above is the updated video of the song.
Christmas songs never become charttoppers here in the U.S. I guess if a Christmas song were to become #1, it would be this one. In a way, it’s surprising it took this long for Mariah Carey‘s classic carol to get there. All I Want For Christmas Is You is a staple during the holidays and some would call it the greatest Christmas pop song of all-time.
The remarkable thing is that this is Mariah’s first #1 song since 2008 (Touch My Body).
(PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Camporeale/USA Today.)
6) Zach Randolph Officially Retired
Sometimes, it just takes ONE team to make a lost star into a beloved one. Zach Randolph was drafted by Portland before he had forgettable stints with the Knicks and Clippers. He had many unflattering labels during those years. When he landed with Memphis, he didn’t get in trouble, played his best ball, and helped the team get to the Western Conference Finals. Randolph is part of the Grit-N-Grind legacy in Memphis and the fans will never forget what he did.
When he was traded to Sacramento, the Grizzlies announced immediately that they would put his number on the rafters after he officially retired. Well, that day came a couple of days ago and we are looking forward to his emotional jersey retirement ceremony with the Grizzlies.
Why is this ranked low? Because it’s bittersweet that he’s done playing in the NBA, that’s why.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images.)
7) Christmas Day Hoops
It was a bit of a letdown. The Celtics ran away from the Raptors. Sixers controlled the game for the most part against the Bucks. And we were tired by the time we got to Pelicans vs Nuggets.
It was fun to see the Warriors upset (is it really an upset?) the Rockets. And the Los Angeles showdown between the Clippers and Lakers came through. I guess we expected too much from ALL of the games.
BUT CAN YOU BLAME US?! IT WAS CHRISTMAS. LITERALLY.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Smiley N. Pool/Dallas Morning News.)
8) Oldheads Talking About Posting Up With The Mavs
So anyone that watches the NBA knows about Inside The NBA. 90s stars Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal are AGHAST that Kristaps Porzingis (yeah, yeah), who is NOT a great post player (even if he ran it with the Knicks under Phil Jackson disciple Derek Fisher), is not going to the post.
Rick Carlisle had an amazing response to this and he mentioned how the post-up is not a good shot. Oh, yeah. Let’s not forget that Dallas has the best offensive rating in NBA history this season. Why would you want to mess with that?
Now I’d be foolish to say that Chuck and Shaq are offering garbage; all of us old people were raised that post-ups are the way to go. But we also found out over the years that it’s not an efficient scoring play. It might be a good decoy; a player can make a pass out of the post for a better scoring play. I also get that the closer you are to the basket, the better chance you’re going to score.
But that’s why Carlisle plays five-out. They have Luka Doncic work his magic while the others set screens, find a spot, cut to the basket, etc. Putting a large man in the post mucks it up. Also, as of now, only 28 players in the NBA score a point per possession on post-ups. Obviously, that would equal to 100 points per 100 possessions. Then you realize that’s lower than the worst offensive rating in the league (Hawks are at 102.9 points per 100 possessions). So, yeah, it’s probably not the best scoring option.
So I kind of get what Shaq and Chuck are going for. But the game has evolved and they should, too. They can still get shots closer to the basket with cuts and dives. That’s less work than bodying up someone on a post, anyway.
Jeff Teague’s inbounds went off Covington’s leg pic.twitter.com/LJbzHtQO7s
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) December 27, 2019
9) Three Inbounds Plays In Half A Second
The game itself was ugly between the Kings and Wolves (a 105-104 DOUBLE OVERTIME final won by Minnie). But the three inbounds plays in half a second of game time encapsulates the entire game. You see the first one above. The second is behind this link. And of course, the third went nowhere with 0.2 seconds left.
Well, like I said, the Wolves won. I mean, SOMEONE had to win this game.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA BandWagon Fan.)
10) The “Spirit” Of Replay
A lot of people were arguing about how the call ruined “the spirit of replay.” They said that “any other time”, this would be out on Patrick Beverley because he was the one that caused the ball to go out of bounds.
Huh?
Last time I heard, it’s about the last player to touch the ball before it went out of bounds. LeBron James touched it last. Of course, it’s out on him.
But people are saying that whenever this situation happens (when Beverley pokes the ball like that), it’s ALWAYS out on the offensive player. Uh, what? No, it’s not. Some can deflect it high and it would be out on the player who pokes it. If a player deflects it low, of course, it would be out on the player because it WENT OFF OF HIM LAST. I don’t even know why this is a debate.
We want to get calls right. So now that a call is deemed right, suddenly we want takebacks and talk about the “spirit of replay”?
It’s not about the spirit of replay. It’s about getting calls right. This was the right call. Now shut up about it already.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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