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!
Let’s see all them NBA happenings from Week 11 of the NBA season.
(PHOTO CREDIT: NBA.)
1) Those NBA Best of 2010s Videos
Looking back at these videos made me realize how great the NBA was this decade. There is no doubt that the NBA is the best it’s been since the early 90s. People can say whatever they want about the three-pointer changing the game but the pace and space style has made it a much more exciting league. And the wide open play and the evolution of NBA players gave us SO MANY fantastic plays.
The dunks. The dimes. The defense. The crossovers. The clutch plays. Relive them all in these videos.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images.)
2) Vince Carter Has Played In Four Different Decades
I like Vince Carter for many reasons. Besides being the only active player left who is older than me, he’s also the first NBA player to play in four different decades. He started play during the 1999 lockout season. Right now, we’re in the year 2020 and he is still going strong. Vince has also played the most seasons at 22.
He has said that he would retire after this season so he’d only break Robert Parish‘s record of most regular season games played if he stayed another season (Parish has 1,611 while Vince is at 1,510). Still, you have to respect his longevity to play that many games at the highest level of basketball.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Tony Dejak/AP.)
3) OKC Is In The Mix
Don’t look now but the Thunder are making a move. Technically, they are closer to the #2 seed Denver (4.5 games ahead of OKC) than the #8 seed San Antonio Spurs (5.5 games behind OKC). Maybe they’re not as bad as we thought they were going to be and we might be underestimating this team.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Los Angeles Lakers.)
4) The Lakers Rejected Everyone in the Pistons
20 blocks against Detroit. That is the most since March 2001. I know we’re more into the pace and space these days in the NBA but it’s pretty cool to see a bunch of big men block all the shots.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Darron Cummings/AP.)
5) Michael Porter, Jr’s Potential
MPJ was once touted as a #1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft but a back injury put him on the shelf for most of his only college season and his supposed rookie campaign in the 2018-19 season. This year, he’s getting some minutes here and there but he did break out for 25 points against the Pacers. The talent is undeniably there and if he continues to develop, the Nuggets could be an even more dangerous team.
We can’t let this play go. WHAT WAS JOSH ALLEN DOING TRYING A LATERAL pic.twitter.com/WpGeN7JchG
— Johnny Kinsley (@Brickwallblitz) January 5, 2020
6) The Bills/Texans Wild Card Game
This was an amazing game in its own way. Bills quarterback Josh Allen did quite a bit from all the pretty plays to the ugly plays.
Allen ran for 42 yards. He even caught a touchdown pass.
He also had many questionable throws (1, 2, 3. And as you see above, he had an amazing attempted lateral which could’ve been disastrous. They were also down 3 points with a minute and change left!
Also, some careless play by the Texans got signaled for a touchdown. Luckily, it was overturned.
What a hilarious football playoff game.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Sevald/Getty Images.)
7) Andre Drummond in Trade Rumors
Andre Drummond has been in Detroit his entire NBA career. He has been to the playoffs only twice in his 8-year stint. Part of me wants him to stay in Detroit his whole career as I have an affinity for players that stay with one team their entire professional stay. But maybe it is time to move on for both parties.
Atlanta has been named as a target. While there certainly is the excitement of Trae Young connecting with Drummond, Atlanta hasn’t been exactly the epitome of winning franchise recently outside of that incredible 2014-15 season. But taking Drummond could be the first step towards respectability.
We’ll see what happens between now and February 6.
Russell Westbrook just miss a wide open dunk then a layup now let somebody do that in #NBA2K20 they would say the game trash, players don’t miss wide open dunks. I got HOF BADGES AND IM A 99 F 2K pic.twitter.com/7sOKHeuZzT
— GotTheGlow (@GotTheGlowGamer) January 4, 2020
8) Russell Westbrook Missed A Breakaway Dunk
Don’t worry, Russ. It happened to Michael Jordan, too.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Darron Cummings/AP.)
9) Sixers Are Not Winning
They are on a four-game swoon at the moment. They only played two games last week but rest didn’t do them any good on the road as they lost both games by double digits. Al Horford and Josh Richardson have aired out grievances. And they got the hot Thunder coming into their house.
Maybe a home game would do them good.
We won’t see this one in Isaiah Hartenstein’s career highlight reel pic.twitter.com/MmFu2lNZZc
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) January 4, 2020
10) Isaiah Hartenstein’s Eurostep
This is how I miss my lay-ups.
P.S. Rest in peace, David Stern. He passed away this week (on New Year’s Day) at the age of 77. We will never forget your legacy.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.