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 and WNBA (or not) in the past week and rank them accordingly. You don’t like them? Make your own rankings!
We are now fully into April. Let’s do this!
(VIDEO CREDIT: House of Highlights.)
1) Miles Bridges With the Jam of the Year?
You watch and marvel. Look at Miles Bridges dart down the middle and tell Clint Capela that he’s unstoppable. View the clip 400 times. And view it 400 more.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Troy Wayrynen/USA Today.)
2) Enes Kanter Grabs 30 Boards
Do you know how hard it is to grab 30 rebounds in a game? An NBA team averages 44.2 rebounds per game this season. Kanter grabbed THIRTY on Saturday. And since 1983, this is only the 16th time we’ve seen a player grab 30 rebounds in a game. That is rare company.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group.)
3) Russell Westbrook Had a Triple-Double Week
The Wizards played four games away from Washington in the last week. What did Russell Westbrook do?
@ TOR: 23-14-11
@ ORL: 23-14-15
@ GS: 19-14-14
@ PHX: 17-11-14
If we go further back, he’s gotten triple-doubles in 8 of his last 9 games. WHAT?
(VIDEO CREDIT: House of Highlights.)
4) Gary Trent, Jr. Had a Good Week
Not only did he score the game-winner against Washington on Monday but he also went for 44 points (only missing two of his 19 shots on Saturday. He is thriving in Canada.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Rutherford/USA Today.)
5) 50-Piece Friday
Jayson Tatum, who has been criticized as of late, went for 53 points to shut the media up. At the same night, Zach LaVine, who is said to NOT be an all-star this year, went for 50 points.
I know it’s the media’s job to talk but maybe we should be a bit nicer on our job description.
6) You Should See Bad Bunny Wrestle
For Bad Bunny (whose music I have never listened to) to wrestle like the pros is no small feat. We’ve seen celebrities from Jay Leno to Mr. T to even Karl Malone wrestle but none of them did that as well and as smooth as Bad Bunny. He was incredible. He set the bar. He IS the bar (man, that is such an old joke now in the wrestling world).
(PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Behnken/AP.)
7) Chris Boucher Had 38 and 19
I think what makes this incredible is how much Chris Boucher has improved over the years. He was picked up by the Warriors before he became a project for the Raptors. Boucher went on to become G-League MVP and G-League Defensive Player of the Year before becoming an important rotation player for the Raptors. What a road he has taken.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Bleacher Report.)
8) Ja Morant Gets It Off The Glass
JA MAKIN’ ME CRAZY.
(PHOTO CREDIT: John Raoux/AP.)
9) The Magic Has Run Out
Well, after a 2-2 start since the deadline, the Magic have lost 5 straight games, capped off by a 37-point blowout against the Bucks. It sucks that the Magic have to reset again but they really didn’t do a great job building a team in the last few years. Oh, well.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Coby Van Loan/Oklahoma City Thunder.)
10) And The Thunder Are on Full Rebuild
Now this hurts. They were flirting with a playoff spot when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was healthy. Now he’s injured and OKC, who have been playoff regulars in the last decade or so, are finally starting over. They’re not going to get a high lottery pick because they had won too much but they have accepted their fate.
But who knows? This might be a quick turnaround.
R.I.P. DMX
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala