Raja and the Suns made their statement.With just a few weeks left before the playoffs begin, now is the time for regular season “statement wins.” The Cavs beating the Bulls back on Nov. 9 — who cares? (We had to look that one up; don’t think we knew it off-top like that.) But Cleveland’s overtime W over Chicago this past weekend, on the other hand, was hyped as LeBron and Co.’s biggest game of the year so far. Some teams moving up on this week’s Hit List because of statements wins are the Suns, Jazz and Pistons. One of them is your new No. 1 …
30. Memphis Grizzlies — They finally won two in a row, beating the Lakers and Blazers back-to-back on the strength of … Tarence Kinsey? Yup. The rookie from South Carolina (even lesser-known coming out of school than Renaldo Balkman) is dropping 21 points a night over his last four games.
29. Milwaukee Bucks — Giving Dallas a battle was the “highlight” of their latest losing streak, which had hit seven going into Tuesday’s tip with the Hornets.
28. Atlanta Hawks — We’re really running out of ways to say “they stink” and “except for Josh Smith.”
27. Sacramento Kings — Ron Artest is doing his thing (26 ppg in his last three), but overall the Kings look like they’ve given up and are miserable playing with each other.
26. Portland Trail Blazers — Zach Randolph threw a 43-17 on the board before calling it a season with a hand injury. It’s B-Roy’s show from here on out.
25. Boston Celtics — Somehow they can’t even tank right. Paul Pierce goes out (elbow) and they’re still collecting Ws.
24. Charlotte Bobcats — Between Adam Morrison and Walter Herrmann, the hair jokes must be out of control on the Charlotte sports-talk stations.
23. Philadelphia 76ers — Not the worst record in the League, but definitely the least-watchable squad. They need Kevin Durant sheerly for the excitement factor.
22. Seattle Supersonics — Of the three 7-foot projects they’ve drafted in the last three years, only Johan Petro has done close to anything decent this season. So do Seattle go big again with its Lottery pick, or get someone like Corey Brewer?
21. New York Knicks — Falling apart right when they need to come together for a playoff push. The Dime office TV landed on a Knicks/Pacers game from ‘94 on Tuesday, which someone referred to as “the good ol’ days.”
20. Indiana Pacers — So Jermaine O’Neal guts it out for weeks on a bad knee while his team piled up losses, then he finally sits one out and they beat the Spurs?
19. Minnesota Timberwolves — March ‘07 was one of those months, as the Wolves went 4-11. That’s the kind of thing that keeps KG on the brink of blowing town every year.
18. New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets — We don’t need to tell you about this team. We’ll let Desmond Mason handle it. “We Dem Hornets” is the name of the track. Look it up.
17. New Jersey Nets — At least one (Vince) and maybe two (Kidd) of the Big Three could switch uniforms this summer. It’s not time to rebuild, is it?
16. Orlando Magic — Right around March Madness time, Grant Hill fittingly starts to go off. He’s averaged 21 ppg in his last three.
15. Golden State Warriors — They’ve won six of their last nine and showed they aren’t completely helpless without Baron Davis. In that same span they’ve put up 100-plus points six times.
14. Washington Wizards — If Caron Butler is done, the Wizards are done. No doubt Eddie Jordan is contemplating an effort to convince a one-handed Butler to try and give them something.
13. Los Angeles Clippers — The Chris Kaman and Cuttino Mobley they had last year are both starting to show up this year. They’ve overcome so many injuries, it’s too bad their prize if they win a playoff spot (they’re in the driver’s seat for 8th) is a drubbing by the Mavs.
12. Denver Nuggets — Carmelo isn’t giving up on that scoring crown, putting up 28, 32 and 32 points in his last three games. Maybe he actually plays D on Tuesday when he sees Kobe face-to-face.
11. Miami Heat — Dwyane Wade is coming back. That’s all that matters in Miami now.
10. Toronto Raptors — Apparently we had no idea how big clinching a playoff spot was for the folks in Toronto. They’re in, and as of right now have the defending champs in the first round. That could be tough without Jorge Garbajosa and with D-Wade.
9. Los Angeles Lakers — After torching the League in March with 40 points per game, is Kobe switching it up for April? He dropped 13 dimes with a modest 19 points in his first game of this month.
8. Chicago Bulls — Luol Deng had dropped 30-plus points a couple times recently, while Tyrus Thomas had the best game of his season against the Cavs and posterized Josh Smith twice in the following outing. Oh, and Chicago has won five of its last six.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers — A loss to the Knicks with LeBron and to the Celtics without LeBron didn’t take the shine from last weekend’s huge win at Chicago.
6. Houston Rockets — Beast Yao came out in the past two games, going for an average of 37 points, 13 boards and 4 blocks against the Lakers and Jazz.
5. Utah Jazz — Sunday’s come-from-behind win on the road against the Rockets was a statement win. Especially considering that’s likely Utah’s first-round playoff opponent.
4. Detroit Pistons — Rip Hamilton and Rasheed are back and health and the squad is ready to roll. Detroit got its statement win in knocking off the Heat over the weekend.
3. San Antonio Spurs — They won 13 straight before catching back-to-back Ls against Milwaukee and Boston. Then they won six straight before catching an L against Indiana (without J.O.). Signs of vulnerability? Or signs of cruise control?
2. Dallas Mavericks — Maybe they really are a better team than Phoenix and just had a bad day last Sunday, but the Mavs will have to wait until the Western Conference Finals to get another crack at proving it.
1. Phoenix Suns — Housing Dallas for their second win in a month over the team with the League’s best record, the Suns have all their key players hitting on all cylinders: Nash, Matrix, Amare, Barbosa, Raja … even Kurt Thomas is getting work in.
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April 5th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Ozzie says:
No love for the Nets? They won 4 out of their last 5. With Boki (Nachabar)starting to ball it up and of course Miki doing his thing. The Nets will make it to the second round either beating the Cavs or the Raps whoever they play.
April 5th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
Tdot says:
Hahahaha yeah right, the Nets will get smoked by Bron Bron and the Cavs, and if play the Raps, the Raps will win their first playoff series in 5 years against Vince Carter. (how sick of a storyline would that be!?!)
Besides, why should anyone be giving the Nets love? Last time i checked, they were 4 games under .500, and 6.5 games back of the Atlantic Division lead. Being 7th place in a horrible conference, and 2nd in a division with only one good team means absolutely nothing.
April 5th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
Shawn says:
Show my Nets some love, we are a playoff team, I know we are 4 below .500 but we going to step up. Believe that, Cavs or the Raptors it really doesnt matter. We are going to the Second round and who knows from there. RJ needs to get back to all-star form.
April 5th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
shawn says:
damn, nets are going to get owned in the first round by Miami, who is going to catch up toronto. D Wade will show Vince Carter the whiner who an all star is really about. Nets are bad, they are on a winning streak only because their opponents suck.
April 8th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Aria says:
Nobody cares about the Nets… atleast I don’t. All that matters is the DEEE-TROIT PISTONS! But honestly, Nets won’t come close to making it past the Cavs or the Raptors. Sorry dude, but it’s not gonna happen.