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NBA Power Rankings: New Year, New Number One

By Joe Boikess | January 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Dwight Howard - Keith Allison/Flickr.com

It's been two weeks since the last edition of my power rankings, where the East's mighty trio of Boston, Cleveland and Orlando took the top three spots. But that was last year, and now that 2008 has come and gone, it's time for a new leader: the Lakers. There was plenty of repositioning elsewhere as well, including the Detroit Pistons re-entering the top-10 for the first time since mid-November.1. Los Angeles Lakers (27-5) - Technically the Lakers are still a half-game behind the Celtics for the NBA's best record, but after L.A. beat Boston pretty convincingly on Christmas Day, then downed both Utah and Portland by double digits, there's no question who should be #1.2. Cleveland Cavaliers (27-6) - LeBron couldn't rally the Cavs past the Heat last week on his birthday despite dropping 24 of his 38 in the second half, and I can forgive him for that. But...

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Eight-Second Violation: Tuesday, December 6, 2009

By Zach Harper | January 6, 2009 | Talk Hoops

By Zach HarperMarbury Potential Hard For People To Give Up OnWhat is it about potential, skill sets, and athleticism that makes us all clamor for those who don't deserve the attention? Is it because not even one percent of the world can accomplish the things that we see on the hardwood/parquet floor every night? Is it because we can make anybody in NBA 2K9 a threat to be great?(First side note: It really is true that NBA 2K9 is the Matrix for anyone that we want to turn into Neo and give them free reign on the pixilated battle ground that resides in my XBOX 360. I have seen Kevin Ollie and his mustache drop 62, Steve Francis play like he actually still existed, and Earl Watson perform like Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas settled their difference, had a love child, and named him after Earl Monroe and Matt...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Boston Celtics, Caron Butler, Crab Dribble, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Stephon Marbury, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz

NBA Studs and Duds (Jan. 4)

By Stu Holdren | January 4, 2009 | NBA Noise

Studs:Wilson Chandler, New York KnicksChandler netted a new career high, scoring 31 points in a surprising win over the Celtics. The win was especially crucial for the Knicks as they were riding an eight-game losing streak. Along with his strong scoring effort, Chandler had 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. [boxscore]O.J. Mayo, Memphis GrizzliesMayo was on fire from downtown tonight, sinking 5 of 8 behind the line. He finished with a team-high 21 points and also had 6 rebounds and 2 assists to lead the Grizzlies to victory against the Mavericks. [boxscore]Anthony Parker, Toronto RaptorsParker was lights out tonight, scoring 26 points on an extremely efficient 13 of 16 shooting performance. He also added 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a big win against the Magic. [boxscore]Duds:Jason Kidd, Dallas MavericksKidd got outplayed by a young Grizzlies backcourt and was a virtual non-factor in today's loss. While Kidd...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Anthony Parker, Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd, Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, New York Knicks, O.J. Mayo, Quentin Richardson, Studs and Duds, Toronto Raptors, Wilson Chandler

New Year's Resolutions -- 2009 Edition

By Zach Harper | January 2, 2009 | Talk Hoops

Posted by Brandon GallawaSince last year's resolution article was such a hit and countless people have been clamoring for another edition, I decided to do some research on what NBA players, coaches and teams will be trying to accomplish in the New Year. Here are the NBA's 2009 resolutions: Dwight Howard - Learn a post move. At some point it has to happen, right? Kyle Lowry - Be seen in the same room as MA$E. Until this happens I won't be convinced they aren't the same person. Ricky Rubio - Roll the dice and declare for the draft. Sure he could end up in Minnesota, OKC or Sacramento, but he also has a chance to land in a large market like Washington, LA or Golden State. As Zach's favorite movie Summer Catch would say "If you want big rewards, you gotta take big risks." Jose Calderon - Pull a Tanya...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Andray Blatche, Andre Iguodala, Baron Davis, Brian Scalabrine, Brook Lopez, Chauncey Billups, China, Chris Mullin, Danny Granger, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Elton Brand, Gilbert Arenas, Glenn Taylor, Greg Oden, Jason Thompson, Jeff Green, Joe Alexander, Joe Dumars, Jose Calderon, Josh Howard, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Martin, Kevin McHale, Kobe Bryant, Kyle Lowry, Larry Brown, Lawrence Frank, LeBron James, Luol Deng, Michael Beasley, Mike D'Antoni, Mike Woodson, Nate Robinson, NBA, O.J. Mayo, Oklahoma City Thunder, Paul Pierce, Ricky Rubio, Robin Lopez, Sasha Vujacic, Stephon Marbury, Tim Duncan, Toronto Raptors, Tracy McGrady, Utah Jazz

NBA Studs and Duds: 12/26/08

By Stu Holdren | December 26, 2008 | NBA Noise

Studs:Kosta Koufos, Utah JazzNo Carlos Boozer, no Mehmet Okur, no Paul Millsap. It's no problem when you have Kosta Koufos on your team...wait, what? Koufos, a rookie averaging 4 points per game in about 12 minutes per contest, put together an impressive performance with his newfound playing time. With Koufos in the lineup, the Jazz didn't miss a beat as he scored 18 points and grabbed 8 boards to go along with 2 steals and a block. [boxscore]Chris Paul, New Orleans HornetsAfter finding himself on the "Duds" list last night after a lucklaster performance, Paul redeemed himself by leading the charge in a gritty Hornets win over the Rockets. Paul looked like a new man as he controlled the pace of the game and always kept the Hornets' head above water. Paul dropped in 26 points to go along with 10 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. [boxscore]Sebastian Telfair, Minnesota...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Allen Iverson, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Detroit Pistons, Jermaine O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Kosta Koufos, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, New Orleans Hornets, Sebastian Telfair, Studs and Duds, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz

NBA Stock Market: Rondo Keeping Celtics on Record Pace

By Joe Boikess | December 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Rajon Rondo surveying the floor (Photo via culhanen/flickr.com)

Note: We at MVN Outsider have re-organized our posting schedule in an effort to make our sports coverage more well rounded and timely. For those of you expecting to see the NBA Power Rankings today, that post has been moved to Tuesdays. With these changes, get ready to see more fresh content every day on every major sport. Thanks, and enjoy!Rising:Boston Celtics - Honestly, this team has been on the rise this entire season, piling up wins at a rate that we haven't seen since the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. They now have won 18 in a row and have tied the league mark for the best start (26-2) for a team with two losses. Their recent success has been due in large part to the play of point guard Rajon Rondo. When the team needs him to score, he does it (as we saw on Sunday in the C's win...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA Outsider, New York Knicks

Cavs Improve to 23-4 After Sleepwalking Through Oklahoma City

By Amar Panchmatia | December 21, 2008 | Cavalier Attitude

Highlights ll BoxWhen it comes to ranking how impressive wins are, Sunday night's 102-91 win in Oklahoma was as unimpressive as Friday night's beatdown in Denver was a statement.Sure, you can't really blame the Cavs for this one. They're playing better than any team before them in franchise history, they're arguably right up there with Boston as the best teams in the league, and they just came off a huge statement win on national television.The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the other hand, are none of those.But they killed the Cavs, 41-32, on the boards. This was easily the Cavaliers' worst output on the glass all season. After being lackadaisical on the rebounds during the three games that starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed last week, the Cavs simply looked like they didn't care on Sunday. OKC grabbed 14 offensive boards, including four each from Jeff Green and former Cavalier Joe Smith.Here's...

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Daniel Gibson, Delonte West, Denver Nuggets, ESPN, Houston Rockets, J.J. Hickson, Jeff Green, Joe Smith, LeBron James, Minnesota Timberwolves, Mo Williams, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Raptors Hit Rock Bottom in Oklahoma City

By Michael Montgomery | December 20, 2008 | Raptors Den

The miserable season so far for the Toronto Raptors hit it's low point tonight, as they lost 91-83 to the league-worst Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that won it's 3rd game in 27 tries tonight. This one started out ugly early, as the Thunder used a 20-4 run midway through the first quarter to gain a game-high 22-9 lead with 3:51 remaining in the first quarter. This early lead would prove to be the difference in the contest, as even though the Raptors were able to cut that deficit to 26-17 by the end of the first quarter, the Thunder lead would hover around this 10 point range for the majority of the night, with the Raptors not being able to cut the lead down to a one-possession game until the fourth quarter, which is where it got interesting. Toronto started the fourth quarter on a 9-3 run to...

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NBA Power Rankings: New Year, New Number One

By Joe Boikess | January 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Dwight Howard - Keith Allison/Flickr.com

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NBA Stock Market: Rondo Keeping Celtics on Record Pace

By Joe Boikess | December 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Rajon Rondo surveying the floor (Photo via culhanen/flickr.com)

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, NBA, NBA Outsider, New York Knicks

NBA Stock Market: Ford's play has Pacers soaring

By Joe Boikess | November 13, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal (flickr.com)

A week ago I tabbed the San Antonio Spurs as the team on the rise after Tony Parker led them to their first win of the season. Then Parker went down with a badly sprained ankle, sidelining him for about a month, and the Spurs have since managed only one win. This only proves that things can change in an instant in the NBA. Here's my risers and fallers for this week...Rising:Indiana Pacers - Indiana's schedule to begin the season was about as tough as it gets: games at Cleveland and at Detroit, and two home meetings with the Celtics and Suns. But after starting out 1-3, the Pacers have won their last three after notching a couple wins over the Nets and one against the lowly Thunder. T.J. Ford has carried much of the load during this latest win streak, getting within a few rebounds or assists shy of...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Andrei Kirilenko, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, NBA, NBA Outsider, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Tracy McGrady, Utah Jazz

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