Friday, September 21st, 2007 at 8:00 am  |  108 responses

The first DIRTY 30 of the NBA season

To Rank with POWER

By Sam Rubenstein

What is power? What is better? What is worse? What is good? What is bad? Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet? Why did Judas grab the Romans while Jesus slept? Sorry, I still feel bad that I missed out on this. Not the best way to describe it, but GZA was supposed to perform Liquid Swords all the way through, no other material. Enough sidetracking.

These are what other websites call Power Rankings. It’s a term that I’ve never liked, which is why I came up with The Dirty 30. Simply put, it is rankings from best to worst. It’s a better way to measure how good a team is than W-L record. The Hollinger movement is a little too scientific for my tastes, and I’m sure he has lots of projections based on point differential, PER, age, and so forth, but to each his own. I used to be more into the harsh reality of data than I am today. Back in a previous life before SLAM, my job title was “Data Manager”, although I tried to get them to change it to “The dark prince of data” and I wanted my business card to read “Putting the MAN in data management.” No luck there. As far as lists and data go, between you (all) and me, I find their rigidity restrictive.

This year, like everything else at slamonline, I hope to make the Dirty 30 more of a group effort. Perhaps it can even lead to the current Dirty 30 writer insulting the previous week’s writer, and what’s better than that? This is a fun exercise in creating a list that will no doubt piss someone off more than it should and they will have responses or their own ideas.

Holly MacKenzie gives us our first Dirty 30 of the season. I’m sorry to report this but Marc Stein, Marty Burns, Jeff Dengate, and anyone else writing a power rankings column, your reign at the top is over. It was short like leprechauns if you need another Hip Hop reference. Take it away Holly.

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  • Bryan Posted: Sep.21 at 8:03 am
    first!

  • Gilbert0 Posted: Sep.21 at 8:15 am
    clippers over chicago. really? bulls to win 39 games is an interesting take on the upcoming season.

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Sep.21 at 8:17 am
    Don’t agree with all the rankings, but love the effort. Thanks Holly!

  • Sam Rubenstein Posted: Sep.21 at 8:28 am
    The Bulls should be much higher, but maybe she knows something we don’t? By the way if you click on the categories, it sorts the table.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 8:42 am
    Holly, pretty nice. I’m lovin’ you for the Heat ranking although I think they’ll probably fall more in the 10-12 range. Chicago took a stoning from you but I see them probably more in the Pistons spot. And the Lakers at 13? Problematic, Mrs. Bryant.

  • DeVontae Palmer aka The WONDER BOY Posted: Sep.21 at 8:44 am
    Yeah, Dirk will be swinging a dang white flag when it’s all said and done. I agree with Sam I am, the bulls are rated too freakin low and Miami wins are too freakin high. Miami will be decent, but it all depends how the rest of the senior citizens on their roster step up. play wit it.

  • sean Posted: Sep.21 at 8:47 am
    why are bulls sudenly gonna have a losing record?

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Sep.21 at 8:49 am
    F for effort….lessly garbage rankings. dallas at no. 1? really? hating on chicago? why? holly, in the words of mark jackson “youre better than that”

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 8:56 am
    Shut up Tarzan! F for effort? It’s her first time in. And the first of the season. She’s got nothing to compare her choices to. To quote a certain poster here,”ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ”

  • Benoit Benjamin Posted: Sep.21 at 8:57 am
    I love the dirty 30. Though I’d put the Bobcats and Grizzlies higher. as for the bulls, I see them battling Cleveland and boston for eastern conference crown. But wouldn’t it be much simpler if you just forecast the Suns or Spurs as NBA Champ just yet?

  • nic Posted: Sep.21 at 8:57 am
    holly, in the words of michael jackson “tito, get me a tissue.”

  • DJ Hoop Dreamz Posted: Sep.21 at 9:05 am
    Sorry, I just don’t get nic’s comment… maybe it’s too early

  • K22C Posted: Sep.21 at 9:23 am
    @-Sam? how do you feel about that METS game last night, haha.
    -About the dirty, Houston will not be 52-30, Philly is terrible (not ranked 21st), LAstly i see NY and MIL both being respectively higher on the list. Other than those 4 I am impressed. You kind of had to go with the top 3 like you did. But dont count SAN AN out for the #1 spot.

  • bobby stew Posted: Sep.21 at 9:29 am
    swap charlotte and the clippers spots. L.A. needs to be dropped a few places because either Kobe is going to get frustrated or he won’t have enough help or both. Miami is ranked to high. This is a good preview though.

  • Sam Rubenstein Posted: Sep.21 at 9:29 am
    did that Mets game happen last night? I was hoping I was just having a nightmare.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 9:32 am
    “Meet the Mets, Beat the Mets, come and see the Beaten Mets”.

  • nic Posted: Sep.21 at 9:32 am
    eh dj, it was a half-a$$ed attempt at a joke based off tarzan’s mark jackson inanity. my bad. totally too early – note to self: dont try jokes before coffee.

  • Gumdrop Posted: Sep.21 at 9:34 am
    As a Raptors fan it pains me to say this, but I think you’re sleeping on Jersey a little. I just threw up in my mouth a little.

  • Ken. H Posted: Sep.21 at 9:45 am
    I dont agree with these rankings because there are too many “safe” choices that might work on paper but inevitably turn disastrous, and disastrous teams that surprise everyone. The Heat are going to be god-awful this season. Smush Parker running the point? Cmon, I can’t see that team going higher than 5th in the east.

  • JoeMaMa Posted: Sep.21 at 11:19 am
    I’m not a bucks fan, I don’t rep em, and I don’t really care, but there’s NO way they finish worse than 8th in the East this year. Redd, Bogut, Mason, Villi, Yi, Simmons….not stars, but Redd’s an all star, Bogut/Villi are a year better, Simmons/Mason do the dirty work, Mo Williams makes a good point, and Bell is somehow back in the fold!! And maybe a point or two from Yi!!!

  • Gilbert0 Posted: Sep.21 at 11:34 am
    Oh yeah, Indy should challenge for worst record in the league this year, they should be the worst in the east at least. I think Milwaukee might be better than that as well. Not to hate on Holly but these rankings seem a tad, how do I say, crappy.

  • Gilbert0 Posted: Sep.21 at 11:35 am
    but its all just opinions at this point anyway, so who the hell knows.

  • WTFMAN??? Posted: Sep.21 at 11:38 am
    The Clippers to have a .500 season. Are you serious??? Golden State and New Orleans wont be that high come the end of the season. New York, Chicago, Memphis and Orlando did not get worse over the offseason. Chicago to have a losing season??? Why, because they lost P.J. Brown??? Sam is an idiot

  • h-town nick Posted: Sep.21 at 11:48 am
    Miami ahead of Cleaveland? More importantly, Miami ahead of the Rockets? The Heat supporting cast is so full of players who are washed up parodies of themselves that they could be their own show on VH1. (no hate to slam’s resident eboy intended)

  • Jay Davis Posted: Sep.21 at 11:51 am
    Holly, what do you see that has the Bulls taking that big a step back? I have them pegged to be the 2 seed in the East this year. I don’t see Cleveland finishing that high, either, since Mr. Quicken Loans has made no moves all summer. 1. DAL 2. PHO 3. SA 4. DET 5. CHI 6. UTAH 7. HOU 8. BOS 9. TOR 10. N.J. 11. MIA 12. DEN 13. CLE 14. LAL 15. WAS 16. N.O. 17 MIL 18. GSW 19. ORL 20. NYK 21. PHI (Portland had this spot ’til G.O.’s injury) 22. CHA 23. MEM 24. ATL 25. POR 26. SAC 27. SEA 28. LAC 29. IND 30 MIN

  • h-town nick Posted: Sep.21 at 11:54 am
    I didn’t even notice the bulls that low. How is chicago gonna go from 16 games over .500 to 4 games below it…with the exact same cast of maturing young players. I mean, damn, Noah might not fit in but he’s not gonna take a pipe to Luol Deng’s legs.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 11:57 am
    No hate taken, nick. I know they’re gonna be mediocre for a little while, but I’m hoping they’ll get something together towards the later part of the year.

  • Jay Davis Posted: Sep.21 at 12:01 pm
    I heard somewhere that KD might run the 2 in Seattle. If he gets to work out of the post, he might average 30 a night. I’ve never seen a small forward with the post moves he has.

  • H to the izzo Posted: Sep.21 at 12:02 pm
    Toronto 11!?!?

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 12:07 pm
    Izzo, that equals 5th best in the East. Pretty accurate.

  • H to the izzo Posted: Sep.21 at 12:09 pm
    My mistake,apologies
    Now onto the Detroit winning 55 games thing

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 12:13 pm
    I think Boston and the Pistons can swap.

  • stevenashrox Posted: Sep.21 at 12:16 pm
    i love phoenix and detroit so this is good!

  • H to the izzo Posted: Sep.21 at 12:17 pm
    They really do need a better coach though

  • Jay Davis Posted: Sep.21 at 12:17 pm
    Eboy, I’d agree on the Pistons and C’s swapping thing if Boston had a point guard.

  • Jas Posted: Sep.21 at 12:19 pm
    Golden State at 12??? You do realize they’re not very likely to make the playoffs this year. The following 6 teams are a lock for post-season ball: Spurs, Mavs, Suns, Rockets, Nuggets and Jazz. That leaves 2 spots and 5 teams with a realistic shot at making the playoffs: Lakers, Hornets, Warriors, Grizzlies and Kings.

  • Jas Posted: Sep.21 at 12:23 pm
    You know Kobe’s going to carry the Lakers into the postseason. The Hornets would’ve made it to the playoffs last year had Paul not gotten injured and are going to be a better team this year with the additions of Peterson and Wright. Ditto for the Warriors who have actually gotten worse this offseason.

  • Cloud S.Y Louis Posted: Sep.21 at 12:28 pm
    Lakers 13?????? but not till they trade AK. Buss c’mon do something, save da glory…..look at d’ big apple city, you got da cash …. love to see 24&7&47 together.

  • Rubens Posted: Sep.21 at 12:29 pm
    I just don’t think that the t’wolves will be that bad…

  • Jay Davis Posted: Sep.21 at 12:30 pm
    Wolves will be entertaining, but they’ll be bad.

  • Old Skool Sloan Posted: Sep.21 at 12:50 pm
    Wow. Leaving most of the silliness alone and looking at the SE Division: the Heat and Wizards do nothing over the off-season to improve but somehow will post the second and sixth best records in the East? Bobcats and Orlando improved over the off-season and Heat and Wiz got older and more porous on D. These rankings are crazy. I guess we get the worst out of the way…

  • Akuma Posted: Sep.21 at 1:04 pm
    San Antonio belongs at the top of this list because they won it all last year and didn’t lose anyone. They have actually added more depth. Also Miami is ranked too high, while Washington and Denver are too low.

  • Jay Davis Posted: Sep.21 at 1:04 pm
    MIlwaukee’s a borderline playoff team, and the Pacers should be 29th.

  • Khalid Salaam Posted: Sep.21 at 1:13 pm
    Sixers should be number 30

  • Gumdrop Posted: Sep.21 at 1:18 pm
    It takes a brave man to admit defeat Khalid.

  • Blue Posted: Sep.21 at 1:52 pm
    After this off season, Referees should be at the top of the list…

  • Blue Posted: Sep.21 at 1:57 pm
    Oh yeah…and I’m loving the list’s sort features. Very Nice!

  • J-Bird Posted: Sep.21 at 2:03 pm
    Im with Blue on that, the refs owned this past season, Bennett Salvatore was the MVP.

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.21 at 2:08 pm
    If the Bulls a) finish under .500, and b) with a worse record than the Clippers, I’ll eat my Brent Barry replica Clips jersey.

  • Justin Posted: Sep.21 at 2:15 pm
    I don’t see the Magic finishing with a worst record than last year.
    Not with additions of SVG and Rashard.

  • Justin Posted: Sep.21 at 2:16 pm
    By the way, Liquid Swords may be the best Wu Tang LP ever.

  • whooo! Posted: Sep.21 at 2:17 pm
    i’m in agreement with everyone and wondering how a good young team who didn’t lose any pieces, got another lottery pick, and gained playoff experience can be under 500 in the f’n EAST!

  • Holly MacKenzie Posted: Sep.21 at 2:41 pm
    First, thanks for the comments. Second, I didn’t quite realize that this Dirty 30 was going to be created solely upon my list. When I heard “group effort” I thought it was just a pooling of ideas. ahahah WRONG!! Thanks Sam. ahahaaha. Anyway, I never really think in terms of W-L’s, so my rankings are really more about the numbers 1-30, who I think will do well, and who I think are in a position to do as well or better than last season based on talent, team personnel, chemistry, etc. more-so than what I think their records are. Truthfully, the records were just my attempt to fit teams into the rankings I gave them. As for the Bulls, yeah, I agree I totally slept on them. How I managed to give them a record that makes them go from 16 games over .500 to 4 games below I dunno. Big Mistake on my part. Huge, actually! I would probably switch the Bulls and Golden State according to what I have on the list there. Then the final play-off spot in the West would come down to Golden State and New Orleans duking it out, which I see as being very plausible. Interesting comment on Jersey, I guess I see them achieving a level of success similar to last season while I can see Toronto continuing where they left off and maybe finally being able to put the pieces together and rather than compete neck-in-neck with Jersey, Just move ahead of them. Jas- I see GS making the playoffs before the Kings and Grizz, I can see what you are saying about the ranking of the Hornets, but besides that, I have the 6 you “guarantee” and then the Lakers and GS as my final two spots in the West. In retrospect, I also agree that the Pacers should drop down quite a bit. I would probably give their spot to Charlotte, assuming Okafor and Wallace stay healthy. For the teams that did not lose/add a lot, since it was the first rankings of the season, I tried to put most of them in a ranking 1-30 of whether I thought they would be in a position to out-preform from last season or under-achieve. I didn’t really get caught up in the records as much, obviously evidenced by the ones that I gave.

  • Holly MacKenzie Posted: Sep.21 at 2:48 pm
    And, to WTFMAN, If you took the time to read what Sam wrote prefacing the Dirty, or, the by-line above the beginning of the Dirty, you would know that your post should read “Holly is an idiot”, not Sam.

  • Paul Posted: Sep.21 at 2:59 pm
    Good job Holly! I would’ve put the Lakers at no. 5 because of the Elton Brand signing…..oh, its Elton BROWN??? F*cking Mitch Kupchak….Also the Warriors are too high

  • Douce Posted: Sep.21 at 3:00 pm
    lol poor holly, she got owned

  • Rasheedionics Posted: Sep.21 at 3:02 pm
    How are Spurs not #1??? It’s just beyond me… Bucks are not the 2nd to last team on this list. Forget the turmoil. There’s still a lot of talent on that team. They just gave bell $18 mill. They’re serious about winning.

  • Sam Rubenstein Posted: Sep.21 at 3:08 pm
    Yeah, my bad about that Holly. Surprise!

  • Michaelbchnn Posted: Sep.21 at 3:10 pm
    Do you really expect the Bulls to go 39-42. The same bulls that swept Miami last year.

  • Lucci Posted: Sep.21 at 3:17 pm
    The hate on the knicks is obvious
    I mean cmon, there gonna be better than .500

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.21 at 3:25 pm
    The only way the Heat win 54 games is if they get to count the preseason and intra-squad scrimmages.

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.21 at 3:28 pm
    And I think the Knicks finish closer to .500, but not over. Maybe 39-43, something like that. Count on at least one locker room explosion, and figure on 50-50 odds that Isiah doesn’t make it to the All-Star break (welcome back permanent interim coach Herb Williams).

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 3:40 pm
    You don’t want to bet your position on it do you, Russ?

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.21 at 3:48 pm
    What position? I’m a glorified freelancer. You want it, you can have it. That said, I don’t see the Heat winning 50-plus. They lost Posey, didn’t get any of the major guard help they went after, Wade’s coming off a major injury, and Shaq’s, well, Shaq. You’ve got a team full of veterans who will all miss time one way or the other (I’d be surprised if anyone between Shaq, Wade, Walker or Williams managed to play 70 games) and young guys who haven’t proven anything (can anyone even describe what Dorrel Wright looks like?). I’m not hating, just being realistic. Where am I wrong? How are the Heat a 50-win team?

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 3:59 pm
    Wow, Russ, just because your posts don’t get 260+ comments, don’t downtalk your ability. Just fuc*ing with you. If you really think that Riley is going to stand “pat” with that current team, you are looney (in a good way). Someone will be bamboozled to take Eboy, Wright, Doleac, Haslem or some combination of them to bolster the guard and SF spot. Losing on Mo Williams sucked more than the Bell loss, but Shaq’s got a new girl to show out for and D-Wade is going to be hunting for a new Mrs. Wade across the country so I think you’ll see those two show up in a big way all (once Wade is back)just to make a good impression on the pink. It will make you do crazy things, like actually trying to look good while playing unlike last years model.

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.21 at 4:06 pm
    I don’t know, man–I don’t doubt Riles’s ability to make moves, but you gotta have something that someone wants. Ask Mitch Kupchak. I just think Wade’s gonna take damn near all season to regain his confidence (dude made his name on being reckless and he’s coming off two surgeries) and Shaq is on the downslope no matter how you slice it. I don’t see him improving much on last year’s numbers. Riley needs to throw Wright out there early and often and hope he acclimates to regular minutes ASAP.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 4:09 pm
    Don’t sleep on Wade coming back to form earlier than expected. The shoulder, not the knee, was the big problem, hence the wheelchair (shouldn’t that have been the other way around)? As long as it is still solid, he’ll be fine from late November on.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 4:11 pm
    And if Lebron alone (metaphor) got the Cavs to the Finals, the rest of the league knows Wade can do the same and win it, if he gets there.

  • H to the izzo Posted: Sep.21 at 4:12 pm
    LeBron James

  • Myles Brown Posted: Sep.21 at 4:24 pm
    I could see Wade and Shaq missing 50 games combined this year. I wonder if Wade’s style his going to cost him alot of games over the course of his career and Shaq usually cant even find his uniform until February. They only won 44 games last year, I dont think theyll make a ten game improvment in a tougher conference this year, however 50 is still within the realm of possibility. But not one game more.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 4:31 pm
    And your Laker win total prediction, Myles? In the rugged Western Conference? (This should be good)

  • Myles Brown Posted: Sep.21 at 4:36 pm
    What does one thing have to do with the other? It’s not as if I hate the Heat or I just threw out some nonsense. Injuries are a factor for them and their Conference has improved. In spite of those things I still see them being a 50 win team. But no more. And considering that the Lakers managed to win 42 games last year even though their starters missed somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 games combined, barring a similar string of injuries I also see them being a 50+ win team. I’d say if everything went absolutely perfect, that they’d max out at 54 or 55.

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 4:43 pm
    And all those factors didn’t play into the Heat’s season? That was my point. You think the Lakers improve by 13 games with barely any moves made to improve. But the Heat can’t improve 10 games with a full-season coach and more games played by their two top players? Every team can have injury trouble so that plays no part in a “prediction”. It’s an unknown. If the Lakers get 50 wins, it could be 24′s greatest feat. Even better than 81 points in a game. And I’d like to see them get Phoenix in the first round again, so they can pull the upset and quiet down the “Suns are the premier team of the millenium” talk that has been going on since the arrival of Mr. Capable.

  • H to the izzo Posted: Sep.21 at 4:45 pm
    Eboy:Ageing and depreciation of ability will really affect the Heats season next year

  • white hot eboy Posted: Sep.21 at 4:47 pm
    Izzo, what the f*ck is ageing?

  • Myles Brown Posted: Sep.21 at 4:48 pm
    And my point was that injuries are a factor for everyone, but between the two teams were talking about, I think the Heat are more likely to sustain detrimental injuries due to Wade’s style of play and Shaq being another year older. The Lakers have a respectable PG again and not that he’s a beast, but Chris Mihm’s return will provide inside support and allow others who were playing out of position to return to their natural games this year. I think they have a higher ceiling for improvement.

  • H to the izzo Posted: Sep.21 at 4:50 pm
    Oops forgot to Americanize my spelling,Eboy

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.21 at 4:56 pm
    Shoulder injuries are tricky. When Webber finally had surgery on his, it took him a long time to recover. And Wade’s style–falling down 47 times and getting up 46–requires absolute faith in his physical fitness. Would I be surprised if Wade played 72 games next season? No. But nor would I be surprised if he played 40. Ditto for Shaq. And I’d have a lot more faith in Walker, Williams and Zo if this was the year 2000.

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.21 at 5:04 pm
    By the way, I think this whole post was just Sam and Holly’s nefarious way of getting everyone to flip out and thus want to submit their own Dirty 30s, thus making their own jobs easier. I SEE RIGHT THROUGH THIS RUSE.

  • truthismygame Posted: Sep.21 at 5:12 pm
    as of now i can’t see this being a happy season for Heat fans.. like.. myself..

  • d.Y. Posted: Sep.21 at 5:16 pm
    i agree with khalid.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: Sep.21 at 5:37 pm
    spurs will repeat. is anyone really going to go against robert horry in his final season? robert the jeweler will get his. t robot=mvp

  • Pete Posted: Sep.21 at 5:43 pm
    Chicago under .500? get your sh*t straight, and NY having a worse record than last year? they got so much better by getting rid of francis and frye, all they need to do is make eddy curry a man and they’ll be a good team

  • wassup Posted: Sep.21 at 5:51 pm
    naw naw naw. not a good list. why in the hell are the heat so high. chicagos gunna finish with a better record then miami. don no why ya put chicago in arent they only gunna get better. since im a raps fan i gotta put this in here as well. id say it was a pretty good rankin for them although i think they’ll be a litte better then that and the loss of mo pete isnt really a big deal as he didnt play much last season anyways. and the addition of kapono and delfino easily beats out mo pete

  • slamfan4life Posted: Sep.21 at 5:58 pm
    NAW this list as wrong as it can get! How the hell are the bulls gonna drop 10 games this season less than last year?? How are they BEHIND DETROIT, MIAMI, HOUSTON ,CLEVELAND,
    DENVER, UTAH, TORONTO ,GOLDEN STATE, LA LAKERS, WASHINGTON, NEW JERSEY ,NEW ORLEANS
    YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY TRIPPIN

  • ForzaMilan Posted: Sep.21 at 6:54 pm
    Ms. Mackenzie, in a job like yours, first time is no excuse. Especially not when you’ve been ranking teams in your head ever since you were a kid. Rankings 1) are not visually interesting, 2) offer no new perspective. I expect more for the first ranking of the season, especially since the first one is the equivalent of your regular season preditions. More analysis then please. Kinder than Tarzan, a “D”.

  • Dennard Posted: Sep.21 at 7:38 pm
    Sam that Mets post the other day was EPIC. Please do another one, at season’s end.

  • albie1kenobi Posted: Sep.21 at 8:21 pm
    this list kind of have the same feel from last year’s Top 50 list. purposely made incorrectly to stir up emotions in this cyberspace. SLAM is definitely doing good work.

  • Holly MacKenzie Posted: Sep.21 at 10:08 pm
    Forza, as I mentioned in my previous response I was not aware that the list was being based solely on my ranking. It was originally going to be a compilation of rankings put together. Had I known in advance this first entry of the Dirty 30 for this season would be entirely mine, of course I would have given more analysis and reasons as to why I chose to rank teams as I did. This listing is simply my rankings and some notes I had given to Sam along with it. I was not asked for analysis or obviously, I would have provided it. I have already addressed what I feel was my biggest mistake, which was the Bulls ranking. As I have said before, a TOTAL slip of mine, even from my comments on the team I say that it will be fun to watch Deng and Gordon take this team on their shoulders again. I do not think they will slip 16 games below their record last year, I did make a mistake. I’m not asking for forgiveness, nor am I trying to excuse that mistake, but it is what it is. As for you saying the rankings are not visually interesting, what exactly do you mean by this? Thanks for your comments.

  • Chris Posted: Sep.22 at 3:46 am
    Holly, I think you’re totally sleeping on Milwalkee, that team was decimated by injuries last year and started tanking in January. They’ll be much better this season, they have WAY too much talent to be the 2nd worst team in the league, Andrew Bogut, Charlie V, Charlie Bell, Mo Williams, Bobby Simmons, Michael Redd. They should definately make the playoffs in the east, Unless of course they have to play Easy Yi 40 mins a night to avoid an international incident.

  • karan Posted: Sep.22 at 4:33 am
    knicks are making the playoffs. its the eastern conference and they have one of the most balanced and deep rosters. they’re definately gonna surprise ppl, despite the fact that their leader and point guard seems to be on crack.

  • Russ Bengtson Posted: Sep.22 at 4:51 am
    Actually, the NBA had to extend games to 60 minutes a night to appease the Chinese government. Also, Yi gets eight fouls and a pony.

  • black pinoy.. Posted: Sep.22 at 9:27 am
    and yi gets to wear red underwear with a mao tze dong picture… ey wouldnt it be cool if yao and yi starts in a hip hop movie like boys in the hood hehe and batir and ziyi could join too hehe…

  • Mike Posted: Sep.22 at 9:57 am
    Apparently some people seem to be forgetting to that the Nets got to the East semis without Kristic and with a terribly inconsistent VC. They should have still won that series anyways so im not sure how you can have them that low. Id take that starting five(JK, VC, RJ, Kristic, Magloire) over almost everyone except Detroit.

  • BrewBalla Posted: Sep.22 at 11:37 am
    WHOA! yall have got to be joking? are you serious, how, and yes i do want an explaination can a bucks team that was .500 and in the playoffs 2 years ago have a better backcourt, better bigs and a better bench end up with the second worst record in the league, yeah doesnt seem to make sence. are you assuming that every single player on the bucks will get hurnt again this year and that they will take a dive for the number one pick of O.J. well you can keep the ‘kid’ i think this team is fine and fighting for home court. who else in the east is good? detroit, yes but they were lifeless until they got webber last year, miami, are their players still alive? boston, 3HOFers, 4 in LA didnt get it done and they had a better bench then boston. cleveland, take a note from the bucks and actualy sign your players. i dont see how milwaukee cant get home court.

  • john Posted: Sep.22 at 2:39 pm
    well done, the lakers are going to prove yall wrong in that spot if kobe stays.

  • Kay Posted: Sep.22 at 3:34 pm
    miami’s gonna tank, bulls nets, wizards, lakers and bobcats are going to win at least 45 games. Denver is not going to win 50 games! Other than Dallas, Detriot, Suns, Spurs, games can go either way. Most probably won’t break 52. I think teams (and coasts) are a little more balanced and games will be more competitive.

  • Kadavour Posted: Sep.22 at 5:05 pm
    As long as the w’s and L’s add up to 82 right?no one can really call these things. i mean, if it works out, quit Slam and go get a job in Vegas.

  • Ben Osborne Posted: Sep.22 at 8:37 pm
    So Penn State is #31?

  • BETCATS Posted: Sep.23 at 8:02 am
    Show the cats some love, we will be at least at 45 wins IF everyone can stay healthy, we will get like 35-40 if they dont cause are squad is better than last year

  • vince Posted: Sep.23 at 5:15 pm
    im a huge clippers fan…but 41-41 and over chicago? i nearly thought you were serious there.

  • chris prov Posted: Sep.23 at 7:10 pm
    damn, did the bulls dirty in the 30

  • Holiday Posted: Sep.23 at 11:09 pm
    Miami, Houston, and Cleveland maybe got a little to much love! And Boston hasn’t proven they deserve that high a ranking! Denver and Utah should be moved up and maybe Golden State too!

  • bootlace Posted: Sep.24 at 9:44 pm
    Interesting season with Atlanta and Charlote only playing 74 games (predicting a brawl?), and theres way more wins on this list than losses, they should be even.

  • Holly MacKenzie Posted: Sep.24 at 10:20 pm
    Wow Bootlace! You have just proven my past messages that my list was made and originally going to be compiled with everyone else’s lists, but, because things got a little crazy my addition became the main attraction. Without a final edit!! And with the way the NBA always seems to have surprises up its sleeve, who knows, there always could end up being a throwback to the night of mayhem at the palace (hopefully not, but never say never).

  • bootlace Posted: Sep.25 at 12:07 am
    Haha dont worry, when the Bulls gut their roster for Kobe and finish where you predicted them, you’re gona look like a real genius.

  • kamil Posted: Sep.26 at 11:17 pm
    naaaaa da bulls record is wrong were comin in with noah an d were winning the title this year

  • SLAM ONLINE | » Player of the D.A.Y. Posted: Nov.7 at 6:17 pm
    [...] 1) Cuttino carried an underdog on the road over what everyone was saying was one of the best in the East. Yes, if you discredited the Bulls, people would take issue. And now the Bulls are sitting at 0-4. Are you guys lining up to apologize to Holly? Not that she needs it. Very ominous commenting on that one. First Gilbert0: “clippers over chicago. really?” Apparently so. (On this one night.) And then, myself: “The Bulls should be much higher, but maybe she knows something we don’t?” I guess she did! [...]

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