Posts in category: Rap

With the NBA season taking off in about a month we decided to go ahead and do ThaAntidote NBA Power Rankings.
30. Philadelphia 76ers – Talk about a depleted roster. First they lose Andrew Bynum who sat out the whole season big chillin on the bench. After that they traded their All Star point guard in Jrue Holiday. They also lost Nick Young & Dorell Wright on the wings.  On top of that they have a rookie center who’s coming off an ACL injury with little offensive skills and a rookie point guard who was already considered to be shaky as hell in the draft. To me it comes off like the 76ers would like to tank the season and win the Wiggins sweepstakes. That’s why we have them coming in at #30.
29. Phoenix Suns – I don’t really see much hope in the Suns future.  They have plenty of duplications on the roster. They picked up Eric Bledsoe and hope he works out at the 2 spot. They picked up Len with their first round draft pick when they already have Gortat. They got rid of Scola & Beasley. I don’t see many upgrades for the Suns. I gotta believe it’s going to be a long season in the desert.
28. Orlando Magic – Unlike many people I don’t think the Magic have improved enough to get out the gutter of the NBA rankings. While they do have plenty of good young talent with Harris, Oladipo, & Vucevic I don’t think that’s enough for them to have a solid season this season.  Until they completely phase out Nelson & Turk I don’t think they’ll be able to make that move to the next level.

27. Sacramento Kings – The Kings started off last season pretty bad with a wasted pick in Thomas Robinson. They let Tyreke Evans walk, and they still have plenty of holes throughout their roster. On top of that they are depending on Cousins to be their franchise player when it appears he doesn’t really want anything to do with the franchise.  They did pick up Ben McLemore in the draft, Grevis Vasquez through trade, and Carl Landry through free agency. While those could be great pick ups (or epic failures) it’s still not enough to even sniff the playoffs.
26. Milwaukee Bucks – To be honest there isn’t much I like about this roster. It seems like every year the Bucks GM strives for mediocrity. The Bucks lucked up on Larry Sanders being such a great defensive player. While adding OJ Mayo, Caron Butler, Brandon Knight,  Gary Neal, & Zaza Pachulla might seem like great additions I don’t think putting them all on the same team is a great idea. Good pieces individually, but not on the same team. This is the reason why I think the Bucks will struggle throughout the season. Based off the talent I just named what kind of identity can they have?

25. Utah Jazz – Jazz are another team with a lot of good young pieces, but they don’t have the experience to win.  You have Trey Burke, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, & Enes Kanter as your possible starting line up. Sounds great two years from now with them having the potential to win a lot of games down the road, but right now I see a lot of growing pains for the Jazz this upcoming season.
24.  Boston Celtics – Well after a great run with the Big 3 it looks like the Celtics will return to being bottom feeders. With Rondo recovering for his ACL injury and a crew of new players the Celtics will struggle. The only thing I see in their advantage is that they do have a lot of pieces in place where someone could step up and be big. Maybe they could rally around their new head coach and pull out some wins to where their not possibly the worst team in the league.
23. Charlotte Bobcats – With the addition of Al Jefferson & Cody Zeller in the front court I think the Bobcats will improve this season. Kemba Walker is starting to emerge as a legit point guard and they still have Kidd-Gilchrist who still has some potential. The only thing is that I don’t have much faith in any team being ran by Michael Jordan.

22. Toronto Raptors – The Raptors have the potential to be better than 22 but at the same time they have the potential to be even worse. With a new GM in Toronto if the Raptors start slow I could easily see the GM blowing up this roster and getting rid of many of their top assets for draft picks, cap space, and other young players.

21. Detroit Pistons – The Pistons added Brandon Jennings & Josh Smith to their roster. At first glance it appears to be an improvement. The only problem is that they already have Monroe & Drummond in the front court. If the Pistons plan on putting Smith at the small forward position the Pistons could deal heavily with some spacing issues on the court. Josh has shown in the past he’s not as effective on the wing at all. On top of that you now have Jennings as your starting PG and he’s is known as a shoot first point guard who might not get the ball down low to your potential twin tower powerhouse.
20. Los Angeles Lakers – It’s all on Kobe this season. Losing Metta World Peace & Dwight Howard to the line up won’t make it easier for Kobe this year. On top of that they’ve picked up Jordan Farmar, Wesley Johnson, & Nick Young. Those aren’t necessarily key components to help them make a run to the playoffs. If Kobe comes back he could possibly will his team to a 8th seed run, but based on the roster overall they might of been better tanking the season and getting ready for the future.
19.  Dallas Mavericks – Just like last season I see the Mavs fighting for a playoff berth. Adding Ellis & Calderon to the line up is really a question mark at this point. I don’t know if you could really say it’s an upgrade or downgrade from Collison & Mayo. With Dirk getting up there in age there is no telling if the Mavs can still compete in the West.  They are well coached and they have plenty of veteran help to possibly make a playoff run but it won’t be easy. If the Mavs start off slow I could easily see Carter, Marion, and a few others out of there by the trade deadline.

18. Cleveland Cavaliers – I just don’t think this will work. Picking up Andrew Bynum on paper seems like a great move but he’s always hurt. With Bennett, Waiters, and Thompson all being young players it’s no telling if everything will click for the Cavs. Based off of potential they seem to be a playoff caliber team but you can’t win games simply off potential. If Kyrie & The Cavs stay healthy they have the potential of getting one of those last playoff spots in the East.
17. Washington Wizards – In the second half of last season John Wall really came to play. He put up some top notch numbers. With Beal having a season under their belt, adding Otto Porter to the line up, and those gang of bigs in the paint I think the Wizards have a decent chance of making the playoffs.

16. Portland Trail Blazers – Last season the Trailblazers had the worst bench in the league. This year they have improved that. They picked up Dorell Wright, Thomas Robinson, Robin Lopez, Mo Williams, and they got CJ McCollum in the draft. Last year they couldn’t get any type of solid production off the bench. This year it seems like the Blazers are loading up to hopefully make a playoff push.