NBA Perfect Ten (Week of February 14th)
The NBA takes a break this weekend but front offices will still be busy as they look at the buyout market and consider any tweaks that might need to be made to their rosters down the stretch.
Perfect Ten (Week of February 14th)
#10. Dallas Mavericks (31-23) (+1400/+3000) - The Mavs added PJ Washington at the deadline to give them another quality stretch big. Strengths: Dallas has one of the most dynamic one-two punches in the NBA when Doncic and Irving as healthy. Weaknesses: Relying on the whims of Irving can be a dangerous proposition. Last Week’s Rank: 10th
#9. Phoenix Suns (32-22) (+750/+1400) - The Suns remain the wildcard in teh Western Conference. They won’t end up with the best record but will be the team no one wants to play. Strengths: The Suns offense continues to shine as Beal gets more comfortable. Weaknesses: The Suns lost out on Lowry and this team still needs a solid backup point guard for the playoffs. Last Week’s Rank: 8th
#8. New York Knicks (33-21) (+800/+2000) - Three straight losses this week with all the injuries but the Knicks strengthened their roster at the break. Strengths: Burks and Bogdanovic give NY two quality role players that can stretch the floor. Weaknesses: The Knicks injuries have come at a bad time with the team blowing a chance to move up the standings with a fairly reasonable schedule at this point. Last Week’s Rank: 7th
#7. Minnesota Timberwolves (38-16) (+900/+2200) - The T-Wolves were perfect this week and remain in the hunt for the top spot in the Western Conference. Strengths: The Wolves continue to fly under the radar as the rest of the West gets all of the love. Great defense and a chip on their shoulder could serve them well in the playoffs. Weaknesses: Can the Minnesota defense be solved in a long series by quality coaches? Last Week’s Rank: 6th
#6. OKC Thunder (37-17) (+900/+2200) - OKC doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon and should have a home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Strengths: The Thunder were buyers at the deadline this season and Gordon Heyward may prove to be an excellent acquisition in the playoffs. Weaknesses: This team does resemble last season’s Kings a bit too much. The Kings won the Pacific Division, had a home-court advantage, and fell to a more experienced team in round one. Be wary. Last Week’s Rank:5th
#5. Milwaukee Bucks (35-20) (+260/+650) - The Bucks are now in third in the Eastern Conference behind the surging Cavs. Strengths: Rivers is tinkering with the lineup but he has the experience to get this rotation in order. Weaknesses: Miami proved once again last night that the Bucks struggle when teams spread them out and attack the basket, ala Indiana. Last Week’s Rank: 4th
#4. Denver Nuggets (36-18) (+225/+450) - Flat week for the champs including two blowout losses. Strengths: The Joker doesn’t have an equal in the Western Conference and is a mismatch for every contender. Weaknesses: Denver’s defense has not been as strong as they were last season. Last Week’s Rank: 2nd
#3. Cleveland Cavaliers (35-17) (+1000/+2800) - Don’t look now, but here come the Cavs. Strengths: The Cavs’ bench proved their worth while Mobley and Garland were out. Weaknesses: Can the inexperienced Cavs players step up in the playoffs this year? Last Week’s Rank: 10th
#2. LA Clippers (34-15) (+235/+500) - Clippers could be the class of the Western Conference with the best forward pair. Strengths: The Clippers move the ball well and are the best shooting team in the conference. Weaknesses: Do the Clippers have the interior strength to slow down Jokic in a series? Last Week’s Rank: 3rd
#1. Boston Celtics (42-12) (+120/+260) - The C’s will roll into the All-Star Break with the league’s best record. Strengths: After a mediocre stretch in which the Celtics lost their first three games at home over a few-week stretch, Boston has recovered in a big way. Weaknesses: All-Star Brown can still be sloppy late in games but that might be nitpicking. Last Week’s Rank: 1st
Top-Five MVP Candidates:
Here are my Top Five MVP candidates in the NBA at this point along with their current odds to take the award.
#1. Nikola Jokic (-150) - Jokic’s path to his third MVP in four seasons is clear. If he stays healthy, tough to imagine him losing this award. Last Week’s Rank: 1st
#2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+250) - SGA will get a lot of love second and third place for this award but he doesn’t have the cache yet to take this award ahead of Jokic. Last Week’s Rank: 2nd
#3. Luka Doncic (+1000) - Doncic does have the cache but doesn’t have the team to help elevate him past the Joker. He could end up #2 when its all said and done. Last Week’s Rank: 3rd
#4. Jayson Tatum (+4500) - To me, Tatum jumps ahead of Giannis as the Bucks continue to flounder. If the C’s end up with 65+ wins, he could be an interesting late bloomer for this award. Last Week’s Rank: 5th
#5. Giannis Antetokounmpo (+700) - The Bucks just don’t look right. They fired their head coach and have dropped to third in the Eastern Conference. I’m aware that team accomplishments aren’t the standard for MVP but it sure doesn’t help the Greek Freak’s case. Last Week’s Rank: 5th
Game of the Week, Season Record 6-10: I learned a hard lesson to never bet against a proud Warriors team wanting to prove a point to an old teammate when the Warriors upended the Suns last week. With the NBA going on break, here’s my picks for the Dunk Contest and 3-point Contest on Saturday.
3-Point Contest: I’m taking Lauri Markkanen of the Jazz. Without Curry in this, the field is relatively even. The problem for the rest of the contestants is that they are all guards and many are jumpshooters rather than set and shoot. This will tire them out in the later rounds. If Markkanen can get past the first round, he can take this one.
Take Lauri Markkanen (+650)
Dunk Contest: I like Jaylen Brown of the Celtics. I was ready to go with Mac McClung to repeat but something tells me if a proven All-Star like Brown decided to enter, he has a few tricks up his sleeve.
Take Jaylen Brown (+350)
In parenthesis, conference odds and finals odds. Player MVP props are also in parenthesis. All odds Courtesy of Draftkings.com.
By Mark Ruelle