The Update

Okay, it's been too long. I've put my blogging duties aside [xmas shopping, job hunting, laziness], but I am back now and will catch up on what was missed.

Quarter Point

Power Rankings
- We have more or less reached the quarter point of the NBA season. The power rankings are getting more and more difficult, as the Suns and Magic have hit a bit of a slide, the Spurs are trying to hang on without Duncan, and Boston still hasn't played a tough opponent recently. By record, Boston leads the NBA by a landslide [2 losses, SA with 5], and San Antonio, Phoenix, Detroit, and Orlando rounding out the top 5. Amazingly, the East has more teams in the top 5 record-wise than the West. However, if you get rid of the top 3 teams in each conference, the West still produces 6 other teams with winning records, while the East has only 2.

Surprises
- There are good and bad surprises. I am surprised that Boston is 18-2, but would not be surprised if they don't win the East.
- I am amazed that Chicago is 7-13, but not surprised that New York and Miami have joined them at the bottom of the East.
- I am surprised that New Orleans has a better record than Dallas, Utah, and Houston, and, matter of fact, surprised that Dallas is a 6 seed in the West right now, Utah is a 7, and Houston is out of the playoff picture.
- I am surprised that the Oden-less Blazers are 10-12.
- I am not surprised that the worst team in the league is Minnesota, the team KG left to play, oddly enough [?], for the best team in the league.

Come on, MVP?
- Just as muddled as the power rankings right now. Dwight Howard has the stats, and his team is playing at a high level. Lebron has more stats, but his team is struggling. Nash is too easy of a pick. KG is on the best team in the league by record, but doesn't really have the stats of the other three. Either of those 4 could take it right now.

Raptors
- Three in a row for the Raps: one win on the road against a .500 team, followed by two nice home wins against two of the big three from Texas. All this without two healthy point guards, and one MIA big man [Bargnani]. Luckily, Calderon has played incredible, Kapono has been as steady as a shooter as the Raptors have had since Curry, Bosh has been bringing the energy and intensity the team sorely needs, Delfino has been making Joe Dumars look silly, and a guy named Hump has been making Hoffa look like... well, Hoffa who?
- With all that being said, the Raptors need healthy bodies. They can hang on for now, but they could be a very dangerous team with Ford AND Calderon leading the charge, and Bargnani scoring 15 and grabbing 6. When that day comes, hopefully soon for when the schedule turns in their favour, the Raptors can maybe put together a nice string of victories to give them a cushion in the East, and maybe secure a 3-5 spot.

Hand hits head, head hits court
- It was unintentional, but stupid. Luckily, Ford will be okay, and Horford said, and did, all the right things afterwards. He'll know next time to grab the guy by the waist, and not just swing away. Even so, the one game suspension was justified, a good call, and I cannot see any appeal on Horford's part.
- What made the situation worse was the comments LeBron made. Yes, the Raptors may lack toughness, and if, as Doug Smith pointed out, another player besides Ford was knocked down, Ford would probably have been the first one in the guys face, but we have to look at the severity of the fall. If it's a hard foul, usually the first one to get upset is the guy who was taken down, and it snowballs from there. If the guy who was taken down can't get up, and has to get taken off on a stretcher, I hardly think that toughness needs to be shown. How about, the players show concern for the hurt player, which they did, and settle things on the basketball court, which they did. A week off because of a sprained finger doesn't make LeBron out to be the toughest of characters either, so I don't know why he was the one to talk [did Calderon play after dislocating his finger? Thought so...]