NBA Power Rankings...1/19/2011

Here is your midseason edition of the Top 10. Time is flying by as we are already halfway thru the NBA season. I am also giving my midseason MVP for each team.

1. Spurs - If anyone has quietly gone 35-6 in the NBA at the halfway mark it is the Spurs. They have an incredible record, but it seems like they keep flying under the radar. I mean Tony Parker may have the found the perfect place for all cheating men to go hide. Manu Ginobli has been the man so far this year.

2. Celtics - Opened up a two-game lead in the East and now they get KG back to go down the stretch. This team is a serious matchup problem when all their big men are healthy down the stretch. Paul Pierce has been carrying the Beantown boys.

3. Lakers - Won 8 of last 9, only loss was to the giant-killer Blake Griffin and his band of ballers. I can't wait to see the Spurs-Lakers matchup in the playoffs. Kobe, are you even serious.

4. Heat - The LeBrons of the south dropping rapidly after the King dinged up his ankle in a loss to the Clippers. They have not won a game in which the Heat have held him out, and now Miami has Chris Bosh dinged up and looking to sit out a couple games this week. Lebron, not even close.

5. Bulls - Derrick Rose has been remarkable lately with Boozer out due to injury. I look forward to seeing what this team does when and if Boozer and Noah can stay healthy. Rose in a landslide the midseason MVP for the Bulls.

6. Jazz- This is one team Moroni and I are both having a tough time figuring out as they have struggled at home this year, 15-7. Did Okur retire? They need serious production out of him if they want to challenge anyone in the playoffs. Deron Williams is the Jazz MVP so far.

7. Thunder - When OKC starts to pound the defensive boards and quits giving up so many second chance points, look out. They will be a tough out in the playoffs if they can get this straightened out. Kevin Durant is the midseason MVP.

8. Magic - After the huge trade with the Suns, the Magic have been a different team. Not sure why Turkoglu ever left this team as he looks in his element playing for the Magic. Dwight Howard is the landslide MVP for the Magic.

9. Hawks - A four seed in the East and no one in Fulton County cares. Ever watch a Hawks home game? You could shoot off a canon in the place and hit no one on night they are not playing the Heat or Lakers. Midseason MVP Al Horford.

10. Mavericks - The rapid drop down the power rankings due to Dirk being out with injury. Is there anyone more important to their team beside Dirk in this league?

Slip Slidin' Away

What do we take away from NU's near-miss upset bid in Lawrence Saturday? PYB takes away the fact that NU didn't make enough plays. That despite burying its weaknesses for the first 2/3 of the game, those weaknesses arose at just the wrong time and doused the Husker hopes of ending KU's 68-game home win streak:

-The Huskers missed several defensive rotations, which gave the Jayhawks dunks and wide-open threes. At one point, KU had dunks on four straight possessions.

-Brandon Ubel was beaten on two straight trips, mostly because he can't physically compete against Big 12 competition.

-Brandon Richardson missed the front end of a one-and-one with the Huskers trailing 60-58.

-Brian Diaz was once again AWOL for NU, as Andre Almeida looked to be the team's best option at center right now. Diaz is playing with little confidence and actually looks like he might be weaker than he was last season as a freshman. Doc Sadler desperately needs Diaz to increase his production if the team harbors any chance at an 8-8 conference record.

Just as the NU defense started breaking down, Lance Jeter started breaking inside and getting Diaz easy field goal chances. He missed or was blocked on all of them, and finished the game 4/14 from the field and is 9/32 from the field in Big 12 play. We'll see how fundamentally sound Sadler's staff's teaching is, as the misses all stem from Diaz not squaring his shoulders on his turnaround moves.

PYB, while tracking the score from the golf course, heard from multiple sources via text message that NU got screwed by the zebras---highly believable considering the Jayhawks' track record of receiving aid from the officials in bailout situations. However, upon viewing the DVR, there was just once bad call in the last eight minutes and KU missed the front end of the one-and-one.

This loss was more about NU matching up well with its opponent, and then just blowing the game because of the name on the opponents' jerseys. KU's guard play is far from Top-5 material, and Tyrel Reed (white guy named Tyrel, huh??) and Brady Morningstar will get worked in the NCAA Tournament. The four Jayhawk guards totaled 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Not good.

The Morris brothers are far from athletic, despite beating up on NU's overmatched big men with some late dunks. That won't happen against a good team with an athletic front line (hello, second-round loss to an average SEC team). Hell, it might not even happen in the NU-KU rematch in Lincoln. The Huskers match up well....as does any team with a pulse....against Bill Self's most overrated Jayhawk squad in years. And that's saying a lot.

Doc's crew has NO time to feel sorry for itself. There were plenty of positive signs the last two games, as NU showed it ultimately won't back down from superior competition and can keep games close for all 40 minutes. But there are enough trouble spots (three point shooting and defense, timidity on both sides of the ball, poor post play) to make the Huskers realize that the game against Colorado Wednesday is no easy task.

The Buffs are 3-0 in the Big 12 after beating Okie State Saturday. Keeping two road games close against rated teams doesn't translate to an automatic home win against CU. Nebraska is still too mediocre offensively for any game to be a breeze. But the team's tough defense (despite three-point breakdowns) will keep it in every game, and it looks more and more like they are just one difference maker from being very competitive.

Is Doc closer than most think? We'll know more after Wednesday night, as the difference between 2-2 and 1-3 in conference play is enormous. Stay tuned.

Rock, Chalk, Ubel Sucks Cock

Cam Newtwon is too smooth, creepy and fake in an OJ Simpson kind of way....The future NFL flop is likely an accessory to his dad's extortion attempts and likely a laptop thief. But the NCAA is cool with that, as long as dead-broke no-name athletes don't accept a ride across campus in a snowstorm.

Testing the Big 10's new division names? What exactly are the criteria for testing names? The public has already said they suck, does this not count until the public says they suck during the season?

Husker Uber-Nerd Brandon Ubel is confident the Huskers will win in Lawrence Saturday. PYB is an admitted Jayhawk hater and knows they're perennially overrated, but Ubel might want to make an impact in ONE Big 12 game before predicting a win at Allen Field House. Actually, he might want to go just one Big 12 game without thoroughly embarrassing himself and reminding Cornhusker fans that he likely would have trouble cracking the starting lineup at Nebraska-Omaha.

Vegas oddsmakers aren't nearly as confident as Ubel, installing KU as a 16-point favorite. We know the Jayhawks hate covering the point spread, or actually can't do it because they're never good as their name. But they love pouring it on at home against overmatched teams....it takes some of the sting out of their annual second-round NCAA Tournament meltdown.

If NU is to prevent a bottle blasting they will need to: actually guard the three-point shot, shoot better than 25% from the three-point line, make free throws, establish some sort of post presence on both ends of the floor. Paging Mr. Diaz....paging Mr. Diaz.....

At least NU fans can blame any big loss Saturday to the dismissal of Kamyron Brown. Sounds like he hated going to class. Well, back to the west coast, Kamyron, to flounder around doing nothing while telling your boys you played D-I and got screwed by the coaches. The guys at the local gym should love hearing that story for the next 30 years.

If you see something creeping at a snail's pace in Big Sky country in upcoming months, it's either a glacier on one of the mountains or now former Husker RB Dontrayveous Robinson running on the football field. Robinson was introduced at Montana State this week, and said his transfer to Bobcat nation was due to NU's offensive style. Translation: he sucked and is too slow to even dream of playing for a D-I team. Good luck, though.

Danny Woodcock

Solid. PYB still loves Joe Theismann, even moreso as his arrogance fades as each ounce of senility builds up.......

Huskers Hurt by Familiar Hangups

The Cornhuskers fought hard in Columbia last night, before succumbing to their all-too-familiar weaknesses and losing to a mediocre Tiger team 77-69. Below is our quick-hitting recap as we walked away from the game thinking that even though NU looked outmatched, they competed for 40 minutes and didn't get their doors blown off.

The Good
Lance Jeter--Showed he will be a legit Big 12 PG this season

Toney McCray--Season-high 17 points, maybe he's ready to contribute?

Caleb Walker--Showed he could compete athletically with the Tigers

Free throws--NU shot an uncharacteristic 81%, going 13/16

No blowout--Doc waited until the very end to foul, knowing he couldn't win

Kamyron Brown--Went 1/5 from the field but looked quick enough to help at backup PG

Standhardinger--Transferring to LaSalle....guess top D-I teams weren't blowing him up

The Bad
Brian Diaz--Looked overmatched for the second straight Big 12 game

Andre Almeida--Still too fat to impact the game

Turnovers--15 is too many against the Tigers' overrated pressure defense

Brandon Ubel--Forcing offense he doesn't have in traffic, burned on defense

Athletes--NU is still a full notch below other B12 schools in quicks & hops

10-man rotation--Should be eight, or nine at most!

The Ugly
Three-point shooting--NU went 2/13 in the first half and finished 6/17

Scared cowards--Huskers were timid at the start of both halves, blowing the game

Drake Beranek--He can contribute but being too scared to shoot the three won't cut it

Three-point defense--Mizzou got countless open looks. Just like every NU opponent

Mizzou Crowd--Announced at an untruthful 11,358, the arena was less than half full


--Pathetic puff piece on Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco. Over-praising his 'big arm' is enough to make him the NFL's most overrated player.

Calling him ready to lead the Ravens to playoff wins on his own is just dishonest. Now, we're equating time of possession with a next-level QB? Please. PYB equates them to KC's litany of second-half turnovers. And apparently, Flacco's pissing away of the last Steeler game (and the division championship in the process) in the last minute is nothing but a blip on the radar.

--If you didn't think Kansas City Chiefs' fans were classy before Sunday's meltdown against Baltimore, you had to be convinced after listening to their collection of stadium music: AC/DC, Korn, Metallica, Journey, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, and Van Halen--all the suspects from the Acid Wish Era. They even pleased PYB with a witty addition to our collection of trite game-explaining songs: After a holding call on the Ravens, fans were blessed with Toto's "Hold the Line." Priceless.

As if that weren't enough, the Chiefs' Wikipedia page proudly points out that the stadium plays "Rock & Roll Part 2" so the fans can chant "We're gonna beat the hell out of you" to the opposing team. But the best part is that they now use a cover version of the song after the original by Gary Glitter was banned following his sexual abuse charges in Vietnam. Me love you long time......Who woulda guessed judging by these before and after pictures or Mr. Glitter.

And if that all weren't enough, the icing on the cake came when Deadspin.com released the picture (now pictures, for some reason) of two scum fans fucking in the parking lot--one in camo coveralls. Then the cherry on the icing was the craigslist.com post asking for two more scums to come join them in a foursome in their van in the parking lot.

--Finally....Hide your kids, hide your wife, they brawlin' at a Florida gas station. This video added at the behest of Crazy Eddie. Why were they fighting? Were they pissed that the white bitch who got stripped down to Nuttin' but her G Thong was screwing one of their men? Who knows, but PYB has not seen this many disgusting naked physiques in one place...since well, never.....Fat bitches, lay off the thongs and short dresses.

Countdown to Columbia

This should spell two 25-point-plus blowouts in the coming week. Always has, always will.

--Congrats to Auburn on their win over Oregon in last night's BCS game. Congrats to PYB on taking the Tigers -1 over the overmatched Ducks. We now get to root for Auburn to have its second undefeated season nullified due to cheating. We also were glad to witness, after watching Cam Newton nearly blow the Tigers' chances at the championship crystal by blowing two easy TD passes, the coming-out party for the Poor Man's Vince Young.

Newton is not even close to as dangerous as Young was at Texas, and is probably more scatter-armed. We saw how that worked out for VY so far in the NFL and expect Newton's holier-than-thou facade to come crashing down quickly at the next level.

--By the way, nice fucking field at University of Phoenix stadium last night. You'd think the field would be tested to prevent ruining the game. Same shit, different decade. PYB remembers seeing the Fiesta Bowl field in 1990 in person and it being nothing more than sand painted green.

--And finally, another reason that we all know we can't trust college referees and reminder that any game can be fucked by replay officials who don't know the rules, don't care or are just too stupid to pay attention to the details. Two games in less than a week with different calls on identical plays.

--The epitome of Chiefs fans....

Dirty Birds...

PYB looks back at the NFL weekend that was as we ponder why the Auburn line for tonite's BCS game has dropped from -3 to -1 in the last day. Are we missing what the public sees, or are we on the side opposite of the suckers?

New Orleans at Seattle: Loud home crowd. A few Saint mistakes. Two scat backs (Reggie Bush and Julius Jones) filling the RB position with both Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas out. Said scat backs getting hurt and leaving Deshawn Wynn as the only back left. Perfect formula for premature end to the New Orleans' title defense.

New York Jets at Indianapolis: The Jets get by at the end due to some mismanagement by Indy and the fact that Peyton Manning was missing some major weapons in Dallas Clark, Austin Collie, Anthony Gonzalez and a couple linemen. Revis shutting down Reggie Wayne didn't help the Colts. Mark Sanchez will actually have to pretend he's an NFL quarterback for four quarters if they hope to win at New England.

Baltimore at Kansas City: Ray Lewis. Ed Reed. Terrell Suggs. Matt Cassell. One of these kids is not like the others. Cassell showed his inexperience, as did Todd Haley when he abandoned the running game after Jamaal Charles long TD run, (10 total carries), as did Dexter McCluster with his untimely fumble. Ed Reed showed why he is one of the league's toughest warriors, as the Raven defense covered up the fact that Joe Flacco is the NFL's most overrated player.....for at least one more game.

Green Bay at Philadelphia: Say what you want, but Michael Vick put up big numbers despite being saddled with poor play calling, lack of running game, injury-decimated defense and Andy Reid clock management. You know, more of the same from Philly's postseason cookbook. Lesean McCoy looked like the most special player on the field Sunday, but of course Reid didn't feed him the ball. Couple that with Desean Jackson's leg injury and the fact that the Birds' nearly won was amazing. David Akers' uncharacteristic miss cost Philly, but he's saved their bacon in the past. The Eagles will never win a Super Bowl until there is a power running game to rely on and Reid realizes how to manage the last five minutes of a game. His errors are laughable to high schoolers playing Madden '11.