Power rankings

I didn't want to title this post "Power Rankings By Gant." That sounds too disturbingly Wade Boggsish, talking about myself in the third person...



Traditional Power rankings need a jump start. Let's face it, the
parameters are old and tired: An esteemed journalist ranks the teams from 1-30, fans argue, repeat. Snooze. So I'm going to experiment and rank teams according to strength on the one hand as everyone else does; but unlike everyone else, I'll actually admit I'm completely biased and put teams where I want them.

Here we go:

1) Boston Celtics. 20-2. Last week (first): The Celtics are the
best defensive team in the league. They have the best record in the
league. They are morally and ethically superior. Their basketball
prowess is unmatched. Everyone in the organization is witty,
handsome, and warm-hearted. Every decent human being loves them. They have great broadcasters. They have the best GM and coach in the league. Their trainer walks through the snow for pizza. Like the team, their fans are uniformly attractive, intelligent, and innately good.

2) Nobody. I just wanted to put some distance between Boston and
the next team.

3) San Antonio. 18-5. Last week (unranked): The Duncan swipers
parlayed one little bit of luck into four titles. Despite having
some talented likable players and a great recent history, there's
very little chance of them rising above the #3 position in these
rankings regardless of the outcome of any future games.

4) Detroit. 17-7. Last week (unranked): They rank extra high
because these guys dismantled the Laker title run a few years back.
They're skilled, poised and professional. They can beat any team on
a given night, but are henceforth doomed to fall short of any pending
finals appearances due to the awesome irresistible might of the
reborn Boston Celtics.

5) Phoenix. 17-7. Last week (unranked): They play like the old
Tommy Heinsohn coached Celtics— flying up the floor, fastbreaking off free throws and made baskets. But unlike Tommy's teams they don't play great defense. They get an A for reminding me of the old Celtics, and a D for not being the old Celtics.

6) Orlando. 17-8 and dropping. Last week (unranked): They've got
Dwight Howard. Man he's good. But the Magic have been falling recently. They're the only team in the league to beat the Celtics and not lose to them (a situation to be remedied this coming Sunday).

7) Dallas. 16-9. Last week (unranked): The thought of Texas makes
me so unhappy these last seven years... I should really rank them
lower for all that extracurricular stuff going on in our nation's
capitol, but it's probably not the Mavericks' fault. This has been
an extremely well-coached team for many seasons. No rings though.
This year? Uh uh, no ring again.

8) New Orleans: 15-9. Last week (unranked): You gotta love Chris
Paul. Plus you gotta feel for the great city of Louis Armstrong and
Sidney Bechet. In fact, they probably should be ranked like 4th just
because of the music, but their frontcourt isn't nearly as good as
their point guard or horn section.

9) Minnesota. Record- undisclosed. Last week (unranked): They've
got Big Al! They've got Gerald and Gomes! They beat Phoenix! I
love the Timberwolves! I have not seen their season record, but
whatever it is, it will not affect Minnesota's power rank. Please no
one email it to me; I don't want to know. I'm shutting my eyes and
covering my ears. "La la la la la."

10) Good Milwaukee. 10-0. Last week (unranked): This team is
undefeated. When they win they beat everybody. I miss Earl Boykins
though.

11) Denver. 14-10. Last week (unranked): Wow, this is one strange
conglomeration of fine basketball talent running wild. They're
great; they're good; they're fair; they suck. They're
inconsistent. ...not a tremendous formula for playoff success.

12) Utah. 14-11. Last week (unranked): They get a slight boost for
sharing a D-league team with the Celtics. Utah is a beautiful
place. Their lake is salty.

13) Washington. 13-10. Last week (unranked): No Arenas. Too bad
because I loved Gilbert when he talked a lot and backed it up. But
guess what? I love Gilbert when he talks a lot and doesn't back it
up too! Get well soon Gil. In the meantime the team's doing pretty
well.

14) Golden State. 13-11. Last week (unranked): Remember when Don Nelson used Manute Bol as a 3 point specialist? He does a lot of things that go beyond "creative." I think maybe Don takes the old
Celtic style, draws up a bunch of plans on the blackboard, and then
drops some acid before each game. His 1969 finals game seven shot
that bounced straight up and dropped down through the rim crushing
the Laker's hopes is just about the greatest moment in the history of
the sport.

15) Indiana. 12-12. Last week (unranked): Once again Jim O'Brien
wrings every last win out of his talent, but this time it's not
completely insane looking. Good for him and Larry. Oh and God bless
Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O'Neal. There's something very likable
about both those guys, isn't there?

16) Houston. 12-12. Last week (unranked): You look at Yao Ming
and you just shake your head in awe— and I'm not even talking about
basketball. I mean I saw a little of the Houston-Dallas game this
week and Yao makes 7 foot wide-body Dampier look like a little kid.
You throw in McGrady and you'd think this team would be like 24-0.
Nope.

17) Cleveland. 10-14. Last week (unranked): They've just gotten
their guys back. They've got you-know-who. As everybody in the East
found out last year, this is a really scary team to have to face in
the playoffs. Still, 10-14? You guys suck so far.

18) Chicago. 8-13. Last week (unranked): They've got depth. Oh
my yes. Such depth. The preseason champs-on-paper have fallen short record-wise to this point. They could make the playoffs though. Really, I mean it.

19) Portland. 12-12. Last week (unranked): They're on a hot
streak. They're young. They're good. They're doing without
Aldridge and Oden right now. Since I don't know how this is
happening, I'm dropping them 4 positions. (I love being in charge of
the rankings.)

20) Atlanta. 11-12. Last week (unranked): I'm really glad the
Hawks are doing so much better. I always felt like Sally Struthers
should do a charitable infomercial for them in past seasons. Is the
ownership thing straightened out yet? Does anyone know? Or care?

21) Philly. 10-14. Last week (unranked): They rise 4 positons for
being feisty. Cripes, if they weren't so morally upright and would
just tank a few seasons, they could turn this thing around.

22) Jersey. 10-14. Last week (unranked): What a weird vibe this club
has. They've got winners and they've got whiners. No their big 3 is
not nearly nearly nearly as good as our big 3. Their successful era
has just ended and they haven't made the next move yet.

23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28) Clippers, Sacramento, Charlotte, Seattle,
Memphis, and Miami. 9-14, 9-14, 8-14, 7-18, 7-16, 6-17. Last week
(unranked) : All of you are such a bitter disappointment to me. The
old Chris Wallace magic is working in Memphis.

29) Bad Milwaukee. 0-13. Last week (unranked): This team has yet
to win. When they lose they can't beat anybody. I like Yi long term.

30) New York. 7-16. Last week (unranked): I fear Isiah is going to
lose his job and hope this does not happen because I love him in New York. I got your back Zeke.

31) Toronto. 14-11. Last week (unranked): I actually like the
Raptors a lot, but their online fans are so out-of-control I thought
I'd needle them a bit by putting Toronto here.

32) Lakers. 14-9. Last week (last): The Lakers are an organization
dedicated to pure evil. They will not rest until they have
obliterated everything good and decent from the face of the Earth.
For now their nefarious plans have been derailed.
How come no one else was swift enough to draft Bynum before the 10th pick in 2005?


Date of next rankings: never.

Quiet Joy

Less Griping, Less Typing

There's a strange counterintuitive phenomenon taking place. Before the season started I expected activity on Celtic boards to grow with the team's winning percentage. If anything the opposite seems to be happening.

Take a look at Celtic forums around the web. With the team great again, you'd anticipate a fury of activity; thousands of new voices being heard; an avalanche of green-tinted posts and opinions. Unexpectedly just the opposite appears to be taking place. So far the busiest Celtic discussion groups seem slower. The team's phenomenal early season success has had a deadening effect on online banter.

This is all very unscientific and is based only on my own foggy perception, but it sure seems real...
You may well ask- How come?


I have 10 theories:

1) The Inertia of Bliss

Happy fans are just sitting back and enjoying this.
People are just not moved to type, "The team sure looks good."
Or to respond, "Yup. They sure do."

2) Nattering Nabobs Are Hushed

Do you hear those squeaky wheels? Not too much anymore. Most of the formerly negative voices have come over to the light side of the force. Welcome!

3) So Are The Pathological

As for the rest- well even crazy people generally don't want to appear crazy. (As a side note, you can tell who these nice folks are because they generally start off saying "I was right all along, BUT..." or they're still just going along same as ever— steadfastly criticizing the rotations, management, or searching for imaginary character flaws instead of enjoying success.)

4) Serial Traders Are On Vacation

Why propose moving a guy out when he's helping the team win? ...and everybody seems to be helping the team win.

5) What College Game?

No one's talking about the 2008 draft. Last year at this time I was watching every Ohio State game I could. This year, I know there's some guy named Beasley and some guy named Rose out there, but I've never seen them play and probably won't until midwinter.

6) Pink Hatters Aren't Joining Up

Would you? You come into a place where people are saying things like: "Have you seen Rondo's rising mid-range hot zones?" "Glen Davis has an incredible PER." You've got fanatics discussing every arcane statistical and historical detail of the sport— it's probably intimidating to hesitant pink toppers at the entryway.

7) Basketball Viewing of the Diehards Has Changed

A lot of folks who previously posted in game threads have bought season tickets and are now cheering in person. Others are watching Ray Allen with bandwagon jumping friends instead of brooding alone with Allan Ray. When you watch with flesh and blood others, you probably post less.

8) Green Discussion Has Spread To New Places

Though the Celtic talk has subsided a bit on our own boards, it's exploded everywhere else. Celtic fanatics who have huddled together in the darkness for years are now boldly going forth and interacting with fans of other teams.

9) Nobody Disagrees

There's no controversy. We all like... well, we all like everything. Who wants to talk about that?!?

10) It's All New

Unlike previous great teams, this one is so unknown. This is a group that no one had seen before. They didn't just add one or two key guys. Instead it was pretty much a full roster makeover. So final conclusions are slow to arrive since we're seeing each situation for the first time.


I do not expect the mass silence to continue. When the playoffs loom there will be an explosion of activity. There will be a cacophony of joyful online noise— the first great green eruption of the internet era. The Celtics had one of the worst records in the league last season. Now they're a leading title contender.

We're all adjusting.