NBA ALL Star Fan Voting Did They Get It Right ?

 The fan voting for NBA All Star Voting on Saturday January 22nd and with the Fan voting ending I will examine who they would have voted in as All Star Starters and compared them against who I would have chosen. Lebron James was the highest vote getter and will be one of the Captains when they do the All Star draft. Kevin Durant received the most votes in the Eastern Conference and will be the other Captain. With that being said here is who the Fans would have voted as the All Star starters as of 1pm Saturday.

Western Conference 

Frontcourt

LeBron James (Captain)

Nikola Jokic

Andrew Wiggins

Guards

Stephen Curry

Ja Morant

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt

Kevin Durant (Captain)

Giannis Antetokunmpo

Joel Embiid

Guards

DeMar DeRozan

Trae Young

I agree with the Western Conference Starters based on fan voting. This would be Ja Morant’s Andrew Wiggins’ first All Star appearances. It is well deserved Ja is having a MVP worthy season. Also Wiggins is having a strong season with career highs in Field Goal and 3pt Field Goals percent. The fan vote to me will be the Western Conference Starters once the media and Players votes are factored in.

I am mostly in agreement with the Eastern Conference starters that the fans have voted for. I would just swap out Trae Young for Zach Lavine. Zach LaVine is having an amazing season and with him and DeMar DeRozan having the Chicago Bulls in Second Place in the Eastern Conference. LaVine will be a starter once the media and players' votes are counted. Overall the fans have gotten it right this year The Starters will be announced on Thursday January 27th. Next week I will give my picks of the 7 alternates for each Conference.  

Real Deal Power Rankings Week of January 15th

The season is about halfway and here are the Real Deal Power Rankings for the week of January 15th 2022.

1. Memphis Grizzlies 

The Grizzlies have won 11 of 12 games including 11 straight before falling to the Dallas Mavericks Friday night. Ja Morant has emerged as an MVP candidate. He is continuing to take that next step to Superstardom as he has improved on his 3 point shooting this year. The Grizzlies are an emerging young team who looks ready to take that next step to compete. Winning 11 of your last 12 games you will make the top spot . The Grizzlies are primed to stay in the top 5

2. Golden State Warriors

The Warriors proved they are still the best team in the league despite losing 4 of their last 6 games.

They dismantled the Chicago Bulls on Friday night and showed that the has tremendous amount of depth in their lineup. This includes them working Klay Thompson back into the flow of things and still have another reinforcement coming in James Wiseman within the next few weeks.

3. Phoenix Suns

The Suns are continuing to be that steady team in the West taking care of business. They are lead by All- Stars Chris Paul and Devin Booker. They are proving they are hear to stay and at the moment themselves and the Golden State Warriors are in a Tier above everyone else. It will be interested to see what teams will do to try to reach the levels of the Suns and Warriors.

4. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are finally healthy are starting to be on the rise. They had a dominant win over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night by more than 20 points. Giannis is playing great dropped a triple double on Thursday. Milwaukee is primed to make a run back to the Eastern Conference Finals.

5. Brooklyn Nets

The Nets big 3 is back together for road games and are looking well. After the All Star break I can see Kyrie playing home games, with the Nets having the willingness to pay the fines that would be associated with an non vaccinated player  playing going against the New York City Mandate. The fine is a max of 5,000 after 5th time they are found in violation. This would a minimal price for the Nets to pay especially when you take into account just on ticket sales alone,  they would make that money back easily each night even if the arena is only 50% full. The Nets will need to make a move at the trade deadline for a big man because they do lack size which is something the top echelon teams in the Eastern Conference have.

Welcome Back Klay

 Today Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors,  will be making his much anticipated season  debut after missing the last two seasons due to injury. It will be interesting to see how Klay looks in his first action since the 2019 NBA Finals. Klay is expected to start out on a minutes restriction of 18 to 20 minutes. 

The thing I will be looking for is to see how teams attack Klay on defense being that he is coming off of a torn ACL and torn Achilles that kept him out the past 2 seasons. In addition, how does Klay move on the court especially seeing how he comes off screens.

This should be a good game as they are taking the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have been one of the best surprises this season. I think this will be good for the Warriors as they aim to make another title run this season. Adding a great shooter of Klay’s  caliber will only make the Warriors even stronger. 

Glad to see Klay back on the floor and I am excited to see what he can do this season. I predict his stat line to be 12 points, 4 rebounds in his first game action. Welcome back Klay!!!

REAL DEAL Power Rankings For Start of 2022

 It's the start of 2022 and here is my Power Rankings for this week. The top teams have been relatively the same so far this year. The top two teams being the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns. The Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks round out the top 5 as these Eastern Conference teams are showing their dominance in the Eastern Conference. It will be fun seeing what deals are made to give teams an advantage come the trade deadline in February.

1. Golden State Warriors

2. Phoenix Suns

3. Chicago Bulls

4. Brooklyn Nets 

5. Milwaukee Bucks

KYRIE'S BACK!!!!

 On Friday due to the current injuries the Brooklyn Nets have the teams  announced that they will welcome Kyrie Irving back as a part time player. With Kyrie not being vaccinated he is only eligible to play in 24 of the 27 remaining road games that the Brooklyn Nets. This is because due to the New York City Mandate he would not be able to play in the 2 away games against the New York Knicks or in the 1 one away game in Toronto against the Raptors. Canada has a mandate that anyone who is not vaccinated would not be allowed to enter the country. The process begins with Kyrie having to test negative for 5 straight days before he can play. Assuming his conditioning is not an issue and he practices well he could be eligible to return as soon as Christmas against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets do have a game on December 23rd visiting the Portland Trailblazers but with Kyrie needing 5 straight days of negative Covid testing he may not be able to travel with the team in time.

With Kyrie being back the question becomes how far can the Nets go. When Kyrie plays he will be one of the best players on the floor and will provide a much needed scoring punch for the Nets.  Also he will allow James Harden to go back to his facilitator role that he thrived in last year. In addition this move will definitely shift the balance of power in not only the Eastern Conference but also the NBA. The biggest challenge will potentially come in the playoffs especially if they play the Knicks or the Raptors because then you would have a complete series in which Irving would not be able to play.

This will be an interesting situation for the Nets and only time will tell if this will work out.

REALDEAL POWER RANKINGS WEEK DECEMBER 11TH

 Here are my top 5 RealDeal  Power Rankings for the week of December 11th

1. Golden State Warriors (21-4) (This Week 2-1)

The Warriors maintain the top spot. They went 2-1 this  week. The Warriors have wonderful ball movement as a team. They lead the league in Assist per game. Steph Curry is 9 3’s away from tying Ray Allen for the most 3’s made in NBA History. Tonight they face the Philadelphia 76ers in a match up that sees Steph guarded by his brother Seth Curry which will bring the best out of Steph.  Sibling Rivalries are always fun to watch especially when it involves two of the best shooters in the game today. With the Warriors making a trip to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday against the Knicks it sets the perfect stage. If Steph does not break the record tonight he will do so on Tuesday on the biggest stage in basketball. The Warriors play the Pacers on Monday but in the best interest of the NBA the Warriors should give Steph the night off either way and save him for the Nationally televised game Tuesday night.

2. Phoenix Suns (21-4) (This Week 2-0)

Phoenix is proving that they are a complete team. Even with Devin Booker out with his current Hamstring Injury they are taking care of business. Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder are playing tremendously and helping with the offensive production with their roles increased while Booker is sidelined. This includes a dominating win against the Boston Celtics last night.  The West has 2 top teams the Suns and Warriors and then there is a gap between everyone else.

3. Utah Jazz (18-7) (This Week 3-0)

The Jazz are on a 6 game winning streak and show no signs of slowing down.

They have a balanced team with a strong defensive anchor in Rudy Gobert.

Donovan Mitchell is continuing to grow with his latest improvement as a playmaker for others especially in pick and roll situations with Rudy Gobert. The Jazz are looking to prove that they can get  the job done in the playoffs and with Mitchell growing as a player it is a step in the right direction.  

4. Chicago Bulls ( 15-8)  (This Week 1-1)

The Bulls went 1-1 this week they have the second best record in the Eastern Conference. THhy will be tested this upcoming week with a few players currently in the Health and Safety Protocol. One of the players likely going to miss several games is DeMar DeRozn, the star Forward is the key to the Bulls exceeding expectations this year. You wish him and the other players a speedy and safe recovery but they may not be in the Top 5 next week.

5. Milwaukee Bucks (17-7) ( This Week 2-1)

The Milwaukee Bucks are essentially healthy and beginning to take off. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton and back into the groove. Even though no Brook Lopez for much of this season, sharp shooting Pat Connaughton has shown much improvement as far as consistency goes this season. Also the addition of DeMarcus Cousins has been great as he provides an extra body who is a good rebounder as the team waits for Brook Lpez to come back from his back injury. Giannis is doing his best to expand his range and tries to keep the defense by attempting more 3’s and mid range shots. This will pay dividends come playoff time he can hit them with a little more consistency as the season continues to go on.

POWER RANKINGS WEEK OF DECEMBER 4TH

 Here are my top 5 RealDeal  Power Rankings for the week of December 4th!!!

1. Golden State Warriors (19-3) (This Week 2-1)

The Warriors maintain the top spot. They went 2-1 this  week including a dominating win against the Phoenix Suns Friday Night. That snapped the Sun’s 17 game winning streak and also avenged their loss from Tuesday against the Suns. Steph Curry dropped 23 points including 6 3 pointers. The Warriors are on a mission and they are not even at full strength which can be scary for the rest of the league. 

2. Phoenix Suns (19-4) (This Week 3-1)

Phoenix went undefeated during the month of November going 15-0. The Suns in a pivotal matchup against the Golden State Warriors won on Tuesday. Unfortunately star Guard Devin Booker suffered a hamstring injury which caused him to leave the game on Tuesday early. Booker is expected to miss the next few games. The Suns have a very well balanced team and should be able to manage while Booker is temporarily sidelined. 

3. Utah Jazz (15-7) (This Week 3-0)

The Jazz are 7-3 in their last 10 games and currently on a 3 game winning streak.

They have a balanced team with a strong defensive anchor in Rudy Gobert.

With them healthy this team will be one of the best teams in the league and they multiple players who can either get their own shot or are knockdown shooters.

4. Chicago Bulls ( 15-8)  (This Week 2-1)

The Bulls went 2-1 this week and are on a 2 game winning streak after two convincing victories against the New York Knicks and the Charlotte Hornets. Chicago has a great team defensively and 3 go to scorers who can get to their spots. In addition this time is primed to make a run at the Eastern Conference finals at a minimum. For the Bulls the Sky's the limit. 

5. Brooklyn Nets ( 16-6) (This week 2-1)

The Nets have the best record against the Eastern Conference.

They are currently on 2 game winning streak, their will on most nights have the best two players on the floor in Kevin Durant and James Harden. The reason they are 5th is because whenever they play a team who can compete with them for the NBA Title this year they come up short and the games are not close. They have lost to both the BUlls and Warriors by double digits. The game against the Suns was not as close as the 113-107 final score would indicate. Until the Nets get a signature win they will stay at the 5th spot for me.