Western Conference Fantalyst Rankings Week 9

It's that time again for Fanalyst rankings as I, being a Denver Nuggets blogger hailing from the Mile High, play the part of the fanalyst. Miami Heat Index hails from the East Coast as a Miami Heat blogger,  and he plays the part as the crude fan...... You can find his Eastern Conference Rankings, as well as, my replies HERE.

1.       OKC Thunder (Last week #1. ) The Thunder team went 2-1 this week, the sole loss being to an up and coming Rockets team. They managed to out trump GSW in a big way, but Russell Westbrook left in the 3^rd quarter with a sprained ankle. All jokes aside, Westbrook is a vital piece in the Thunder’s offense, so any prolonged injury will prove interesting in the realm of what Scott Brooks does to compensate for that portion of the offense. However, it seemed as though Westbrook’s ankle was fine post-game.

MHI: Yes, Thunder are best in the West. Yes, the offense will struggle without Westbrook. The more important question is this – why isn’t Westbrook in the dunk contest?

2.       San Antonio Spurs (Last week #2) San Antonio went 3-0 this week as Manu is returning to the fold. This is the team that everyone is overlooking, including me, and will creep into playoffs and WHAM! BAM! THANK YOU MAAM! Somebody. I realize that they were all against subpar teams, Raptors, Nets and Pistons, but they were on the road as well.

MHI: Everyone’s overlooking the Spurs? Not me!

3.       Los Angeles Clippers (Last Week #3) Los Angeles went 3-1 this week, with the one loss being with the Dallas Mavericks, who are on a 6-game winning streak, so why put the Clippers ahead of the Mavs??? Chris Paul. Kenyon Martin. Blake Griffin. That’s all that really needs to be said.

MHI: Only a Nuggets fan mentions Kenyon Martin before Blake Griffin and in place of DeAndre Jordan. I think you need therapy. K-Mart wasn’t with them in the gym when they were building Lob City!

4.       Dallas Mavericks (Last Week #6) Dallas Mavericks, who started the season, OH! So slow, are picking up steam. Dirk’s offense is picking up steam, Roddy is doing well, and they are ranked in the top 5 in several defensive categories. However, Delonte West suffered a broken finger, so it’s unclear if this will EVEN affect the team.

MHI: Who gives a fuck about Roddy Beaubois? Jason Kidd’s return to the lineup was much more important. Mavs will get homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs just to get run off their homecourt in disappointment. Rot in hell, Jason Terry.

5.       Los Angeles Lakers (Last week #8) The heavily defensive Lakers went 3-0 this week. While this may look good on paper, but the squad BARELY edged out the Raptors, tore up the Suns  and defeated the Hawks, who are on a downward spiral. The Laker squad has been riddled with Pau Gasol trade rumors and it’s been apparent , at times, in his production on court.

MHI: All hell will break loose when David Stern screws over the Lakers’ attempt at a Dwight Howard trade after All-Star Weekend. Pau will crumble and Kobe will go homicidal, which will kill the Lakers’ chances of getting a top four spot in the West.

6.       Memphis Grizzlies (Last Week #7) The Grizz went 3-1 this week, with that loss being to the Jazz, but the team is playing, surprisingly to some, fantastically without Z-Bo. However, they did give up a 23 point lead to the downward spiraling Denver Nuggets and barely edged out the squad. Still, this is a team’s defensive that is just getting better and better.

MHI: Unfortunately, defense isn’t exactly Z-Bo’s strong suit. The D will get worse when he returns and the team will be stuck around the 7^th or 8^th seed. I’m surprised holding on to beat the Nuggets didn’t get the Grizzlies in the top 4 teams on your rankings. You must be depressed or something.

7.       Denver Nuggets (Last week Unranked) They went 2-2 this week and barely made the rankings, however beating the Pacers certainly helped. The team is relying too much on Al Harrington and George Karl is just starting to use Manimal in the right capacity. However, Manimal needs MORE burn time, especially over Harrington and Bird at this time.

MHI: #ThroatPunchGeorgeKarl ß I told you to get that shit trending weeks ago. Maybe after last night’s game you’ll start listening to me.

8.       Houston Rockets (Last week #4) The Rockets barely edged into the 8^th place, they have to thank the Blazers for losing at home to the Washington Wizards. They went 1-3 this week with that one win being over the Thunder.

MHI: The Rockets are temporarily renting this spot from the Blazers. It belongs to them.