It’s been a very interesting week in the Association.
Aside from the obvious jostling in our weekly free agent rankings, the Miami Heat have now won 18 games in a row and have our very own Chris Sheridan wondering whether or not they can challenge the NBA’s all-time winning streak of 33 consecutive games.
That record belongs to the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who began their championship season by winning every game they played in November and December.
Personally, my money is on the Heat getting done in – at the latest – when they visit Boston play next Monday in what will be the Miami’s fifth game in seven nights (the final four on the road).
Then again, what do I know? I said that Mike Woodson needed to play Amar’e Stoudemire with Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler one day before Stoudemire was again shut down. His regular season, sadly, is over.
And that was the only “shut down” story that was almost as big as the number Dwight Howard did on the Chicago Bulls on Sunday. The Lakers, back in the playoff picture, have ridden Superman’s cape right back into the playoff scene.
Meanwhile, DeAndre Jordan did his own superman impression at the expense of Brandon Knight, and since Chris Paul was the assist-giver in perhaps the worst posterization in NBA history, it is probably safe to say that he deserves “per se” credit for helping Jordan deliver the goods.
Yes, Howard and Paul remain Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, but there is some shuffling.
Based on some of the messages I got last week, I will again mention that only players who will be restricted or unrestricted free agents are eligible for our ranking. Players subjected to a team option or holding a player option will not be included until the option is exercised. Therefore, J.R. Smith and Monta Ellis – both of whom would be here otherwise – are not eligible.
Let’s do it.