Quick and pretty amazing tidbit: this is our fourth version of these free agency rankings, and since we started them, the Miami Heat have not lost.
Yes, the Heat are hot and the copious amount of attention they are receiving is something Charlie Sheen could only dream of replicating. So in honor of the Heat, let’s go streaking.
The Denver Nuggets just had the most quiet 15-game winning streak since LeBron James and Dwyane Wade entered the NBA back in 2003, and it is all because the Heat continued their record-chasing streak. In case you lost count, the streak is now 27 games long, the Heat’s latest victim being the Orlando Magic, who fell to Team LeBron – sans Wade – on Monday night, 108-94.
Now that the Nuggets’ streak is history, the second longest current streak belongs to none other than the New York Knicks, who have won four in a row going into their game tonight at Boston. It is for that reason that we pay homage to one of the key players in that streak, and no, it’s not J.R. Smith, who I say is the league’s most important Sixth Man, even if he does not get the trophy that usually goes along with that designation.
Of all teams currently in the playoffs out West, only one of them is currently on a multiple-game losing streak. Any idea which team that may be?
(Hint: the name rhymes with “Bakers”)
This week, our Top 5 looks dramatically different, and we must say that Tyreke Evans and J.J. Hickson are both distinguishing themselves, although they don’t necessarily play for the winningest teams.
But hey, neither does John Wall, and it would be a travesty to let this week’s address pass you by without mentioning that Wall must have gotten word that I went on quite the diatribe about the Wizards’ reported willingness to sign him to the maximum extension that he believes he is worth.
Odds are Wall will not hit the market as a free agent in July 2014. Odds are, also, that nobody seems to fully appreciate, realize, or probably even care that the Wizards are suddenly 7-3 over their past 10 games and that Wall and his crew are actually beginning to resemble a respectable basketball team.
(RELATED: Twitter goes nuts, especially among celebrities, after Wall drops 47 on Grizzlies.)
Martell Webster has played a major part for the Wizards, so he is our most honorable of mentions this week as our Top 15 features three new faces and our Top 5 features two.
The guy we are selling the most, Brandon Jennings, recently shot 1-of-15 in a losing effort, and as we look forward to taking in some additional March Madness this week, we’ve got a few games circled on our calendars this week: NYK at BOS on Tuesday, MIA at CHI on Wednesday, LAC at SAS on Friday and MIA at SAS and BOS at NYK on Sunday.
Seriously, is there any better time of the year for hoops fans than late March?
And seriously, are there any better weekly rankings on SheridanHoops.com than the Free Agency? I am biased, but I say no. (As Sheridan mentioned in his latest MVP Rankings on Sunday, the only award that remains undecided is Coach of the Year.)
On to the rankings.