By Britton Barthold
() Indicates previous ranking; [] Indicates record
1. (2) [2-1] Knicks
The Knicks handled the Warriors in dominant fashion on Sunday in what was supposed to be a hotly anticipated #1 vs. #2 team battle. Yet, this isn't the first time #1 forgot to show up and play... Hey Southington. The Knicks finally had a breakout game from first round pick Charlie Miller, while Mark Schmidt played a more pivotal role on defense instead of offense this week. Schmidt wasn't short on words though, saying after the game, "We won. We are a better team then them. We play harder we play faster we win. I’m predicting Mark Schmidt doesn’t lose another game in his House career. Our team is too powerful and has way too good of a chemistry of a team. Plus, Stovall chirps so well so it helps a lot. Sam’s defense was really good. Honestly I don’t give a (expletive) what people think about me. I can probably hold Hudson to under 10 points." Kid didn't come here to play school.
2. (5) [2-1] Nuggets
The Nuggets finally got its star in Hudson Hamill back from football, and Hamill quite possibly had the greatest entrance ever. After walking onto the court at the beginning of the game, Hamill reportedly said, "I might be a little rusty guys." He then went off for like, 50 points against the previously undefeated Raptors. Along with this, Nuggets swingman Kody Schutzman took an elbow to the face, but persevered and finished the game. The Nuggets, now at full strength, will most definitely stay around the top five for the rest of the year. The one negative? They have allowed the most points in the league this year.
3. (1) [2-1] Warriors
The Warriors fell to the Knicks on Sunday, gaining their first loss of the season. The heir apparent to Mark Evanchick, Christian Fiorenza, struggled from the field, but looks to turn that around. I hear he had the flu, that is what was keeping him down. The Warriors still remain an incredibly powerful team if the Burkes can continue to play solid basketball. The emergence of defensive star Cary O'Brien will be huge for this team, and even after the loss to the Knicks, O'Brien was still confident in his performance, saying "I was shutting the ish down out of Mark Schmidt because I am a savage on defense. Mark literally couldn’t do anything, I am a beast."
4. (7) [2-1] Cavaliers
The Cavs bounced back after a tough loss to the Spurs by taking down the Suns. The Cavs scored a total of 57 points, which puts them in the lead for the highest scoring team in the league. Most of that can be credited to Jamie Schofield, the teams first round pick, but help from Danny O'Boyle and draft steal Peter Ridder has also been huge for this team. If the team continues to put up big numbers on offense, they can stay high in these rankings for a while.
5. (8) [2-1] Celtics
Like the Cavs, the Celtics bounced back from a tough defeat by putting the Nets to sleep on Sunday. Like seriously, 53-29 in the Celtics favor. Ew. That is gross. Quinn Fay continues to prove he is an underrated star in a league full of senior studs, and has found a great compliment in Brian Keating, who proves to be too much in the paint for some teams. Initially ranked low in the preseason, the Celtics are slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with.
6. (3) [2-1] Raptors
The Raptors remained as one of the two undefeated teams heading into Sunday, but the debut of Hudson Hamill on the Nuggets proved too much for the Raptors. The team is still surprising everyone, having a solid point differential and scoring a plentiful amount of points a game. If the team can continue to garner the power they had from its early season wins, they can still hang around in the top five.
7. (4) [1-2] Suns
The Suns continue to drop slowly but surely, as the team lost to the Cavs on Sunday. The team still scored a good amount of points, but defensively, they struggled once again, and have become the second leading team in points allowed. Once this team can figure out its defensive problems, they should be an incredibly powerful group, as Tim Graham can honestly carry the offense on his own. Shutdown defense from Jack McCann and the Voigt's will eventually prove to be too much for other teams, but they just need to figure out how to do that soon.
8. (9) [1-2] Hawks
The Hawks defeated the Spurs on Sunday to move them up one spot to #8. The game wasn't even close, as it appears as if the Hawks finally got it going with their scoring options. With the arrival of Andrew Mathew (pretty sure he is on this team) dropping 19 points, according to a report that was his own. Hope he was correct. With the emergence of Mathew on this team, they can totally make a jump very quickly, as Mathew is projected to put maybe 12 kids on posters this year.
9. (6) [1-2] Spurs
The Spurs have a graceful fall from #6 to #9 after losing to the Hawks really badly. The Spurs, who I assume were still without Sean Edgar, struggled to get the ball in the basket while also struggling to play defense. They struggled, if you haven't gotten the point yet. Do not expect the Spurs to stay at the bottom for long though. Their team is too deep to continue to drop games like this, so expect a quick turnaround after break.
10. (10) [0-3] Nets
The Nets are the undisputed worst team in the league right now. You cannot argue against that. Let us drop some numbers. The Nets have scored 98 points, which is a league low. The team with the second lowest points scored? The Spurs, with 114. They have also let up a gross 141 points this year. That differential, is like, nasty. The absence of Tyler Grant is becoming such a burden on this team, and I have to think they are hoping that Grant makes his debut after break and brings some new light to these team. All this team wants for Christmas is a win.
I'm going to do predictions after break, since I gotta break down some film due to the amount of massive matchups going down the Wednesday after break.
11. (unranked) [0-nah] Andrew Stueber
Kid doesn't even play House, since he is too busy trying to win in what people call "Varsity", but he had a few words to say, telling the press, "Britton’s adams apple can’t block ish."
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