Forget about Christmas. This is truly the most wonderful time of year, where 68 of the NCAA's top men's basketball teams enter, and only one team makes it out alive. The NCAA Tournament is one of the most American things ever, and almost every American winds up in a deep pit of despair and frustration (and that's just after the first weekend). If you still have all of your Final Four teams left after the first weekend, you're in pretty good shape, but that itself is pretty difficult to do. Even if your bracket doesn't do too well, there are upsets galore every year, which makes for some incredibly entertaining basketball.
Other than the Cinderella stories, what makes the tournament so great and compelling is that the field includes the best players in the sport (at the collegiate level of course) going head to head against each other for three weeks. Each projected lottery pick (excluding Noah Vonleh, who's team did not make the tournament, and the International players) is on display for every scout, and their games are picked apart more so than they were during the regular season. These next three weeks are crucial for any NBA bound prospect, since scouts will be looking to see not only how much the prospects have improved over the course of the season, but also will be looking to see which prospects have that leadership gene inside of them.
History has shown that those who do well in the tournament tend to be more successful in the NBA than those who fail to show up. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, a good performance in the NCAA tournament points to future NBA success.
It will be a big three weeks for 76ers scouts as well, as they have two lottery picks in this June's draft. In order to rebuild successfully, you need to nail the lottery picks that you have. Getting the best value from these two picks can be the difference between the Sixers becoming instant contenders, and becoming cellar dwellers for years to come.
Without further ado, here are your Week 21 Reverse Power Rankings:
The Contenders:
30) San Antonio Spurs (50-16)
29) Indiana Pacers (49-17)
28) Oklahoma City Thunder (48-18)
27) Los Angeles Clippers (48-20)
26) Miami Heat (45-19)
25) Houston Rockets (44-22)
Western Conference Playoff Bound:
24) Portland Trailblazers (43-24)
23) Golden State Warriors (42-26)
22) Dallas Mavericks (40-27)
21) Memphis Grizzlies (39-27)
Unfortunately For Them, They're Out West:
20) Phoenix Suns (38-28)
Eastern Playoff Teams:
19) Toronto Raptors (37-28)
18) Chicago Bulls (37-29)
17) Washington Wizards (35-31)
16) Brooklyn Nets (33-31)
15) Charlotte Bobcats (33-34)
Need To Do Some Work:
14) Minnesota Timberwolves (33-32)
13) Atlanta Hawks (29-35)
12) Denver Nuggets (29-37)
Not The Season They Hoped For:
11) New Orleans Pelicans (27-39)
10) New York Knicks (27-40)
9) Cleveland Cavaliers (26-41)
8) Detroit Pistons (25-41)
Tankapalooza Contestants:
7) Sacramento Kings (23-44)
6) Los Angeles Lakers (22-44)
5) Boston Celtics (22-45)
4) Utah Jazz (22-45)
3) Orlando Magic (19-48)
2) Philadelphia 76ers (15-51)
1) Milwaukee Bucks (13-54)
By: Dan Goggin
Follow Us On Twitter @BroadStBeat
History has shown that those who do well in the tournament tend to be more successful in the NBA than those who fail to show up. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, a good performance in the NCAA tournament points to future NBA success.
It will be a big three weeks for 76ers scouts as well, as they have two lottery picks in this June's draft. In order to rebuild successfully, you need to nail the lottery picks that you have. Getting the best value from these two picks can be the difference between the Sixers becoming instant contenders, and becoming cellar dwellers for years to come.
Without further ado, here are your Week 21 Reverse Power Rankings:
The Contenders:
30) San Antonio Spurs (50-16)
29) Indiana Pacers (49-17)
28) Oklahoma City Thunder (48-18)
27) Los Angeles Clippers (48-20)
26) Miami Heat (45-19)
25) Houston Rockets (44-22)
Western Conference Playoff Bound:
24) Portland Trailblazers (43-24)
23) Golden State Warriors (42-26)
22) Dallas Mavericks (40-27)
21) Memphis Grizzlies (39-27)
Unfortunately For Them, They're Out West:
20) Phoenix Suns (38-28)
Eastern Playoff Teams:
19) Toronto Raptors (37-28)
18) Chicago Bulls (37-29)
17) Washington Wizards (35-31)
16) Brooklyn Nets (33-31)
15) Charlotte Bobcats (33-34)
Need To Do Some Work:
14) Minnesota Timberwolves (33-32)
13) Atlanta Hawks (29-35)
12) Denver Nuggets (29-37)
Not The Season They Hoped For:
11) New Orleans Pelicans (27-39)
10) New York Knicks (27-40)
9) Cleveland Cavaliers (26-41)
8) Detroit Pistons (25-41)
Tankapalooza Contestants:
7) Sacramento Kings (23-44)
6) Los Angeles Lakers (22-44)
5) Boston Celtics (22-45)
4) Utah Jazz (22-45)
3) Orlando Magic (19-48)
2) Philadelphia 76ers (15-51)
1) Milwaukee Bucks (13-54)
By: Dan Goggin
Follow Us On Twitter @BroadStBeat
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