NBA Rankings : Northwest Division

It's been a while since I last created the NBA Rankings for the Southwest Division. This time, let's move on to the Northwest Division.

Denver Nuggets

Biggest Surprise - Ty Lawson. Lawson is doing a good job on backing up Chauncey Billups, scoring 9.3 ppg, dishing out 3.7 dimes a game while shooting at 49% from the field.

Biggest Disappointment - J.R. Smith. He is talented no doubt, as he can go and score 40 off the bench on any given night. However, Smith has been erring on the struggling side this season, shooting only 40.3% from the field and 32% from beyond the arc.

Team Grade - B+. There was a disappointing loss to the Kings (twice) and the Timberwolves at home, but they were able to beat the Lakers at home and Carmelo Anthony is having an MVP-caliber season. It is quite tight race for 2nd in the West, and health will be a major factor for the Nuggets this season, as Billups is not getting any younger, and Anthony is having some injury bugs as well.

Utah Jazz

Biggest Surprise - Carlos Boozer. The fact that he's been healthy all season long is a surprise in itself. Boozer is currently averaging 19.4 ppg, 10.8 rpg while shooting 53.9% from the field and a career-high 77.6% at the line.

Biggest Disappointment - Mehmet Okur. His numbers are down across the board, from 17 ppg last season to 12.6 ppg, 48.5% to 42.5% and from 7.7 rpg to 6.8 rpg. It seems that Boozer playing healthy has taken Okur's aggresiveness a step backwards.

Team Grade - B. They were quite inconsitent early on and went on a stage where they are losing at home to teams like the Timberwolves. But they are picking their pace now and in a tight Western Conference, are currently sitting at 4th for that final homecourt advantage in the 1st round of the Playoffs.

Portland Trail Blazers

Biggest Surprise - Juwan Howard. When everyone from the frontline of the Blazers except for LaMarcus Aldridge went down, the 16-year veteran responded by posting 8.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg as a starter in 14 games for the ailing Blazers.

Biggest Disappointment - Jerryd Bayless. Now given the opportunity to play more minutes, Bayless is scoring quite decently, netting 11.2 ppg in December and 10.5 ppg in January, but he is only shooting the ball at around 40% for that particular month. He is at times inconsistent and sometimes could explode in a game but at times could not even hit a field goal. Consistency is something this kid needs and he'll be a scoring force in the NBA.

Team Grade - B+. Despite all the injuries to tthe Blazers, they are still in the playoff bubble, and in fact is in 5th place in the powerhouse Western Conference. The question remains though, whether the Blazers can keep this pace, as even Brandon Roy is battling a hamstring injury right now.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Biggest Surprise - Kevin Durant. The former 2nd draft pick just made it up a notch higher. Upping his scoring averages from 25.3 to 29.3 ppg, 6.5 to 7.3 boards and more importantly, getting to the line even more! from 7.1 attempts last season to 9.7 attempts this season!

Biggest Disappointment - Jeff Green. His scoring is down, from 16.5 ppg to 14.0 ppg this season. Maybe this could be due to Durant being more aggressive on the offense for the Thunder but Green's 3 point percentage is down from 39% to 29% this season.

Team Grade - B+. It is just a year ago where the Thunder were struggling to get wins, but now they are in the playoff hunt for the first time since the franchise moved from Seattle to OKC. With Durant playing an MVP-caliber year and with his young teammates, OKC will be a force to watch in the upcoming years.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Biggest Surprise - Kevin Love. Love was out for the first month of the season, but when he played, he is posting monster numbers, scoring 14.9 ppg and 11.9 rpg, up from 11.1 and 9.1 respectively last season. He is just crashing it on the boards for the Timberwolves.

Biggest Disappointment - Al Jefferson. Jefferson came back from a knee-injury last season, but his numbers are down a lot across the board. From 23.1 ppg last year to 17.9 ppg this season.

Team Grade - D. This team is in rebuilding mode, and as they are trying to learn the concept of the complicated triangle offense, wins will be hard to come by for Kurt Rambis-coached team.