Sports

POST POWER RANKINGS: Knicks, Nets ready to revive postseason basketball in New York

With all of the talk about Michael Jordan’s 50th birthday, why don’t we take a little bit of a different trip down memory lane?

Can you remember the last time either the Knicks or Nets were actually being talked about as potential championship teams at the same time?

Hint: It’s been a loooooong time.

The last time the Nets were considered a championship caliber team was when they made back-to-back NBA Finals and played in a faraway place called Continental Airlines Arena.

And if that seems like it was a long time ago, the last time the Knicks threatened to win a title is ancient history (1999). The Backstreet Boys and N’Sync have been replaced by One Direction and The Wanted, Lindsay Lohan has gone from cute-faced child actor to full-blown train wreck and LeBron James has gone from a 15-year-old high school student to NBA superstar.

This year, at a combined 63-40, both the Nets and the Knicks have legitimate shots at winning the NBA title. Both teams have their superstar leaders, Deron Williams for Brooklyn and Carmelo Anthony for the Knicks, have excellent depth and coaches with proven track records in the league.

What’s even more remarkable is how quickly the Brooklyn-New York rivalry has flourished. In four games against one another, two have been decided by three points and another went into overtime.

New York basketball is back, and it’s not absurd to think that the Nets or Knicks could be marching down the Canyon of Heroes come June.

Games Through Feb. 14

1. Heat (36-14) (Previous Ranking: 3) – James is the league’s best player and seems to be slump-proof at this point, meaning Miami has to be the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title again.

2. Spurs (42-12) (1) – Needed a miracle Kawhi Leonard trey to outlast the Cavs on Wednesday night, otherwise the Spurs have been every bit as dominant as their record indicates.

3. Thunder (39-14) (2) – Until Oklahoma City can consistently beat the Heat, there will be questions about the Thunder’s actual chances of hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy.

4. Clippers (39-17) (10) – Chris Paul’s return immediately makes Los Angeles contenders in the Western Conference again.

5. Knicks (32-18) (4) – The Knicks have had exactly ONE truly impressive win since Jan. 3 but still manage to find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference.

6. Nuggets (33-21) (5) – Trip out east has not been kind to Denver, which has lost three straight and is in mired in its longest losing streak since November.

7. Nets (31-22) (8) – Brooklyn’s two wins this week would have been impressive regardless of if Williams played or not.

8. Pacers (32-21) (7) – Followed up two overtime losses with a 24-point thrashing of the Bobcats.

9. Celtics (28-24) (11) – No excuse for the Bobcats loss, but wins over Denver and Chicago show that Boston is not going to lie down this season without Rajon Rondo.

10. Bulls (30-22) (6) – Derrick Rose’s comments earlier this week about his timetable for return has to concern the Bulls and their fans.

11. Grizzlies (33-18) (13) – After struggling through January, Zach Randolph is slowly returning to form.

12. Warriors (30-22) (9) – Five straight losses, four of which were against playoff-caliber teams, has to have people in Golden State close to hitting the panic button.

13. Rockets (29-26) (12) – Issues defensively will plague the Rockets, who gave up 46 first-quarter points against the Clippers on Wednesday night.

14. Jazz (30-24) (14) – Paul Millsap is one of the consistently forgotten about players who does everything extremely well.

15. Hawks (29-22) (16) – Josh Smith’s past two games have been LeBron-esque. Smith is averaging 28 points, 11.5 boards and 5.5 assists while shooting 23-of-35 from the field.

16. Bucks (26-25) (15) – Milwaukee has struggled in February, but because of the dismal state of the Eastern Conference, they are still comfortably in the playoff picture.

17. Raptors (21-32) (22) – Toronto is a much better team since the Rudy Gay trade.

18. Lakers (25-29) (17) – Absolutely manhandled by the Clippers, another sign that the Lakers are a sinking ship.

19. Pistons (21-33) (20) – The Pistons are a Jekyll and Hyde team. One night Detroit will beat the Spurs by 10 and later in the week it will lose by 19 to the Hornets.

20. Sixers (22-29) (19) – Philly’s scoring woes continue. The last time the Sixers scored in triple digits was Jan. 28 against Memphis.

21. Mavericks (23-29) (21) – Vince Carter passed Larry Bird on the NBA’s All-Time scoring list. That news comes in the same week that the team released a Harlem Shake video.

22. Wizards (15-36) (24) – Four-game winning streak against four potential playoff teams shows the potential this young Wizards team has.

23. Hornets (19-34) (25) – Anthony Davis broke out of a slump with a monster 21-point, 11-rebound performance against Portland on Wednesday.

24. Trail Blazers (25-28) (18) – Abysmal effort against the Hornets, scoring just 63 points.

25. Cavaliers (16-37) (23) – Tyler Zeller and Dion Waiters had nice games against San Antonio, but this team goes as Kyrie Irving does, and when he shoots 2-of-15 from the field, Cleveland won’t win.

26. Kings (19-35) (27) – The Kings were a combined -69 with their starters on the floor on Wednesday against the Mavericks.

27. Timberwolves (19-31) (26) – The only bonus of Kevin Love’s injury has been the emergence of Derrick Williams.

28. Suns (17-36) (28) – Inquiring about Iman Shumpert shows the Suns are planning for next season already.

29. Magic (15-37) (30) – Dug themselves out of the cellar, mostly due to an insane week from Jameer Nelson.

30. Bobcats (12-40) (29) – Ben Gordon and Mike Dunlap’s feud is going to ruin Jordan’s birthday weekend.