The Contenders
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (41-12) – The Thunder continue to play some excellent basketball with Kevin Durant elevating his game to another level.
2. Indiana Pacers (39-11) – The Pacers have won five games in a row and seem to have ended a slump that they were going through. They currently have the NBA’s best record.
3. Miami Heat (35-14) – The defending champs continue to remain at the top of the NBA standings despite their up-and-down play as of late. We know they’ll take it to another level come March.
Prove You’re Worthy Of Being Mentioned With The Elite
4. Portland Trail Blazers (36-15) – Portland has taken a step back over their last 10 games. Not playing as well as they should on the defensive end, and as a result they have placed themselves out of the “elite” category.
5. Houston Rockets (34-17) – The Rockets are one of the hottest teams in the West. They’ve currently won five in a row and eight of their last 10.
6. Los Angeles Clippers (36-18) – Blake Griffin has kept this team afloat, and with Chris Paul returning last night, they can be on the verge of breaking into the elite category.
7. San Antonio Spurs (37-14) – The Spurs have had some unfortunate injuries over the past few weeks, as a result their record has suffered.
8. Memphis Grizzlies (27-23) – There isn’t a hotter team in the league right now, and it’s going to be interesting to see how far they can climb in the standings.
Middle Of The Pack
9. Phoenix Suns (30-20) – Jeff Hornacek has this team playing excellent basketball. They continue to pick up big wins, and are shaping up to be a playoff team out West.
10. Golden State Warriors (30-21) – The Warriors inconsistency has been disappointing to say the least. Hopefully they turn it around and start to resemble the team many expected them to be.
11. Dallas Mavericks (31-21) – Dallas has been a solid team out West and is looking like a team that will be a lock for a playoff seed if they keep playing basketball at this level.
12. Atlanta Hawks (25-24) – The Hawks have not had a favorable week, as they’ve dropped three games in a row.
13. Toronto Raptors (26-24) – Toronto has suffered two losses in a row to some pretty good competition. Surely they’ll be looking to turn things around in this upcoming week.
14. Washington Wizards (25-25) – After finally getting above the .500 mark in years, the Wizards took a step back and lost two games before winning on Sunday against the Kings. Wall has been great, but there is still a lot that this team can do to improve.
15. Chicago Bulls (25-25) – This ball club continues to play hard and gritty basketball. They’ll keep themselves in the playoff hunt by their effort alone.
16. Brooklyn (23-26) – The Nets continue to get better and better as we inch toward the playoffs.
17. Denver Nuggets (24-25) – Inconsistency has been the narrative of the Nuggets season. If they want a shot at making the playoffs, they’ll have to turn it around soon.
18. New Orleans Pelicans (22-28) – The Pelicans have been playing some very good basketball. They’ve won six of their last 10 which is much better than what they’ve been accustomed to.
19. Minnesota Timberwolves (24-27) – The Timberwolves just can’t catch a break. They lost another key guy in Kevin Martin, and that should hurt their playoff hopes.
Pretty Bad
20. Charlotte Bobcats (22-29) – The Bobcats are much improved, and could squeak into the playoffs if they can turn things around.
21. Detroit Pistons (21-29) – The Pistons fired head coach Moe Cheeks on Sunday, hopefully this is a move that can get them playing good basketball, as they are too talented to have a record below .500.
22. New York Knicks (20-31) – Time is running out as we inch toward the All-Star break, will the Knicks get their act together?
Tank Tank Tank Tank Tank Tank
23. Boston Celtics (18-34) – The Celtics are a bad team that has yet to put together a consistent stretch of basketball. At this point they’re simply trying to develop young guys.
24. Los Angeles Lakers (18-33) – The Lakers had a two-game winning streak this week but still continued to suffer from the injury bug with the loss of Nick Young and perhaps even Steve Nash for the second time this season.
25. Cleveland Cavaliers (18-33) – The Cavaliers are currently a mess. We should expect multiple trades as we inch toward the trade deadline.
26. Sacramento Kings (17-33) – A lot of young talent, but they aren’t coached well enough to the point where it can translate into wins. Future is bright for them though.
27. Utah Jazz (17-33) – The Jazz are another young team that’s simply trying to find an identity for their franchise. They aren’t good, and understand that they’ll be looking to rebuild over these next few seasons.
28. Philadelphia 76ers (15-37) – The 76ers have lost six in a row, and are going through a stretch of some pretty bad basketball.
29. Orlando Magic (16-37) – It’s been tough for the young Magic, but they have a lot to look forward, as they’re young core is one of the best in the league.
30. Milwaukee Bucks (9-41) – There isn’t one team that tanks harder than the Bucks. Period.
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