30. Charlotte Bobcats (9-27, Last Week: 29): The Bobcats have lost three of their last four games, with their only victory coming against the lowly Detroit Pistons.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (9-30, Last Week: 28): The Cavs did defeat a strong Atlanta Hawks team, but got blown out by the reeling Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday evening.
28. Sacramento Kings (13-24, Last Week: 22): The Kings have lost four games in a row–albeit mostly to strong teams. DeMarcus Cousins has continued his exceptional play.
27. Phoenix Suns (13-26, Last Week: 25): The Suns lost five games in a row before beating the Bulls in Chicago on Saturday.
26. Orlando Magic (13-23, Last Week: 26): The Magic had lost 10 games in a row, but prevented dropping down in these rankings by defeating the white-hot Los Angeles Clippers.
25. Washington Wizards (6-28, Last Week: 30): The Wizards finally make it out of last place this week, and even jumped up a few positions by defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder and Atlanta Hawks in consecutive games. John Wall finally made his season debut with 14 points and four assists in 21 minutes of play.
24. Philadelphia 76ers (16-22, Last Week: 23): The Sixers had lost five games in a row before defeating the Houston Rockets on Saturday. Jrue Holiday has been playing well, though, and is averaging 18.7 points, 8.8 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game this season.
23. Detroit Pistons (14-24, Last Week: 20): The Pistons have won five of their last seven games, but one of those losses came against the Charlotte Bobcats.
22. New Orleans Horents (11-26, Last Week: 27): The Hornets jump up a few spots here due to winning four of their last five games–all coming against solid teams. Greivis Vasquez has continued his exceptional level of play as well.
21. Toronto Raptors (14-23, Last Week: 21): The Raptors are 3-3 in their six-game home stand, but struggle on the road this season with a road record of 4-15.
Next Page: Middle Of The Pack
20. Dallas Mavericks (15-23, Last Week: 24): The Mavs managed to blow out the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, 104-83. Dirk Nowitzki is getting himself into shape and into rhythm.
19. Los Angeles Lakers (16-21, Last Week: 19): The Lakers lost six games in a row before finally defeating the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. Pau Gasol remains sidelined with lingering effects from a concussion, and the Lakers only consistent player off the bench–Jordan Hill–received news that he will need surgery to repair a hip injury, which will sideline him for the remainder of the season. However, Dwight Howard returned to the lineup after missing three games, and Earl Clark emerged as a solid role player, and will likely have a spot in the rotation going forward.
18. Minnesota Timberwolves (16-18, Last Week: 17): Just when the T-Wolves were starting to get into rhythm, Kevin love re-fractured his injured hand and will be sidelined for approximately two months; the Wolves have subsequently lost three games in a row.
17. Utah Jazz (20-19, Last Week: 16): The Jazz went 3-1 last week, with Al Jefferson averaging 21.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists during that span.
16. Milwaukee Bucks (19-17, Last Week: 15): The Bucks face a desperate Lakers team in Los Angeles on Tuesday, but are a solid road team with a record of 9-8 away from home.
15. Portland Trail Blazers (20-17, Last Week: 14): The Blazers had won four games straight, but followed that with consecutive losses against powerful West Coast teams: The Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State Warriors.
14. Houston Rockets (21-17, Last Week: 8): After winning five games straight, the Rockets dropped three games in a row; which drops the Rockets quite a bit in the rankings this week.
13. Boston Celtics (19-17, Last Week: 18): As much as it pains me to say this, the Celtics are actually playing well–having won five games in a row.
12. Atlanta Hawks (21-15, Last Week: 9): The Hawks have slid as of late, losing five of their last six games–the most recent one coming against the league-worst Washington Wizards.
11. Chicago Bulls (20-15, Last Week: 11): The Bulls have won four of their last six games, including victories over the Miami Heat and New York Knicks. Despite losing key role players over the summer, the Bulls’ other stars–Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng–have stepped up their respective games and managed to put together a winning season. With Derrick Rose seeing a return in sight, the Bulls may be right there alongside the Miami Heat and New York Knicks come playoff time.
Next Page: A Tie At The Top?
10. Golden State Warriors (23-13, Last Week: 5): The Warriors have slid a bit recently, losing three of their last four games–albeit to tough opponents.
9. Denver Nuggets (23-16, Last Week: 13): The Nuggets are currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
8. Indiana Pacers (23-15, Last Week: 10): The Pacers are continuing to get better, and have won four of their last five games, including victories over the Miami Heat and New York Knicks.
7. Brooklyn Nets (22-15, Last Week: 12): The Nets have gotten their swagger back–winning six games straight.
6. Miami Heat (24-11, Last Week: 4): The Heat started off a six-game road trip by losing games to the Pacers and Trail Blazers, before defeating the Kings handedly on Saturday. Trips to Utah, Golden State, and Los Angeles (Lakers) will round out the rest of the trip.
5. New York Knicks (24-13, Last Week: 6): The Knicks lost three games in a row to tough Eastern Conference playoff contenders–the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, and Chicago Bulls–before defeating the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.
4. San Antonio Spurs (29-11, Last Week: 2): Losses against the New Orleans Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies drop the Spurs a couple slots here.
3. Memphis Grizzlies (24-11, Last Week: 7): Having won four of their last five games, victories over the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs propel the Grizzlies into the Top Three this week. They did suffer a drubbing by the Dallas Mavericks most recently, however.
1 (Tied). Los Angeles Clippers (28-9, Last Week: 1): The Clippers are still one of the hottest and most dominant teams in the league, but managed to lose to the Orlando Magic on Saturday. The loss doesn’t constitute a fall from the top, though.
1 (Tied). Oklahoma City Thunder (29-8, Last Week: 2): Similar to the Clippers, the Thunder managed to drop a game they should have absolutely dominated; losing to the league-worst Washington Wizards last Monday before collecting three wins in a row following that.
There is virtually no difference when it comes to which team is dominating the league more, between the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder. Both teams are excellent at home (Clippers: 18-4, Thunder: 18-3), on the road (Clippers: 10-5, Thunder: 11-5), and have similar points differentials when beating opponents (Clippers: +8.4, Thunder: +9.1).
This week, there is a rare tie at the top of the rankings. Perhaps a showdown on January 22 will provide some insight into which team is actually better.