30. Charlotte Bobcats (7-16, Last Week’s Ranking: 24): Well folks, we can all stop worrying. The world is no longer coming to an end as the Bobcats are currently in the middle of an 11-game losing streak, after actually hovering around .500 at one point.
28. New Orleans Hornets (5-18, Last Week: 27): Anthony Davis has returned to the lineup and played the last four games, but the Hornets have lost seven games in a row as well.
27. Cleveland Cavaliers (5-20, Last Week: 29): The Cavaliers have lost eight of their last nine games. Kyrie Irving, however, is turning into a superstar; averaging 23.8 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game.
26. Sacramento Kings (7-16, Last Week: 23): The Kings have lost four in a row, including a 122-97 blowout against the Denver Nuggets.
25. Detroit Pistons (7-19, Last Week: 26): The Pistons have also lost four in a row. They are particularly bad on the road; going 2-12 so far this season.
24. Toronto Raptors (6-19, Last Week: 30): The Raptors jump up in the rankings due to consecutive wins over the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. Jose Calderon was a huge part of the victory over Houston with a triple-double; 18 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds.
23. Orlando Magic (10-13, Last Week: 20): The Magic won two of their three games last week. Unfortunately, they don’t appear to be a very exciting or solid team at all.
22. Dallas Mavericks (11-13, Last Week: 14): The Mavs have lost three games in a row; all coming on the road. In fact, the Mavericks are a horrible road team this season, going just 4-10 so far.
21. Houston Rockets (11-12, Last Week: 19): The Rockets went 2-2 last week, but did take the San Antonio Spurs to overtime last money; a game in which James Harden was injured Jeremy Lin scored 38 points.
Next Page: Middle of the Pack
20. Philadelphia 76ers (12-12, Last Week: 12): The Sixers drop this week after losing three games in a row last week.
19. Phoenix Suns (9-15, Last Week: 25): The Suns jump up this week due to consecutive victories over the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies after previously losing seven games in a row.
18. Boston Celtics (12-11, Last Week: 11): The Celtics went 1-2 against all Texas teams (Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio).
17. Los Angeles Lakers (11-14, Last Week: 21): It feels great to finally be able to place the Lakers ahead of the Celtics once again. The Lakers looked horrible in a loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers, lost the first half against the New York Knicks badly and eventually lost the game, battled throughout a game against the lowly Washington Wizards for a victory, and held a solid lead over the Philadelphia 76ers for a win on their four-game, Eastern Conference road trip. They aren’t quite rolling yet, but they’ve slowly and steadily improved. i
16. Utah Jazz (13-12, Last Week: 15): The Jazz defeated the Spurs but lost to Memphis last week. However, there remains a disparity between their quality of play at home (9-2) and on the road (4-10).
15. Denver Nuggets (13-12, Last Week: 17): The Nuggets have played a lot of games on the road and struggled, but have been solid at home. A victory over the Memphis Grizzlies at home on Friday proved that.
14. Milwaukee Bucks (12-10, Last Week: 13): The Bucks won four games in a row before being absolutely destroyed by the Los Angeles Clippers at home on Saturday.
13. Portland Trail Blazers (11-12, Last Week: 22): The Trailblazers have won three games in a row, including a victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Rookie point guard Damian Lillard can be thanked for that one; putting up 29 points, pulling down seven rebounds, and dishing out six assists against perennial All-Star point guard Tony Parker. A tremendous amount of balance of scoring has also been a huge positive for Portland.
12. Indiana Pacers (13-11, Last Week: 18): Three wins in a row boost the Pacers up this week. Danny Granger came off his crutches last week, but his official timetable for return is still February. Until then, the Pacers will have to continue to hang in there.
11. Brooklyn Nets (13-10, Last Week: 10): The Nets finally dropped out of the top ten, after losing going 2-2 last week; albeit the two losses came against the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls.
Next Page: Who takes the number one spot?
10. Minnesota Timberwolves (12-9, Last Week: 16): The Wolves have won four games in a row. Ricky Rubio made his season debut on Saturday in a win over the Dallas Mavericks; Rubio had eight points, nine assists, four rebounds, and three steals in the game. Kevin Love sat that particular game out with the flu, but should be back in the lineup shortly.
9. Chicago Bulls (13-9, Last Week: 7): The Bulls are continuing to hold down the fort while Derrick Rose recovers from surgery. The Bulls have individually and collectively stepped up, and should be a team to be reckoned with in the East upon Rose’s return.
8. Atlana Hawks (14-7, Last Week: 9): The Hawks lost to the Golden State Warriors at home on Saturday, 115-93.
7. Memphis Grizzlies (15-6, Last Week: 3): The Grizz have slipped a bit lately, losing three games in a row to the likes of the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets before defeating the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
6. Miami Heat (15-6, Last Week: 6): Dwyane Wade’s health will be the X-factor this season for the Heat as his play has been up-and-down.
5. Golden State Warriors (16-8, Last Week: 8): The Warriors have played the majority of their games on the road thus far this season, and they’ve been extremely solid; achieving up an astounding 10-5 road record. The Warriors have won nine of their last eleven games, including victories over the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, and Atlanta Hawks–all road victories.
4. San Antonio Spurs (19-6, Last Week: 1): The Spurs have fallen out of the number one slot for the first time this season. Consecutive losses to the Utah Jazz and Portland Trailblazers on the road could be a sign that the Spurs’ age is catching up with them, or that they’re simply on cruise control right now after starting off the season so hot.
3. New York Knicks (18-5, Last Week: 4): Solid victories over the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers prove that the Knicks are for real this season.
2. Los Angeles Clippers (17-6, Last Week: 5): The Clippers continue to stay hot; currently boasting a nine-game winning streak.
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (19-4, Last Week: 2): What beats a nine-game winning streak? A ten-game winning streak! The Thunder have won ten in a row, and the young superstars–Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook–have improved their already elite games.