30. Cleveland Cavaliers (Last Week’s Ranking: 30): Are the Cavs the worst team in NBA history? They have lost 13 in a row, and in that stretch, their margin of defeat is 16.5 points per game. They may win a few more games than the the 1972-73 Sixers or last year’s Nets (barely), but Cleveland is in for a long haul over the second half of the season.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (29): In the Wolves’ 109-97 win over the Wizards on Thursday, Darko Milicic led the team with 11 rebounds – it marked the first time since Nov. 19 that Kevin Love was not Minnesota’s leading rebounder.
28. Sacramento Kings (28): Sacramento picked up a solid, 10-point win over the Knicks in the Big Apple on Friday night, but the Kings cannot seem to find any cohesiveness, as they are only one of two teams in the NBA still sitting on single-digit win totals.
27. New Jersey Nets (25): Even if they did get Carmelo, how much better would the Nets actually be? Anthony’s running mates would likely be headlined by Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries, Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar (and maybe Richard Hamilton). It’s tough to see Melo signing off on a deal that sends him to an even worse situation than he is currently in.
26. Washington Wizards (27): It’s too bad the Wizards can’t play all of their games at home. When playing away from the Verizon Center (where they have won 11 of 19), they are a dreadful 0-19. On the bright side, Nick Young is finally starting to come into his own as a scorer.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk9gg2h_Af8
Next: 25-21
25. Toronto Raptors (26): What’s more depressing than Toronto’s 13-27 record? That if the Raps, who are only three games out of eighth place, continue to win at their current rate (.325) over their next 42 games, 26-27 wins might get them into the playoffs.
24. Detroit Pistons (24): Wait is it 2004 again? As of late, the Pistons most consistent player has been Tracy McGrady, who is averaging 11.6 points (on a career-high 48 percent shooting), 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds since the start of 2011.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1D7yj6uHDk
23. Milwaukee Bucks (22): Milwaukee’s stretch of three wins in their last 10 games really shows how valuable Brandon Jennings is to the Bucks ball club. With him they are a solid seventh/eighth seed – without, ‘Fear the Deer’ is nowhere to be found.
22. Charlotte Bobcats (23): They reeled off an impressive four-game winning streak, but were back to earth with losses to Boston and New Orleans. Hopefully, they don’t let their mini-streak detach them from reality, because eight of their next 10 games are on the road, where the Bobcats have come out victorious only 42.8 percent of the time.
21. Philadelphia 76ers (20): Despite coming off the bench, Lou Williams dropped a game-high 25 points during Philadelphia’s 95-94 win over Milwaukee on Friday night. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Williams is the first Sixer since Allen Iverson in 2002, to come off of the bench and outscore all 10 of the game’s starters.
Next: 20-16
20. Indiana Pacers (19): Once upon a time, Danny Granger was a prolific scorer, however, those days appear to be gone. Fortunately for the Pacers, a .432 victory percentage in the Eastern Conference will get them into the playoffs.
19. Phoenix Suns (18): If their 106.2 PPG isn’t enough to outscore their opponent more than 44.7 percent of the time, does Phoenix do anything well? They don’t play defense (allow 109 PPG), they don’t win on the road (6-12 when not playing in Phoenix) and they don’t rebound the ball (39 RPG). I’m thinking no.
18. Golden State Warriors (17): On talent and offensive firepower alone, the Warriors should be a playoff team. Curry, Ellis and Wright might be the deadliest 1-2-3 combo in the league. However, for a team that averages 9.4 steals per game (second in the league), the Warriors don’t play that much defense (they allow 106.3 PPG on 46.9 percent shooting).
17. Houston Rockets (16): After hitting .500 on the last day of 2011, the Rockets have taken quite the tumble in the loss column, dropping five of seven in the month of January. As the trade deadline nears, watch out for the Rockets as a legitimate trading partner. Kyle Lowry and Aaron Brooks are both quality point guards, but they can’t play together and 24 minutes a night isn’t enough for both. Don’t be surprised to see one of them on their way out to bring in bigger bodies.
16. Los Angeles Clippers (21): What did the Clippers do this past week? Just knock off the Heat and Lakers while watching Blake Griffin extend his double-double streak to 26 games and DeAndre Jordan decide to become one of the league’s most intimidating post defenders. They are only 14-25, but they are 4-2 in 2011 and have a very easy January schedule. Don’t be surprised to see them at 20 wins by the end of the month.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKIJ9OXand4
Next: 15-11
15. Denver Nuggets (15): If Denver played every game with the mentality that Anthony was going to be traded if they lost, the Nuggets wouldn’t lose many games. Maybe that was their mindset when they knocked off Phoenix, Miami and Denver by an average of 30 points a game this past week.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzNoJwKr6w4
14. Memphis Grizzlies (14): The Grizz became the latest team to knock off the Mavs with a 19-point win over Big D on Saturday. They are inching closer and closer to .500, and with most of their remaining January schedule against teams with losing records, now might be the time where Memphis decides if they want an early summer or an early playoff exit.
13. Portland Trail Blazers (12): If Nate McMillan isn’t up for Coach of the Year, that will be one of the biggest farces of the year. LaMarcus Aldridge, Wes Matthews and Marcus Camby are solid, but without Brandon Roy, there is no way that the Blazers should be better than the Grizzlies and the Rockets this season.
12. New York Knicks (11): While Stoudemire has cooled off since his streak of 30 point games, Felton is continuing to display his position as one of the league’s premier guards. Whether he is actually a good point guard or is just a product of D’Antoni’s “seven seconds or less” offense is beyond me (I’d say it’s a little bit of both). Regardless, his numbers don’t lie and neither does New York’s record. They have a tough upcoming schedule, but they shouldn’t take too much of a hit heading into all-star weekend.
11. New Orleans Hornets (13): Are the Hornets finally returning to their winning ways from the start of the season? Their current four-game winning streak (with three of those victories coming over Denver, Orlando and Houston) seems to point in that direction. They still have no depth past their top-four, so we’ll see how long this stretch of strong play lasts. My guess: not much longer.
Next: 10-6
10. Dallas Mavericks (6): Who hasn’t beat Dallas recently? With Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler out, the Mavs have taken quite a tumble, winning only two of their last 10 games after starting the season 24-5. When Dirk did return on Saturday, it wasn’t for long, as he was ejected midway through the third period for “talking” with official Eric Dalen.
9. Atlanta Hawks (10): Houston handed the Hawks their first loss of 2011 on Saturday night, and while they have a fairly favorable schedule until about mid-February, Atlanta is as good as they are going to be this year. There is little-to-no chance that they surpass Miami, Boston, Chicago or Orlando by season’s end. The Hawks are an athletic, fourth/fifth place team, but not much more.
8. Chicago Bulls (7): They’ve played nine games over the first 15 days of this month; however the Bulls haven’t let a arduous schedule cause them to fall. Derrick Rose is emerging as the top MVP candidate with every passing day and the Bulls are continuing to win games despite injuries. The Achilles heel for this team will be their ability to win on the road, where they are a meager 9-10 this year.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPWvcdLMosw
7. Utah Jazz (9): What’s scary about the Jazz is how under-the-radar they are. Many people don’t take them seriously, yet, Utah’s depth is going to make them a contender in the Western Conference. They play solid offense, defense and they win on the road; final point, the Lakers and Spurs aren’t the only two teams with a shot at still playing in June.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (8): It’s really starting to become a difficult argument as to where the best duo in the league is located. They’re great pairs in Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago, but the NBA’s most formidable one-two punch has to be the kids Durant and Westbrook down in OKC.
Next: 5-1
5. Orlando Magic (4): Can you imagine if, somehow, Kevin Love ended up playing alongside Dwight Howard? I’m sure that’s what most people were thinking when Orlando and Minnesota squared off on Saturday night. Until then, the Magic just have to keep playing with what they have – which isn’t a bad thing considering they have the league’s best center and a plethora of deadly shooters waiting for him to kick it out.
4. Los Angeles Lakers (5): Seven wins in a row was great to see, and during their string of victories, the Lakers played some of their best team basketball in the last decade. Was being dropped by their little brother Clippers a bad loss? Not a horrible one, but that Blake Griffin was shooting one for nine with six rebounds mid way through the third quarter and still managed to finish with 18 points and 15 rebounds is unacceptable.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8atT21v0yDg
3. Miami Heat (1): Just as the Heat were not going to keep losing, they were never going to keep winning. A loss (or two, or three, or four, or five, or six, or seven) was inevitable, and with LeBron out, the ‘Heatles’ are just better than an average team (like how the Beatles would just be an average band without Lennon. Don’t worry LeBron, I understand your logic…). With an easy finish to January and an even easier month of February, the Heat aren’t going to fall far from this territory anytime soon.
2. Boston Celtics (3): They’ve benefited from an easy first-half schedule, but they did what every team needs to do in order to be successful – which is beat up on the bad teams and win early. Now, with KG returning to the lineup tonight and the return of Kendrick Perkins looming, it’s time to see if the C’s are ready for another run at the finals.
1. San Antonio Spurs (2): After starting off the new year 1-2, the Spurs have used an easy schedule to regain form, and have now won six straight. It’s scary to think how rested and ready to go Tim Duncan is going to be come playoffs, as he has only been on the court for 29.4 minutes a night this season.