30. Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: 28): For how much talent the Kings have on their roster, they have no plausible reason to be this bad. On talent alone they are better than the Cavs, but for some reason, they just cannot string together victories. Ultimately, they just need to grow up, as they really have no veteran presence on their roster, so until that happens, they are going to struggle to pick up wins.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (29): People easily forget that this team started off 7-9. Unfortunately for them (and now the corpse of Baron Davis), they are 4-39 since then. Even though they’ve experienced recent victories over the Lakers and the new-look Knicks, they are going to continue to play for more ping pong balls and nothing more.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (30): I’ve decided that as long as Kevin Love is wearing a T’Wolves uni, there is no way this team can be ranked as one of the bottom two teams – he’s just too freaking good. 34 points and 20 rebounds is an unreal performance by itself and for any player – on Sunday afternoon, Kevin Love reached those numbers in three quarters. It’s too bad that his talents and numbers are being washed away with the rain in Minnesota. #FreeKevinLove!
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn3Z9PGXz9s
27. Washington Wizards (26): The Wizards haven’t come out victorious since their win over the Cavs on Feb. 13 that ended their 25-game losing streak on the road. On the bright side, John Wall is looking better and better with every game, and he’s dished out at least 10 assists in four of his last six games. With Nick Young’s consistent improvements, the Wizard’s might be strapped with one of the league’s most dangerous backcourts for the next 8-10 years.
26. Toronto Raptors (27): The Raptors offense has been clicking – as José Calderon, Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan are all playing stellar basketball this month, but it just cannot seem translate into wins for the Raptors – likely stemming from a lack of a defensive presence. If they can somehow fill that void, they are going to be a tough team to defeat next season.
Next: 25-21
25. Detroit Pistons (23): I don’t think a team has experienced this much turmoil since the “Jail Blazers” or the Isaiah Thomas-“led” Knicks of the mid-2000s. To be honest, it’s not the players’ fault either. Joe Dumars obviously made a mistake in hiring John Kuester, and Kuester has made massive mistakes in playing with the cards that he has been dealt. Greg Monroe has been solid, but the rest of this team remains as one, massive question mark.
24. New Jersey Nets (25): Just by adding Deron Williams to the Nets’ roster keeps New Jersey out of the NBA’s bottom five, but with a seven-footer who averages less than six rebounds per game and Sasha Vujacic as the Nets’ next best players, it’s hard to rise much higher in the NBA ranks.
23. Los Angeles Clippers (22): Blake Griffin is still just as cool as he was last week (probably even cooler), but the Clippers are still a team that is just on the cusp of breaking through. Swapping Baron Davis for Mo Williams was a great move for the future and his addition will definitely give the Clips some more cap-flexibility this summer and next as they look to build around Griffin, Eric Gordon and Co.
22. Milwaukee Bucks (24): The offense is going through Andrew Bogut and Corey Maggette – not Brandon Jennings, while the Bucks continue to lose, and look less and less like the 46-win team they were last season. With that being said, maybe Jennings isn’t so off in his recent comments.
21. Charlotte Bobcats (20): By trading Gerald Wallace to Portland, the Bobcats have officially no players on their roster from the original 2004-05 Charlotte team. Financial flexibility is the obvious reason for the trade, but as we’ve been seeing lately, playing in a small market is a deal killer for nearly every big free agent name. And unfortunately for Charlotte, the “allure” of getting your ass kicked by a middle-aged Michael Jordan in practice will never be enough to create big-time signings for the uber-small-market Bobcats.
Next: 20-16
20. Indiana Pacers (15): They missed out BIG TIME on not acquiring OJ Mayo in a deal that fell through just moments before the deadline, but they are still going to have around 35 million in cap space this summer, and although – like Charlotte – they play in a small market, they should still be able to find some talent to put around Danny Granger, Darren Collison and Roy Hibbert. If they can find a solid scoring guard and an inside/outside power forward with their available cash, they are easily a playoff contender in the East.
19. Golden State Warriors (16): They were the recipients of Kevin Love’s monster game last night, and that is largely attributed to their lack of, well, anything inside. David Lee is a great power forward, but the way the Warriors use him in their offense (and whatever they call their defense) is not conducive – to any extent – in filling their gaping hole in the paint.
18. Utah Jazz (19): Talk about a massive makeover. The Jazz’s offense is now being run by Devin Harris and instead of having a glut of three big men, they now have FOUR power forward/centers, who are all capable of contributing in big ways. I wouldn’t write off Utah’s season yet, but with Memphis and Phoenix playing so good as of late, they do not have a tight of a grasp on a playoff spot as they likely thought prior to the all-star break.
17. Houston Rockets (21): The Rockets are going to take a major hit defensively, as a result of the Shane Battier trade and it could very well be the one thing that keeps them from making the playoffs. However, they added some MUCH-needed size by trading for Hasheem Thabeet, who might be able to salvage his career in Houston, where the Rockets are in dire need of a real center. Alongside Luis Scola, Thabeet has the potential to flourish and become the center everyone thought he would be when Memphis drafted him No. 2 overall in 2009.
16. New Orleans Hornets (13): They flipped Marcus Thornton for Carl Landry in a “highly controversial” trade, and it gave them a little more depth up front, which they have been lacking. Even will a healthy top-six, the Hornets are still a ways away from competing with the likes of San Antonio, the Lakers, Oklahoma City and even Dallas. Chris Paul is great, but not great enough to make David West, Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza and Marco Bellineli play winning basketball on a consistent basis.
Next: 15-11
15. New York Knicks (18): He’s not LeBron James, but he’s the guy who was drafted two spots after him – if that’s any consolation for the Knicks big whiff in free-agency this summer. Now, with Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony leading New York’s journey to return to basketball-relevancy, the Knicks are slowly on the rise, but will fail to rise amongst the elite as they still are trying to find the part in their playbook that tells them what defense to play.
14. Denver Nuggets (12): The MeloDrama is finally over (and the annoying puns, thank God), Anthony is finally in New York, and somehow, the Nuggets are still playing solid basketball. They knocked off Memphis and Boston with their new roster, and even came close to beating Portland, in Portland, which would have made them 3-0 in their post-Carmelo life. There’s a very good chance they slip out of the playoffs, but with a chip on their shoulder and a boatload of talent, they still have the potential to surprise a lot of people. I don’t think they will – but the potential is still there, nonetheless.
13. Philadelphia 76ers (14): I know that I predicted them to make the playoffs, but this team has shocked me this season, and for multiple reasons. 1) Andre Iguodala is still on the roster. I’m glad that he is, but I’m just surprised that he wasn’t shipped out despite the team’s solid play. 2) Elton Brand is not being referred to as “the corpse of Elton Brand,” as many people might have expected him to be this deep into his sickening contract. The Sixers are finally over .500 and it looks like, barring injury or a massive meltdown, that they will be the East’s seventh seed during the postseason. Kudos to General Manager Rod Thorn for letting Doug Collins and his young guns figure it out for an entire season before deciding whether or not to clean shop. The NBA’s other GMs (minus a select few): Please take notes.
12. Phoenix Suns (17): At 38, it’s pretty shocking to see Grant Hill put up 14 points a night and consistently guard the opposing team’s best player (and do so effectively). As shocking as it is to see such solid numbers for a player who is relatively a dinosaur at this point in his career – everyone fails to realize that Hill is not your normal 15-year veteran. Yeah, he’s been in the NBA since 1994, but if you remember, Hill suffered his first catastrophic injury in 2000, and for five seasons (or a possible 410 games) he only played in 145 of them. That means, over a five-year span, Hill only played in approximately 35% of his games. That’s not even two full seasons – so really, Hill really is missing over three years of basketball during his 15-year career. Basically, while his player card says he is in his 16th year in the league, his legs say he’s only in about his 13th year – which is a massive difference.
11. Memphis Grizzlies (9): Things got awkward when they tried to trade OJ Mayo to Indiana but they couldn’t get a deal done in time, keeping Mayo in Memphis. Regardless, they are five games over the .500 mark, and with every passing day, they look more and more like a legitimate playoff team; especially with the faltering of Utah, Denver and possibly New Orleans.
Next: 10-6
10. Portland Trail Blazers (8): Marcus Camby is back, Gerald Wallace is in the fold and Brandon Roy is slowly progressing to a point where he might be helpful once again. For the Blazers, who have been slapped silly with injuries these past few years, they have been battling like warriors through it. If things start to go right for them in the health department, the rest of the West better watch out, because they could easily sneak into the conference finals.
9. Atlanta Hawks (11): At this point, Atlanta falls into a similar category to Orlando and New York; meaning, they are a very talented and efficient team, but they just don’t possess the wholeness or star power of a Boston, Miami or Chicago, to propel them much further than the second round. They are a fairly deep team, but a lack of defense is always a deal breaker for any team looking to knock of one of the elite.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (6): It’s terrible to see the Broingtons break up before they were able to do some major damage together in the Western Conference, but adding Kendrick Perkins to their front line is going to be a huge boost for the Thunder when they take on the Spurs, Lakers and/or Mavs come playoff time. I don’t know if this puts them over the hump just yet, but it sure doesn’t slow them down in that regard.
7. Orlando Magic (7): They’ve been one of the most consistent teams this season, however, they just haven’t been consistently good enough to leapfrog into the discussion of the top-teir teams in the league. Dwight Howard may be superman, and the Magic might be capable of shooting lights out from three, but they just don’t have a lockdown defender on the perimeter to keep LeBron, Pierce and Carmelo under wraps.
6. Miami Heat (3): They are out of the top-five for the first time in awhile – not because they are playing bad, but due to the fact that the NBA’s elite are playing so well right now, someone had to take the backseat. Even if LeBron is continuing to assert himself as possibly the most dominant player to ever touch a basketball, no team can be successful with three guys accounting for 68.6 percent of its points on a nightly basis.
Next: 5-1
5. Boston Celtics (1): As good as they have been this season, trading Kendrick Perkins was a bad move. Why do you think Kevin Garnett was crying all day Thursday? I can tell you one thing: They weren’t tears of joy because he was so excited to have another undersized partner, who likes to launch 3-pointers and play defense sparingly. With Perkins, Boston had a huge shot at the title. Without him, they fall to easy prey for the Lakers’ big men.
4. Los Angeles Lakers (10): Hopefully I’m not speaking too soon, but FINALLY. I have been waiting for them to turn it around, and the Purple and Gold decided that their post-All-Star break schedule was the right time to do so. They are 4-0 since then, and after standing pat at the trade deadline (great decision, Mitch), they are looking extremely cohesive and ready to roll over anyone who gets in their way. We’ve been wondering when they were going to do it, and get their act together for about the entire season; we just didn’t know when. Well everyone, the time has come.
3. Dallas Mavericks (5): I’m still baffled by the fact that the reason Dallas did not make any big moves at the trading deadline was because they were unwilling to give up Roddy Beaubois in a deal – even if it swung them Carmelo Anthony. Beaubois better be really good, because refusing to trade an unproven, young guard, who is coming off of a bad injury for one of the best players in the league is kind of insane.
2. Chicago Bulls (4): Now that Boston has traded Perkins, Chicago is the team to beat in the East. Record-wise, they still sit behind Boston and Miami, but at the end of the day, what you do in the playoffs is all that matters. Derrick Rose is the favorite for MVP, and with Joakim Noah back in the lineup and crashing boards with Carlos Boozer, the Bulls are going to be a difficult team to defeat.
1. San Antonio Spurs (2): They are on the verge of becoming the league’s first 50-win team this season, and rightfully so. Manu Ginobili has been the catalyst for the Spurs this season, and when Duncan ups his minutes to 34-35 per game in the playoffs, that might just be enough to send this team back to the finals though. They obviously couldn’t make it through the whole season without an injury though, as Tony Parker might miss a few games due to a left calf contusion he suffered last night against Memphis.