30. Minnesota Timberwolves (Last week’s ranking: 30): The “Love” puns are getting old, but when the rest of your team’s core consists of Michael Beasley, Darko Milicic, Luke Ridnour, Wesley Johnson and Anthony Tolliver, you gotta milk the “Love” for all you can.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (29): Baron Davis was definitely right when he said the Clippers are going to be one of the most talked about teams heading into next season. I wonder if he knew that he would be on the less-than-lowly Cavs and not the Clippers when that happens though.
28. Washington Wizards (27): Maybe the Wizards should start doing magic on the road, because whatever they are are doing when they are away from the Verizon store is clearly failing miserably.
27. Toronto Raptors (26): Is anyone surprised that the the two team’s who lost its stars to South Beach share a combined 34-111 record this season? Nope, I didn’t think so either.
26. New Jersey Nets (24): When re-signing Kris Humphries is No. 1 on your offseason to-do-list, you need a major reevaluation of what your position is in this league. He’s a great rebounder, but it’s his first good season as a pro, and it just happened to come in his contract season. For some reason, I feel like I’ve heard this story somewhere before…
Next: 25-21
25. Detroit Pistons (25): Richard Hamilton and Head Coach John Keuster have apparently settled their differences, but if they think that is going to salvage the Pistons’ season, they are highly mistaken.
24. Sacramento Kings (28): Marcus Thornton might have been the biggest trade-deadline steal that no one is talking about, as he’s putting up 23 PPG on 47 percent shooting in 39 MPG in his last 10 games.
23. Los Angeles Clippers (22): The combination of Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon is likely the NBAs next great big/little dynamic duo, and although the Clips have struggled in the last third of the NBA season, they are growing as a unit every day, and will definitely be one of the most hyped teams heading into next season.
22. Milwaukee Bucks (21): The Bucks were simply a short-lived NBA fad. They had one great single, they looked good on people for a little while – but then everyone realized (including themselves) that they actually weren’t that great and that maybe their style isn’t the next trend-setter.
21. New York Knicks (17): The Knicks are lucky they play in the East, because if they were in the West, they would have fallen so much harder on their face than they have. The Eastern Conference is like childhood/adolescence, because even though teams might make horrible mistakes, life is still so easy that they don’t have any repercussions for their actions.
Next: 20-16
20. Utah Jazz (18): The Jazz have been the Knicks of the West (losers of five straight and seven of their last 10), but unfortunately for Utah, they play in a much tougher conference, where any sort of slippage will have you out of the postseason in the blink of an eye.
19. Indiana Pacers (19): Are the Pacers getting cold feet as the playoffs near? Is a first round date with the league’s MVP and the East’s best team too scary for Indiana? Maybe they’d rather have the lottery pick than a four and out in the playoffs, which makes sense for them as a rebuilding team.
18. Charlotte Bobcats (23): The Bobcats are in the worst position possible for any team – they aren’t going to make the playoffs and they have essentially no shot at a good lottery pick. It’s like having your head cut off, but still being alive.
17. Golden State Warriors (20): It’s too bad that the Warriors won’t be in the playoffs, because as much as they have struggled this year, they have enough offensive firepower to really make a series interesting. Monta Ellis, Steph Curry, Dorrell Wright and David Lee are very hard to guard; however, the same can be said about every starting five that the Warriors are asked to defend as well.
16. Phoenix Suns (16): They showed a lot of poise in their triple-overtime thriller against the Lakers, but it’s extremely apparent that they lack the talent and manpower to make a late season run at the playoffs – especially with the more-talented and jelled Rockets making that same push for the same spot.
Next: 15-11
15. Philadelphia 76ers (15): After getting three games above the .500 mark, they have faltered a little bit, but they seem to have enough ground on New York to hold onto the sixth seed. They’ll likely get blown out in the first round of the postseason, however, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them steal a couple games away from one of the Conference’s top teams.
14. New Orleans Hornets (13): Losing David West to a torn ACL is a devastating blow for the Hornets, especially with the playoffs on the line. However, Carl Landry is more than a serviceable backup, he’s a legitimate starter, and if the Hornets can overcome even greater depth problems, they should be able to hold on to at least the eighth seed.
13. Houston Rockets (11): Two consecutive losses isn’t favorable for any team trying to make a final playoff push, but the Rockets are by no means out of the race just yet. Five of their final nine games will be played against non-playoff teams, and if they can finish out the season with only two or three more losses, that should be enough for the Rockets to sneak into the playoffs.
12. Atlanta Hawks (12): They have been struggling as of late, and with four of their final eight games set to be played against elite teams, things don’t appear to be getting any better for the Hawks as they look to wrap up the fifth seed in the East.
11. Memphis Grizzlies (14): Rudy Gay is out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, but luckily the Grizzlies still had Shane Battier ready to fill in. It’s too bad, for the Grizzlies’ sake as a growing team, that Gay won’t get any playoff experience this season, because he’s going to be an instrumental piece in their growth over the next five seasons.
Next: 10-6
10. Portland Trail Blazers (10): The Blazers are extremely deep, but they are still are one big man away from being contenders in the Western Conference. It’s not a knock on Aldridge at all – he’s been more than fantastic this season. However, he needs some help, and Marcus Camby’s near-dead corpse isn’t enough size to help the Blazers hang with the best of the West.
9. Denver Nuggets (8): Who would have thought, that, after trading Carmelo Anthony AND Chauncey Billups, that the Nuggets would actually be a better team? I’m guessing none of you. But it makes sense, though, as they have finally escaped the turmoil, they know their future is sans Melo and they know that they just have to keep playing.
8. Orlando Magic (9): Jameer’s injured, but that might not be such a bad thing for the Magic. Gilbert Arenas should be the starter, and when he gets his chance, the Magic are going to really get going.
7. Boston Celtics (6): The Cs are a meager 11-7 since shipping out Kendrick Perkins. With the Bulls rising and the Lakers returning to the status of the 2011 title favorites, it’s hard to believe that the Celtics aren’t regretting their deadline move.
6. Miami Heat (7): It’s scary when any team has three players combine for 94 points and 33 rebounds in a single game, but when the other nine guys on the team are only responsible for 27 points and 15 rebounds, that’s a problem. Until the make some new additions or other players start stepping up, it’s going to be the same two-man story for the Miami Heat.
Next: Top Five
5. San Antonio Spurs (2): Deep down, everyone knew the Spurs’ success couldn’t last the length of an entire 82-game season. At the same time, I’m not completely sold that the injuries to Duncan and Ginobili are going to impact them in the playoffs at all – Poppovich is probably just trying to get them some extra rest before taking what is probably this group’s final shot at a title.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (4): The “Broingtons” are broken up; however, I don’t think the Thunder are too upset considering that they have only lost once since making the trade for Kendrick Perkins.
3. Dallas Mavericks (5): I still think the Mavericks are a bunch of playoff pretenders, but they are still a ball club that wins a high percentage of its games consistently. (As seen in the Mavs’ 11 consecutive season’s of at least 50 wins.)
2. Chicago Bulls (3): It’s going to be so surreal to hear a Chicago Bull, who’s not named Michael Jordan, named as the league’s MVP. They are on the cusp of peaking, and once they do, watch out.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (1):They’re 15-1 since the all-star break, and with playoffs right around the corner, it looks like they are peaking at the perfect time. Kobe has dropped at least 30 in each of the last three games and the Lakers are rolling.