RK LAST WK
1 (1) HEAT 25-7
I'm sure D-Wade heard all the chatter about how good the Heat were in his absence, so he's letting his play on the basketball court do the talking. Over the team's last ten games, Wade is averaging 24.4ppg, 4.4rpg, 3.4apg and shooting a monstrous .566 percent from the field. The Heat team has a 9-1 record during this stretch.
2 (3) THUNDER 24-7
KDTrey5, scored a career high 51 points - which was also a high this season in the NBA - to help his team defeat the slumping Denver Nuggets 124-118 in OT at home. The Nuggets were without Nene and Gallinari, but the Thunder still needed 51 from Durant and 40 from Westbrook to win, so that really concerns me. I stand behind the fact that I believe this team will come up short, because they have only two guys, maybe three if you add in James Harden, that can score and they are all perimeter players. The next 20-games will really determine how good this team is, because 15 of those opponents have plus .500 records.
3 (2) BULLS 25-8
The Bulls posted a 3-2 record over their last five outings and they did it without Rose who has been out nursing a bad back. For the season the Bulls have a 7-3 record without Rose in the lineup, which indicates to me that they are a much improved team from last season. The bad news is, back injuries usually slows down a player's explosiveness, which is Rose's greatest asset.
4 (5) SPURS 22-9
Before the season, I predicted that the Spurs would be one of the top teams in the Western Conference and thanks to their current 10-game winning steak, the Spurs now have the fourth best record in the league. Tony Parker has been the key reason for the Spurs success. During the steak Parker is averaging 23.7ppg and 8.3apg, which also helped him get selected to the all-star team.
5 (4) CLIPPERS 19-10
Since losing Billups for the season, the Clippers have gone on to post a 4-3 record. Adding Kenyon Martin should help, but losing out on J.R. Smith to the Knicks is though pill to swallow. The Clippers were hoping that Smith would fill the scoring void left by Billups, unfortunately it appears they will have to collectively come together. Chris Paul must play like an MVP and Mo Williams will have to play like he did in Cleveland in order for the Clippers to be serious contenders this season.
6 (11) MAGIC 20-12
ESPN's Chris Broussard came up with 3 trade scenarios recently involving Dwight Howard, but I will only discuss two of them. The first involving the Lakers, trading both Bynum and Gasol and ending up with Dwight, Jameer Nelson and Hedo. I will not make that trade. Bynum for Dwight straight up yes, but nothing more. The second involving Wade and Bosh for Dwight and Hedo was more plausible, but I still wouldn't make that trade. I would trade Dwight for Wade straight up tomorrow, but I believe Bosh' perimeter shooting from the power forward position will be a perfect balance to Dwight's inside game. Obviously I am speaking from the perspective of the Lakers and the Heat. However, if I were Orlando's G.M. Otis Smith, and Miami was willing to give up Bosh and Wade, for Hedo, Jameer and Dwight, I would make that trade instantly!
7 (7) MAVERICKS 20-12
The Dallas Mavericks are a great team - the defending NBA Champions - but the more I watch this team, the less confident they make me. I've been a strong advocate for them all season long and I predicted they would make a push once Dirk and Odom started to play well, however, I'm starting to think Odom might never return back to the form that won him the 6-Man-Of-The-Year Award last season with the Lakers. In order for the Mavs to be a contending team, they must increase the team's scoring average from 94.6 points to around 98 or more per game. For that to happen, Odom will have to increase his scoring average from 7.6 to 12 or more points. I will have to say, Odom holds the key to their Mavs success.
8 (18) GRIZZLIES 18-14
Call it luck, call it whatever you want, but the Grizzlies benefited from some fortuitous tip-ins over their last two outings. After blowing a 23-point lead in the second half, the Nuggets Dante Cunningham tipped in a missed shot by Rudy Gay with one second left. Fast forward to Saturday against the Warriors, Gay once again missed the go ahead basket, but was once again bailed with another tip-in by Tony Allen. That said, the Grizzlies are currently seeded sixth in the Western Conference thanks to their 4-game winning streak.
9 (9) LAKERS 18-13
After a 102-90 loss to the Suns, Kobe Bryant came out and said that the team should either trade Pau Gasol, or let it be known that he's not going to be traded so that Pau can focus more and give the team 100 percent effort. He went on to say, he doesn't want the team to trade Pau, but that management needed to make things clear. Many pundits argued that Kobe was speaking out on Pau's behalf, but I don't think so. I think Kobe statement was a reverse-psychology. I think he was actually endorsing and motivating management to make a trade, because even he realizes that this current Lakers team cannot compete for a championship.
10 (10) ROCKETS 18-14
The Rockets are 2-3 over their last five games and there seems to be some friction between Kevin Martin and head coach Kevin McHale. McHale is known as a big man's coach, because he himself stands at 6"10' and was known to dominate the paint during his playing days with the Celtics. The friction was taken to another level because McHale limited Martin to 19 minutes, with Martin ending up shooting 0-3 from the field for 0-points in the Rockets 93-83 loss to the Grizzlies. Martin contention was that if he was benched and the team was winning that would be one thing, but the team lost. Well, Martin redeemed himself in the Rockets next game by scoring 32 points in a 96-95 win over OKC. I'm keeping my eyes on this, because I strongly believe Martin is the player most likely to be traded by the Rockets before the March 15, deadline.
11 (12) PACERS 19-12
One thing that has gone unnoticed and that is the absence of George Hill, who was splitting point guard minutes with Darren Collison to give the Pacers a formidable tandem at the point guard position. The Pacers are 14-5 with Hill in the lineup this season, but only have a 5-7 record without him. The good news is, Hill's status has been upgraded to day-to-day and he's expected to join the team on Tuesday, which will hopefully help them extend their current 2-game winning steak.
12 (6) 76ERS 20-12
After Miami and Chicago, I'll put the Sixers in that next group with the Hawks, Pacers, Magic, Celtics and know Knicks; all of whom I consider to be best-of-the-rest. Now if you're a Sixers fann and feel your team is as good as the Bulls or Heat, then you are clearly mistaken. Their 3 straight losses doesn't bother me because of those games were on the road and an 82-75 loss at home to the defending champions Dallas Mavericks isn't all that bad. However, the Sixers next 17 games will determine how good they really are. Ten of those games are on the road and 6 of their 7 home games will be against teams with plus .500 records, so from that prospective, their current 3-game skid is a though pill to swallow if you're a Sixers fan.
13 (14) KNICKS 16-16
Well, I don't need to say much about this team, because unless you've been under a rock, by now everyone has heard about Jeremy Lin, the Asian-American sensation. This guy has completely revitalized the Knicks and with the addition of J.R. Smith and the return of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks future couldn't look any brighter. The only concern out of New York is whether Melo can fit in and I think he'll do just fine.
14 (8) HAWKS 19-12
Here's a stat for you, the Hawks were 7-3 before losing center Al Horford for the season in a game against the Indiana Pacers, since then the team has a 12-8 record, which is not that bad. However, the team has only won 3 of their last 9 games. Josh Smith was probably the biggest all-star snub this year, which means his stocks are at an all-time high, so it wouldn't surprise me to see the Hawks trade him before the deadline. One scenario would be trading Smith to the Lakers for Gasol straight up. The other would be sending Smith and Marvin Williams to the Magic for Dwight Howard who is from Atlanta.
15 (17) TRAIL BLAZERS 17-15
The Blazers inconsistency can be attributed wholeheartedly to their inconsistent guard play. The Camby-Aldridge-Batum-Wallace front-court are playing extremely well, so much so that coach Nate McMillan has decided to move Batum into the starting lineup ahead of Matthews Wesley. The Matthews-Crawford-Felton back-court are making only 13.2 of the 34.1 shots they attempt for .387 percent. They are even worse from 3s making only 3.7 of the 12.2 3-pointers they attempt. Those number are just atrocious to say the least.
16 (21) TIMBERWOLVES 16-16
We all know what Kevin Love can do, obviously his 25.7ppg and 14.2rpg for the season tells the story and we know Ricky Rubio is a rookie sensation, but it's center Nikola Pekovic who has emerged recently. For the season, Pekovic is averaging a very respectable 12.6ppg and 7.0rpg, but over the Wolves last 3 games, all wins, Pekovic averaged 22.7ppg and 10.7ppg. If he continues to play this way, the Wolves could make the playoff this season, but deep down, I don't think he will.
17 (13) CELTICS 15-15
After winning 9 of 10 and looking like the team had turned the corner, the Celtics reverted back to looking old and very inconsistent over their last 6 games. The team has only won 1 of their last 6 games, with back-to-back losses coming against the lowly Detroit Pistons, which prompted the Celtics players to have a players only meeting, or at least put word out that they will have a heart-to-heart players only meeting.
18 (15) NUGGETS 17-15
It's easy to say that the Nuggets are losing because Gallinari and Nene are out, but Gallinari has only been out for the last 5 games and Nene the last three, however, the Nuggets have a 3-10 record over their last 13 games, which is a major cause for concern. I think the real issue with the Nuggets is the team's defense. Their opponent are averaging 100.8 points per game against them, which is the second highest in the league. Only the Charlotte Bobcats have a worse defense.
19 (16) JAZZ 15-15
The Jazz have won only 3 of their last 11 games and are currently a game outside of the playoffs. I said before the season started and I'll say it again, unless Devin Harris turns back the clock and start playing like he did in New Jersey, the Jazz will not make the playoffs this season.
20 (20) SUNS 13-19
Steve Nash flat out said he will not ask to be traded. The guy is just an outstanding character guy, which explains why he's an all-star. Marcin Gortat, the Suns leading scorer, is one player that will certainly be devastated if Nash ever gets traded. Gortat is averaging career-highs in points, rebounds and blocks with 15.6ppg, 10.4rpg and 1.6bpg, while shooting .554 percent from the field. The Lakers Andrew Bynum is the only center in the West playing better than Gortat.
21 (19) BUCKS 13-18
Brandon Jennings recently came out and said he will consider taken his talents to big market teams. Well as karma would have it, not only are the Bucks not a playoff team, but Jennings numbers have gone South since his announcement. Over the Bucks last 5 games, Jennings averaged 13.6ppg, 4.2apg and shot a horrid .30 percent from the field. The team has a 1-4 record during that stretch. Adding insult to injury, Stephen Jackson has been very unhappy with playing time and recently said he doesn't see a future with the team. It wouldn't surprise me to see Bucks trade Brandon Jennings and Stephen Jackson, the only problem is, their stocks are really low right now.
22 (23) CAVS 12-17
After missing three straight games because of a concussion injury, Kyrie Irving is back with the team. Since returning, the Cavs are 2-1, but with the Knicks surging, I'll put the Cavs chance of making the playoffs at less than 10 percent.
23 (26) PISTONS 11-22
After starting the season 4-20, the Pistons have gone on to win 7 of their last 9 games including back-to-back wins over the Celtics. The reality though is that two of those wins came against the Nets, one against the Hornets and one against the Kings, so I'm not going to put too much into this yet. I will say however, the Pistons are playing with a lot more energy.
24 (22) WARRIORS 11-17
The Warriors had a though week, losing by 2-points to Portland and a point to Memphis on a lucky put-back by Tony Allen. Four of the Warriors last five defeats has come by less than 3 points or in over-time. If you go back and review most the Warriors losses, one thing has always stood out and that is the team's lack of rebounding. The Warriors are ranked 28th in the league in rebounding with 39.6 per game and that is the key reason for the team's 11-7 record.
25 (29) HORNETS 7-23
The Hornets entered last week with a 4-23 record and ended up winning three straight. They had a win over Utah followed by back-to-back road wins including a very impressive 89-85 win over the red-hot Knicks in New York. Obviously it's a little too late in terms of making the playoffs, but the Hornets looked very good last week.
BOTTOM FEEDERS
26 (24) KINGS 10-21
The Kings were on a nice little run, winning 4 of 6 before embarking on their current road trip. The team lost all four road games last week, with the trip continuing to Miami and Washington, so their losing streak could be up to six by the time they return to Sacramento.
27 (25) RAPTORS 9-23
The Raptors have lost 7 of their last 8 games, capped by a 98-91 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, the team with the worst record in the NBA. Andrea Bargnani, the team's leading scorer at 23.5ppg, has missed 19 games this season including the team's last 13 and he's not expected back until after all-star break, so you can expect the Raptors woes to continue.
28 (28) WIZARDS 7-24
The Wizard John Wall said he was disappointed that he didn't make the all-star team this year, in his second season. As a fan, I am very disappointed as well, but I'm glad to hear him say this. I expect Wall to average over 20ppg and 8apg in the second half of the season.
29 (27) NETS 9-24
The Nets have a 1-9 record over their last 10 games, so you can only imagine how excited the team was to get Brook Lopez back on Sunday. Lopez had been out the entire season because of a foot surgery so it was his first game of the season. The Nets excitement has nothing to do with whether Lopez can lead them to the playoffs, because he's not going to do that. The team is excited that Lopez returned just in time, three weeks to be exact, before the trade deadline. Their hope is Lopez is 100 percent healthy and is still capable of averaging 20ppg. If he can, they will obviously revisit the trade with Orlando for Dwight Howard.
30 (30) BOBCATS 4-27
The Bobcats are the NBA's worst team, so good news out of Charlotte are pretty scarce and comes around once every so often. The Bobcats finally ended their 16-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Raptors 98-91 in Charlotte on February 17, one month after beating the Warriors 112-100. For the season, the Bobcats have one road win and it came against the Knicks very early in the season.
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