30. Charlotte Bobcats (7-23, Last Week: 30): The Bobcats are currently in the midst of an 18-game losing streak. Ouch.
29. Washington Wizards (4-24, Last Week: 28): The Wizards are still at the bottom of the barrel record-wise. One positive for the Wizards is the possibility that John Wall could return to practice this week.
28. Cleveland Cavaliers (7-25, Last Week: 27): The Cavs won a game last week, but it was against the Wizards. Kyrie Irving is playing well, though.
27. New Orleans Hornets (7-23, Last Week: 29): The Hornets won two games last week. Things could be looking up for New Orleans, though, as Eric Gordon finally made his season debut in Saturday’s win over the Bobcats; Gordon had 24 points and seven rebounds in the contest.
26. Phoenix Suns (11-20, Last Week: 23): The Suns are in the middle of a five-game losing streak; a horrible road record (2-13) is to blame.
25. Dallas Mavericks (12-19, Last Week: 24): The Mavs have faced tough opponents in their last six games, and have lost each and every one of them. Dallas’ allowed points average of 103.1 proves that the defense is the main culprit here.
24. Orlando Magic (12-18, Last Week: 21): The Magic have lost five games in a row–many of them coming to weak teams such as the Wizards and Hornets.
23. Detroit Pistons (11-22, Last Week: 26): The Pistons haven’t looked too bad lately; beating the Wizards twice a week ago and defeating the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks over the weekend. Will Bynum had a couple of outstanding games last week, while a balanced team effort was responsible for the victories.
22. Boston Celtics (14-16, Last Week: 19): The Celtics continue to struggle while losing three games straight on a west coast swing through Los Angeles (Clippers), Golden State, and Sacramento.
21. Sacramento Kings (11-19, Last Week: 25): The Kings defeated the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics last week; DeMarcus Cousins returned to the lineup after a team suspension during those two victories.
Next Page: Middle Of The Pack
20. Philadelphia 76ers (14-17, Last Week: 22): The Sixers managed to beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, before falling to Golden State and Portland on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Jrue Holiday is putting up All-Star type numbers, however, while averaging 18.6 points, 8.9 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game.
19. Toronto Raptors (11-20, Last Week: 20: The Raptors have won seven of their last eight games. DeMar DeRozan is leading the Raptors scoring-wise with an 18.2 points average this season.
18. Utah Jazz (15-17, Last Week: 18): The Jazz lost three games in a row–two to Golden State, and twice to the Clippers last week.
17. Portland Trail Blazers (15-14, Last Week: 14): LaMarcus Aldridge is putting up some big numbers; averaging 23.0 points and 7.8 rebounds over his last four games.
16. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-13, Last Week: 16): The Wolves continue to be an average team–losing to the Knicks and Rockets before defeating the Phoenix Suns last week. Kevin Love missed a game last week (against the Knicks) and has seen his offense become less consistent as of late; his rebounding is still top-notch, though.
15. Denver Nuggets (17-15, Last Week: 17): The Nuggets defeated the Lakers and and Mavericks last week, before falling to the Grizzlies. Kenneth Faried has been the Nuggets’ most effective player with his energy and hustle.
14. Brooklyn Nets (16-14, Last Week: 15): The Nets put together two consecutive wins over bad teams after faltering to solid teams over the two weeks prior. Deron Williams missed a game last week (against the Bucks) due to a wrist injury, but has not looked like himself this season.
13. Chicago Bulls (16-12, Last Week: 11): The Bulls were demolished by the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, but managed to save face against the lowly Washington Wizards.
12. Indiana Pacers (17-13, Last Week: 10): If Roy Hibbert can play consistently and consistently stay on the floor, he could be a huge asset for the Pacers going forward.
11. Milwaukee Bucks (16-13, Last Week: 13): The Bucks handily beat Brooklyn and Miami last week, before losing to the Pistons on Sunday.
Next Page: Clippers Remain On Top
10. Los Angeles Lakers (15-15, Last Week: 12): Maybe I’m being too optimistic here, and some of you are probably wondering why a .500 team is at number ten on the list. However, a significant Christmas Day victory over a strong New York Knicks team deserves some credit. Sure, the Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets, but have won six of seven games overall and the return of Steve Nash has seemingly sparked the Lakers. The defense, however, still needs some serious work as the team is giving up an average of 100.2 points to opponents.
9. Houston Rockets (16-14, Last Week: 9): The Rockets continue to get the job done, despite losing to the San Antonio Spurs and getting crushed by the Oklahoma City Thunder in back-to-back games. Omer Asik has turned into a rebounding beast, however; averaging 11.6 boards on the season and 13.3 over the past six games.
8. Atlanta Hawks (19-9, Last Week: 8): The Hawks are currently riding a four-game winning streak.
7. Memphis Grizzlies (19-8, Last Week: 6): The Grizzlies have slid a bit as of late; getting smashed by the Rockets last week and losing to the Pistons on Wednesday before defeating the Nuggets on Saturday.
6. New York Knicks (21-9, Last Week: 5): The Knicks lost to the Kings on Friday, and barely defeated the Suns on Wednesday. Amar’e Stoudemire could return to the lineup as soon as Tuesday, however. It will be interesting to see how he’s utilized, and he could make the Knicks a serious title-contending team if he can be effective in whatever role Mike Woodson chooses for him.
5. Golden State Warriors (21-10, Last Week: 7): The Warriors have won three in a row and continue to be an outstanding road team (11-6).
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (23-6, Last Week: 2): The Thunder failed to beat the Miami Heat in their Christmas Day, NBA Finals rematch, matchup. Psychologically, the inability to win in Miami will weigh heavily on OKC–at least until they face each other again in Oklahoma City.
3. Miami Heat (20-8, Last Week: 3): The Heat lost to the Pistons and Bucks in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Granted, both games were on the road.
2. San Antonio Spurs (24-8, Last Week: 4): The Spurs are currently on a five-game winning streak, and simply know how to win.
1. Los Angeles Clippers (25-6, Last Week: 1): Lo and behold, the Clippers hold their number one spot and continue to dominate teams. Currently on an 17-game winning streak, Los Angeles’ other team is defeating their opponents by a league-leading average of 10.1 points. The depth the Clippers possess is extremely dangerous and downright scary for other teams.