30. Orlando Magic (14-29, Last Week: 27): The Magic have lost five games straight, and have tough games ahead of them in Brooklyn and New York.
29. Charlotte Bobcats (11-32, Last Week: 29): The Bobcats have lost three of their last four games, with their sole victory coming against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 102-101 victory; Kemba Walker had 25 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in the game.
28. Phoenix Suns (15-30, Last Week: 30): The Suns managed to defeat a Chris Paul-less Clippers team last Thursday, but fell to San Antonio and Dallas in the games following. Up next for the Suns is the return of Steve Nash and the Lakers on Wednesday.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves (17-24, Last Week: 19): The Timberwolves are reeling right now, having lost all four games last week, and nine of their last ten games.
26. Toronto Raptors (16-28, Last Week: 26): The Raps defeated the Orlando Magic in their only victory last week, going 1-2 since defeating the Lakers last Sunday.
25. Sacramento Kings (16-29, Last Week: 23): The Kings have lost four games in a row–to Western Conference teams.
24. Philadelphia 76ers (18-25, Last Week: 25): The Sixers lost to the San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks last week, but defeated the New York Knicks, 97-80, on Saturday.
23. Detroit Pistons (17-27, Last Week: 22): The Pistons went 2-2 last week, but the two victories both came against the lowly Orlando Magic.
22. Cleveland Cavaliers (13-32, Last Week: 28): The Cavs are currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak. Kyrie Irving is on a roll right now, averaging 35.6 points on 61.2 percent shooting from the field during the stretch.
21. Washington Wizards (11-31, Last Week: 24): Things are finally looking up for the second-worst team in the league (record-wise), as the Wizards went 3-1 last week.
Next Page: Middle Of The Pack
20. Boston Celtics (21-23, Last Week: 18): The Celtics had lost six games in a row before defeating the Miami Heat on Sunday morning. However, the victory was bittersweet as the Celts learned that All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season, and for much of next season.
19. Portland Trail Blazers (22-22, Last Week: 20): The Blazers had an up-and-down week last week; losing to the Wizards, defeating the Indiana Pacers, and then splitting back-to-back games against the Los Angeles Clippers.
18. New Orleans Hornets (15-29, Last Week: 17): The Hornets went 2-2 last week. They’ll face the Lakers on Tuesday.
17. Houston Rockets (24-22, Last Week: 21): The Rockets followed up an eight-game losing streak with a 3-1 week since our last rankings.
16. Dallas Mavericks (19-25, Last Week: 15): The Mavs went 2-1 last week, as Elton Brand has seen an uptick in minutes lately.
15. Atlanta Hawks (25-19, Last Week: 14): The Hawks won three games in a row before falling to the Knicks on Sunday.
14. Milwaukee Bucks (23-19, Last Week: 13): Milwaukee has won four of five games; Ersan Ilyasova has been a huge part of that as he’s averaging 25.5 points and 12.3 rebounds over the Bucks’ last four games.
13. Utah Jazz (24-20, Last Week: 12): The Jazz have won five of six games–their only loss coming at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in a 102-84 loss.
12. Los Angeles Lakers (19-25, Last Week: 16): I’m giving the Lakers the benefit of the doubt here, and shifting them above other teams that are doing well. Although they split four games last week (2-2), they defeated a quality Utah Jazz team and one of the top teams in the league–the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers appear to have finally turned the corner. They wish they were the 12th-best team in the league record-wise, though, as they’re still a few games behind the 8th seed in the West.
11. Indiana Pacers (26-18, Last Week: 8): The Pacers went 1-2 on the road last week, with their last stop on the road set for Denver.
Next Page: Spurs Take Back Number One Spot
10. Golden State Warriors (26-17, Last Week: 11): The Warriors are fortunate enough to move up, here. Despite losing two games on the road to Chicago and Milwaukee (the road being an area in which the Warriors once were exceptional), the Warriors previously defeated the then two best teams in the league–the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
9. Brooklyn Nets (26-18, Last Week: 5): The Nets defeated New York and Minnesota, before losing to Memphis and Houston; losing the momentum they created in our previous rankings.
8. Chicago Bulls (26-17, Last Week: 9): The Bulls went 3-1 last week, but lost to the Wizards in Washington on Saturday; Joakim Noah has been a beast on the boards, averaging 16.0 rebounds during the stretch.
7. Denver Nuggets (27-18, Last Week: 10): Denver continues to play well, having won three games in a row and possessing a 17-3 record at home.
6. Memphis Grizzlies (28-15, Last Week: 7): The Grizzlies went 2-2 last week, including victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets.
5. New York Knicks (27-15, Last Week: 6): The Knicks went 2-2, with their most notable loss coming against the Brooklyn Nets; over those four games, Amar’e Stoudemire has become more comfortable and is averaging 17.0 points and 6.8 rebounds.
4. Miami Heat (28-15, Last Week: 4): Despite a loss to Boston on Sunday, the Heat had won four in a row prior to that.
3. Los Angeles Clippers (33-13, Last Week: 1): The Clips had lost four games in a row before finally winning one on Sunday evening. The losses can all be attributed to Chris Paul being sidelined, however.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (34-11, Last Week: 2): The Thunder have went 3-3 on their recent Western Conference road trip, but will finally get some rest at home as their next game isn’t until Thursday against the Memphis Grizzlies.
1. San Antonio Spurs (36-11, Last Week: 3): The Spurs have won eight in a row, and once again take the top spot in our rankings as they did early on in the season. The Spurs have a host of talent, a revived Tim Duncan, an ever-elite point guard in Tony Parker, and the best coach in the NBA.