30. Minnesota Timberwolves (Last week’s ranking: 28):Love’s finally reached 50 straight games with a double-double. For the first time since the days of Dennis Rodman, rebounding is finally cool. Yesterday, on Sports Center, they showed highlights of the Love Machine grabbing rebounds; it was unquestionably the first time that I have ever seen rebounds be the dominant highlights of a game recap. Sadly, Kevin Love is stuck in the dismalness of Minnesota, where NBA players go to die. I’m sure Minnesota sends weekly tapes of Kevin Love to Ricky Rubio, but I don’t even think Kobe Bryant or LeBron James could get that kid in a Wolves uni.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (29): They lose by an average of 10 points per game and although they somehow seem to have the Knicks’ number, they are still a dreadful team to watch play. Their starting lineup (Ramon Sessions, Anthony Parker, Alonzo Gee, Samardo Samuels and JJ Hickson) wouldn’t even make a quality bench for a championship-winning team.
28. Sacramento Kings (30): I’m really running out of things to say about the Kings. They are immature and inexperienced, plain and simple. Cousins is starting to get his act together, but the Kings have Houston, Orlando, San Antonio (road) and New Orleans (road) next – which probably means an 0-4 outing and another spot next week in the barrel’s bottom. 
27. Washington Wizards (27): The Wizards have won only twice in their last 11 games. Their opponents in those two contests: Minnesota and Cleveland. They just need to hurry up and hit the offseason so they can get John Wall some capable running mates. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rashard Lewis’ knee is “giving up” rather than “giving out.”
26. Toronto Raptors (26): Before I made these rankings I really thought that Toronto was at least going to be out of the bottom five. Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan and José Calderon have all been putting up big numbers lately, and I thought that Toronto had at least been winning some games. Unfortunately for them, good individual stats don’t always translate into wins for the team, especially when the word “defense” sounds foreign to them. Maybe they define defense differently in Canada and the players are just confused.
Next: 25-21
25. Detroit Pistons (25): Other than Greg Monroe, I think every other player on this team is expendable. It’s time to clean shop – the Pistons can easily write off this season for the reason of “okay, I know we’re four years overdue, but it’s time to rebuild.”
24. Milwaukee Bucks (22): To say that 2010-11 has been a disappointment for the Bucks would be an understatement. They won 46 games last year and didn’t lose anybody to free agency – in fact, they added. Credit a Brandon Jennings sophomore slump (well, he did break his foot) for that. But at the same time, the offense needs to go through him. He’s a scorer and a playmaker. Corey Maggette is good, but he’s not as offensively gifted as the man called “Black Ice.”
23. New Jersey Nets (24): They experienced a successful trip to London, where they knocked off the Raptors twice. Adding D-Will has certainly breathed life into this team and players are taking notice. Suddenly, playing for New Jersey doesn’t sound so bad now that players will have the opportunity to catch passes from one of the league’s top point guards.
22. Charlotte Bobcats (21): Depending on how the Pacers close out the season, the Cats still have a shot at the playoffs. However, I don’t think that Stephen Jackson and a bunch of role players are capable of pulling any first round surprises – especially with how tough the top half of the Eastern Conference is.
21. Los Angeles Clippers (23): They loose Eric Gordon to a wrist injury again, however, it might not be the worst thing in the world for the Clippers to struggle down the final stretch. They weren’t going to make the playoffs, and without Gordon, they are likely going to lose a little bit more than they would have if he was on the court. While I hate seeing them lose, this will get them a better pick in the draft in what will hopefully be the Clips’ last lottery season for some time.
Next: 20-16
20. Golden State Warriors (19): If they get just one defensive stopper, they will be set. Offensively, the Dubs have essentially no flaws. However, as good as they are scoring they rock, their inability to stop the other team from doing so, offsets any amount of offensive prowess. Unfortunately for them, Andris Biedrins isn’t the center they thought he was going to be. Finding a defensive minded big man should be priority 1A heading into the offseason.
19. Indiana Pacers (20): A brutal southwest road trip against Oklahoma City, Dallas and Houston put any chance the Pacers had at a cushion between them and the ninth seed, on hold. However, they have Philadelphia, Minnesota and Toronto as their next three opponents, so that opportunity hasn’t vanished in any regards.
18. Utah Jazz (18): I think the Jazz are going to take a lottery pick and be happy with it. With Okur, Favors, Millsap and Al Jefferson all under contact for next season, expect the Jazz to essentially clean house and start building for the future under Ty Corbin and his motley crew of youngn’s.
17. Phoenix Suns (12): They were able to shut down Kevin Durant on Sunday, but I think they forgot about everyone else, as Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka combined for 75 points, 15 assists and 15 rebounds. It’s not that the Suns are awful, they just don’t have enough defensive-minded players to shut down a team as offensively potent as Thunder U.
16. New York Knicks (15): Come on Knicks – 0-3 against the Cavaliers? You are better than that. I realize that they lack a considerable amount of defensive personnel, but there’s no way that a starting lineup of: Ramon Sessions, Anthony Parker, Alonzo Gee, Samardo Samuels and JJ Hickson should beat a team with Carmelo Anthony or Amar’e Stoudemire on its roster. That’s embarrassing.
Next: 15-11
15. Philadelphia 76ers (13): Andre Iguodala closed out the week with back-to-back triple doubles, and the Sixers have won six of their last seven. For a team that started the season 3-13 to now be two games over .500, it says a lot about the progression of this team, and that it was a good decision to keep Iguodala, instead of attempting to shed his contract.
14. Houston Rockets (17): After an up-and-down first two-thirds of the season, the Rockets are starting to vie for a playoff spot. They are only three games out of the eighth seed, but they can still snag it as long as they continue to win at the rate they currently are (seven wins in their last 10 games). People thought losing Brooks was going to hurt this team, but in reality it helps them, as it solidifies Lowry as their starting PG, and he no longer has to worry that another guy is breathing down his neck for playing time.
13. New Orleans Hornets (16): CP3 leaving the arena on a stretcher during Sunday’s game certainly didn’t leave a positive feeling among Hornets fans heading into the new week. They’ll need David West to really step up offensively if they don’t want to slide too much during Paul’s undetermined period of absence.
12. Atlanta Hawks (9): There’s no doubt that Kirk Hinrich has helped this team in transition. They were already poised to be a great transition team, but the addition of a lead guard with the vision and skill of Hinrich allows them to play a much more up-tempo style of play. They still need a real big man to helped Horford out down low, but for now, they are a tough team that is good enough to easily pull a first-round upset
11. Denver Nuggets (14): They are 5-2 without Carmelo Anthony and it seems as if the trade released this team from a paralyzing state of confusion. They know their direction for the rest of the season, and although some of the guys may not be back next season, they are still going to put up a fight on a nightly basis no matter what.
Next: 10-6
10. Memphis Grizzlies (11): Injury has forced Rudy Gay out of the lineup, but that doesn’t seem to matter for the streaking Grizzlies, who, with the additions of Shane Battier and Leon Powe, suddenly have a great deal of depth and even some added experience. They are so well-rounded at every position that they look better than most teams on paper.
9. Portland Trail Blazers (10): For how injury-prone the Blazers have been (and still are), they are insanely deep, which is why they have failed to falter. They may be extremely thin down low, but the Blazers are a really gritty team. As long as LaMarcus Aldridge doesn’t go down (forcing Gerald Wallace to play center), they could give an upper-seeded team quite a scare in the first round, if not upset them.
8. Miami Heat (6): Someone on Twitter made a good point the other day: The entire world knows that LeBron took his talents to South Beach, but when is he going to take them to the fourth quarter? Miami is 1-15 on shots taken in the last 10 seconds of a game when trailing by three points or less. Right now, Eddie House might be their best fourth quarter option, which is a bad sign considering LeBron and D-Wade are also on the roster.
7. Orlando Magic (7): Dwight Howard is at his 16th technical already and is set to serve his one-game suspension tonight. He’s going to have to keep his mouth shut for Orlando’s final 19 games, as him being on the court is an obvious necessity for the Magic to do well.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (8): It’s scary to think how good the Thunder are going to be when Perkins is in the lineup and gelled-in with their chemistry. They have two elite players in Durant and Westbrook, a steady set of role players in Harden, Ibaka, Perkins, Sefolosha, Maynor, Mohammed and Collison; and now with Perkins and Mohammed they have a presence in the paint as well. If they start playing some defense, someone will need to tell the Lakers and Spurs to watch out.
Next: 5-1
5. Dallas Mavericks (3): A game-winner by Memphis’ Zach Randolph ended the Mavs’ eight-game winning streak on Sunday, however, a tough upcoming schedule of New Orleans (road), New York, the Lakers and Portland (road) will make every one of those eight wins important. If the Mavs come away with a 3-1 record, that’ll create a great deal of momentum for them, as they head into the final stretch of the season.
4. San Antonio Spurs (1): I don’t see any upcoming problems for this team, they just fall in the rankings because a beating is still a beating. They were down (at home) by as much as 32 to the Purple and Gold on Sunday morning. Nonetheless, they still have the best record in basketball and when the playoffs start, it’s going to be scary to see a fully fresh and ready to be used Tim Duncan.
3. Chicago Bulls (2): With Boston’s deficiencies in the paint and Miami’s consistent disappearing act in the fourth quarter’s of games, the road has been smoothly paved for Chicago to make an NBA Finals run. Joakim Noah is back in action, Rose is getting better with every game (it’s almost scary how good he’s getting) and the team’s chemistry continues to cement itself together even further. This is a complete team and I know I’ve been saying it since the beginning of the season, but, watch out for the Bulls – they’ll bite you.
2. Boston Celtics (5): Either Danny Ainge is a genius or the Kendrick Perkins deal is about to blow up in his face, as Shaquille O’Neal is out indefinitely. They don’t know when exactly he will be back, but the Celtics are going to need The Big Shamrock if they are going to want to contend with Chicago, Orlando and Miami – let alone the defending champs. At the same time, this could just be a ploy by the Celtics to get Shaq some much needed rest time before the playoffs – however, I highly doubt it.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (4): It’s taken some time, but a seven-game winning streak by Lakers finally shows why they are the reigning back-to-back champions. I hate to bring up would haves, could haves and should haves, but if the Lakers were to have beaten Charlotte and Cleveland prior to the all-star break and stopped Antonio McDyess from getting the game winning tip in when they played San Antonio, the Lakers would currently be only 1.5 games behind the Spurs for the best record in the league. Oh, the little things.