No, this isn’t a [Kevin] Love edition that would get the Timberwolves out of the sewer, but in honor of the holiday, I’m going to show some love to all 30 teams. (Considering the fact that in the SAME week, both Cleveland’s and Washington’s losing-streaks were broken, I’d say Cupid’s making it easy on me this year.)
30. Cleveland Cavaliers (Last week’s ranking: 30): For almost 48 hours the Cavs were on a one-game winning streak for the first time since Dec. 20. At 9-45, I am not expecting them to break even with the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) for the worst record in NBA history. So hats off to the Cavs for likely staying out of history’s gutter.
29. Sacramento Kings (28): They had a brutal schedule this past week (Utah, Dallas, Oklahoma City and on the road against Phoenix); despite a 1-3 record in those four games, they only lost by a combined seven points this week (or 2.33 PPG). For a schedule that difficult, that’s pretty impressive, especially considering that their lone win of the week came without the services of DeMarcus Cousins.
28. Washington Wizards (29): They’ve only won two out of their last 11 games, but win that ended their 25-game losing streak in contests away from the Verizon Center, is enough to bump John Wall and the Wiz up one place. One bright spot for Washington has been the strong offensive play of guard Nick Young, who is averaging 21.5 PPG this month.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves (27): No, Kevin Love doesn’t have enough “love” in his name to bump the T-Wolves out of the bottom-five, but his string of 40-straight double-doubles is more than impressive. Add that to the fact that Minny picked up two huge road wins over New Orleans and Houston this week, and maybe things aren’t looking so bad in the Twin Cities.
26. New Jersey Nets (25): Yes, the Nets did end their week with a 10-point loss to the Knicks; however, they won more games than they lost this past week (2-1), which is the first time they have done so since they opened this season 2-1.
NEXT: 25-21
25. Toronto Raptors (26): Look past the fact that the Raptors became the NBA’s third team to hit 40 losses on the season this week, and look at how good Bargnani has been playing this month: 25 PPG, 47 percent from the field and 89.2 percent from the charity stripe.
24. Detroit Pistons (23): It was a tough week for the Pistons, who drew San Antonio, Miami and Portland (all losses), but they showed a strong effort in each of the contests and rookie Greg Monroe continues to remind folk of a young Chris Webber.
23. Milwaukee Bucks (22): One would think, that with a healthy Brandon Jennings, Andrew Bogut and Corey Maggette, this Bucks team should at least be in playoff contention; however, they haven’t been able to score more than 98 points since an overtime win against Toronto on Jan. 28. They play good defense (there’s the love), but not good enough to offset their struggles on the other end of the floor.
22. Los Angeles Clippers (24): Until Eric Gordon returns, the Blakers are probably going to float around the mid-20s. Blake Griffin is still a monster, and barring injury he’s only going to get scarier as time passes. However, with any shot at the playoffs now down the drain, it might not be so bad for the Clippers to enjoy another high pick in the draft.
21. Charlotte Bobcats (21): Even at 47 years old, Michael Jordan scrimmaging with the Bobcats sounds more exciting to watch than a Bobcats vs. Nets or Pacers game. But the Cats went 2-2 this week, including a five-point win over the Celtics, so MJ doesn’t need to come out of retirement just yet.
NEXT: 20-16
20. Houston Rockets (18): It’s hard to feel the love when you’re dropping games against Minnesota at home, but beating the Nuggets in Denver while Carmelo drops 50 points isn’t an easy the thing to do. At 25-30, it might be too late for the Rockets to sneak into the playoffs, but with 27 games left to play, they could easily nab that eighth seed if they are able to find momentum and run with it.
19. Golden State Warriors (19): Monta Ellis might be the best player not on one of the all-star teams this year – or at least the best scorer of the bunch. He might take one too many shots, but for the month of February, when he scores 24 points or more, the Warriors are 4-0; when he scores less than that, they are 0-2. Although they sit at 24-29 on the season, they gutted out tough wins over Denver and Oklahoma City this week, which shows that they still have a shot at stealing a spot in the playoffs.
18. New York Knicks (16): They couldn’t knock off either LA team this week, but they were able to contain their cross-river rival Nets on Saturday. They are struggling this month (2-4 through six games) and I think that’s because of the mental instability created by the uncertainty of a possible Melo trade.
17. Utah Jazz (12): Jazz fans need all the love they can get right now, as the franchise’s head coach for the past 22 seasons, Jerry Sloan, decided to resign from his post this past week. No one outside of the Jazz’s brass is sure of what actually forced Sloan out, but it’s obvious (especially through a 4-6 record over their last 10) that someone behind-the-scenes was not happy.
16. Phoenix Suns (15): The Suns would have been bumped up higher if not for their week-ending loss to the Kings. Nonetheless, they are continuing to battle for playoff contention as they went 3-1 this past week, and prior to their loss to the Kings, were above .500 for the first time since they were 11-10 on Dec. 7, 2010.
NEXT: 15-11
15. Indiana Pacers (20): When ex-Head Coach Jim O’Brien was fired on Jan. 31, the Pacers were 10 games below .500 and looked like they had a better shot at the No. 1 pick than the No. 8 seed. However, since Pete Vogel became the Pacers’ interim head coach, Indiana has won seven of its last eight, and is looking to lock up the eighth seed in the playoffs. Firing your head coach isn’t the best way to spread the love, but winning 87.5 percent of your games sure is.
14. Philadelphia 76ers (17): With each passing game, the Sixers are looking more and more like the team that their talented rosted is capable of playing like. This past week was big for them, as they went 3-1, knocking off Atlanta, San Antonio and Minnesota. They won’t pull off any upsets in the playoffs, but they are definitely a team to watch out for during the final stretch of regular season play.
13. New Orleans Hornets (11): The Hornets were able to knock off Orlando on the road this week, but their only other victory this month was on the first against Washington, who at the time, was in the middle of their 25-game road losing streak. By no means are the Hornets a bad team, they just don’t have much quality depth past their fourth best player – not a good formula for success in the West.
12. Portland Trail Blazers (14): With the exception of their win over Chicago, recent victories against Cleveland, Toronto and Detroit might not sound overly impressive, but for a team that’s been battling injuries all season long, they are doing exactly what they should be if they want to remain in playoff contention – which is win the easy games as often as possible.
11. Denver Nuggets (10): Carmelo Anthony’s relationship status on Facebook: “Married to LaLa but it’s complicated with the Denver Nuggets.” Until that switches to “single” or “in a relationship,” the Nuggets are going to struggle mentally in picking up wins.
NEXT: 10-6
10. Memphis Grizzlies (13): The hottest team in the NBA continues to streak, as the Grizz have won three straight, including an overtime win against the Thunder on Tuesday night. Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay could have easily been all-stars in the East; so when the day comes that the NBA finally realizes that it makes sense for Memphis (IN TENNESSEE) to be considered apart of the East, Gay and Randolph will be consistent all-stars.
9. Atlanta Hawks (8): They have yet to play a team above .500 this month, and might not have the opportunity to do so until after the all-star break. That means losses to Charlotte and Philly cannot be a regular occurrence if they want to fend off Orlando for homecourt advantage in the first round. Although Joe Johnson is getting paid like the team’s best player and Josh Smit thinks he’s the best player, Al Horford is actually the one who has been coming up huge for this Hawks team – averaging 17/12 in his last three games.
8. Orlando Magic (9): Dwight Howard is finally turning into the manimal on offense that everyone has waited so long for him to become. His 31-point/13-rebound performance in a 14-point win against the defending champs yesterday afternoon was a testament to how much his game has grown.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (7): People discredit this team because they aren’t the most ideal defensive team. This team’s average age is 24.5 years old – that’s a ridiculously young team. It’s obvious that they have great chemistry and that all of their minds are on the right track; if they keep that up, they will become a great defensive team, especially once that get that true anchor down low.
6. Dallas Mavericks (5): It was tough to knock Dallas out of the top-five, but considering the quality of the Mavs’ wins this past week, in addition to a buzzer-beating loss to Denver, it wouldn’t be prudent to bump them up any higher, and with the Lakers beating Boston and New York on back-to-back days, the Mavs had nowhere to go but down. However, Peja Stojakovic has settled in Big D nicely, as he hung 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting in a 106-102 win over Houston on Saturday. Great, just what Dallas needs, more lethal shooters.
NEXT: 5-1
5. Los Angeles Lakers (6): Yes, the Lakers did cap off their week with a 14-point loss to Orlando, but that’s not because they weren’t trying or playing intense basketball. They simply looked tired. Playing four games in five days on the road is a lot tougher than it sounds, especially when they are against New Orleans, Boston, New York and Orlando in that order. The front line is looking good, and although Kobe is apparently feeling under the weather, things could be much, MUCH worse in Laker Land.
4. Miami Heat (3): My favorite stat of the weekend: Going into their game against Boston on Sunday morning, the Miami Heat’s Big Three (LeBron, Wade and Bosh) had attempted 1,174 free-throws this season. Can you guess how many free-throws the ENTIRE Boston Celtics team had shot coming into that same game? You guessed it: 1,174. That is insane! Yeah, it’s great for Miami that those three guys get to the line that many times; but it was widely apparent in their third loss to Boston this season, that if the Heat don’t get deeper, they are going to have a hard time getting past the Cs in the playoffs.
3. Chicago Bulls (4): Feb. 24. The day Joakim Noah is set to return. The day that everything is going to begin to fall into place for the Bulls. Just watch out for them. Derrick Rose is one of the most phenomenal players I have ever seen touch a basketball, and do not be surprised to see Chicago take over the No. 1 spot in the East in the near future.
2. Boston Celtics (2): Blowing a 15 point lead to the Lakers at home wasn’t great, but following that up with a win over the “Heatles,” wasn’t so bad itself. Now 3-0 against LeBron, Wade and Co., it’s pretty obvious who the real King of the East is for now (see No. 3 after Feb. 24!).
1. San Antonio Spurs (1): Philly handed them their ninth loss of the season in an offensively-challenged 77-71 final score, which the Spurs followed up with a 14-point routing of the Washington Wizards. I don’t expect the Spurs to fall of during the regular season, and they will probably capture home court throughout the playoffs, but this team just does not have the defensive presence it will need to compete with the Lakers or Boston.