1 – CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
King James and the Cavs have won their fifth game in a row after grinding out a last minute victory versus Dwayne Wade and the Heat. As much credit as LeBron gets, some should go to the backcourt. Mo Williams remains a consistent scorer, a reasonable distributor and a strong 3-point threat, as is Anthony Parker, who has quietly provided stability at shooting guard in place of the unreliable Delonte West. But with the recent injuries to the guard tandem of Williams and West, LeBron and Shaq will need to carry this team for Cleveland to stay atop the rankings.
2 – LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Pau Gasol’s absence led to a minor slump, but the Lakers did win at Dallas in their final game without him and his return sparked a 40-point win over the Clippers. Gasol getting back in the starting lineup sends Lamar Odom back to a bench which has developed into arguably the best in basketball. As long as Kobe Bryant isn’t forcing too many shots – the team is 3-3 when he has 30 field-goal attempts – the Los Angeles offense has looked very well-rounded and impressive.
3 – DENVER NUGGETS
As long as the Nuggets are healthy, there’s no reason to think they won’t return to the conference finals, or even go a step further. Yes, they could even knock off the Lakers. The reason is Chauncey Billups, whose presence offensively, defensively and in the locker room has turned Denver into a championship-caliber team, like the one he helped create in Detroit. The Nuggets are 3-5 when he sits out, compared to 23-9 when he plays.
4 – DALLAS MAVERICKS
A brutal part of the schedule ended with a win at Boston on MLK Day, leaving the Mavs with an easier upcoming stretch that could let them go on a run. Their only losses of late have been to above-.500 teams, and they’ve posted good wins over Oklahoma City and at San Antonio. The win over the Celtics marked the ninth time in 10 games Dallas failed to score 100, but it may have been a breakout game offensively because the Mavs attempted a season-low seven 3s and shot 57.4 percent overall. Jason Kidd is playing well, recently posting double-doubles against the Celtics, Lakers and Thunder.
5 – OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Kevin Durant refuses to cool off and neither will his team. It seems that even the games they lose, they’re right in it until the end and it’s almost always against a very good team. For a four-week stretch through Jan. 15, Oklahoma City’s six defeats were by an average of 3.5 points – two in overtime. Durant scores at least 30 virtually every time he takes the floor and he’s helped the Thunder regularly outrebound its opponents of late.
6 – BOSTON CELTICS
A 4-6 slump following Christmas certainly has hurt the Celtics’ stock, but they’re likely headed back up the rankings pretty soon because Kevin Garnett is on the verge of returning. Still, regardless of who is out, Boston shouldn’t be losing to teams like Golden State and Chicago – that one was at home. Rasheed Wallace is back in action and if he can turn around his awful season, the Celtics could re-emerge as title contenders.
7 – PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
The Blazers are playing fairly well but have something to prove in the coming weeks - that they can be better on the road. They’ve played a lot of home games lately but began a stretch of seven road games in two-plus weeks with a loss at Washington. Their only other road game this month was a loss to the Clippers. Brandon Roy missed the Wizards game but his return should provide a spark – he’s averaged 27 points since the start of December. LaMarcus Aldridge appears to be picking things back up after being slowed by an ankle problem.
8 – SAN ANTONIO SPURS
For a veteran-laden team, San Antonio has surprisingly been very inconsistent. The Spurs recently had wins over the Lakers and Thunder, the latter without Tim Duncan, but also had losses to Toronto and Charlotte. Offseason acquisitions Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and Keith Bogans remain disappointments, but that won’t matter as much if Manu Ginobili ever gets back to being a reliable bench scorer. The Spurs are 14-2 when he has at least 13 points, compared to 11-13 when he doesn’t.
9 – ATLANTA HAWKS
A brief slump that carried into January was put to rest with five wins in six games – two over Boston. Al Horford is always a double-double waiting to happen and only takes good shots, Joe Johnson can score 30 on any given night and Josh Smith can fill up a stat sheet in virtually every category. Jamal Crawford has become the consistent scorer the Hawks desperately needed off the bench and his buzzer-beating 3 to knock off Phoenix was a big momentum boost.
10 – MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
The Grizzlies showed they’re more than ready for a tough part of their schedule with back-to-back wins over San Antonio and Phoenix. Those victories were part of a 12-3 stretch for Memphis, which has crept into a crowded bottom half of the Western playoff picture. Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo have been terrific, but it’s the big guys who are keying this stunning turnaround for a downtrodden franchise. It seems Zach Randolph posts a double-double almost every night and Marc Gasol does so about half the time.
11 – ORLANDO MAGIC
An ice-cold Vince Carter has plagued the Magic. An MLK Day loss to the Lakers was the sixth consecutive game he’s failed to score in double figures, a stretch during which he’s shot 21.1 percent overall – 4 of 23 from 3-point land. Further showing how much his poor shooting has been throwing off Orlando’s offense, the team won two of three mid-January games when he sat out with an injured shoulder. Rashard Lewis has failed to pick up the slack and the result has been the Magic suffering two losing streaks of three games or longer this month after not having one through December.
12 – CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
Could this be Larry Brown’s best coaching job yet? The Bobcats won eight of their first nine games in January and that run wasn’t against cupcakes – Cleveland, San Antonio and Phoenix were among the victims. Of all people, Stephen Jackson has been a positive influence for a young roster and he’s averaged 24.7 points during that 8-1 surge.
13 – TORONTO RAPTORS
A potent offense has been a key for Toronto, which broke the 100-point plateau for a sixth straight game with a recent blowout of Dallas. Big men Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani present a great inside-outside game, with Bosh wreaking havoc in the post and Bargnani remaining red-hot from 3-point range. Jose Calderon’s return has further sparked a team which was 10-3 from Dec. 18-Jan. 18.
14 – UTAH JAZZ
The Jazz won four straight, including one over Cleveland, before a narrow loss in Denver on MLK Day. They also recently had close calls at Oklahoma City and Memphis along with a win in Dallas, making a good effort to overcome their perpetual road woes. Whlie Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer keep churning out double-doubles, Kyle Korver appears to be regaining his shooting touch after a long absence.
15 – MIAMI HEAT
A respectable 3-3 road trip which included wins at Phoenix and Houston may provide a key confidence boost for the Heat, who will spend most of the next month playing away from home. Michael Beasley continues to develop and Dwyane Wade continues to dominate, but it’s hard to get excited by much else in Miami.
16 – NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
The Hornets were riding a five-game winning streak into mid-January before a bad loss at Philadelphia, then had a worse one four days later to woeful Detroit. However, Chris Paul is putting up more MVP-like numbers lately and Peja Stojakovic is showing signs he may be regaining his shooting touch.
17 – PHOENIX SUNS
That surprising 14-3 start may have been a mirage. The Suns went on to lose 15 of their next 25 games and their defense has gone back to being a joke, giving up an average of nearly 115 points in January - 125 in recent back-to-back losses to Charlotte and Memphis. Those defeats capped a winless four-game trip and the Suns won only one of 12 road games from December through mid-January.
18 – HOUSTON ROCKETS
The Rockets’ only wins through the first few weeks of January were against New York, Minnesota and Milwaukee – they needed four overtimes in the last two. Trevor Ariza and Carl Landry have cooled off at the offensive end, Aaron Brooks has developed an awful 1.76 assist-to-turnover ratio and Houston still can’t find a deal to ship away Tracy McGrady.
19 – LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
A four-game skid while Chris Kaman was out hurt the Clippers’ stock, but they easily won in his return and his presence along with Marcus Camby gives Los Angeles a terrific rebounding frontcourt. Eric Gordon keeps taking steps forward but backcourt mate Baron Davis has been taking steps back.
20 – PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Allen Iverson isn’t taking too many shots and actually has become a key piece to the puzzle. A recent 10-game stretch saw Philadelphia go 5-1 when he scored at least 17 points and 1-4 when he didn’t.
21 – NEW YORK KNICKS
The Knicks have cooled off after a stunning surge, recently going through a six-game stretch in which their only wins were over Philadelphia and Detroit. Danilo Gallinari has rediscovered his long-range game and David Lee keeps putting up big numbers, but everyone else is too inconsistent.
22 – SACRAMENTO KINGS
Guards Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans are finally in the same backcourt, and shockingly Sacramento has only been able to lose with that high-scoring combo together. Youngsters Omar Casspi and Jason Thompson have taken turns for the worse.
23 – CHICAGO BULLS
A pair of recent four-game winning streaks may have saved Vinny Del Negro’s job, but his status could be put back in jeopardy after a seven-game road trip which began with a blowout loss at Golden State.
24 – WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Maybe players getting at least a temporary break from all the police questions regarding the Gilbert Arenas case has been a relief to the Wizards, who had lost four straight before recent wins over Sacramento and Portland.
25 – MILWAUKEE BUCKS
The Bucks’ road woes continued with a recent 1-5 western swing. Andrew Bogut has become a reliable double-double machine, but Brandon Jennings lately can score 25 points as easily as he could get held to five.
26 – DETROIT PISTONS
Even though Richard Hamilton’s return has helped and the team recently won three straight, the Pistons won’t be regularly competitive as long as Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon can’t stay on the floor.
27 – INDIANA PACERS
After closing December on an eight-game skid, Indiana played better in January – including wins over Orlando and Phoenix. But the Pacers still give up a ton of points and don’t force enough turnovers.
28 – GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Monta Ellis seems to score 30-plus on a regular basis, but Corey Maggette is the only other real scoring option on a team full of D-leaguers.
29 – MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
Minnesota’s only four wins since mid-December were against some of the Eastern Conference’s worst teams. One of those victories – in overtime against Philadelphia on MLK Day - marked the 11th straight game the Wolves have allowed more than 100 points.
30 – NEW JERSEY NETS
New Jersey is on pace to break the 76ers’ single-season record of 73 losses and Kiki Vandeweghe is getting closer to losing all of his jobs with the Nets.
