(1) Dallas (38-9). Two reasons why the Mavs stay ahead of the Suns in my rankings: Number one is defense. They allow just 93.2 points per game, compared to 102.4 allowed by Phoenix. The second reason is their schedule. The Mavs have played 32 of their 47 games against the Western Conference. They’ll get a nice East Coast break in the second half of the season.
(2) Phoenix (37-9). Loved how they wore the Spurs down and blitzed them in the second half. The Suns can do this to a lot of teams.
(3) San Antonio (32-16). Manu Ginobli stepped up in Phoenix, but the Spurs need to find more balance to run with Phoenix or Dallas.
(9) Washington (27-18). Their +1.2 win differential is scary, but they keep winning. Now if someone could just get Gilbert Arenas (pictured below) to shut up, maybe people would care about this team.
(10) Houston (29-16). Amazing run without Yao Ming. Mutombo, Howard and Head have all stepped up. By the way, anyone else notice how fat Bonzi Wells is getting? He looks like some of the guys I play pickup ball with.
(5) L.A. Lakers (28-18). Kobe’s suspension was a joke and it cost them an easy win in New York, but he didn’t have to punish my Celtics the next night.
(4) Utah (30-17). The loss of Carlos Boozer will be hard. Scratch that - impossible to overcome. Just like last season, the Jazz will struggle to win games now.
(8) Detroit (26-18). Chris Webber’s impact has been pretty good. He fits into their half-court sets, but he is still a defensive liability.
(11) Chicago (26-20). I’m not even going to pretend like I have a clue about the Bulls. They are so inconsistent, it is impossible to predict what this team will do. When Ben Wallace got hurt, I thought we would see Tyrus Thomas, but instead we get P.J. Brown and Malik Allen… I don’t understand this move.
(7) Cleveland (26-20). If you saw the Miami game, you saw why the Cavs are not a real threat in the playoffs. Besides the fact Larry Hughes can’t guard anyone anymore, the Cavs can’t make free throws.
(6) Denver (22-21). Go ahead, try and tell me Carmelo Anthony is not going to pissed now. He averages 31 points per game and he does not make the All-Star team? It will be interesting to see if David Stern adds him to the team to replace Boozer or Yao. While we’re on the subject, Deron Williams should be on the team as well.
(18) L.A. Clippers (23-22). The Clippers are starting to get it together. They’ve won 7 out of 10, but they still need to pick up a few more road victories.
(16) Toronto (23-23). I can’t rank them much higher yet, but I told you they would make a run. This could be the beginning of a good run for the Raptors.
(15) Indiana (24-21). A very average team with a great center. That will get them in the playoffs.
(13) Miami (21-25). Shaq’s back and Dwyane Wade (right) looked like a man possessed against Cleveland.
(14) Minnesota (22-23). It’s probably a good thing they are starting to lose games on a more regular basis. Kevin Garnett did his best to carry them, but he can’t carry them too far.
(19) Golden State (21-25). Still a strange team with no direction. Until the give the keys to Monta Ellis, they will be stuck in neutral.
(12) Orlando (24-22). Plummeting fast. Miami will go by them, can they hold on to the last playoff spot in the East?
(17) New Jersey (22-24). They’ll have to hold off New York if they want to make the playoffs.
(21) New York (20-28). Got a gift with Kobe missing the game the other night. Crawford and Curry have been great, but this is another team that changes from night to night.
(20) Milwaukee (18-28). Struggling to stay above water with all the injuries. At least Williams and Villanueva are back, they still need Michael Redd.
(22) Portland (20-27). Brandon Roy is making a strong case for rookie of the year… no surprise.
(25) New Orleans/Oklahoma City (19-26). West and Paul are back, but Paul does not have his legs yet. They still need some more talent.
(24) Sacramento (18-26). A boring team to say the least. I’d be surprised if Mike Bibby stayed with the Kings after this season.
(23) Seattle (17-29). Obviously, the loss of Rashard Lewis has destroyed them. At least Nick Collison (right) is still playing great.
(26) Charlotte (17-28). Not much has changed with the Bobcats. They will continue to grow. Gerald Wallace’s 42 points against the Knicks the other night was special.
(29) Atlanta (17-27). They really need to make a splash this offseason. There just isn’t enough talent here. If they had a chance to redraft, do you think they would still take Shelden Williams with the fifth pick?
(30) Philadelphia (15-32). They can build around Iguodala, Miller and Dalembert, but they will still need to add talent. I expect Kyle Korver will be traded. We’ll see about Miller.
(27) Memphis (12-35). Move Pau Gasol while you still can and then hope Joe Durant or Greg Oden falls in your lap.
(28) Boston (12-33). Again, they clearly have talent. In some ways, they are letting nature take its course. Jefferson, Rondo, West, Green, Gomes and Perkins will all benefit from this experience.
"I think Willie did a good job. I think that the results the last, say, 14 months were not up to what we thought it had to be. What Omar finally decided was that he had to make that change." - Mets Owner Frde Wilpon on Wille Randolph firing
(1) Dallas (38-9). Two reasons why the Mavs stay ahead of the Suns in my rankings: Number one is defense. They allow just 93.2 points per game, compared to 102.4 allowed by Phoenix. The second reason is their schedule. The Mavs have played 32 of their 47 games against the Western Conference. They’ll get a nice East Coast break in the second half of the season.
