We’ve got significant movement at the top of the board in this week’s NBA Hit List, with the top Western and Eastern Conference teams from last week getting knocked back a spot.
30. Memphis Grizzlies — Coming off a brutal stretch of schedule (Nets, Cavs, Bulls, Hornets, Robo-Kobe, Jazz, Suns) where they went 1-6. Can’t say it’s an unfair shake, though. This was a playoff team last year.
29. Boston Celtics — This may or may not have come from the mouth of one of Dime’s Boston-area natives: “The Celtics won last night? What are they doing? If they play themselves out of Oden or Durant…”
28. Atlanta Hawks — Six losses in seven games. Atlanta’s starting to feel the absence of Joe Johnson.
27. Charlotte Bobcats — Showing some heart down the stretch. The biggest questions now are who coaches them and which Lottery pick do they get?
26. Seattle Supersonics — It’s tough being a Sonics fan right now. Ray Allen has shut it down for this year (ankle) and Rashard Lewis could walk this summer. And does Luke Ridnour even bother showing up for Team USA tryouts?
25. Milwaukee Bucks — Andrew Bogut and Charlie V have called it a season, but imagine them lining up with Al Horford, Joakim Noah or Brandan Wright next year? Brian Skinner has been ballin’ (10 rpg his last five), but he’ll understand.
24. Portland Trail Blazers — LaMarcus Aldridge’s much-too-late case for R.O.Y. (19 ppg, 8 rpg his last five) is the equivalent of a MLB team brining up a Triple-A stud for a couple months and him showing out.
23. Indiana Pacers — Jermaine O’Neal somehow rolled out a 39-point, 14-board game last week. We’d call it “vintage,” but it might have actually been the best game of his career.
22. Philadelphia 76ers — They’re still hard to watch, but they haven’t been bad lately, going 8-4 in the month of March.
21. Sacramento Kings — What’s a week in Sacramento without some Ron Artest weirdness? The latest story had Ron-Ron contemplating retiring after this season and going overseas to play ball.
20. New York Knicks — Three losses in “must-win” games has the Knicks fans ornery again. Losing to the Blazers without their best player and laying a 68-point egg in Cleveland will do that.
19. Golden State Warriors — OK, so they’re getting the “stay healthy” thing down. Now it’s time to work on the “play defense” part.
18. Minnesota Timberwolves — In the Wolves’ last three wins, Randy Foye has scored 16, 17 and 24 points. In their last three losses, he’s scored 11 points total.
17. New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets — Four wins in their last six, with the losses coming against Kobe’s Lakers and Gilbert’s Wizards. So as long as the Hornets aren’t facing one of the best scorers in the world, they’re good.
16. New Jersey Nets — Their only four wins this month have come against Grizzlies, Clippers, Hornets, Bobcats.
15. Orlando Magic — They bounced back from a slump by winning four of their last six, including big wins over playoff-spot contenders New Jersey and New York.
14. Washington Wizards — Giving up an average of 116 points a night in their last three (all losses, naturally), the Wizards need Caron Butler back ASAP.
13. Los Angeles Clippers — Four straight wins, and over some legit comp, including the Wizards, Jazz and Bulls.
12. Toronto Raptors — Monday’s loss to Boston was catastrophic in that the Raps lost Jorge Garbajosa. And, you know, because they lost to the Celtics.
11. Miami Heat — What happened to that sans-Wade rhythm? Miami has lost three of its last five, with the only wins coming against the Hawks.
10. Denver Nuggets — Losing to Detroit in part due to Rasheed’s 60-footer was a tough way to end a tough Eastern Conference road trip. Nene’s been playing well, though, leading the team in rebounding for five of the last six games. And that’s with Marcus Camby on the court.
9. Los Angeles Lakers — Have you heard about Kobe averaging 53 points a night in his last five?
8. Chicago Bulls — Ben Gordon, Ben Wallace and Luol Deng are playing as well as any trio on the League right now, and the Bulls are still only the third-best team in their division.
7. Utah Jazz — Carlos Boozer has been an animal as of late: 25 ppg and 15 rpg in his last five. Plus he’s playing a little defense, too.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers — We gave them the No. 4 spot last week, and the Cavs went out and lost three of their next four games. Is LeBron feeling the affects of cracking his dome on the floor against Dallas? He’s averaged only 19.5 points a night in the two games since.
5. Detroit Pistons — Chauncey Billups has looked mostly good since returning from a groin injury, including the 34-10 he gave Denver this week. But C-Billups is also shooting 5-for-20 (25 percent) beyond the arc since his comeback, something for Pistons fans to keep an eye on.
4. Houston Rockets — They’ve won nine of their last 11, but those two losses (Suns and Hornets) showed the Rockets’ biggest weak spot: get Yao Ming to run around and he’s done by the fourth.
3. San Antonio Spurs — Crazy that they’re this good (17 wins in their last 19) and still only the third-best team in the League. San Antonio has dropped 120-plus points in their last two games and Tony Parker is rapping now, so does this make them officially not boring anymore?
2. Phoenix Suns — Post-Mavs jet lag saw the Suns get pieced by Denver and Detroit, but they’ve rebounded to cruise past Minnesota, Sacramento and Memphis (with a loss to Sacto thrown in there). Raja Bell has scored 20-plus points twice in the last four games, hitting six treys each time.
1. Dallas Mavericks — We know, we know … they lost to the Suns. But the Mavs haven’t lost since, going 6-0, and we have a feeling Sunday they’ll get some get-back in Phoenix. DeSagana Diop has been big lately, putting up 10 boards and 3.5 blocks per game in the last two, while Dirk, Josh Howard and Jason Terry are apparently drawing straws every night to see who gets to be the primary offensive weapon.



April 1st, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Luterbob says:
So much for “and we have a feeling Sunday they’ll get some get-back in Phoenix.”……….LOSER! GO SUNS