CP didn’t represent #1 very well.
(Photo. Mannion)

30. Miami Heat (9-37) — How does a team hit two low points of its season in the same week? The drubbing at the hands of the Raptors on Monday night was just as bad as the shellacking Miami took from Garnett/Ray-less Boston team that could’ve rested Paul Pierce as well and still won easy.

29. Memphis Grizzlies (13-34) — Given some time to reflect, can we say Pau Gasol was definitely the best player in Grizzlies’ history? In six and a half seasons with the team, Pau put up 18.8 points, 8.6 boards and 1.8 blocks per game, led Memphis to three postseason trips (although they never won a playoff game), made one All-Star team and took Rookie of the Year.

28. Seattle Supersonics (12-36) — When they make the ‘07-08 Sonics season retrospective DVD, the #1 moment will be Draft Night when Seattle picked up Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Moment #2 will be last week’s home win over the Spurs to snap a 14-game losing skid.

27. New Jersey Nets (20-27) — What’s the cure for a team playing uninspired basketball and seemingly on the verge of implosion? Trading a respected veteran leader for the notoriously uninspired Stromile Swift! Is someone taping a reality show about the Nets that we don’t know about, because that looked like a producer’s decision.

26. Los Angeles Clippers (15-30) — We got a look at the Clips in person on Monday and here’s their identity: Corey Maggette runs and attacks. Chris Kaman owns the paint, but with the knowledge that he’s got to give up some space to Elton Brand eventually. And Sam Cassell can get off his shot whenever he wants.

25. Milwaukee Bucks (18-30) — If anything, Yi vs. Yao Part II showed us how hard Yi’s hit the rookie wall. He went 1-for-10 and basically disappeared after the game’s first few minutes.

24. Minnesota Timberwolves (10-37) — We feared the worst for the young Wolves when we saw their murderous January schedule. It wasn’t too far-fetched that they’d go 0-for-the-month. But Al Jefferson and Co. picked up 5 wins during the month, half of this season’s total number of W’s. You know what we call that? Progress.

23. New York Knicks (14-34) — Losers of six straight, and no one in NYC cares since the Giants won the Super Bowl and the Mets got Johan.

22. Indiana Pacers (19-29) — The quietest six-game losing streak in the League, and going into the All-Star break they’ve got dates with San Antonio, New York, Portland, Boston and Detroit. Could get ugly.

21. Charlotte Bobcats (18-31) — Good news: Emeka Okafor’s rolled off four straight double-doubles, including two 20-18 stat lines. Bad news: Charlotte lost all four of those games.

20. Philadelphia 76ers (18-30) — Have you seen Billy King doing studio analysis on NBA TV recently? We would have loved to hear BK tell us why the Grizzlies got the better of the Pau Gasol trade, since “that Kwame Banks kid has promise.”

19. Chicago Bulls (19-28) — Ben Gordon misses five games with a sprained shooting wrist, then comes back and hangs 33 on the Kings. How good would he be on a good team?

18. Atlanta Hawks (20-24) — Josh Smith’s response to the All-Star snub: 23 points, 8 boards and 5 dimes against the Nets on Saturday, then a fantasy owner’s dream line of 19 points, 6 boards, 9 assists, 4 steals and 9 blocks against Philly on Monday.

17. Sacramento Kings (22-24) — How about Brad Miller turning back the clock? Sacramento’s won four in a row, with Brad averaging 19.7 points and 16.7 boards in that stretch.

16. Washington Wizards (24-22) — Four losses in their last five. As the losses pile up, that whole two All-Stars thing looks less and less justified.

15. Toronto Raptors (25-21) — Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Joey Graham and Darrick Martin were the only current Raptors still on the team when Kobe lit them up for 81. What do you think was going through their minds when he started pouring in buckets last Friday?

14. Portland Trail Blazers (27-20) — Going into this season, if someone had told you that Travis Outlaw would be a fourth-quarter go-to guy, would you have believed them? But if they had told you Travis Outlaw would spend more fourth quarters in warm-ups than on the court, would you have believed that?

13. Golden State Warriors (29-19) — Assuming the Warriors make the playoffs, who will be the ‘08 Matt Barnes, the guy who comes out of nowhere to become an invaluable member of the squad? Could it be C.J. Watson? What about Marco Belinelli?

12. Cleveland Cavaliers (26-20) — How do you not give LeBron your MVP vote? Right after he carried the Cavs to wins over the Lakers and Blazers, he sits out one game and they lose to the Sonics. Did we mention he’s leading the NBA in scoring?

11. Denver Nuggets (29-18) — Of course Marcus Camby would commemorate his All-Star snub by getting injured. You can take the man out of the walking boot, but …

10. Houston Rockets (28-20) — Say what you will about T-Mac, but the Rockets have won eight of their last nine games since he returned from a knee injury.

9. Los Angeles Lakers (30-16) — Kobe’s crew has won three of its last four games, the only loss was by one point at Detroit, and not to mention the roster got exponentially better since last week.

8. Phoenix Suns (34-14) — They might’ve been Top 3 had they not given away the San Antonio game with turnovers and missed free throws. You can’t even blame Tim Donaghy or David Stern or Robert Horry for that one.

7. San Antonio Spurs (29-16) — The win over Phoenix was impressive, but this “hang around until the fourth quarter and try to make a run” thing is risky business. Funny how San Antonio’s idea of bringing in fresh blood involves a 34-year-old point guard with aching knees and a tattoo of a cartoon character that first appeared in 1942.

6. New Orleans (32-15) — Their reign at the top was short like leprechauns. Last week’s #1 team went out and lost three straight since our last Hit List, giving up an average of 112 points per loss.

5. Orlando Magic (31-19) — Hedo is officially the best offensive player on this team, but don’t forget about Dwight. What seemed like a down January actually saw him average 19 points, 13 boards and almost two and a half blocks per night.

4. Dallas Mavericks (31-15) — It’s too bad that Dirk’s clutch-ness is judged on a game-by-game basis, but that’s the bed he made for himself. After some big fourth-quarter performances a couple weeks ago, Dirk came up short in crunch-time against Boston and was completely shut down against Detroit.

3. Utah Jazz (31-18) — The League’s longest active win streak is at nine, having claimed most of the Southwest Division: San Antonio, New Orleans, Houston and Memphis have all felt the brunt of Utah’s hot streak.

2. Detroit Pistons (34-13) — Chauncey and Rip got the All-Star nods and ‘Sheed was borderline, but no one’s been talking about how good Antonio McDyess has been. The reason Detroit never needed to re-sign C-Webb is because ‘Dyess is holding it down in the paint; he’s had 18 games where he’s pulled down 10-plus rebounds.

1. Boston Celtics (36-8) — The often-scrutinized, often-criticized Boston supporting cast is starting to produce. Led by Rondo and Powe, the “other guys” were the ones administering last week’s merciless piecing of the Heat. Two nights later, Rondo and Posey came through with the clutch plays that allowed the C’s to beat Dallas.