T-Mac’s team is hot right now.
(Photo. Marc Morrison)

30. Memphis Grizzlies (13-37) — Remember when Rudy Gay hit that buzzer-beater over Tim Duncan and the Grizzlies upset the defending champs? That was on December 19. Memphis has gone 5-20 since then, and the wins during that stretch have come against Lottery-types Seattle, Indiana, Chicago, Miami and the Clippers.

29. Miami Heat (9-40) — It’s still bad, but things don’t look so bad anymore with D-Wade, Shawn Marion and a Lottery pick to build around. And no one is talking about this, but the acquisition of Marcus Banks officially signals the end of the Smush Parker era, right?

28. Minnesota Timberwolves (10-39) — We like their formula: Win enough games and lose enough close battles to show there’s hope, but lose enough to still get Mike Beasley. And you thought Kevin McHale had no idea what he was doing…

27. Seattle Supersonics (13-37) — After helping the Sonics snap that December/January 14-game skid, Chris Wilcox has averaged 17.3 points and 10.3 boards a night while his team has gone 4-2.

26. Milwaukee Bucks (19-33) — As if they don’t have enough chemistry issues, last night’s loss to the Clippers was the first time Mo Williams and Michael Redd had played together since January 25.

25. Charlotte Bobcats (18-34) — If you’re Michael Jordan, which team gets more run on your TV: the Tar Heels, the Fighting Illini (where your son rarely sees decent clock), or the Bobcats, who have lost seven straight?

24. New York Knicks (15-36) — Two more weeks, and that rice cake-looking thing on Jamal Crawford’s shoulder will be seen all over NYC playgrounds. We’ve never seen a team so happy about beating the Bucks in a random February game as the Knicks were when they beat Milwaukee over the weekend. But when you’re breaking an 8-game losing streak, any victory feels like a big deal.

23. Los Angeles Clippers (17-32) — Corey Maggette has been on a roll, averaging 28.5 points per in his last four games, and Al Thornton has been getting better every day. There is promise here, but how many times have we said that over the years?

22. Indiana Pacers (21-30) — If (when) they trade Jermaine O’Neal, the Pacers can begin a real rebuilding process around Danny Granger instead of this kinda rebuilding/kinda not thing they’ve been doing since Reggie retired and Ron-Ron got traded.

21. Washington Wizards (24-27) — They’ve been entertaining, but it’s not translating into wins; the Wiz have dropped eight in a row.

20. New Jersey Nets (22-27) — Vince Carter is either in the midst of the most empty 20-5-5 season of all-time, or the most hated-on 20-5-5 season of all-time.

19. Chicago Bulls (20-30) — This team is getting killed by injuries, forcing Jim Boylan to rely on guys like Chris Duhon and Tyrus Thomas in crunch time. On the positive side, the Bulls usually do draft well, and should have another high pick this year.

18. Atlanta Hawks (21-26) — Here we are at another All-Star break, and the Hawks are still young, still talented, still full of potential and still losing. Some things never change.

17. Philadelphia 76ers (22-30) — Monday’s win over Dallas, in which Philly held Dirk’s squad to 23 points in the second half, capped a 4-game win streak during which Andre Miller’s been killing ‘em softly.

16. Sacramento Kings (23-26) — The best sub-.500 team in the League beat the red-hot Jazz over the weekend and barely lost to Golden State in one of the more entertaining games of the season.

15. Toronto Raptors (27-23) — The only team with a shot at leaving New Orleans with the All-Star Game MVP, Dunk Contest, Three-Point Shootout and Rookie Challenge MVP trophies all in their camp.

14. Portland Trail Blazers (28-23) — Which man plays in a professional sports game first: Darius Miles or Pacman Jones? At this rate, Mike Vick might be playing for money again before D-Miles.

13. Golden State Warriors (31-20) — We’re still waiting to see how the C-Webb addition helps the Warriors. We do know that he slows everything down when he gets in the game and isn’t much of a factor in any other way. They could be giving Brandan Wright that playing time.

12. Orlando Magic (32-21) — Jameer Nelson was on the verge of dropping out of the rotation before putting together solid games in his last three: 11 points and 8 dimes against the Nets, 17 and 9 against the Lakers, then 22 and 4 against Cleveland.

11. Cleveland Cavaliers (29-22) — A squad with this many flaws can’t afford injuries, and the Cavs bench has been full of guys in suits lately. LeBron’s frustration is starting to show, as we saw in the blowout loss to Denver over the weekend.

10. Dallas Mavericks (34-17) — By scoring 67 points in Detroit, failing to crack 80 in Philly and barely cracking 82 in Jersey, it’s like the Mavs are trying to prove they need Jason Kidd more than anyone else.

9. Denver Nuggets (31-19) — How explosive has this team been over the past week or so? Carmelo’s career-high 49-point performance against the Wizards and Denver’s 30-piecing of the Cavs was an example of how the Nuggets can toy with the defense when they get on a roll.

8. Phoenix Suns (36-15) — If Shaq comes back immediately after the All-Star break like we think he will, he’s got Pau Gasol, KG and Rasheed in front of him, and every one of those games will be on national TV. We’ll know a lot about the Suns then.

7. San Antonio Spurs (33-17) — Everyone says the Spurs are struggling, but look at the schedule and realize they’ve won five of their last six games. And they’ve been doing it with Tony Parker watching from home.

6. Houston Rockets (31-20) — Seven consecutive wins, and 11 W’s in their last 12. And in that one loss, Yao Ming was out. Still, how does the Rockets’ front office not make a move before the trade deadline? There’s still time, but we haven’t heard of much activity coming out of Houston.

5. New Orleans Hornets (34-15) — They won the Game of the Year in Phoenix last week, when Chris Paul scored 42, Jannero Pargo destroyed Steve Nash, and Peja Stojakovic nailed the game-winner in Amare’s eye. And the Hornets did it without Tyson Chandler.

4. Los Angeles Lakers (34-17) — What we’re seeing now from Kobe is what we saw at the ‘07 FIBA Americas tournament. When Kobe doesn’t feel like he has to carry the entire scoring load, his defense jumps to all-world levels. Just ask Hedo and D-Wade, who couldn’t peel Kobe off of them last week.

3. Utah Jazz (33-19) — Which is the better pick-and-roll combo, Nash/Amare or Deron/Boozer? We’ll go with Utah’s tandem. Boozer’s jumper is better than Amare’s, meaning the Jazz can score consistently in every conceivable way out of the pick-and-roll: Boozer at the rim, Boozer with the J, Deron driving or Deron with the jumper. And to add a fifth dimension, Boozer can pass from the paint or facing up in case he doesn’t have a good look.

2. Boston Celtics (39-9) — Handling their business without KG, Boston has gone 5-2 since Garnett got hurt, including wins over Dallas and San Antonio. Did Ray Allen never get approached to be in the All-Star 3-Point contest, or did he decline an invitation? He should be there, if nothing else so the C’s have more representation.

1. Detroit Pistons (37-13) — The Palace has been a house of horrors lately for teams in opposing jerseys. The Pistons have won eight in a row, six them at home, and the hit list includes quality opponents like Orlando, Dallas, Portland and the Lakers. And the best keep getting better: rookie Rodney Stuckey has scored in double figures four of his last five outings, shooting 57% from the field in those games.