Kobe (photo. Chris Sembrot)1. Los Angeles Lakers (42-18) — After lighting up the Mavs for 52 points, Kobe is looking at an upcoming schedule that’s aligning itself for him to go on one of his famous scoring outbursts: Sacramento, the Clippers, Sacramento and Toronto.
2. Detroit Pistons (43-16) — From one (Billups) all the way down to 12 (Herrmann), there isn’t a deeper team in the League. Get ready for another clash of the Eastern titans when the Pistons take on Boston this Wednesday.
3. San Antonio Spurs (41-17) — Tony Parker’s officially back. He went for 25 points and 7 dimes against Devin Harris over the weekend, the day after putting 26 and 5 assists on Mo Williams. Meanwhile, TP’s team has won nine straight and 13 of its last 14.
4. Houston Rockets (39-20) — It seems wrong to drop a team that has won 15 straight games, but you have to admit the Rockets got worse when Yao went down for the season. Now whenever that inevitably catches up to them remains to be seen. In three games as the starter, Dikembe Mutombo has averaged 8 rebounds and a Vintage Mutombo-like 3.7 blocks.
5. New Orleans Hornets (40-19) — It’s safe to say that Steve Nash wants no parts of Chris Paul come playoff time. CP led an N.O. season sweep of the Suns by hanging 29 points, 11 assists and 4 steals per on Nash and whoever else D’Antoni tried to put on him.
6. Utah Jazz (39-22) — You thought Deron Williams was just gonna sit there and let CP get a bunch of MVP votes? Although Deron did kinda get the business from Chris over the weekend, since then he’s put up stat lines of 13 points, 19 dimes (Memphis) and 17 points, 20 dimes (Dallas).
7. Boston Celtics (46-12) — Will Sam Cassell be to Boston what Rasheed was to Detroit in ‘04? Or will he be what Gary Payton was to L.A. in ‘04? At least Boston doesn’t have to rely on Sam too much, because Rajon Rondo is making all those preseason doubters look bad. Remember when people were seriously saying Gabe Pruitt might end up being the starter? He can’t even get out of his warm-ups 80 percent of the time.
8. Dallas Mavericks (39-22) — Their last five losses have come against the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, Suns and Jazz. That’s nothing to hit the panic button about, but at some point you have to start beating the top-level teams. Otherwise no one’s going to fear you when the postseason starts.
9. Phoenix Suns (39-20) — Whether it’s to life with Shaq, life without Shawn Marion, or both, Phoenix is still adjusting. At least Amare seems comfortable, getting 29.8 points per since Shaq’s debut and seemingly getting it all on dunks.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers (34-26) — Only five times in NBA history has a player averaged at least 30 points, 8 boards and 7 assists over the course of a season. Micheal did it once. Oscar did it four times. LeBron James’ averages with a month and a half to go: 30.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists.
11. Golden State Warriors (36-22) — Nelson’s on the bench. Webber’s at center. There’s a wildly-talented albeit sometimes trigger-happy point guard on the floor, a volume scorer on the wing who might be psychologically unstable, and another scorer on the wing who simply gets buckets. Is this the mid-’90s all over again? Can we get Chris Gatling and Billy Owens on-board with this squad?
12. Orlando Magic (38-23) — With Yao out of the way, Dwight Howard’s path to first team All-NBA is unimpeded. Clocking in at 21.7 points, 14.6 boards and 2.4 blocks a night, he’s still got a chance to put up the first 20-15 season since Moses Malone in ‘83.
13. Denver Nuggets (35-24) — For all their talent, the Nuggets are still missing something that’s going to take them to the top of the West. We’re not sure what that thing is, but it’s definitely not Ron Artest. Not saying Denver shouldn’t have gone after Ron-Ron, just that we wouldn’t have expected him to be the difference between first-round exit and Western Conference title.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (31-29) — How about Joel Przybilla ripping down 11.2 rebounds a night in his last five games, and going nose-to-nose with KG and not blinking? Maybe he’s destined to be a backup next year, but Joel will also beat the crap out of Greg Oden in practice every day. You know he already beasts LaMarcus in the man’s-man part of the paint.
15. Toronto Raptors (32-26) — While Chris Bosh is slated to miss about a week with a sore knee, Anthony Parker’s numbers have gone up in his absence. Parker scored 25 and 24 in the last two games since Bosh went out.
16. Philadelphia 76ers (28-33) — There are five players in the NBA currently averaging at least 10 points, 10 boards and 2 blocks: Dwight, Yao, Kaman, Bynum, and … (drum roll) … The Dalembeast (10.7 ppf, 10.0 rpg, 2.3 bpg).
17. Washington Wizards (29-30) — Even a gunner like Antawn Jamison has to be a little sick of carrying the offense for stretches without Gilbert and Caron. Although word out of D.C. is that Arenas has been cleared to resume practicing.
18. Sacramento Kings (27-32) — To Live or Fry in L.A.; the week ahead for Ron Artest has him facing Corey Maggette/Al Thornton once and Kobe Bryant twice.
19. New Jersey Nets (26-33) — Vince’s numbers without J-Kidd: 23 points, 7.1 boards and 5.1 assists per game. Jersey’s upcoming five-game Southwest trip includes a date with Kidd in Dallas on March 8.
20. Indiana Pacers (24-36) — Who’s afraid of Mike Dunleavy Jr.? He’s dropped 36 points in each of his last two games, hitting 61 percent (22-for-36) from the floor and nailing 10 triples.
21. Atlanta Hawks (24-33) — Mike Bibby is averaging 13.5 points and 7.3 assists as a Hawk, but the team is 3-5 since Bibby’s arrival. That wasn’t the plan.
22. Chicago Bulls (23-36) — Fitting that Andres Nocioni would turn the tables and finally dunk ON someone on Feb. 29, a.k.a. the day that only comes around every four years.
23. Milwaukee Bucks (22-38) — Over the last two weeks, the Bucks have given up 120-plus points to three different opponents: Detroit, Indiana and New Jersey.
24. Charlotte Bobcats (20-39) — Emeka Okafor (13.5 ppg, 11.rpg, 1.7 bpg) needs to make a strong end-of-season push if he wants those max dollars. As it stands, Nazr Mohammed is costing him money.
25. Los Angeles Clippers (19-39) — Tim Thomas has fallen back asleep. Last week he hit a 65-foot shot and reacted like a man who’d just gotten a call from a bill collector. Maybe it’s the 6-game losing streak that’s got him down.
26. Miami Heat (11-46) — Nearly had a 3-1 week, but let a 27-point lead slip away against Sacramento. D-Wade’s national TV commercials-to-wins ratio is out of control.
27. Seattle Supersonics (16-43) — Running the “Cream of the Crap” gamut over the weekend, the Sonics dropped a home game to Miami, then outlasted Minnesota on the road. Isn’t it about time to bring Saer Sene back from the D-League and just let him get as much playing time as possible?
28. New York Knicks (18-42) — Biggest payroll in the League buys you this lineup in the first half of Monday’s game against the Hornets: Randolph Morris, David Lee, Jared Jeffries, Fred Jones and Mardy Collins.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (12-46) — It’s easy to forget that Randy Foye was ranked right up there with Brandon Roy (and, um, Adam Morrison) when it came to immediate-impact guy from the ‘06 Draft. Since returning from the knee injury that cost him most of this season, Foye’s been good for 10.1 points and 2.5 assists a night.
30. Memphis Grizzlies (14-45) — Not only have the Griz lost eight in a row, those losses have been by an average margin of 15 points each. Memphis was 20-pieced THREE times last week alone.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
dh says:
100th!
March 4th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
dh says:
I’m a Lakers fan but I still think that the Spurs and Boston should be ahead of the Lakers.
They almost beat Detroit with Kwame Brown (which is negative 15 points right there), so they are on top of Detroit.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Celts Fan says:
GREAT Hitlist this week Dime. Best one yet (except my Celtics getting 7th, but we’ll make up for the “KG getting back into things” games this week or we deserve 7th…)
agree on Detroit, Toronto may actually be a little deeper, but the top-end quality for Detroit outweighs the over-all depth. If Walter Hermann (a legit player that could contribute for just about every team in the league) is your last guyon the bench, you’re in good shape…
“Remember when people were seriously saying Gabe Pruitt might end up being the starter? He can’t even get out of his warm-ups 80 percent of the time.” umm where was the other 20%? I haven’t seen him shed the warm-ups more than twice all year. He’s got good potential as a Delonte West type for next year, but this year, he’s a hell of a cheer-leader.
“Only five times in NBA history has a player averaged at least 30 points, 8 boards and 7 assists over the course of a season. Micheal did it once. Oscar did it four times. LeBron James’ averages with a month and a half to go: 30.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists.”
WOW thanks for putting that in context. everyone knows LeBron is amazing, but I didn’t realize how historical his season is shaping up to be. MJ (once,) Oscar (4 times. FOUR!!! insane,) and possibly LeBron. That’s a pretty exclusive list!
“Who’s afraid of Mike Dunleavy Jr.?”
The win column
“Fitting that Andres Nocioni would turn the tables and finally dunk ON someone on Feb. 29, a.k.a. the day that only comes around every four years.”
That’s cold man. Hilarious, but cold…
“As it stands, Nazr Mohammed is costing him money.” If they can ever say that about you, you’re not a max player.
“Tim Thomas has fallen back asleep.” great line, didn’t realize he was ever awake after the ink dried on his new deal. The alarm clock’s set for March of the contract year though, I’m sure.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
andre says:
i’m a knicks fan, so naturally i love the knicks feature. am i the only one who doesn’t understand the knicks rotation at all? the knicks were hanging with the hornets through most of the game, so why is randolph morris, who has only played in 3 games so far, playing? same with mardy collins, who has played in 28 games and started 7. what the heck?!? what you guys didn’t mention was that renaldo balkman sat the entire game. i understand he’s not the best player, but at least he provides some energy. gaaaahhhhh!!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
GEE... Cold on em! says:
Kinda safe to say only GOD is stopping Kobe at this point
Detroit is deep but as far as effective you only going about 1 through 7 to 8.
San An probably the most annoying team you don’t want your favorite squad to play.
Houston is chillin in 5th. Even with them taking L’s, they will more than likely make playoffs by default cause of all the other West teams taking L’s from each other and other opponents.
LOL it’s very safe to say Nash wants no paaarrtzzz of CP
Utah chances will pretty much hinge on how their center does on O and D.
Um didn’t Gabe Pruitt get sent to the D leauge???
Honestly I think more teams are hoping to get Dallas right now come playoffs lol
Foul trouble Phoenix…stay out of foul trouble.
LeBron is the MVP but now that everyone knows what he is capable of doing in the playoffs he will have to even show more, here’s to hoping his new teammates help out.
Billy Owens, Cuse right? That’s a throwback. GS has to be one of the most sporadic teams ever. I fear if they do make the playoffs it will come to a game 7 in the first or second round and all that fire will go cold and no one can explain it.
You should be afraid to play Orlando in the East, that is the squad that can pull off beating a big 1 or 2.
Denver + George Karl = bad things come playoff time….IF they make it.
LaMarcus Al. gets the unsung hero award in Portland. I so wish Houston could get him.
If Bosh is out a week, oohhh I don’t know how Toronto will win anything. Jose not gone carry them. Get well soon Bosh.
Philly just needs a go to guy and they are so straight. Still to do what they doing with what they have says a lot about the players and more about the coaches.
Dime no music to go with hit list, you all should do a hit list with M.C. Hammer tracks…just kidding.
Still would be funny…only to me perhaps.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
TD says:
Celtics at # 7 with the best record in the league? You must be on that Amy Winehouse stuff. Theres no way they drop lower than top 4 with the best record in the league. right?
March 4th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Celts Fan says:
GEE, Pruitt’s been up and down from the D-League all year. Saw him on the bench on Wednesday, but didn’t notice him there on Sunday, so he may’ve been sent back
TD, we lost a few getting KG back in the swing of things. He’s back now, no worries. If we handle our ish tomorrow night, we should be right back into the top spot or right near it…
March 4th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Bxballer says:
yo andre i’m wondering the same thing about the knicks rotation last night, Isiah is a straight clown.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Kobeef says:
Boston’s pick up of Cassel was hyped but the PJ Brown pick-up might be even more important in the playoffs. Still not sure if they can beat Detroit.
Gutsy move with the Sixers at 16 but I like it. They are rolling with Miller, Iggy and Dalembeast carrying the load. Kyle Korver would have helped them a lot right now that it seems like they are trying to make the playoffs.
I know you are supposed to wait until the plaoffs to judge trades but Kidd to Dallas is looking like it won’t help or hurt….which is bad. Shaq could still get in much better shape in the next 6 weeks so we’ll have to see about that one….until that time Phoenix is worse than they were with Matrix.
Dallas vs NJ should be a good game with a whole bunch of guys trying to prove they were the gem of the trade.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Tim says:
Tomorrow is gonna be an awesome game with Detroit vs Boston… Pistons win by 5…thats my prediction…
Dime needs to post the Need4Sheed link of Walter Herrmann doing his best Connie Hawkins impersonation…that guy is awesome…I really hope Joe D keeps him…I’d hate to see him go…
March 4th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
myrie says:
more useless rankings.
flavor of the week. nothing more than who’s hot this week and who’s not. means absolutely nothing.
Portland is back where they belong; Dime had them top 4 in the December rankings drooling over themselves.
How is the Mike Bibby signing looking in the ATL?
Why is Phoenix still ranked so high? Seriously. We all like to watch them….but are the Suns really a good team anymore?
I think Grant Hill had a season in Detroit where is numbers were close to LeBron’s this year; but Grant scored a little less at 27ppg
March 4th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
word says:
If Lebron keep’s that average he is League MVP for sure.
Suns got Giricek so we will see what that will do, they claim perimeter depth but they need D more than Katrina victims need new homes (same goes for Denver- Kenyon = inconsistent , Melo = wack), why is it so hard to get some proper trades? or make your guys play D?, its been the same thing for how many years now? I understand the Shaq trade, but they do need another big man. I wonder how they would be doing if they had Gasol.
Celts and Pistons are killing the East though. I want my suns to win the rings this year (unlikely I know I know), but a big part of me would love the Celts to win. KG is a beast and so is the truth, shuttlesworth holds it down most of the time and he really shoulda won all star mvp.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:49 am
word says:
http://www.nba.com/news/coachscornersunsnuggets.html
celts & pistons huge game too.