Isiah could use this guy…
(photo. Fil Kwiatkowski)

With about a month to go, your team is either gearing up for the Lottery, gearing up for the playoffs or settling into that in-between zone where you could make the postseason only to have no chance of getting past the first round AND going without a Lottery pick.

1. Houston Rockets (46-20) — With the win streak sitting at 22, can the Rockets survive this week (Celtics, @Hornets, @Warriors, @Suns) without a blemish? They’ll definitely need Battier’s lock-down D and Rafer’s hot shooting hand, but even with that, they can’t afford any more scoreless halves from T-Mac.

2. Boston Celtics (53-13) — With Ray, Pierce and now Sam Cassell all in the mix, KG now becomes the team’s fourth option in crunch time. Another reason why he really shouldn’t be getting a lot of MVP votes. Cassell’s already knocking down big shots, but Doc needs to make sure Sam doesn’t stifle Rajon Rondo’s progress.

3. Detroit Pistons (48-18) — After putting up a stinker against the Knicks, Antonio McDyess has been good for 10-plus boards in each of Detroit’s last four games, including a 17-rebound effort against San Antonio. ‘Dyess will be the team’s X-factor heading into the postseason.

4. New Orleans Hornets (45-21) — Chris Paul’s last five games: 28.2 points, 14.4 assists and 2.6 steals per. And that wasn’t against a lineup of scrubs. The Rockets, Lakers, Spurs, Pistons and Bulls all got worked.

5. Los Angeles Lakers (45-21) — We’re more than halfway through March and last we heard, Andrew Bynum is still logging miles on that $75,000 bells-and-whistles treadmill. When (if) the big kid does come back, how long will it take him to work his way back into rhythm?

6. Phoenix Suns (44-22) — They’re on a roll, having won four straight and showing they can play almost any style: going small, going big, going fast or going slow. There are still a few glaring weaknesses, though, like Nash’s defense and Amare’s defense.

7. Utah Jazz (45-24) — Yes, they beat the Celtics in Boston. But they also dropped games to Chicago and New Jersey, and needed some fourth-quarter heroics to hold off Milwaukee in that same week. Sloan’s guys are 29-3 at home, but need to figure out ways to consistently win on the road.

8. Dallas Mavericks (44-23) — Yes, they’ve won five in a row. Buck check the schedule: Nets, Knicks, Bobcats, Pacers and Heat, with all but one of those games at home. Wait and see how the Mavs handle the Lakers, Spurs and Celtics, who come calling this week.

9. San Antonio Spurs (44-23) — All of a sudden the champs have lost six of their last seven. Tony Parker has scored 23.5 points a night over his last four, but he’s also getting eaten up by opposing PG’s on the defensive end; namely Andre Miler, Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo/Sam Cassell.

10. Denver Nuggets (40-26) — The Texas Tech Red Raiders of the NBA have lit up the scoreboards for 137 and 168 points in their last two games. They’ve also given up 105 (to the Bosh-less Raps) and 116 (to the Sonics) in those games, which is why no one is picking them to seriously contend for a ‘chip.

11. Golden State Warriors (41-24) — Boston’s Big Three is better, Dallas’ is more consistent, Denver’s has more star power, Detroit’s is tougher, New Orleans’ has more promise, San Antonio’s is more experienced, Orlando’s cashes bigger paychecks, and Phoenix’s is more to prove. But there isn’t a Big Three in the League more explosive than Golden State’s Stephen Jackson (20.7 ppg), Baron Davis (22.2 ppg, 8 apg) and Monta Ellis (19.6 ppg).

12. Orlando Magic (45-24) — Their 8-1 record in March hasn’t come against the toughest schedule, and in fact, Orlando’s schedule down the stretch is relatively easy. Stan Van Gundy has to make sure this group doesn’t lose any intensity going into the playoffs.

13. Cleveland Cavaliers (38-30) — It’s tough to take about this team every week without mentioning LeBron. With that in mind…

14. Philadelphia 76ers (33-34) — Big wins over the Pistons and Spurs last week reminded us that Philly has some big questions to answer this offseason. Are they going to open up the wallet to certify Andre Iguodala as The Franchise? And who are they going to put around him?

15. Portland Trail Blazers (35-32) — Having a .500 record (4-4) in March isn’t too impressive, and becomes even less impressive when you see the wins have come against the Knicks, Bucks and Wolves (twice). In that span, however, Joel Przybilla has pulled down 10.3 boards per game. He’s not going to give up the ship easily whenever Greg Oden comes back.

16. Toronto Raptors (34-33) — Five straight losses and they need Chris Bosh back ASAP. Are any Toronto fans worried yet? Not just for this year, but about the fact that Bosh has missed double-digit games in each of the past three seasons?

17. Washington Wiards (33-33) — Gilbert could come back as soon as Wednesday, but anyone who heard his recent “$100 million Lottery ticket” quote has to believe he may not want to risk it this season.

18. Sacramento Kings (30-36) — Get ready for a repeat late-season collapse. Remember when Reggie Theus was getting all kinds of praise for keeping this team together through Bibby and K-Mart’s injuries?

19. Atlanta Hawks (29-38) — We caught the Hawks in person over the weekend and realized that Atlanta is right now what the Knicks are supposed to be: veteran point guard (Bibby/Marbury), a young cornerstone inside (Horford/Zach-Curry), energetic young talent on the wings (Smith-Childress-Marvin/Lee-Jeffries-Balkman), an ultra-talented scoring guard who can be a distributor and make crunch-time shots (Johnson/Crawford), and a little sparkplug off the bench who can be good so long as he stays under control (Law/Nate). Not to mention a Bob Knight-tutored coach who can relate to the players (Woodson/Isiah).

20. New Jersey Nets (28-38) — After dropping six in a row, the Nets bounced back to beat the Cavs and Jazz last week, and are not far out of the playoff picture.

21. Chicago Bulls (26-40) — Whatever momentum was gained by beating Utah last week went up in smoke when the Bulls gagged against Philly and the Hornets. Drew Gooden hasn’t been that much more productive since switching teams, putting up about one more point and one more rebound with the Bulls than he did with Cleveland, but he just seems like a better fit in Chicago.

22. Indiana Pacers (26-41) — For their own good, the Pacers just need to drop out of this playoff race. Embrace the Lottery, Larry. Imagine the kick-start this franchise would get if Eric Gordon landed in their laps? And while you’re at it, trade up from the second round and get D.J. White.

23. Charlotte Bobcats (24-43) — What the hell happened? Last week we were praising the ‘Cats, who were riding a five-game win streak. Since then they’ve lost four in a row. In Charlotte’s defense, three of those losses were on the road against Dallas, Houston and Cleveland.

24. Milwaukee Bucks (23-43) — Not long after Yao gets shut down, Yi misses six straight games and rumors start flying that he’s done for the season. Interesting. No word, though, on whether the Nigerian national team is pressuring the Spurs to sit Ime Udoka down for the rest of the schedule.

25. Los Angeles Clippers (21-45) — Add Corey Maggette (22.2 ppg) to the list of guys who have had some of their prime years gone to waste while balling for the Clippers. Hang his #50 right up there next to Elton Brand, Loy Vaught, Danny Manning and Kenny Norman. And leave some room for Chris Kaman’s jersey.

26. New York Knicks (19-48) — In all his Good-Stats-on-a-Bad-Team glory, Nate Robinson is averaging better than 18 points a night in March as the Knicks deal with a slew of injuries. Meanwhile, the team is 1-8 during that same span.

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (16-50) — We’d guess that Sebastian Telfair is pulling for Derrick Rose to have a bad Tournament. And Eric Gordon and Jerryd Bayless and D.J. Augustin and Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo too for that matter.

28. Memphis Grizzlies (16-50) — After beating the Bobcats on Monday, the Griz have Minnesota, New York and Sacto coming up the rest of the week. How about putting together a little winning streak?

29. Seattle Supersonics (16-51) — Sunday’s beyond-embarrassing loss in Denver, where the Supes gave up 168 points and lost by 52, was the first time we thought an NBA team was actually going to quit during a game. During this eight-game losing streak, Seattle has given up nearly 1,000 points, an average of 120 per night. They could get lit up for 200 when the Suns come to town Wednesday night.

30. Miami Heat — Dwyane Wade is off somewhere burning anytime minutes with Chuck. Pat Riley is off somewhere filling out his NCAA bracket. Shawn Marion is probably more interested in his NBA 2K8 season with the Suns. And Mark Blount looks so bored that … oh wait, that’s how Mark always looks.