Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Sacramento Kings (4-14) Last week — Lost to Indiana, lost at L.A. Lakers, lost to Dallas It’s not exactly ideal when, during the last two minutes of a close game against one of the NBA’s elite teams, your announcer says something like “Beno Udrih wants the basketball,” and it’s supposed to be a reason for optimism. The losing streak is at seven. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Sacramento Kings (4-11) Last week — Lost at L.A. Clippers, lost to Chicago Ten losses in their last 11 outings, and the only win was at home against the Nets. In the current four-game skid, Tyreke Evans is shooting 27 percent from the floor (15-for-54) and averaging just 11.2 points a night. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Los Angeles Clippers (2-13) Last week — Lost at Minnesota, lost at Indiana, lost to New York, beat New Orleans Congratulations on pulling off the biggest upset of the young season by knocking off the red-hot Hornets, but it’s still not enough to climb out of the basement. They’re inching their way up the stairs, though. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Los Angeles Clippers (1-10) Last week — Lost at New Orleans, lost at San Antonio, lost to Detroit, lost to New Jersey And you think Unstoppable is predictable? Tell me you haven’t seen this movie before. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (1-6) Last week — Lost at Miami, lost at Orlando, lost to Atlanta, lost at Houston Quickly established position as the League’s worst defensive team (114.4 ppg) and worst shooting team (38.7% FG). And they’re making a habit of not just getting beat, but getting beat up. Four of their losses have come by 20, 26, 32 and 42 points. Read More »

By and large, preseason rankings are dumb. Not only because they’re completely based on speculation, but because that speculation then becomes taken as gospel, and then sets the tone for the rest of the season in polls that are supposed to be based on performance.

Look at it this way: If you predicted based on hearsay that N.E.R.D.‘s album Nothing (which drops today) will be a five-mic classic, then got a copy and find out it’s a one-mic stinker, would you still give it 3.5 mics because you don’t want to sink it too far in the rankings? Of course not. What you thought of the album before actually hearing the product doesn’t and shouldn’t matter. Read More »

While there are still a lot of free agents to be signed, all of the big free agents are now in place and the playoff picture for next year has become a little clearer. Looking ahead, we predict the playoff teams, ranking them No. 1 through No. 8, in each conference. Where does your squad stack up? Read More »

Ranking the League from worst to first…

30. Washington Wizards (21-52) — Because they’ve lost 16 straight, because they’ve gone 0-for-March, and because their best player (Andray Blatche) now believes he can get away with acting like a knucklehead. Team officials insist they’re sticking by Gilbert Arenas, but if the Lottery balls bounce their way and John Wall ends up in D.C. with a chance to give the franchise a completely fresh start, how long before Gil gets the boot? Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (7-56) — Garbage in, garbage out, garbage up, garbage down.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-50) — In Monday’s loss to Dallas, Kurt Rambis sat Kevin Love most of the night and played Darko in his place, claiming he wanted to have a more active big man to give Dirk some problems. You’re over-thinking it, homeboy. Play the double-double kid. Read More »

Ranking the NBA from worst to first…

30. New Jersey Nets (6-53) — Mad Dog Carter and the rest of the ’73 Sixers might have to cancel that champagne-popping party. The Nets are 2-5 since the All-Star break, recording wins over the Celtics and the (maybe) playoff-bound Bobcats.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-47) — A disappointing season gets worse for Al Jefferson, suspended for this week’s games against Dallas and Houston after a DWI arrest. On a less serious note, Al’s team has dropped nine of its last 10 games. Read More »