NBA Power Rankings: LeBron James Dominates, But Are The Miami Heat Numero Uno?
By Seerat Sohi
21. The Washington Wizards
The rejuvenated Wizards are winners of four straight games, all of them being against current playoff teams. Since John Wall has returned to the lineup, they’ve been 11-8. With the Warriors being relevant this season, the Wizards are everyone’s new favourite league pass guilty pleasure.
22. Toronto Raptors
Since Rudy Gay’s arrival, he’s led them to a 3-2 record and already notched his first game-winner of the season. They’re probably too far out of the playoffs to make a serious push at this point, but at least Raptors fans get to have a little fit of fun as they dwindle in their teams mediocrity. In other news, the trade deadline is approaching and Andrea Bargnani has already started looking for pasta sponsorships in the United States.
23. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons made a good trade in acquiring Jose Calderon from the Toronto Raptors, but with Andre Drummond out until April, it isn’t likely that the Pistons will be able to make any sort of playoff push. However, the Pistons did actually manage to somehow beat the Spurs this week, which I think is definitely worth noting.
24. Cleveland Cavaliers
After winning three straight games, the Cavs promptly dropped their next two. Still, not a bad week for them. Even better: they still have ALL-STAR Kyrie Irving on their squad.
25. New Orleans Hornets
Continuing on a plot that hasn’t shifted much since this off-season, Eric Gordon still hates his life.
The Hornets have gone 2-4 so far this month while the young squad slowly learns how to play together. Yay for a young core and another lottery pick!
26. Sacramento Kings
With the fans coming out in full swing, doing everything they can to save their beloved team, the Kings have won two straight games at home. Nothing is set in stone in terms of the future of the franchise, but the sense of urgency is clear. Unfortunately, their fans can’t follow them on the road, where they’ve yet to win a game this month.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves snapped a four-game losing streak last night with a road victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers, making them 1-3 this week. The good news is that Ricky Rubio seems to be well on his way to full recovery. Hopefully, Minnesota’s fortune will swing the other way next year.
28. Phoenix Suns
The Suns are what I like to call respectably terrible. They’re definitely among the bottom-dwellers of the league, but they still have a chance to beat any team on any given night. They showed this in their lone victory of the month against the new-look Grizzlies. With Jared Dudley trade rumors swirling around, it’s going to be an interesting few weeks in the valley of the sun.
29. Charlotte Bobcats
I know. The Bobcats aren’t dead-last. How dare I? Just hear me out. For starters, they were the team that snapped the Celtics’ winning streak, while also snapping a seven game losing streak of their own. Meanwhile, Byron Mullens has had two good games in a row. In all seriousness, I just couldn’t justify them being worse than…
30. The Orlando Magic
It took a terrible showing from Damian Lillard for the Magic to put and end to their 12-game losing streak this weekend. Aside from that, Glen Davis is out for the rest of the season and J.J. Redick has already started packing his bags and looking for someone to take over his apartment for the month of March.
Tune in next Tuesday for post All-Star Weekend Power Rankings!