10 Dallas Mavericks
Sliding Dallas has not been competing according to their head coach Rick Carlisle who summed the state of the Mavs rather bluntly after a disappointing loss to Phoenix:
"“This is a Dallas Mavericks hard-play problem, all right? It’s pretty clear that’s where our inconsistency is, and we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to be a more together team. I believe that we can do it. We did it in the second half, but it’s work. It takes effort. It takes effort in the locker room, it takes sacrifice, and we’ve got to be willing to do those things.”"
The reason the Mavericks might not be reaching their potential appears to be a chemistry issue with Monta Ellis. Ellis is getting most of the shots down the stretch, while making very few of them. In their last two games, both losses, Ellis was a dismal 7-31. He is shooting 38 percent for the month, 39 in February, perhaps wearing down from the workload. Dallas continues to look like a first round out.
9 Chicago Bulls
Nikola Mirotic will not win the rookie of the year award, but he should get some votes. Mirotic had scored in double-figures 11 games in a row before having an off-night Saturday at Detroit. The Bulls had an off-night too, blowing a 19-point lead falling to the Pistons while slipping back to the four-seed after beating the Raptors Friday night. Mirotic had 29 Friday versus the Raptors, 81-points combined in the three games prior to Detroit.
Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler have both returned from ankle and elbow injuries. Friday will be four weeks since Derrick Rose had meniscus surgery that was supposed to keep Rose out 4-6 weeks. Rose was on the bench both Friday and Saturday night something he hasn’t done since getting hurt. Teammates viewed that as a good sign that Rose is getting close to returning.
8 Los Angeles Clippers
Since getting Blake Griffin back the Clippers have won four of five, but it has been steady Chris Paul leading the team. For his efforts Paul was named the Western Conference player of the week with averages of 26.0 points, 11.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals. Paul had back-to-back 30-point games in wins over Sacramento and Washington adding 11 and 15 assists respectively. The Clippers need only four more wins to reach 50 for the third consecutive season, something the franchise has never done before. Plus, old friend Donald Sterling a V. Stiviano are back together. “I will forever be your angel” ???
7 Portland Trailblazers
Winless 0-4 week on the road for the suddenly injury depleted Blazers. Portland enters Tuesday night’s showdown with Golden State on a four-game losing streak. They are one of the few teams in the NBA that has a heavy schedule of 14-games left, some are down to 11. More problematic, LaMarcus Aldridge is hurt. His injury is listed as a “left index finger sprain,” adding another issue to his left hand. The All-Star power forward has been playing with torn ligaments in his left thumb since Jan. 24. Nicolas Batum barely played in Saturday’s loss to Memphis leaving early with lower back pain after landing awkwardly on his heels. Even Chris Kaman has a sore shoulder adding to the Blazers depth woes. The Blazers are already without Wesley Matthews, who is out for the season with a torn left Achilles tendon. Right now Portland looks like playoff pretenders.
6 Houston Rockets
Dwight Howard is getting closer to returning. The Rockets upgraded him on the injury list from “out” to “doubtful.” Howard has been missed on the defensive end, but overall how much? The recored with Howard is 22-10, without 24-13. Not much difference. Houston has won four of their last five without Howard and that is with a banged up team. Jason Terry (sore hamstring), Pat Beverley (right elbow bursitis) and Trevor Ariza (illness) have all been playing while Terrence Jones is out with a collapsed lung. Oh, and James Harden scored a career-high 50 points with 10 rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 118-108 win over Denver Tuesday night, still very much alive in the race for the NBA’s MVP.
Next: The Top 5 Teams