The Mavericks might be the hottest team in the NBA, but the Bucks might be the scariest -- especially for the elite teams in the Eastern Conference. Since dealing for scorer John Salmons at the deadline, Milwaukee has won 10 of its 11 games, with the last two coming against the Cavaliers and the Celtics.
With their recent surge, the Bucks find themselves in the top 10 this week. As for everyone else? Read on to see where your favorites landed in this edition of our rankings.
- 1. Mavericks (44-21) | Prev.: 1
Share The winning streak has reached 12, and if we're being honest, it'll likely continue for at least another week. Dallas plays its next four games at home, and even with Jason Terry temporarily out of the lineup, the next serious challenge wouldn't appear to come until March 20th when the Celtics come to town. -- BP
- 2. Magic (45-20) | Prev.: 3
Journeyman Matt Barnes is getting plenty of attention for his defensive work, especially after his dancing with Kobe Bryant on Sunday. Magic fans shouldn't get too excited, though. There is a reason this is his seventh team in seven years. Lamar Odom compared him to a professional wrestler. -- Tim Povtak
- 3.
Cavaliers (50-15) | Prev.: 4
Rest for King James? No! What on Earth is going on with these superduperstars? First, Kobe tries to let his body heal (what a softie) and now LeBron is taking up to a week off to catch his breath? Of course, thanks to a Lakers losing streak, no one is breathing down Cleveland's neck for anything, so it turns out brilliantly. Even if the fans have to sit through the Mo Williams Show for a few nights. -- Tom Ziller - 4. Lakers
(47-18) | Prev.: 2
Despite the Lakers snapping their three-game losing streak at the buzzer on Tuesday, the team wasn't exactly giddy afterward. The team knows that playing its competition down to the wire every night isn't going to get them back to a title, but unless the focus defensively comes from the opening tip -- no matter who the opponent is -- don't expect much to change between now and the postseason. -- BP - 5. Jazz (41-22) | Prev.: 10
Since a disappointing road loss to the Clippers, and after three tough periods against the Suns, the Jazz have righted the ship in a big, big way. Beginning with the fourth quarter in Phoenix, Utah has outscored its competition by a total of 65 points over the last nine quarters. I believe that's called "rolling." -- BP
- 6. Suns (40-25) | Prev.: 5
Dropped a game that they really should have won against the Jazz, but bounced back with a physical win over the Pacers. Phoenix had more than its fair share of schedule woes to start the season, but the team is currently in the midst of a five-day break, which really couldn't come at a better time: Steve Nash needs the rest, and everyone can always use a few extra days to prepare to take on the Lakers, who come to town on Friday. -- BP
- 7. Nuggets (42-21) | Prev.: 6
Winners of three straight, but with Kenyon martin going down with an injury, the team is said to be in search of a big man. Denver worked out Brian Cook, who, being listed at 6'9", technically fits the bill. But he's always been a finesse guy who prefers to shoot three-pointers more than he cares to mix it up in the paint, so he would seem to be an odd fit for a Denver team that needs a stronger inside presence. -- BP
- 8. Thunder (38-24) | Prev.: 7
OKC has won five of its last six, and barring a catastrophic collapse, a playoff berth seems almost assured. Now it's time to think seeding, because while they're just a half-game behind the Suns for the fifth spot, the team is also just two games from slipping to eighth. And a first-round date with the defending champs certainly isn't what a team making its first trip to the postseason wants to see. -- BP
- 9. Bucks (34-29) | Prev.: 13
Another streak has begun, with the Bucks beating two of the East's top four teams (one without LeBron, albeit) in the Bradley Center. Andrew Bogut has been a flat-out beast of late, averaging 3.7 blocks per game over the past 10, and blocking a monstrous six percent of all opponent shots on the season, good for fourth in the league. If not for Mr. Dwight Howard, this dude'd be a legit All-Defense first-teamer. He'll have to be content with the second team, assuming voters list Tim Duncan as a forward. -- TZ
- 10. Celtics (40-22) | Prev.: 9
Boston had won four in a row before running into the train that is the Milwaukee Bucks. The loss itself isn't a huge deal, but how the Bucks beat them should be cause for concern. Milwaukee took it to Boston in the paint: Andrew Bogut went for 25 and 17, while Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett combined for just 20 and 15. -- BP
- 11. Spurs (36-25) | Prev.: 11
Tony Parker's hand won't require surgery, which means he'll be back in about four weeks. As long as Manu Ginobili can play near the level he did in the team's close loss to Cleveland (38 points on 23 shots!), the Spurs are likely to keep themselves in play for a spot in the postseason. (Speaking of which, if San Antonio finishes in the seventh or eighth spot? Wow. That's obviously not going to be any walk in the park for the Lakers or Dallas in the first round.) -- BP
- 12. Heat (32-32) | Prev.: 15
Heat are fighting for their playoffs lives, and they just lost the tie breaker with Charlotte. If they finish eighth and get creamed by the Cavs in the first round, it's only going to fuel the notion that Dwyane Wade and LeBron could end up together in New York. --TP - 13. Hawks (40-23) | Prev.: 8
As much as some people want to get excited about the Hawks, they still remain a cut below the premier teams in the league. No better example than their third consecutive loss to the woeful Knicks, who are tanking the season. They may have peaked as a team that can't get past the second round of the playoffs. -- TP
- 14. Blazers (38-28) | Prev.: 12
The Blazers sent everybody and their mother to the Sloan conference over the weekend, supposedly showing off the fact that the team is at the forefront of using advanced statistical analysis in making personnel decisions. But instead of math-based conferences, with all the injuries they've sustained this year (and last, if you're counting Greg Oden) perhaps the team should be attending medical ones instead. -- BP
- 15. Grizzlies (33-31) | Prev.: 19
Memphis is just 7-10 in its last 17 games, taking a bit of the luster off of the streak that the team put together in December and January. Call it the curse of the Lakers: since beating L.A. to kick off February, the Grizz immediately dropped six of seven, and hasn't been right ever since. -- BP
- 16. Rockets (32-31) | Prev.: 16
Trevor Ariza returned to the lineup on Tuesday, after missing seven games with a hip injury. He did so by coming off the bench, and contributed 13 points, three rebounds, two assists, and a couple of steals. What's interesting is the fact that Ariza was brought in to be the main man offensively, but since the team traded for Kevin Martin, the bench role for Ariza is something that's likely to stick for the remainder of the season. -- BP
- 17. Bobcats (31-31) | Prev.: 20
You have to love Larry Brown. His team is battling to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and he's sending out feelers to the Clippers that he wouldn't mind coming there next season as coach and general manager to tutor Blake Griffin. -- TP
- 18. Raptors (32-30) | Prev.: 17
Toronto played the Lakers as close as possible on Tuesday, but the team has been otherwise unremarkable. Sure, Chris Bosh missed some time, and that obviously makes a huge difference in the quality of this team. But going through a 1-6 stretch with the only win barely coming at home against the Knicks isn't exactly a good sign that there's enough talent here to compete if these guys manage to hold on to a spot in the playoffs. -- BP
- 19. Hornets (32-32) | Prev.: 18
Exciting rookies in scorer Marcus Thornton and assist-machine Darren Collison, but not much beyond that to keep you watching. NOLA is capable of surprising if not taken seriously, and showed it by knocking off the Magic not long ago. But with the only win in the team's last five barely coming against the defense-less Warriors, that was obviously more of a fluke than anything else. -- BP
- 20. Bulls (31-32) | Prev.: 14
Life without Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas isn't easy goin', friends. The Chicago defense hasn't had a passable performance since Feb. 27 against Indiana, and hasn't had a good performance since Feb. 20 against the Sixers. Recent games have come against zippy offenses, yes. But you can't excuse 26 points on 12 shots from C.J. Miles (much of it due to a collapsing defense that couldn't stop Deron Williams). The Bulls are unlucky No. 9 in the East right now, drawing elite Orlando Thursday and with a big (huge!) game in Miami on Friday. -- TZ
- 21. Knicks (22-41) | Prev.: 28
For several days, Knicks players had to wear hats and dark glasses when out in public. New York had suffered a second defeat this season to woeful New Jersey, this one a humiliating 20-point setback. But at least the Knicks made up for it with an impressive 99-98 home win Monday over Atlanta, with Danilo Gallinari scoring 27 points. The Knicks just hope LeBron James, injured that night in Cleveland's game against San Antonio, might have been able get a few quick peeks at that game. -- Chris Tomasson
- 22. Pistons (22-41) | Prev.: 24
Detroit is going nowhere fast, and Joe Dumars will really have to earn his salary this summer (assuming he's kept around, which seems like a pretty safe assumption, although you never really know). How bad have the injuries been? Out-of-retirement Ben Wallace and rookie Jonas Jerebko are No. 2 and 3 on the minutes played list for this team. Sure, those two have been the pleasant surprises through the morass. But that's just damning. -- TZ
- 23. Pacers (21-43) | Prev.: 26
The best news for Pacers fans all year (until, of course, Indiana gets lucky with the ping pong balls in may): Kevin Pelton, APBRmetrician extraordinaire, is advising the team on quant analysis matters. Huzzah! Sadly, I'm afraid he might not be an NBA level shooter ... -- TZ
- 24. Sixers (23-40) | Prev.: 23
The Eddie Jordan watch is in full gear. There are reports the coach, in just his first year with the 76ers, soon could be ousted. But even if he makes it to end of the season, his prospects for next season are gloomy. Philadelphia has dropped six of its past seven, but at least promising young rookie guard Jrue Holiday is showing something, with three 20-point games in his last five outings. No wonder the 76ers didn't mind getting Allen Iverson out of the way to clear time for Holiday. -- CT
- 25. Kings (21-43) | Prev.: 25
After a 4-23 stretch, the Kings suddenly have become competitive again, winning three of their past seven. And all of those four losses have been to likely playoff-bound teams, with none by more than seven points. The acquisition of gritty forward Carl Landry last month from Houston has helped. He's averaged 17.6 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 53.4 percent in his 10 Kings games. -- CT
- 26. Wizards (21-40) | Prev.: 22
Wizards have gone five games without reaching 90 points, which makes it difficult to actually win a game. Young Andray Blatche got in the face of Boston's Kevin Garnett, trying to stand up to the future Hall of Famer. It looked good on television,but all it did was motivate Garnett, and it taught Blatche a lesson about knowing his opponent. -- TP
- 27. Clippers (25-39) | Prev.: 21
The Mike Dunleavy era is finally over in Clipper-land, but where does that leave the franchise now? They say they'll make a play for LeBron James this summer, effectively offering him unprecedented complete control by being able to name his own coach and general manager. But the problem here has always been ownership, and until that changes, it's hard to imagine any of the league's elite willingly committing to this horrid franchise. -- BP
- 28. Warriors (17-46) | Prev.: 27
Don Nelson needs just seven wins to become the all-time leader in career coaching victories, and with 17 games remaining, he might just get there this season. But with the way he's mismanaged things in the Bay Area and helped run this franchise into the ground, it's unlikely that any die hard fans of the team will share in his celebration. -- BP
- 29. Timberwolves (14-50) | Prev.: 29
Big man Al Jefferson was on a mission Monday when he had 36 points and 13 rebounds in his first game back after missing two due an arrest on suspicion of DUI. Not that it resulted in a win. The Timberwolves have dropped six straight and 12 of 13 after a stunning four-game winning streak. Looks like some of their young guys are wearing down. This is a bit longer than a college season. Rookie point guard Jonny Flynn had eight turnovers against Dallas. -- CT
- 30. Nets (7-56) | Prev.: 30
When will the party be? When can the Nets celebrate that 10th win and perhaps allow the thousand or so fans on hand (if it's a home game) rush the floor? With two wins in their past six games to climb to 7-56, the Nets finally look to be in good shape to avoid Philadelphia's 1972-73 futility record of 9-73. Coming up huge lately has been guard Courtney Lee, who has averaged 26.0 points in the last four games he has played, although they haven't been all in a row since he missed three with a sprained ankle. -- CT
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
You say the Lakers need to focus defensively from the opening tip. However, the Laker defense has actually been better this year, at least statistically, than last year. It's the Lakers offense that has been poorer this year. Last year the Lakers averaged 106.9 points per game, whereas this year it is only 102.5 points. Last year the Lakers shot 47.4% from the field while this year it has dropped to 45.8% Last year the Lakers made 36.1% of their three pointers while this year they are only making 34.2%. And last year, assists accounted for 57.7% of their baskets, while this year that percentage has dropped to 54.8%.
these rankings are useless, yet again I find myself responding to them. How lame am I for that? I actually clicked on a link expecting to find an artical on the bucks/celtics game. What a shame.........
dang I need to check spelling.......
I take a beating from other bloggers every time I promote Wisconsin sports, but I'll go out on a limb: A) Wisconsin Badger basketball team reaches final four; B) Milwaukee Bucks go to at least the second round of the NBA playoffs; C) Marquette makes the big dance; D) Milwaukee Brewers get to World Series; E) Green Bay Packers reach Super Bowl.
If MEK can blog about the Lakers in an article concerning the Bucks, I can certainly brag about Wisconsin sports teams.
they are for real, Idk what they will do in this postseason but for the next few years get use to the BUCKS. and for the haters out there . your just jealous that your TEAM who have been in the playoffs for years , Example : PISTONS you mus get use to the fact the teams like the BUCKS with hardly anymoney and with the Economy the way it is .. Small Business will thrive.. GO BUCKS GO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!