| 1 |  |
Last Week: 1 |
Bynum is expected to miss 8-12 weeks with a medial collateral ligament in his right knee (he injured his left knee last season). His absence means Lamar Odom will return to the starting lineup at power forward with Pau Gasol sliding to center. That was the starting combination when the Lakers went to the NBA Finals last season. |
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| 2 |  |
Last Week: 4 |
Who said they need another shooter? Well, I did. But Eddie House is doing a pretty good job convincing the front office that he is the only long-range threat needed off the bench for the stretch run. After shooting just 29 percent from three-point range in October/November, House improved to 45.2 percent in December and 49.3 percent in January. |
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| 3 |  |
Last Week: 2 |
Center Zyrdunas Ilgauskas is back and another starter may soon follow. Guard Delonte West, who broke his right (non-shooting) wrist Jan. 15, is expected to have the hard cast removed Thursday. Cleveland's most reliable three-point threat (40.9 percent) is hoping to return before the All-Star break. |
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| 4 |  |
Last Week: 3 |
On the heels of a 3-0 week -- which included a victory against Cleveland and news that Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis would join Dwight Howard in the All-Star Game -- the Magic play five of their next six games at home. They are 18-4 at Amway Arena this season. |
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| 5 |  |
Last Week: 5 |
With teams hovering around Tim Duncan like bees to a honeycomb, the rest of the Spurs have been getting (and cashing in on) wide-open looks from the perimeter. San Antonio is second in the NBA in three-point shooting (39.5 percent), and Matt Bonner (48.9 percent) and Roger Mason (44.9 percent) rank in the top six in that individual category. |
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| 6 |  |
Last Week: 6 |
An All-Star snub might be just what Carmelo Anthony needs to fuel their second-half run. The Nuggets have already set the bar high: They hope to win 40 games before reaching 20 losses, a feat that has never been accomplished in the franchises's NBA history. |
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| 7 |  |
Last Week: 9 |
You probably know Greg Oden, Jerryd Bayless and Rudy Fernandez. But can you name their fourth rookie? That would be Nicolas Batum, the French forward who has started 43 games. The quartet has combined to average 26.0 points, 12.7 rebounds and 71.3 minutes, the second-highest rookie totals in each category (behind Memphis). |
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| 8 |  |
Last Week: 8 |
Their roller-coaster ride of a season continues. Solid victories last week against Philadelphia and Denver were counterbalanced by losses to San Antonio and (gulp) Golden State. Chris Paul, however, has been a constant, as the All-Star starter leads the NBA in triple-doubles (five), assists (10.9) and steals (2.8). |
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| 9 |  |
Last Week: 7 |
They are well-practiced in playing shorthanded. "We've had so many lineup shuffles that we come into the gym with an open mind every single night," Shane Battier told the Houston Chronicle. "I'm not saying it's a good thing. You would like to have job certainty when you pull into the arena every night. But we've learned to roll with it, which you have to do." The latest injury involves another setback for Tracy McGrady, who missed Saturday's victory against Golden State after spraining his ankle in practice. |
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| 10 |  |
Last Week: 14 |
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called the Mavs "highly motivated" and "inspired" after Dallas beat Miami last week. The Mavs will need more of that mind-set if they want to stay hot through the All-Star break, because Orlando, Portland, Utah and Boston are among their next six opponents. |
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| 11 |  |
Last Week: 11 |
If this keeps up, the Lakers might have to cede the Bench Mob nickname to Miami. Over the last three games, the Heat have received 150 points, 70 rebounds and 24 assists from their bench. Reserve rookie forward Michael Beasley has averaged 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in those games. |
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| 12 |  |
Last Week: 13 |
The Eastern Conference chatter used to be that the last two playoff spots were up for grabs. Not anymore. That number has dwindled to one as the 76ers, who have won seven of their last 10, are looking like a postseason lock. Elton Brand has embraced his role as sixth man, averaging 6.8 points and 5.0 rebounds since returning to the lineup. "He'll do anything to help us win," coach Tony DiLeo said. "He's truly sincere about that." |
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| 13 |  |
Last Week: 10 |
If the wheels weren't already coming off the wagon, they are now. Terry Porter, Steve Kerr, Steve Nash and Grant Hill had a 45-minute, closed-door meeting after an embarrassing home loss to Chicago on Saturday, and the team held an air-it-out meeting Sunday. The loss to the Bulls dropped Phoenix to 7-8 in January, clinching the Suns' first losing month since the 2003-04 season. |
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| 14 |  |
Last Week: 12 |
After a strong start, they have reverted back to last year's team, one that is good at home (18-5) and inept on the road (9-15). Points in the paint have killed them: The Knicks hammered them for 62 last Wednesday and the Bucks added 52 on Saturday. "That just takes the heart and soul out of what you're about defensively," coach Mike Woodson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. |
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| 15 |  |
Last Week: 17 |
With Michael Redd finished for the season, they should fade out of the East playoff race. Any day now. We think. Milwaukee is clinging to the No. 8 spot thanks to a resurgent Charlie Villanueva, who has scored 96 points in the four games since Redd's knee injury. |
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| 16 |  |
Last Week: 15 |
Though supersub Andrei Kirilenko's ankle surgery was another body blow, they can take heart in a favorable February schedule. Utah plays eight of 11 games at home this month and has only one set of back-to-back games. Good news for a team that has gone 8-16 on the road and is just 1-11 in the back end of back-to-backs. |
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| 17 |  |
Last Week: 16 |
They've lost four in a row at home for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Sunday's loss to Cleveland -- which followed their first losing month since February 2004 -- left the Pistons 21-21 with Allen Iverson in the lineup. |
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| 18 |  |
Last Week: 23 |
A little nugget for teams interested in signing David Lee in the offseason: The 6-9 forward, who has incorporated a 15-footer into his game this season, said he will spend the next few summers trying to become a threat from three-point range. |
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| 19 |  |
Last Week: 18 |
"I'm telling you, no team in the East wants to play them in the first round," a scout from that conference said of the Bobcats. Last week, Charlotte added a win over the Lakers to earlier impressive victories against Boston, Portland and New Orleans. |
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| 20 |  |
Last Week: 21 |
They went 2-2 last week. That's it. I'm not saying anything more about them until they shave those horrible mustaches. The worst has to belong to Mike Dunleavy. Positively awful. |
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| 21 |  |
Last Week: 24 |
Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf's recent comments that the season was "a disaster" and "embarrassing" were on point -- he just happened to be speaking during a good week. Chicago beat the Clippers, Kings and Suns for its first three-game winning streak in almost two years, and it entered the week only 1 1/2 games out of the East's finall playoff spot. "We're not getting carried away, we won three in a row," Kirk Hinrich told the Chicago Sun-Times. "But we're playing better together as a team." |
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| 22 |  |
Last Week: 19 |
They came back to earth a little with losses to the Lakers, Pistons and Celtics, but they have been supplied a mountain of motivation for the rest of the season. Al Jefferson (23.2 points, 10.6 rebounds) was left off the All-Star team by Western Conference coaches, while Kevin Love (9.1, 8.5) was omitted from the Rookie Challenge in a vote by assistant coaches. |
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| 23 |  |
Last Week: 21-27 |
It seems like a simple solution: If your defense is struggling, play your best defender more. Trenton Hassell held Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala to three foul shots and no field goals over the last 20 minutes in the Nets' win Saturday. "We met as a staff and talked about things that could shake this up," coach Lawrence Frank told reporters. "Trenton became the focal point in those talks." |
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| 24 |  |
Last Week: 22 |
Jose Calderon's streak of made free throws ended at 87 with a miss in Friday's loss to Milwaukee, a defeat that snapped Toronto's three-game winning streak. Calderon, who began the run last April, finished 10 shy of matching Micheal Williams' NBA record. |
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| 25 |  |
Last Week: 26 |
Kevin Durant was rightfully left off the All-Star team, as a club as bad as OKC probably doesn't deserve to be represented. But is there any doubt this will be the final time for a while that this happens? Durant is averaging 26.1 points since coach Scott Brooks took over and moved him to small forward in November. "Kevin Durant is a potential Hall of Fame player," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He has the passion. He's basically unstoppable." |
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| 26 |  |
Last Week: 25 |
Anthony Randolph's lost season continues. The rookie forward recently fired agent B.J. Armstrong, who reportedly was among those guiding Randolph to be patient. Randolph has appeared in 33 games, averaging 5.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 12.8 minutes. |
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| 27 |  |
Last Week: 27 |
Center Brendan Haywood, who has joined fellow starter Gilbert Arenas on the sideline all season, recently had some pins removed from his surgically repaired right wrist but still is unable to perform any basketball-related duties. "Right now, it's about the healing process," coach Ed Tapscott told The Washington Post. "They'll keep looking at the wrist to determine when it will be healthy enough to handle doing all of the things he needs to do on a basketball court." |
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| 28 |  |
Last Week: 30 |
Ah, the bottom three. Well, here we go: Sacramento gets the "top spot" after snapping an eight-game skid with Sunday's overtime victory against Oklahoma City. Kevin Martin celebrated his 26th birthday with 37 points, his sixth 30-point performance in 27 games this season. |
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| 29 |  |
Last Week: 28 |
Their losing streak reached 12 after double-digit losses to Denver, the Lakers and (the kicker) Oklahoma City. It may not be too late to get your job back in Milwaukee, Lionel Hollins. |
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| 30 |  |
Last Week: 29 |
They lost four games last week by a combined 74 points. Yes, Eric Gordon is still scoring, leading the Clips in three of the four losses. But we already praised him last week. |
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