Week 13 NBA Rankings

1. New Orleans Hornets (32-12) (3) The more they win, the louder the Chris Paul-for-MVP talk gets. Oh, and David West deserves to be an All-Star.
2. Phoenix Suns (33-13) (2) Grant just can never catch a break. He recovers from an appendectomy, then his back gives out.
3. Boston Celtics (35-8) (1) This is exactly what the critics were talking about. How does this team respond with KG and Ray-Ray going down?
4. Detroit Pistons (32-13) (6) With 7 of their next 8 games in the Palace, the Pistons have a chance to put a stranglehold on the Central.
5. Dallas Mavericks (31-13) (5) Can they now survive the recent injury bug that's forced key contributors like Stackhouse, Bass and Harris out?
6. Utah Jazz (27-18) (10) Kirilenko's strong impact is being felt on both ends as the Jazz have surged back into 1st place with a 10-2 month.
7. Los Angeles Lakers (28-15) (4) There will be many more battles to come between these two superstars, but it looks like 'Bron got the better of this matchup.
8. Orlando Magic (28-18) (11) Hedo! Hedo! Where did this come from?? It's like the guy just transformed into a different player overnight.
9. San Antonio Spurs (28-16) (7) As of right now, signing Stoudamire is looking like a pretty good idea. If arrests start taking place though, you'll know who the leader of the drug ring was on the Jail Blazers.
10. Golden State Warriors (27-19) (13) Webber and Nelson. Reunited at last. What will probably happen is they'll kiss and make up, but Webber's balky knees will prevent him from having the kind of impact the Warriors expect of him.
11. Cleveland Cavaliers (24-19) (12) Be honest. You were a witness too. LeBron just told his team "Hop on my back, I'll take you to the promised land" and with that, broke Kobe's ankles.
12. Houston Rockets (25-20) (14) Yao's held up his end, now it's McGrady's turn if he could just get back in the court consistently. Meanwhile, Scola has taken over the starting role and won't look back.
13. Portland Trail Blazers (26-18) (8) After losing two straight and falling behind by 19 to the Hawks, the Blazers had every reason to fold in the tent. But there is something different about this squad, they just keep finding new ways to win.
14. Denver Nuggets (26-18) (9) This offense looks pretty average without Carmelo. It's basically AI and four guys watching AI dribble.
15. Washington Wizards (24-19) (15) Jamison and Butler deserve all the credit in the world for keeping this team afloat without Arenas.
16. Toronto Raptors (24-20) (16) Can't wait to see Jamario jump over the Moon in the Slam Dunk Contest.
17. Sacramento Kings (19-24) (17) Kevin Martin: The NBA's Official Best Player You've Never Heard Of.
18. Atlanta Hawks (18-23) (19) Is it just me, or did this team quit after falling behind against Phoenix? Disgraceful that this is still technically a playoff team.
19. Charlotte Bobcats (18-27) (20) Be honest. Nobody thought Gerald Wallace would turn out this good.
20. Chicago Bulls (18-26) (21) Where were these 30-point games from Hinrich at the beginning of the year?
21. Indiana Pacers (19-27) (18) At some point, Larry the Legend does get fired for this team's gradual collapse into anonymity, right?
22. New Jersey Nets (19-26) (23) Lose 9 straight, win a game, and you're back in the 8th seed with a disgruntled PG begging to be traded, two injury-prone swingmen and no bench to speak of. See how easy it is in the East?
23. Milwaukee Bucks (18-28) (22) Yi just needs to get nasty. Yao had to do it. At some point, he needs to get angry and just dunk on everyone in sight.
24. Philadelphia 76ers (17-28) (24) Dre Miller just doesn't belong on this team. He needs to be traded to a real team.
25. New York Knicks (14-30) (25) Marbury's absence hasn't been all bad, as it's allowed Nasty Nate to unload on a bevy of unsuspecting PG's.
26. Los Angeles Clippers (13-28) (26) If they had anything close to a winning record, Kaman would be a lock for the All-Star team.
27. Memphis Grizzlies (13-32) (27) Chris Wallace just loves paying guys to not play on his team. He did it last year to Eddie Jones and is doing the same thing with Damon.
28. Seattle Supersonics (10-35) (29) When they all said he'd hit the wall, Durant responded by burying the Spurs and the Sonics' 14-game losing streak with his clutch shooting.
29. Miami Heat (9-34) (30) And the Miami Heat crowd roared as the Heat matched the '72-73 Sixers' win total with more than half a season to play.
30. Minnesota Timberwolves (8-36) (28) Gerald Green's in the Slam Dunk Contest? I wasn't even sure if he was still playing, he's buried so deep on the bench.