Week 14 NBA Rankings

1. Boston Celtics (36-9) (3) Garnett's MVP argument may have picked up steam, as the Celtics aren't nearly the same defensively without him.
2. Detroit Pistons (34-13) (4) Detroit got a statement home win on Super Bowl Sunday by dominating the Mavs with Sheed doing a bulk of the damage.
3. Phoenix Suns (34-14) (2) Is it just me, or did Steve Kerr just hit the panic button? #1 Shaq isn't nearly the same player he was even three years ago and #2 last I checked, Phoenix is a running team and Shaq is aging, out of shape and has a bad hip. Hopefully for the Suns' sake he flunks his physical.
4. Los Angeles Lakers (31-16) (7) The Lakers' offense just got a lot more potent with Gasol arriving. Kobe must be thrilled that he can get away with a 6-point game and his team still wins comfortably.
5. New Orleans Hornets (32-15) (1) BAM! Just like that, the 9-game winning streak comes to a halt as the Hornets' defense surrenders over 110 points in 3 straight games.
6. Utah Jazz (31-18) (6) Easy Deron! Easy! Lets just say Paul got thoroughlly owned, being outscored 29-6 and out-assisted 11-6. As for Williams, you'll get that All-Star berth next year! Coaches can't sleep on you forever!
7. Dallas Mavericks (32-15) (5) Dirk's gotta play tougher if this team wants to erase the bitterness of last year's meltdown. Sheed just flat out dominated him!
8. San Antonio Spurs (30-16) (9) As long as the D keeps locking folks down, they can ease their way through this offensive funk and start their usual 2nd half surge.
9. Orlando Magic (31-19) (8) Benching Nelson may have to do for now, as he's got to start living up to his contract sooner or later.
10. Denver Nuggets (29-18) (14) Beating Portland was big, but Denver now must win against Utah to stay in a divisional race that figures to come down to the last week of the season.
11. Golden State Warriors (29-19) (10) Will we ever know what Webber paid CJ Watson to get his #4 back?
12. Houston Rockets (28-20) (12) If Yao and Yi had met up a month earlier and McGrady had the same 33-point game, he'd probably be a starter on the All-Star team right now.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (27-20) (11) LeBron does in the Celtics again, giving his team loads of confidence should these two meet up again with higher stakes.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (27-20) (13) As hard as they try, there's only so much you can do when Iverson or LeBron wants the ball in the closing seconds.
15. Toronto Raptors (26-21) (16) TJ will have to work to get his starting job back with Calderon owning folks while he was recovering.
16. Sacramento Kings (22-24) (17) Theus deserves a lot of credit for keeping this team afloat while its three stars missed time with injuries/suspensions.
17. Washington Wizards (24-23) (15) Lets hold all that "they're better without Arenas" talk, because the Wiz won't beat anyone if they play sloppy on defense.
18. Atlanta Hawks (20-24) (18) They're still in the playoff race and inexplicably still haven't traded Josh Childress for a good PG.
19. Chicago Bulls (19-28) (20) Noah is making the most out of his starts with Smith out, doing wonders for his confidence.
20. New Jersey Nets (20-28) (22) Well, the Nets made a huge deal this week. They got Stromile Swift for Jason Collins. Yippee!
21. Philadelphia 76ers (19-30) (24) Young and Carney continue to shine when given the chance and the Sixers' future looks bright with them stepping their games up.
22. Milwaukee Bucks (19-30) (23) Yi blew the one chance he had to give the Bucks' season meaning by not showing up against Yao.
23. Charlotte Bobcats (18-31) (19) The bottom line is it's very hard to win when your bench can't produce any offense.
24. Indiana Pacers (19-30) (21) Could O'Neal really be that hurt or is he just trying to tank the Pacers' season?
25. Los Angeles Clippers (15-30) (26) Maybe the Clippers should ask their fans to play while they continue to miss half the roster with injuries.
26. New York Knicks (14-34) (25) The minute I pick up Nate Robinson, he goes 0-for-9! I am a jinx on some of these waiver-wire guys!
27. Memphis Grizzlies (13-35) (27) They maybe terrible now, but in three years, the Grizz may reap the benefits from trading Gasol.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (10-37) (30) So will the fans boo or cheer KG when he comes back to the Twin Cities in his soopafly blazer?
29. Seattle Supersonics (12-36) (28) Durant with another game winner! He just keeps getting better and better folks!
30. Miami Heat (9-37) (29) At least with Marion, a healthy Wade has an open-floor running mate. Now they just need ten more players who can actually do something.