Week 16 NBA Rankings

1. Boston Celtics (41-11) (1) Boston tries playing at a fast pace and it costs them against two of the highest scoring teams in the NBA.
2. Detroit Pistons (39-15) (2) The Pistons get off to a rather inauspicious start as they get blown out at home by the Magic and fall behind by 21, failing to come back against the Bucks.
3. New Orleans Hornets (37-15) (3) On the same court with Jason Kidd, Paul puts on yet another masterful performance, nearly recording a triple double in points, assists and steals.
4. Los Angeles Lakers (37-17) (5) In the big showdown in Phoenix, Kobe got the better of Shaq and the Lakers clearly looked like the team more in synch in a game that could shift divisional leaders in the Pacific Division.
5. Phoenix Suns (37-17) (4) Well, the big fella played and at times looked dominant, but he must get in shape to keep up with Nash, Stoudamire and company.
6. San Antonio Spurs (35-17) (6) Getting Kurt Thomas is exactly what the Spurs needed, as they now have an enforcer who will battle the tougher PF's in the West to keep the pressure off Duncan.
7. Utah Jazz (35-19) (8) Keep an eye on Carlos Boozer, who's now day-to-day with a sore lower back.
8. Houston Rockets (33-20) (10) Even after winning nine straight games, the Rockets oddly sent their best reserve in Bonzi Wells to the divison rival Hornets in exchange for Bobby Jackson.
9. Denver Nuggets (33-20) (9) Winning at home against Boston was big, but a potential trade for Artest could be even bigger.
10. Dallas Mavericks (35-19) (7) Three words to sum up the deal: Kidd got worked! That's all for today.
11. Orlando Magic (34-22) (12) I want to thank Dwight Howard for putting on the best Slam Dunk Contest performance ever for a big man and raising the bar for creativity to new heights.
12. Golden State Warriors (33-21) (11) The league better be put on alert: Baron didn't make the Western Conference squad.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (30-24) (13) Cleveland got a shooter, an instant-offense reserve, a defender, and an ex-3X defensive player of the year and all they had to give up was Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden.
14. Toronto Raptors (29-23) (14) Jamario Moon would have made the finals if they still did the six-man format in the Dunk Contest. His dunks were outrageous!
15. Portland Trail Blazers (28-25) (15) It was good to see Roy represent in the All-Star game, but his team has cooled off considerably and should now focus on next year while waiting for Oden to arrive.
16. Sacramento Kings (25-28) (16) The Kings were patient and got a decent return for Mike Bibby. Rebuilding teams can always use cap space.
17. New Jersey Nets (24-30) (18) As an added bonus to getting Devin Harris, the Nets got a 25-point game out of Marcus Williams in his second start after the Kidd trade.
18. Philadelphia 76ers (24-31) (20) Great day for Philly when they sign Cheeks to an extension and then proceed to thump the Knicks by 40.
19. Washington Wizards (25-28) (17) Washington better not fall too far with New Jersey and Philly right on their tails in the playoff race.
20. Chicago Bulls (21-31) (22) With Hughes and Gooden in the mix, the Bulls can now focus on rebuilding for next year.
21. Atlanta Hawks (21-30) (19) I thought the Bibby trade was supposed to make the Hawks better, now here they go losing six in a row, including dropping one to Mike's ex-team.
22. Indiana Pacers (21-33) (21) Well, the trading deadline has come and gone, so stay tuned for the offseason when the Pacers really do deal Jermaine.
23. Milwaukee Bucks (20-34) (23) Good for Charlie V for working his butt off after losing his job to Yi and again earning the starting role at PF.
24. Los Angeles Clippers (18-33) (24) The only suspense left in the Clippers' season is how many weeks it takes Brand to come back.
25. Charlotte Bobcats (19-35) (25) Wow, even in today's game with the no-contact rules, the Bobcats prove that you can still score below 70 points if you shoot bad enough.
26. New York Knicks (16-38) (26) The funny thing is, the 40-point loss to Philly wasn't even the Knicks' worst loss this season.
27. Seattle Supersonics (14-38) (28) All Seattle got for Wally and West was Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall??? Wow, between that and the "talent" they got for Kurt Thomas, you know a move is in the works.
28. Memphis Grizzlies (14-40) (27) Hakim Warrick is finally getting his chance to shine and doing quite well, scoring over 20 in four of his last five games since getting the starting job at PF in the wake of the Gasol trade.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-41) (29) That birthday cake dunk was the cheesiest thing I've ever seen!
30. Miami Heat (9-42) (30) It still boggles the mind that this is the same team two years removed from an NBA title.