Week 19 NBA Rankings

1. Boston Celtics (51-12) (1) A big key to the Celts' latest 10-game winning streak has been the strong play of Kendrick Perkins, who's been a beast on the boards.
2. Houston Rockets (44-20) (5) The incredible 20-game winning streak almost came to a halt, but these Rockets will win low-scoring games if they have to, thanks to their incredible effort on the defensive end.
3. Los Angeles Lakers (45-19) (3) Bynum's slow recovery has to be troubling for a team that's still very reliant on Kobe's offense.
4. Detroit Pistons (46-18) (4) If the Pistons truly now have a second unit, it will make a difference if they make another deep run in the postseason.
5. New Orleans Hornets (43-20) (6) A 4-1 stretch for the Hornets since falling out of first was punctuated by a 25-point drubbing of the Spurs.
6. San Antonio Spurs (44-20) (2) Since the 10-game winning streak, the Spurs' offense has had a pair of anemic showings against Phoenix and NO in surrendering first place to the surging Rockets.
7. Utah Jazz (43-23) (7) The road woes are getting alarming as the Jazz lost to the Bulls and had to fight back in the 4th quarter to beat the woeful Bucks.
8. Golden State Warriors (40-23) (11) Monta Ellis has quietly had a huge year in Baron and Stevie Jax's shadow, with
9. Orlando Magic (42-24) (8) Porn 'stache Van Gundy deserves serious Coach of the Year consideration for leading a team with no real backcourt to such a strong season.
10. Phoenix Suns (42-22) (10) You saw a glimpse of what the Suns could be against the Spurs, but Shaq needs to bring it every night and the Suns have to shoot a lot better from the outside to compliment their big man.
11. Dallas Mavericks (42-23) (9) They continue to thrash the Eastern bottom feeders, but the Mavs have yet to get that elusive statement win against a top eight team in the West since the Kidd trade.
12. Denver Nuggets (38-26) (12) It's great to see K-Mart play with so much confidence. Soon he'll be grabbing his jersey and flashing the crowd like he did in New Jersey.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (37-28) (13) When 24-11-10 is considered an off-night, that's when you know you're an elite player.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (34-31) (16) Oden returning to practice has to give the Blazers a lot of confidence going into next year.
15. Toronto Raptors (34-30) (14) As much depth as the Raptors have, they need Bosh in order to be taken seriously in the postseason.
16. Washington Wizards (31-32) (17) Butler picked the perfect time to come back, as the Wizards lost virtually no ground in his absence despite the initial slump.
17. Philadelphia 76ers (31-34) (15) Winning in Detroit has to do wonders for the Sixers' confidence should those two meet up in the playoffs.
18. Chicago Bulls (26-38) (20) Now is not a good time for lackluster efforts like the one against Boston with the Bulls' season still salvageable (That is, if you consider making the East playoffs with a record 10+ games under .500 salvageable.)
19. Sacramento Kings (28-35) (19) Spencer Hawes has played well lately, hoping to continue the Kings' legacy of agile white big men.
20. New Jersey Nets (26-37) (18) They have to be relieved that they don't have to play anyone from the Southwest Division anymore after getting blanked on their road trip.
21. Atlanta Hawks (26-38) (21) As badly as the Hawks have played, they can still win twice in a night when they play the Heat.
22. Indiana Pacers (25-39) (22) As much heat as Isiah takes for all the bad trades and signings the Knicks have made, who would have thought the Pacers are actually in a worse position salary cap-wise? Yet Bird continues to avoid blame for this.
23. Charlotte Bobcats (24-40) (24) Oh good, an Earl Boykins sighting. I was hoping he was still in the league.
24. Milwaukee Bucks (23-42) (23) Replacing Mo Williams with Royal Ivey is like replacing a Honda Civic with a Pinto. It's that lack of depth that's the reason the Bucks are still floundering in mediocrity.
25. Los Angeles Clippers (21-42) (25) Al Thornton has to be the only one mad that Elton's coming back. Oh, Maggette too, less shooting for him.
26. New York Knicks (19-46) (26) The Heat seem to be about the only team the Knicks can beat these days, and they still almost gift-wrapped that game.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-49) (29) In just two days out in Cali, the Wolves doubled their road win total against the Kings and Clippers.
28. Seattle Supersonics (16-49) (27) It has to be depressing for the 20 fans that still care about the Sonics to watch Green and Durant play so well, knowing in a couple years, they're going to be putting people on their feet in Oklahoma City.
29. Memphis Grizzlies (15-49) (28) One of the few pluses has been the play of the Grizzlies' youngsters, particularly Conley, Warrick and Gay.
30. Miami Heat (11-52) (30) Riley picked a good time to go watch the NCAA Tournament, as these last 19 games will be unwatchable without Wade and Wright.