Week 20 NBA Rankings

1. Boston Celtics (54-13) (1) If they find a way to sweep the Texas Triangle without Ray Allen, they're building a lot of credibility as a championship favorite.
2. Detroit Pistons (49-19) (4) Think Georgia's SEC magic has something to do with Jarvis Hayes's monster game against NO?
3. New Orleans Hornets (46-21) (5) MoPete's freezing up, so it's imperative they get something out of Bonzi down the stretch.
4. Phoenix Suns (46-22) (10) We knew it would be a struggle to adjust to Shaq, but I have to give the team credit, as they've now added a new dimension and suddenly look like a Finals favorite.
5. Los Angeles Lakers (46-21) (3) With Pau out and Bynum slowly recovering, the Lakers will need a few 60-point games from Kobe to stay in the West hunt for the next couple weeks.
6. Houston Rockets (46-22) (2) The 22-game winning streak went down with a thud, but a second straight anemic offensive showing against NO can't be encouraging with GS and Phoenix still up.
7. Utah Jazz (45-24) (7) Kirilenko's health is very important so the Jazz better make sure he's healthy for the postseason, when his defensive presence will be sorely needed.
8. Orlando Magic (45-25) (9) How long can Hedo keep this up?? 39 against the Wizards?? Unreal.
9. San Antonio Spurs (44-23) (6) The latest four-game losing streak again makes you wonder if this team is aging and has lost its killer instinct.
10. Dallas Mavericks (44-24) (11) They still have yet to win a game against a +.500 team since the Kidd trade.
11. Golden State Warriors (42-25) (8) Jackson-Ellis-Davis is like a more thugged out version of Run TMC.
12. Denver Nuggets (40-28) (12) Those inhuman point totals the Nugs put up don't mean a thing if they can't stop anyone when it matters.
13. Cleveland Cavaliers (39-30) (13) Stevenson talking trash about LeBron? Someone's about to look like John Starks against MJ if the Cavs and Wizards meet up again in the postseason.
14. Philadelphia 76ers (34-34) (17) Before anyone knocks Billy King about mismanaging a few contracts, they should look at how well his draft picks have performed this year.
15. Washington Wizards (34-33) (16) If Agent Zero can make a comeback and play at 50% of his ability, this team will be a tough out in round 1.
16. Portland Trail Blazers (35-33) (14) +.500 is still a great accomplishment when you consider where the Blazers were two years ago. Pritchard clearly knows what he's doing.
17. Toronto Raptors (35-33) (15) Bosh couldn't have found a better time to come back, as the Raptors are reeling and barely hanging onto the 5th spot.
18. Sacramento Kings (31-36) (19) Kevin Martin must be used to anaymity right now, as he was an unheralded scorer on a bad team in college and remains so in the pros.
19. New Jersey Nets (29-39) (20) Now that Harris is free of Avery Johnson's overcoaching, we're beginning to see the actual talent he does have and how royally the Mavericks screwed up on this trade.
20. Atlanta Hawks (29-39) (21) They're slowly gathering momentum, but losing in New Jersey is not helping their playoff chances.
21. Chicago Bulls (27-40) (18) Green Jerseys the day after St. Patty's day? I'll give the Bulls' marketing team some credit.
22. Indiana Pacers (27-41) (22) Dunlevy's strong play has been one of the few bright spots in another disappointing Pacers' season.
23. Charlotte Bobcats (24-44) (23) The sad reality is none of the Bobcats' draft picks are really working out and trading Brendan Wright will kill them in the long run.
24. Minnesota Timberwolves (17-50) (27) Taylor's critical comments about Garnett tanking before he left make him look like a backstabber on top of being a frugal owner.
25. Milwaukee Bucks (23-44) (24) When you overpay Bobby Simmons and Mo Williams, you're not going to keep a job in the NBA for very long.
26. Los Angeles Clippers (21-46) (25) So when is Elton going to come back? Speaking of injured players, I really feel bad for Shaun Livingston, all that talent and such a fragile body.
27. New York Knicks (19-48) (26) Can't the Knicks just put Isiah out of his misery? Hasn't he been dragged under the bus long enough?
28. Memphis Grizzlies (16-51) (29) If they tank and get lucky enough, maybe they can keep Derrick Rose in-state.
29. Seattle Supersonics (16-52) (28) 168 points in a game? Yup, I think it's safe to say they've quit on the season.
30. Miami Heat (12-55) (30) On the other end of the spectrum, the anemic Heat offense was comically bad against the Raptors with a 54-point outing. It should be noted that Kobe once scored 1/3 more points in a game against that team by himself.