The Pacers will win the top record in the East unless Miami goes on another crazy winning streak like last season. That will most probably NOT happen especially with the injury problems of Dwyane Wade. There's also Miami's overall lackluster play and uneven effort, blah blah blah.
Hero team of the week: The Thunder has won 7 straight and Kevin Durant has solidified his hold as the MVP of the season, so far.
Sucky team of the week: The Lakers continue to tumble down the standings with or without Kobe. They are 3-14 in their last 17 games.
The standings are current up to January 26, 2014 and the rankings from Last Week refer to Week 12.
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| Kevin Durant has kept the Thunder near the top of the West without Westbrook. KD is the MVP for the first half of the season. (Image by: Getty Images) |
1. Indiana Pacers | 34-9 | Last Week: 1 | Same
The Pacers suffered their worst loss of the season (24 points) to the Suns but they will have a chance to avenge that loss next Thursday. Lance Stephenson has played so well that MIP considerations are real.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder | 35-10 | Last Week: 4 | +2
Kevin Durant came back from missing a game by getting a triple-double. The Thunder even won vs the Celtics by 18 points without KD who was resting. Reggie Jackson scored a career-high 27 vs the Spurs.
3. San Antonio Spurs | 33-10 | Last Week: 3 | Same
The Spurs lost Kawhi Leonard for a month due to a hand injury. Danny Green is also out with a similar injury. Tiago Splitter is still out as well. They will face Miami with a depleted roster but the Heat is hurting too.
4. Portland | 33-11 | Last Week: 2 | -2
LaMarcus Aldridge is making sure that he gets an All-Star spot. He torched the Nuggets with a career-high 44 points and 13 rebounds. He has 9 double-doubles in January. LA is arguably the best PF in the NBA right now.
5. Miami Heat | 31-12 | Last Week: 6 | +1
Miami still keeps losing to weaker teams but their biggest concern is the health of Dwyane Wade who has missed 4 straight games. Chris Bosh has picked up the scoring slack: 24 ppg in his last 5 games.
6. Los Angeles Clippers | 31-15 | Last Week: 5 | -1
Offensively, Blake Griffin has expanded his game and shooting better. Defensively, DeAndre Jordan has been amazing. DJ is a legit contender for DPOY. He is #1 in rebounding and 3rd in blocks.
7. Houston Rockets | 29-16 | Last Week: 8 | +1
Chandler Parsons had a career-high 34 points including 10 threes all in the 2nd half in a loss to the Grizzlies. Patrick Beverley is back and has played the last 4 games: 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
8. Golden State Warriors | 26-18 | Last Week: 7 | -1
Tough stretch for the Dubs who lost the last 2 games and with 2 of the next 3 vs the Blazers and Clippers, a longer losing streak can happen. David Lee is averaging 21 and 10 in January.
9. Phoenix Suns | 24-18 | Last Week: 10 | +1
The Suns best win of the year came against the Pacers in a rout. They also beat the Nuggets before that game but they lost to the Wizards recently. Barbosa played the last 3 games after missing a few games.
10. Dallas Mavericks | 25-20 | Last Week: 9 | -1
Dallas lost twice to the Raptors after having double digit leads in both games. Jose Calderon is averaging only 4.7 assists per game which is the 2nd lowest of his career.
11. Toronto Raptors | 22-21 | Last Week: 11 | Same
Terrence Ross exploded for 51 points (career-high) vs the Clippers and tied Vince Carter for the franchise record. DeMar DeRozan sprained his ankle in the same game.
12. Atlanta Hawks | 23-20 | Last Week: 14 | +2
Impressive win by the Hawks vs the Heat last Monday. Paul Millsap would be an All-Star if he always played against Miami (26 ppg, 9 rpg). Kyle Korver has made a three in 112 straight games.
13. Memphis Grizzlies | 22-20 | Last Week: 12 | -1
The Grizzlies swept 2 games vs the Rockets over the weekend. Courtney Lee has fit in nicely with them averaging 15 ppg. Memphis is 7-2 with Lee on the team.
14. Denver Nuggets | 22-21 | Last Week: 14 | Same
Danilo Gallinari will miss the whole season due to complications with his ACL injury. The Nuggets had their best win of the season vs the Pacers. Wilson Chandler scored a season-high 25 points.
15. Chicago Bulls | 22-21 | Last Week: 16 | +1
The Bulls are an astounding 8-3 since the Luol Deng trade and are temporarily back in the East playoffs. DJ Augustin has been spectacular lately. He has scored at least 27 points in 3 of their past 4 games, all wins.
16. Minnesota Timberwolves | 21-22 | Last Week: 17 | +1
The Twolves have yet to go above 0.500 since they were 8-7 in November. Kevin Love's spectacular play allowed him to win the vote as an All-Star starter for the West.
17. Washington Wizards | 21-22 | Last Week: 15 | -2
John Wall not making the All-Star team as a starter is a travesty. He has been the best PG in the East and his team is winning more than Irving and the Cavs. Wall is also averaging a career-high 8.5 apg.
18. Brooklyn Nets | 19-22 | Last Week: 19 | +1
The Nets have won 9 of 10 and are temporarily in the playoffs. Mirza Teletovic scored a career-high 34 points on 7 of 11 from threes in just 27 minutes vs the Mavs.
19. Charlotte Bobcats | 19-27 | Last Week: 20 | +1
Kemba Walker will miss around 2 weeks with a sprained ankle. The Bobcats are 2-2 in the 4 games he missed. Al Jefferson is trying to make up for Walker's production with 25 and 13 in the last 5 games.
20. New Orleans Pelicans | 17-25 | Last Week: 25 | +5
Anthony Davis continues to impress this year with his 20 points, 10 boards and 3 blocks. Bad news, Ryan Anderson will miss at least 2 months with a herniated disc.
21. Cleveland Cavaliers | 16-27 | Last Week: 21 | Same
Luol Deng has been okay with the Cavs. In 8 games, he is averaging 16.5 ppg and 4 rpg but the Cavs are just 4-4 in those games which is actually an improvement for them.
22. Detroit Pistons | 17-26 | Last Week: 18 | -4
Josh Smith's numbers are all down from his last season in Atlanta. The Pistons are underachieving but they are just a game and a half from the 8th spot. Brandon Jennings is #6 in assists per game.
23. New York Knicks | 16-27 | Last Week: 22 | -1
Carmelo Anthony scored a career-high 62 points in MSG vs the Bobcats. Melo now has the scoring record at MSG. The only active players with at least 60 points are Melo and Kobe.
24. Sacramento Kings | 15-27 | Last Week: 23 | -1
Marcus Thornton tied a career-high 42 points vs the Pacers but the Kings failed to upset them without DMC and Rudy Gay. Cousins is day-to-day while Gay could miss weeks.
25. Utah Jazz | 15-29 | Last Week: 27 | +2
Gordon Hayward is back after missing 5 games with an injury. Hayward promptly averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the past 2 games that he played.
26. Los Angeles Lakers | 16-28 | Last Week: 24 | -2
The Lakers are 2-4 in their Eastern road trip with the last game vs the Knicks. They 3-14 in their past 17 games even with Kendall Marshall putting up double digit assists in 9 of 12 games in January.
27. Boston Celtics | 15-30 | Last Week: 26 | -1
Rajon Rondo has played 4 games and averaged 5 points and 5 assists. All 4 games were losses including an 18-point blowout loss to the Thunder who played without Durant and Westbrook.
28. Philadelphia 76ers | 14-30 | Last Week: 28 | Same
The Sixers are last in points allowed and 29th in winning margin. There are talks of Evan Turner and possibly Thad Young being traded soon to further cement their tanking season.
29. Orlando Magic | 12-32 | Last Week: 29 | Same
The Magic are 2-2 in their past 4 games. Tobias Harris blasted the Lakers with 28 points and 20 boards for his first ever 20-20 game. Harris is averaging 17 points and almost 10 boards in January.
30. Milwaukee Bucks | 8-35 | Last Week: 30 | Same
The Bucks are probably safe from having the worst record in NBA history. It is unlikely that they go 1-38 in their final 39 games. Larry Sanders has been a disappointment: 6 points and 6 rebounds.
Biggest Jump of the Week: Pelicans +5
Biggest Drop of the Week: Pistons -4
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