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The New York Knicks certainly aren't the only team in the league to go through a tough stretch over the past couple of weeks. As noted in our SBNation.com NBA Power Rankings below, the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers are also sliding toward oblivion. But the Knicks' plummet is something special. They say that The Garden is a magical place, where everything takes on an extra bit of drama. I believe them. Holy smokes, this is something to behold.
All records current through Sunday's action.
| Rank | Team | Record | Last Week | SB Nation Blog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chicago Bulls | 34-9 | W: IND, MIL, UTA; L: ORL | Blog-a-Bull |
| The Bulls remain incredibly impressive, despite a surprising home loss -- Chicago's second all season -- to Orlando. On Saturday, the Bulls whipped the Jazz (a good team) without Luol Deng or Joakim Noah. | ||||
| 2. | Miami Heat | 31-9 | W: NJ, ATL, IND | Peninsula Is Mightier |
| The Heat earned a pair of narrow victories over East playoff teams this week, forever quieting the implication that LeBron James cannot close in the fourth quarter. And the world was at peace. | ||||
| 3. | Oklahoma City Thunder | 32-9 | W: DAL, PHX, CHA; L: CLE | Welcome To Loud City |
| Thunder continue to plug along, and while they don't have the huge lead the 2005-06 Detroit Pistons did at this point, their season is beginning to feel like that. It's just ... inevitable. | ||||
| 4. | Memphis Grizzlies | 24-16 | W: GS, DEN; L: PHX | Straight Outta Vancouver |
| And it's inevitable that Memphis will keep every Thunder fan awake at night if the two face off in the second round, as they are currently on track to do. In fairness to Oklahoma City, the Grizzlies keep me awake at night, and my team is nowhere near the playoff race. | ||||
| 5. | San Antonio Spurs | 26-13 | W: NY; L: LAC | Pounding The Rock |
| The Spurs had a light week to make up for the Rodeo Trip, but have a nice Dallas-Oklahoma City back-to-back this weekend as penance. After a visit from the Wizards on Monday, things do generally get tougher for San Antonio. | ||||
| 6. | Denver Nuggets | 23-19 | W: SAC, NO; L: CLE, MEM | Denver Stiffs |
| Denver was the best of the mid-rung teams this week, as the losses suffered by the others (L.A. and L.A., Houston, Dallas) were far more embarrassing. Better news: Nene and Danilo Gallinari are back, and the latter should see his shooting form come back around. Let's just hope Ty Lawson's Sunday ankle injury isn't serious. | ||||
| 7. | L.A. Clippers | 23-16 | W: SA; L: MIN, NJ, GS | Clips Nation |
| The Clippers beat the Spurs in San Antonio by 12 (!). They lost the other three games by a combined six points. I'm OK with the Clippers' week, though they really must stop letting inferior opponents take big leads early. | ||||
| 8. | Orlando Magic | 27-15 | W: TOR, CHI, IND; L: CHA | Orlando Pinstriped Post |
| These are the Orlando Magic: losing to the Charlotte Bobcats and beating the Chicago Bulls in the very same week. These are the Orlando Magic. | ||||
| 9. | L.A. Lakers | 25-16 | W: MIN, BOS; L: DET, WAS | Silver Screen And Roll |
| Even the Hornets would be disappointed with a 1-2 road trip against Detroit, Washington and Minnesota. | ||||
| 10. | Philadelphia 76ers | 25-17 | W: BOS, UTA, NY; L: MIL | Liberty Ballers |
| Philadelphia has bounced back strong from that February lilt; home court in the first round is now the primary objective, given that Miami and Chicago have sprinted away from the pack. As such, the Sixers have a big game on Wednesday at Indiana. | ||||
| 11. | Indiana Pacers | 23-16 | L: CHI, ATL, MIA, ORL | Indy Cornrows |
| Uh oh. Rough week for the Pacers, to say the least. This week feature the Blazers, Sixers and a home-and-home with the Knicks. It's a critical time for Indiana, to say the least. | ||||
| 12. | Atlanta Hawks | 24-17 | W: IND, SAC; L: MIA, DET | Peachtree Hoops |
| The Hawks might be playing themselves into the race for home court in the first round, albeit against Philadelphia, who as the presumptive Atlantic champ gets the No. 4 seed unless they are caught be Boston or catch Orlando for No. 3. | ||||
| 13. | Boston Celtics | 21-19 | W: HOU, POR; L: PHI, LAL | CelticsBlog |
| Boston's unlikely to get higher than No. 7 in the East bracket, which is unfortunate, because one last playoff run from this collection would be hellacious good fun. | ||||
| 14. | Houston Rockets | 22-20 | W: NJ; L: BOS, TOR, CLE | The Dream Shake |
| Houston has slipped all the way to the No. 8 seed after looking like a threat to grab a top-four seed just a couple weeks ago. Kevin Martin's minutes are plummeting (under 30 on average over the past 10 games) as Kevin McHale emphasizes defense. (Even with fewer minutes for Martin on Sunday, Cleveland scored a season high 118 on Houston.) | ||||
| 15. | Phoenix Suns | 19-21 | W: DAL, MEM; L: OKC | Bright Side of the Sun |
| Phoenix is legitimately in the West playoff race, just a couple of games out of No. 8. Steve Nash is a damned wizard. | ||||
| 16. | Cleveland Cavaliers | 16-23 | W: DEN, OKC, HOU; L: UTA | Fear the Sword |
| The scorching Cavaliers are now within a game of New York for No. 8 in the East. Imagine Cleveland lands No. 8 and Miami pulls out the No. 1 seed. That could be an interesting series! | ||||
| 17. | Minnesota Timberwolves | 21-21 | W: LAC, POR: L: Ricky :-( | Canis Hoopus |
| <glass full of tears> | ||||
| 18. | Dallas Mavericks | 23-20 | W: NY; L: OKC, PHX, SAC, GSW | Mavs Moneyball |
| The Mavericks are 2-7 since that national TV loss to the Lakers without Lamar Odom. Yes, it has somehow gotten worse. | ||||
| 19. | Utah Jazz | 19-21 | W: CLE, CHA; L: PHI, CHI | SLC Dunk |
| The schedule has officially caught up to the Jazz. This week should be easier (at Phoenix is a test), but it's a grind again after that. | ||||
| 20. | Portland Trail Blazers | 20-21 | W: NO, WAS; L: MIN, BOS | Blazer's Edge |
| Sure, they got killed in Minnesota and Boston. But at least they won in Washington, something the Lakers can't say! (In fairness, the Thunder can't say it either.) | ||||
| 21. | Milwaukee Bucks | 17-24 | W: PHI, NY, TOR; L: CHI | Brew Hoop |
| The Bucks probably deserve to be much higher, but until I see Andrew Bogut back on the court with my own two eyes, I just can't believe in Milwaukee's chances. Come back, Bogey! | ||||
| 22. | New York Knicks | 18-23 | L: DAL, SA, MIL, PHI | Posting And Toasting |
| There's way too much to say about the Knicks and the coverage of the Knicks right now, but go check out Dallas' last couple of weeks -- losses to New Jersey, New Orleans, Sacramento and Golden State -- and remember that the Mavericks killed New York last week. | ||||
| 23. | Detroit Pistons | 15-26 | W: LAL, ATL, TOR | Detroit Bad Boys |
| Detroit is scorching hot, and within spitting distance of the No. 8 seed in the East. Unfortunately, nine of the Pistons' next 10 games are on the road, and the home tilt is against Miami. | ||||
| 24. | Golden State Warriors | 17-21 | W: WAS, DAL, LAC; L: MEM | Golden State of Mind |
| In the alternate universe where the Warriors never left Philadelphia, the Warriors are a half-game up on the Knicks for the No. 8 seed in the East. (Though if the Warriors never left, where would the Sixers be? Speculative fiction is so confusing!) Meanwhile, in our universe, the Warriors are in 13th place in the West. | ||||
| 25. | Sacramento Kings | 14-27 | W: NO, DAL; L: DEN, ATL | Sactown Royalty |
| The Kings haven't been legitimately blown out since Feb. 15, at the peak of Linsanity. Progress! | ||||
| 26. | Toronto Raptors | 13-28 | W: HOU; L: ORL, DET, MIL | Raptors HQ |
| Andrea Bargnani is back, which could help Toronto climb a bit further from a top-3 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. A Pyrrhic return. | ||||
| 27. | New Jersey Nets | 14-28 | W: LAC, CHA; L: MIA, HOU | NetsDaily |
| This week could make or break the next decade of Nets basketball. This team is 14-28. This really doesn't make any sense. | ||||
| 28. | New Orleans Hornets | 10-31 | W: MIN; L: POR, SAC, DEN | At The Hive |
| So ... we're going to see Eric Gordon again this season, right? | ||||
| 29. | Washington Wizards | 9-30 | W: LAL; L: POR, GS | Bullets Forever |
| You'll desperately miss JaVale McGee, D.C. sports fans. Just you wait. | ||||
| 30. | Charlotte Bobcats | 5-34 | W: ORL; L: UTA, NJ, OKC | Rufus On Fire |
| Bobcats. Hornets. For all of the yawns! | ||||