NBA Power Rankings: Questions for the Contenders

The Cavaliers and Lakers remain in the top two spots this week, but both teams face uncertainty as the regular season winds down.

Cleveland will begin to rework Zydrunas Ilgauskas back into the lineup this week, and will need to do the same with Shaquille O'Neal at some point before the postseason starts. The same is true for the Lakers and Andrew Bynum, who the team similarly expects to be out of the lineup until the beginning of April.

Meanwhile, Orlando holds steady in third, and their only concern at this point seems to be keeping Dwight Howard from picking up his 16th technical foul of the season, and a one-game suspension along with it.

As for everyone else, there was plenty of movement below the top three. Read on to see where your favorites ended up this week.

1. Cavaliers (56-15) | Prev.: 1

Share As expected, Zydrunas Ilgauskas returned to the Cavaliers this week, finalizing the exploitation of a loophole in the NBA's rules that allowed the team to acquire Antawn Jamison for the low, low price of absolutely nothing. Some think this makes the Cavs invincible, but despite the wealth of talent, getting everyone on the same page chemistry-wise may be more difficult than expected heading into the postseason. -- BP
2. Lakers (52-18) | Prev.: 2
The loss of Andrew Bynum for at least six games isn't likely to be a problem for L.A. as they round out the regular season. But unless he gets back to 100 percent by the beginning of the postseason, just about anyone the Lakers might face in the early rounds of the playoffs could have a shot at pushing them to a Game 7. -- BP
3. Magic (50-21) | Prev.: 3
If you leave out one poor shooting night against Miami, Dwight Howard has made 25 of his last 32 shots. And no wonder Vince Carter is smiling again. In his 12 NBA seasons, this is the first time he has been on a team that won at least 50 games. After a poor, mid-season showing, Carter has regained some of his old scoring prowess, which bodes well for the Magic's roll into the playoffs. -- Tim Povtak

4. Suns (45-26) | Prev.: 8
Phoenix has won five straight, and find themselves in fifth place in the West, just a single game behind the Jazz for the four-spot. A lot is likely to change in that race before the season is over, but with their next five games against sub-.500 teams, there's a good chance that the Suns could be in line to host their first-round playoff series at some point very soon. -- BP

5. Jazz (46-25) | Prev.: 10
Jerry Sloan avoided punishment from the league for making contact with a referee last Friday, likely because video of the incident was hard to come by, and also because it wasn't played on an endless 24-hour loop on SportsCenter for all to see. Meanwhile, Utah's had Andrei Kirilenko miss a few games, and Deron Williams is playing through shoulder and wrist injuries. But the team is still winning (four of its last five), and has been successfully able to cling to that all-important fourth spot in the Western Conference. -- BP

6. Bucks (39-30) | Prev.: 9
No chance to get home-court advantage in the first round, but they look solid as the No. 5 seed, very capable of a first-round upset against either Boston or Atlanta. A strong finish should give Scott Skiles a good shot at the Coach of the Year honors. -- TP

7. Mavericks (47-24) | Prev.: 4
Rough loss to Boston shows that they still have questions with defensive toughness, and aren't firing on all cylinders like they were directly after the trade. They need to get their swagger back in the next few weeks. -- Matt Moore

8. Nuggets (47-24) | Prev.: 5
George Karl's cancer treatment has been more difficult than expected, and as a result, he's expected to miss the remainder of the regular season. Adrian Dantley has taken the helm in Karl's absence, but with the team going 2-3 over its last five games, it's unclear whether he'll be able to reach the players in the same way that Karl has. -- BP

9. Hawks (45-25) | Prev.: 7
The difference between being No. 3 in the East and being No. 4 might not matter when it comes to a second-round playoff matchup for this team. Going into Wednesday night, they have not beaten either Orlando or Cleveland this season, going a combined 0-5. It would be 0-9 if you include last spring's sweep by the Cavs. -- TP

10. Spurs (42-27) | Prev.: 11
Starting to get back on track, winning the season series with the Thunder 3-1 helps things quite a bit. Duncan looks healthy, Ginobili is tearing it up, and the pieces are starting to fit. Maybe not a championship caliber team, but not someone you want to run into in a dark and stormy first round alley. -- MM

11. Celtics (45-25) | Prev.: 13
Uh-oh. Someone woke the giant.Didn't seep the three game road trip after losing to Utah, but beating Houston and Dallas were both big wins that got their confidence back. They need to finish up with some marquee wins over good teams and then set a coasting course for the first round. They should be able to duck that second-round matchup with Cleveland given how Atlanta has played lately. But they need to not lose focus like they did for say, four months. -- MM

12. Blazers (42-29) | Prev.: 12
The Blazers had won eight of their last nine before dropping an ugly one in Phoenix on Sunday. While the team has largely played well, Brandon Roy has been in a fairly substantial shooting slump as of late, going just 18-of-59 from the field over his last three games. -- BP

13. Thunder (42-27) | Prev.: 6
The team has cooled off a bit recently, dropping three of its last four games. Only one (the blowout at Indiana) should be any cause for concern, but with the next three coming against the Rockets, Lakers, and Blazers, it's a tough time to have to attempt to right the ship. -- BP

14. Heat (37-34) | Prev.: 17
A little surprising to see someone in a Heat uniform not automatically deferring to Dwyane Wade, but it happened. Veteran point guard Carlos Arroyo, in one third-quarter sequence Monday, ignored Wade's demand for the ball and instead passed to Michael Beasley for an easier score. Initially, Wade was not pleased, but Arroyo didn't fall through a trap door and disappear like some expected. Good for Arroyo. -- TP

15. Bobcats (36-34) | Prev.: 16
How great would it be for the game if Michael Jordan becomes a Mark Cuban-type owner, sticking his head into the huddle, yelling at officials, making himself visible every night? It would do wonders for the franchise and bring back the fans. Wonder if he would still fit into a uniform. -- TP

16. Grizzlies (38-33) | Prev.: 15
Finally quit giving up 25+ point leads, and started beating teams they should. They won't make the playoffs, but it's hard to say that this team didn't have a tremendously successful season. They need to finish strong, wind up over .500, and turn their focus to re-signing key-talent. -- MM

17. Bulls (33-37) | Prev.: 25
Might be too late to get back into the playoff race, but the Bulls discovered just how valuable quirky Joakim Noah is. They are going for their third consecutive win since he returned from an extended absence when they dropped out of the race. The Bulls are just 6-12 this season in games without him. He is one of nine players in the league averaging a double-double. -- TP

18. Rockets (36-33) | Prev.: 14
Still scraping for the playoffs but you get the feeling it may be too late. Battier's injury really hurts them, even in a down season for them. Kevin Martin has had games where he goes off, but hasn't been enough to lift them. Though he and Brooks really do form one of the best backcourt tandems in the league. -- MM

19. Hornets (34-38) | Prev.: 18
When the worst team in this group features two sensational rookies (Darren Collison, Marcus Thornton), and the return of the best point guard in the league? That's how you know it's a tough division. CP3 helped the Hornets beat Dallas after going down 16 in the first half, which only means good things for the future. They're at a crossroad with young and old talent, and the rest of the season will say a lot about what they'll do with that nasty Collison-Paul debate. -- MM

20. Raptors (35-34) | Prev.: 19
So maddeningly inconsistent. The occasional huge win followed by dispirited performances against mediocre teams. It's time to crank up whatever heat you've got left in the furnace, Toronto. Without a strong showing down the stretch, you may find yourselves on the out looking in if Derrick Rose keeps the Bulls in competition. -- MM

21. Knicks (26-45) | Prev.: 20
5-5 in their last ten is saying something. It really is. It's important to remember what they're working with, and how much more screwed up they were two years ago. Toney Douglas is making the case for being a part of this franchise's future, while David Lee continues to be the pandora's box for the franchise. -- MM

22. Pacers (25-46) | Prev.: 22
T. J. Ford remains on the sideline with a groin injury. Pacers are headed for their fourth consecutive season without a playoff appearance, and it's likely to go to five before the misery stops. As bad as they are, they won't have salary cap space until 2011. -- TP

23. Kings (24-47) | Prev.: 21
Tyreke Evans is sidelined with a jaw injury, but Carl Landry has stepped up in his absence. Landry has put up 23 and 24 points in the two games since Evans went down, helping the Kings to go 1-1 in RekeROY's absence. -- BP

24. Sixers (24-47) | Prev.: 24
Glad to see them giving some good effort and putting that talent to good use now that there's absolutely no hope for the franchise. -- MM

25. Pistons (23-48) | Prev.: 23
After eight consecutive years in the playoffs, the Pistons are discovering how miserable it gets with a bad team. Coach John Kuester probably doesn't feel so good now about getting his first NBA head coaching job in Detroit. He was ejected Tuesday night while arguing a charging call. Another bad team with no cap space this summer. -- TP

26. Clippers (26-45) | Prev.: 26
The Clips are 1-10 over their last 11 games, but amazingly, the one win came against the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks. I guess even a team in total disarray can decide to actually try once in a while. -- BP

27. Warriors (19-51) | Prev.: 28
The good news is that Chris Cohan has decided to sell. The bad news is that Don Nelson said he'd like to "coach" the Warriors' summer league team. Are free trips to Vegas really all that hard to come by these days? -- BP

28. Wizards (21-48) | Prev.: 27
Turns out that Andray Blatche is neither underpaid nor underappreciated. He's just another physically-gifted but mentally weak athlete. A player who refuses to be coached, or refuses to re-enter a game at a coach's request, like Blatche did Tuesday night, should refund his salary for that night. Maybe now we know why so many other teams had no interest in him. -- TP

29. Timberwolves (14-57) | Prev.: 29
I know Minnesota is bad, but their 13-game losing streak is as much a product of the schedule as anything else -- check out who they've faced in this stretch of games: Lakers, Jazz, Suns, Spurs, Nuggets, Mavs (twice) Rockets, Blazers Thunder, Hawks. -- BP

30. Nets (7-63) | Prev.: 30
Uh, Devin Harris isn't sucking anymore? Silver lining? Maybe? Maybe? LOOK, JOHN WALL! -- MM

Filed under: Sports
Tagged: NBA Power Rankings