Here it is:
1 (1) Spurs 34-9 As stated Friday, the NBA's elite starts and ends with Spurs right now. They clearly deserve a second All-Star, but here's where we're not so sure: Is it Parker or the 48-point Manu?
2 (3) Suns 32-10 The committee, as you know, does not believe in curses. But even we can't deny that the problems in Phoenix appear to have coincided with the release of our ''Sunny and 70'' opus.
3 (2) SuperSonics 28-11 Sources say Sonics are petitioning the league for more Sunday home games, because they haven't lost one yet (6-0). On the flip side, Seattle is just 11-8 since that 17-3 start.
4 (7) Mavericks 27-12 There is no shame ranking No. 2 in Texas these days. Because these Mavs just keep rolling in the face of injuries (Howard, Daniels), surgery (Nellie) and inconsistency (Dampier).
5 (6) Kings 27-12 Until Spurs showed up, Sacramento had been unbeaten (6-0) since swapping for Christie for Mobley. Even after Sunday night, Kings are suddenly just two back of Phoenix in the loss column.
6 (4) Heat 30-12 No question Heat's record against the West could be better (9-9), but perhaps we should be more impressed with that 21-3 record within the East. Just throwing it out there.
7 (10) Cavaliers 24-15 LeBron's dream is averaging a triple-double some day, like he says in the commercial. But two in one week and a 3-3 trip out West ain't bad for a second-year manchild.
8 (8) Wizards 24-15 Not only are Wiz hanging tough without Hughes, but don't forget that they still haven't been able to play Etan and Kwame together because one or the other has always been hurt.
9 (9) Grizzlies 23-19 Besides sparking Pau, Czar Fratello has Grizz playing some serious defense as well. In its 9-2 January, Memphis has held eight of 11 opponents under 90 points.
10 (5) Pistons 23-17 After winning six in a row to suggest
they're finally back, Pistons drop three in a row for the first time all season. Which pretty much muted any Arroyo trade celebrations.
11 (11) Timberwolves 21-19 Wolves apparently want that eighth seed and a first-round matchup with San Antonio. If that possibility doesn't wake them up and snap them into focus, who knows what will?
12 (12) Rockets 22-19 It's a safe bet, even with half a season to go, that T-Mac will have no trouble averaging 20 ppg under Van Gundy, as some suggested. T-Mac's at 28.1 ppg over his last 25 games.
13 (13) Magic 22-17 When they've won lately, Magic's wins have been good ones: Minnesota, Indiana, Detroit. Orlando's 11-6 record against the West, furthermore, is still the East's best.
14 (15) Lakers 22-16 Winning without Kobe isn't just admirable -- it's crucial. Because Lakers are scheduled to play 24 of 38 on the road after Feb. 3, which won't be easy even if Kobe is back by then.
15 (14) Pacers 20-19 Pacers are a mere 13-17 since The Malice of Auburn Hills, but Stephen Jackson's return is quite timely, with Uncle Reggie only averaging 9.2 ppg in January (down from 17.7 in December).
16 (17) Bulls 19-19 The good news: Bulls still lead the league in FG defense at .410. The better news: Chicago hasn't been at .500 later than 2-2 (in '02-03) in any season since MJ retired ... until now.
17 (21) Nuggets 17-23 Nuggets have lost nine of 10 on the road. With nine home losses already, that has to change -- no matter how many injuries they have -- if Denver wants to stay in the playoff chase.
18 (20) 76ers 18-21 Eagles? We were under the impression it was a Sixers town, since they're in first place and all.
19 (18) Celtics 18-22 When we picked Celts to win the
Atlantic, the idea was they'd be getting something -- anything -- from Blount up front. Is it too late to hop on the Al Jefferson bandwagon?
20 (23) Raptors 18-24 Now that Bosh, one of our faves, has been established as Le Man in Toronto, the next step is improving the D. Reason being: Raps are 0-19 when they surrender 100 points.
21 (16) Clippers 18-22 Two wins away from topping the best 37-game start in their California history (19-18 in 1992-93), Clips proceeded to sink from 18-17 to their usual lottery pace with five straight Ls.
22 (25) Nets 15-25 Hanging in there at 3-4 without RJ, so who knows? Maybe Nets can still come back and win this sorry division, even though we still say Kidd's knee is better saved for future endeavors.
23 (26) Bucks 15-24 In the NBA's new what-if game, Bucks would only be three games out of first place if they were playing in the Atlantic Division. As it stands, they're 2-0 against Detroit.
24 (19) Knicks 17-23 New Yorkers can dream, but we can't see the Zenmeister taking on a team with no size, a bloated payroll, an aversion to D and two shoot-first franchise guards (Marbury and Crawford).
25 (24) Jazz 14-28 Some fun NBA trivia for your next party: Name the only teams to beat San Antonio and Phoenix this season. That's right: Sacramento, Memphis and somehow this (struggling) Jazz.
26 (22) Trail Blazers 15-24 Looks like Reef's elbow injury was a
bigger blow than expected. Without him, Blazers have lost five straight and nine of 10 to make it 12 losses in 15 games overall.
27 (27) Warriors 12-29 The season is a lost cause already, but it's not this guy's fault: Murphy has averaged nearly 14 rebounds over the past 15 games. And he's draining his threes, too.
28 (28) Bobcats 8-29 In the midst of their longest losing streak of the season, Bobcats quickly fall from a 23-59 pace to an 18-64 pace. Worse yet, Hornets and Hawks are gaining on them in the Rankings.
29 (29) Hornets 7-33 Hornets franchise hasn't seen a losing season since 1991-92. They're just nine losses away now, but they'd be even closer if not also in the midst of this 5-4 stretch.
30 (30) Hawks 8-30 We're using this for the second week in a
row just so Atlanta can repeat something: Hawks are the only team in the league that hasn't won two games in a row yet.
Anyone care to explain why the Suns remain the second best team in his opinion despite losing 6 straight, but more deserving teams like the Kings and Mavs are relegated to outside of the top three? Stein is just way too high on the Suns and fails to realize their downfall.
1 (1) Spurs 34-9 As stated Friday, the NBA's elite starts and ends with Spurs right now. They clearly deserve a second All-Star, but here's where we're not so sure: Is it Parker or the 48-point Manu?
2 (3) Suns 32-10 The committee, as you know, does not believe in curses. But even we can't deny that the problems in Phoenix appear to have coincided with the release of our ''Sunny and 70'' opus.
3 (2) SuperSonics 28-11 Sources say Sonics are petitioning the league for more Sunday home games, because they haven't lost one yet (6-0). On the flip side, Seattle is just 11-8 since that 17-3 start.
4 (7) Mavericks 27-12 There is no shame ranking No. 2 in Texas these days. Because these Mavs just keep rolling in the face of injuries (Howard, Daniels), surgery (Nellie) and inconsistency (Dampier).
5 (6) Kings 27-12 Until Spurs showed up, Sacramento had been unbeaten (6-0) since swapping for Christie for Mobley. Even after Sunday night, Kings are suddenly just two back of Phoenix in the loss column.
6 (4) Heat 30-12 No question Heat's record against the West could be better (9-9), but perhaps we should be more impressed with that 21-3 record within the East. Just throwing it out there.
7 (10) Cavaliers 24-15 LeBron's dream is averaging a triple-double some day, like he says in the commercial. But two in one week and a 3-3 trip out West ain't bad for a second-year manchild.
8 (8) Wizards 24-15 Not only are Wiz hanging tough without Hughes, but don't forget that they still haven't been able to play Etan and Kwame together because one or the other has always been hurt.
9 (9) Grizzlies 23-19 Besides sparking Pau, Czar Fratello has Grizz playing some serious defense as well. In its 9-2 January, Memphis has held eight of 11 opponents under 90 points.
10 (5) Pistons 23-17 After winning six in a row to suggest
they're finally back, Pistons drop three in a row for the first time all season. Which pretty much muted any Arroyo trade celebrations.
11 (11) Timberwolves 21-19 Wolves apparently want that eighth seed and a first-round matchup with San Antonio. If that possibility doesn't wake them up and snap them into focus, who knows what will?
12 (12) Rockets 22-19 It's a safe bet, even with half a season to go, that T-Mac will have no trouble averaging 20 ppg under Van Gundy, as some suggested. T-Mac's at 28.1 ppg over his last 25 games.
13 (13) Magic 22-17 When they've won lately, Magic's wins have been good ones: Minnesota, Indiana, Detroit. Orlando's 11-6 record against the West, furthermore, is still the East's best.
14 (15) Lakers 22-16 Winning without Kobe isn't just admirable -- it's crucial. Because Lakers are scheduled to play 24 of 38 on the road after Feb. 3, which won't be easy even if Kobe is back by then.
15 (14) Pacers 20-19 Pacers are a mere 13-17 since The Malice of Auburn Hills, but Stephen Jackson's return is quite timely, with Uncle Reggie only averaging 9.2 ppg in January (down from 17.7 in December).
16 (17) Bulls 19-19 The good news: Bulls still lead the league in FG defense at .410. The better news: Chicago hasn't been at .500 later than 2-2 (in '02-03) in any season since MJ retired ... until now.
17 (21) Nuggets 17-23 Nuggets have lost nine of 10 on the road. With nine home losses already, that has to change -- no matter how many injuries they have -- if Denver wants to stay in the playoff chase.
18 (20) 76ers 18-21 Eagles? We were under the impression it was a Sixers town, since they're in first place and all.
19 (18) Celtics 18-22 When we picked Celts to win the
Atlantic, the idea was they'd be getting something -- anything -- from Blount up front. Is it too late to hop on the Al Jefferson bandwagon?
20 (23) Raptors 18-24 Now that Bosh, one of our faves, has been established as Le Man in Toronto, the next step is improving the D. Reason being: Raps are 0-19 when they surrender 100 points.
21 (16) Clippers 18-22 Two wins away from topping the best 37-game start in their California history (19-18 in 1992-93), Clips proceeded to sink from 18-17 to their usual lottery pace with five straight Ls.
22 (25) Nets 15-25 Hanging in there at 3-4 without RJ, so who knows? Maybe Nets can still come back and win this sorry division, even though we still say Kidd's knee is better saved for future endeavors.
23 (26) Bucks 15-24 In the NBA's new what-if game, Bucks would only be three games out of first place if they were playing in the Atlantic Division. As it stands, they're 2-0 against Detroit.
24 (19) Knicks 17-23 New Yorkers can dream, but we can't see the Zenmeister taking on a team with no size, a bloated payroll, an aversion to D and two shoot-first franchise guards (Marbury and Crawford).
25 (24) Jazz 14-28 Some fun NBA trivia for your next party: Name the only teams to beat San Antonio and Phoenix this season. That's right: Sacramento, Memphis and somehow this (struggling) Jazz.
26 (22) Trail Blazers 15-24 Looks like Reef's elbow injury was a
bigger blow than expected. Without him, Blazers have lost five straight and nine of 10 to make it 12 losses in 15 games overall.
27 (27) Warriors 12-29 The season is a lost cause already, but it's not this guy's fault: Murphy has averaged nearly 14 rebounds over the past 15 games. And he's draining his threes, too.
28 (28) Bobcats 8-29 In the midst of their longest losing streak of the season, Bobcats quickly fall from a 23-59 pace to an 18-64 pace. Worse yet, Hornets and Hawks are gaining on them in the Rankings.
29 (29) Hornets 7-33 Hornets franchise hasn't seen a losing season since 1991-92. They're just nine losses away now, but they'd be even closer if not also in the midst of this 5-4 stretch.
30 (30) Hawks 8-30 We're using this for the second week in a
row just so Atlanta can repeat something: Hawks are the only team in the league that hasn't won two games in a row yet.
Anyone care to explain why the Suns remain the second best team in his opinion despite losing 6 straight, but more deserving teams like the Kings and Mavs are relegated to outside of the top three? Stein is just way too high on the Suns and fails to realize their downfall.
