NBA Rankings - 11 Apr

This week I've increased the strength of the momentum factor in my formula in hopes of being able to continue increasing the accuracy of my predictions, and as a result there is a bit more movement than usual in this week's rankings. Each team's name is followed by its weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Chicago (4-0) (60-20) -8.12 (3)

2. Miami (2-1) (56-24) -7.64 (1)

3. LA Lakers (0-4) (55-25) -7.11 (2)

4. Denver (2-2) (49-31) -6.99 (6)

5. San Antonio (3-0) (61-19) -6.91 (4)

6. Oklahoma City (4-0) (54-26) -5.80 (9)

7. Orlando (2-1) (50-30) -5.53 (7)

8. Boston (2-2) (55-25) -5.46 (5)

9. Dallas (2-1) (55-25) -5.18 (8)

10. Memphis (2-1) (46-34) -4.47 (10)

11. Houston (1-2) (42-38) -4.19 (11)

12. Portland (2-1) (47-33) -4.14 (12)

13. New Orleans (2-1) (46-34) -2.69 (13)

14. Philadelphia (1-2) (41-39) -2.34 (14)

15. New York (4-0) (42-38) -1.79 (15)

16. Phoenix (1-3) (38-42) -0.38 (17)

17. Milwaukee (2-2) (33-47) -0.10 (18)

18. Indiana (2-1) (37-44) 0.45 (19)

19. Atlanta (0-3) (44-36) 0.48 (16)

20. Golden State (2-1) (35-45) 0.51 (21)

21. Utah (1-2) (37-43) 1.12 (20)

22. LA Clippers (1-3) (31-50) 1.34 (22)

23. Detroit (3-1) (29-51) 2.48 (23)

24. Sacramento (2-2) (24-56) 3.13 (25)

25. Charlotte (0-4) (32-48) 3.73 (24)

26. Minnesota (0-3) (17-63) 4.76 (26)

27. Toronto (1-3) (22-58) 5.17 (27)

28. New Jersey (1-3) (24-56) 5.46 (28)

29. Washington (2-2) (22-58) 6.64 (29)

30. Cleveland (2-2) (17-63) 7.80 (30)

Feeling Hoppy

Last week there was talk that Oklahoma City could fall behind Denver into the 5th spot in the West, but they made sure to end that talk this week with four straight wins, including 2 over those Denver Nuggets. They capped off a perfect week with a huge road upset of the Lakers last night, which put them only one game behind the Lakers and Mavericks for the 2nd seed in the West. What a difference a week makes.

The Dallas Mavericks rebounded from a loss to Denver early in the week by beating down the Clippers and Suns over the weekend, which was enough to pull them into a tie with Los Angeles for the #2 spot in the West. They still have two tough games left, but even their recent 4-game losing streak didn't knock them out of contention.

The New York Knicks won four straight this week, including two close wins over the teams closest to them in the Eastern Conference standings and two blowouts of teams that have known they will miss the playoffs for months. Their seven straight wins negated the damage caused by the preceding 6-game losing streak, and they are now sitting in 6th place in the East.

Laying Eggs

If you were paying close attention to my rankings above, you may have noticed that the worst team in the playoffs is not the Indiana Pacers, but the Atlanta Hawks, who may still end up with the East's 5th seed. They got consistently worse this week, losing by 7 to San Antonio, then 12 to the Pacers, and finally 32 to the Wizards.

10 days ago, the Lakers were looking unstoppable, having won 17 of 18 games since the All-Star Break, but this week they failed to win a single game, and two of those games were against non-playoff competition. Just when it looked like the had the second seed all sewn up, now they're in a 3-way dogfight with just two games to go.

Boston didn't play a close game all week, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. They did win two of those games, but both were against teams much lower in the rankings than the Celtics. The bad part was the two road losses to the other top Eastern teams, Chicago and Miami, who both beat Boston by at least 16 points, showing that there may be a new team representing the East in this year's Finals.

NBA Player of the Day

Derrick Rose - CHI - 39 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 13-17 FG, 3-5 3P, 10-10 FT

Even though they Bulls have already clinched the best record in the East, Rose has not let up, beating yet another of the top contenders in the East yesterday in Orlando by scoring 39 points and hitting four important free throw down the stretch in a probably second round playoff preview.

Predictions - 11 Apr

Upset picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Heat at Hawks - Heat by 5

Bobcats at Nets - Nets by 1

Magic at 76ers - Magic by 1

Celtics at Wizards - Celtics by 9

Cavaliers at Pistons - Pistons by 8

Jazz at Hornets - Hornets by 7

Raptors at Bucks - Bucks by 8

Mavericks at Rockets - Rockets by 2

Warriors at Nuggets - Nuggets by 10

Thunder at Kings - Thunder by 6

Timberwolves at Suns - Suns by 8

Prediction Results - 10 Apr

NBA: 4-5 (.444) 716-303 overall (.703)

Upsets: 2-2 (.500) 173-118 overall (.595)

NBA Rankings and Playoff Odds - 4 Apr

We are now in the home stretch of the NBA season. 12 teams have clinched playoff berths already, and there are 7 teams still in contention for the final 4 spots. With my usual overall rankings today, I'm also adding in the projected order of finish below, along with odds of each team making and winning the Finals. The rankings have team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Miami (3-1) (54-23) -7.07 (2)

2. LA Lakers (2-1) (55-21) -6.86 (3)

3. Chicago (3-1) (56-20) -6.73 (1)

4. San Antonio (1-3) (58-19) -6.30 (4)

5. Boston (2-2) (53-23) -5.56 (5)

6. Denver (3-0) (47-29) -5.30 (7)

7. Orlando (1-3) (48-29) -5.04 (6)

8. Dallas (1-3) (53-24) -4.19 (8)

9. Oklahoma City (2-2) (50-26) -3.75 (9)

10. Memphis (3-0) (44-33) -3.21 (10)

11. Houston (3-1) (41-36) -2.76 (11)

12. Portland (3-1) (45-32) -2.62 (13)

13. New Orleans (2-1) (44-33) -2.40 (12)

14. Philadelphia (3-1) (40-37) -1.88 (14)

15. New York (3-0) (38-38) -0.59 (16)

16. Atlanta (2-1) (44-33) -0.23 (17)

17. Phoenix (1-3) (37-39) -0.04 (15)

18. Milwaukee (2-2) (31-45) 0.78 (18)

19. Indiana (3-1) (35-43) 1.23 (20)

20. Utah (0-3) (36-41) 1.51 (19)

21. Golden State (1-2) (33-44) 2.06 (21)

22. LA Clippers (1-2) (30-47) 2.24 (22)

23. Detroit (0-3) (26-50) 3.59 (24)

24. Charlotte (2-2) (32-44) 3.71 (23)

25. Sacramento (2-2) (22-54) 4.34 (25)

26. Minnesota (0-3) (17-60) 5.27 (26)

27. Toronto (1-2) (21-55) 5.62 (28)

28. New Jersey (0-4) (23-53) 5.65 (27)

29. Washington (3-1) (20-56) 7.09 (29)

30. Cleveland (1-3) (15-61) 9.14 (30)

April Flowers

The Philadelphia 76ers started off the week very well, beating the Bulls in Chicago by 12 points before beating the Rockets by 11 two nights later. Both teams had a lot to play for, but the 76ers showed that they deserve the playoff berth they clinched this week by beating both.

Not only did the Washington Wizards avoid tying the all-time record for least road wins in a season when they beat Utah on Monday, but they distanced themselves from it by winning their third road game of the season yesterday in Charlotte.

Portland faced 3 Western Conference playoff teams this week, which makes their 3-1 record this week even more impressive. They beat San Antonio on the road and Dallas and Oklahoma City at home, with a loss to New Orleans as the only blemish on a very strong week.

It may be strange to say that a team that won only once this week is hot, but that's exactly what happens when that team is the Cleveland Cavaliers, and that victory is over the Miami Heat. They lost all three of their road games this week, but beating the Heat and local villain LeBron James probably meant more to them anyway.

Memphis did exactly what they had to this week, winning all three of their games by double digits to solidify their hold on one of the final playoff spots in the West. Especially important was their win over New Orleans, the team they are currently tied with for the 7th seed. If they beat them again this week they earn the tiebreak over them.

April Fools

After losing a tough game to the Lakers in the middle of the week, the Dallas Mavericks seemed to resign themselves to the fact that they will be the third seed in the West, and that they had nothing left to play for in the regular season, which showed quite clearly in losses at Golden State and Portland later in the week.

No one expected the Charlotte Bobcats to win in Orlando this week, but when you're sitting outside the playoff race but still alive, you need to be able to beat the Washington Wizards, a team that had only won twice on the road all season, when they visit your home court late in the season.

So much for the good signs that New Jersey showed after the Deron Williams trade. The Nets have now lost 10 of their last 11 games, and the lone victory was an overtime victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, not exactly the quality win that would make this cold streak look a little nicer.

Orlando just could not win a road game this week, losing close ones to New York, Atlanta, and Toronto, all teams that are far inferior to the Magic, a team that claims to have championship ambitions. If they keep playing like this, they'll be waiting for next year again.

Last week the Chicago Bulls were one of the hottest teams in the league. This week, even though they lost only once, that loss came to the only playoff-caliber team they faced, the Philadelphia 76ers. Their 3 victories were all unimpressive wins over even less impressive teams that gave up on the playoffs months ago.

Seeding Projections

Here are my projected final standings for each conference, with projected record in parentheses. Only teams still mathematically alive are included.

East

1. Chicago (60-22)

2. Miami (58-24)

3. Boston (57-25)

4. Orlando (51-31)

5. Atlanta (46-36)

6. Philadelphia (43-39)

7. New York (41-41)

8. Indiana (37-45)

9. Milwaukee (34-48)

10. Charlotte (34-48)

West

1. San Antonio (61-21)

2. LA Lakers (59-23)

3. Dallas (56-26)

4. Oklahoma City (53-29)

5. Denver (51-31)

6. Portland (48-34)

7. Memphis (47-35)

8. New Orleans (47-35)

9. Houston (44-38)

Playoff Odds

First Round

Odds of each projected top-4 seed winning their first round series.

1. Chicago - 78.4

2. Miami - 73.3

3. Orlando - 67.7

4. San Antonio - 64.6

5. Boston - 63.9

6. LA Lakers - 63.8

7. Dallas - 56.7

8. Oklahoma City - 46.1

As you can see, the top 4 seeds in the East all look pretty strong as far as advancing through the first round is involved. Oklahoma City is the top seed I feel is most likely to lose in the first round, but I would guess that there will be as many as three top seeds falling in the first round.

Finals

These are the odds of each team winning their conference and advancing to the Finals.

1. Chicago - 27.6

2. Miami - 25.7

3. LA Lakers - 22.8

4. San Antonio - 20.8

5. Boston - 16.7

6. Orlando - 16.2

7. Denver - 14.1

8. Dallas - 12.2

9. Oklahoma City - 9.7

10. Memphis - 7.5

11. Portland - 7.1

12. New Orleans - 5.9

13. Philadelphia - 5.2

14. Atlanta - 3.4

15. New York - 3.3

16. Indiana - 1.9

Champions

These are the odds of each team winning the championship this season.

1. Chicago - 15.6

2. Miami - 14.6

3. LA Lakers - 12.6

4. San Antonio - 11.3

5. Boston - 8.7

6. Orlando - 8.0

7. Denver - 6.8

8. Dallas - 5.5

9. Oklahoma City - 4.2

10. Memphis - 3.1

11. Portland - 2.8

12. New Orleans - 2.3

13. Philadelphia - 2.0

14T. Atlanta - 1.1

14T. New York - 1.1

16. Indiana - 0.5

The top two seeds in each conference have the strongest odds of winning the championship, as would be expected. There is a 54.1% chance that one of those 4 teams will wind up holding up the trophy at the end of the season.

NBA Player of the Day

LeBron James - MIA - 31 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast, 3 stl, 13-18 FG, 5-8 FT

LeBron showed off his all-around skills once again as he led Miami to a road victory over New Jersey, a win which clinched the division title for the Heat, the first time they have accomplished that since 2007. The only thing he struggled in last night was turning the ball over, which he did 7 times out of his team's 15.

Predictions - 4 Apr

Possible upsets are underlined.

NCAA Tournament

(8) Butler vs. (3) Connecticut - UConn by 4

Prediction Results - 3 Apr

NBA: 7-4 (.636) 683-283 overall (.707)

Upsets: 2-0 (1.000) 170-115 overall (.596)

NBA Rankings - 28 Mar

The Bulls and Lakers are both getting hot at the right time, and with the way they've been playing since the All-Star break, it would be no surprise to see the two of them face off in the NBA Finals this June. Both are led by star guards with MVP credentials and have multiple All-Star quality big men surrounding them, and they appear to be on a crash course. Here are the latest rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Chicago (4-0) (53-19) -7.01 (4)

2. Miami (3-0) (51-22) -6.92 (1)

3. LA Lakers (3-0) (53-20) -6.72 (2)

4. San Antonio (1-3) (57-16) -6.28 (3)

5. Boston (2-2) (51-21) -5.44 (5)

6. Orlando (3-0) (47-26) -5.32 (6)

7. Denver (3-0) (44-29) -4.92 (8)

8. Dallas (3-0) (52-21) -4.71 (7)

9. Oklahoma City (3-0) (48-24) -3.86 (9)

10. Memphis (3-1) (41-33) -2.71 (10)

11. Houston (1-1) (38-35) -2.43 (12)

12. New Orleans (2-1) (42-32) -2.13 (11)

13. Portland (2-1) (42-31) -2.00 (13)

14. Philadelphia (1-2) (37-36) -1.12 (14)

15. Phoenix (1-3) (36-36) -0.17 (16)

16. New York (0-4) (35-38) -0.16 (15)

17. Atlanta (2-2) (42-32) -0.01 (17)

18. Milwaukee (1-2) (29-43) 1.19 (19)

19. Utah (0-4) (36-38) 1.34 (18)

20. Indiana (2-2) (32-42) 1.58 (20)

21. Golden State (2-2) (32-42) 2.40 (22)

22. LA Clippers (2-1) (29-45) 2.53 (21)

23. Charlotte (2-1) (30-42) 3.34 (23)

24. Detroit (1-2) (26-47) 3.59 (24)

25. Sacramento (3-1) (20-52) 4.59 (25)

26. Minnesota (0-3) (17-57) 5.01 (28)

27. New Jersey (1-3) (23-49) 5.35 (27)

28. Toronto (0-4) (20-53) 6.11 (26)

29. Washington (0-4) (17-55) 7.76 (29)

30. Cleveland (1-3) (14-58) 9.73 (30)

Hot

The Chicago Bulls are the hottest team in basketball right now. This week they demolished the Kings and Hawks before beating Memphis and Milwaukee on back-to-back nights. They were the only team to beat either Sacramento or Memphis this week, and Derrick Rose is looking more like an MVP every time he takes the court.

This may seem like a joke, but the Timberwolves were the second hottest team this week, without even winning a game. They started the week with two eight-point losses at Dallas and Oklahoma City, both of which will enjoy home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. After that, they nearly pulled off a huge upset against the Celtics back in Minneapolis last night, falling by 3 points, and they all of that without their best player.

The Golden State Warriors didn't play that well on their trip to Texas early in the week, getting blown out in San Antonio and Houston, but then they returned home to destroy two of the worst teams in the East. They may have been eliminated from the playoffs last night, but if they were in the East they would be tied for the 8th spot today.

Denver has been on fire since losing the Carmelo distraction last month. This week they beat up Washington and Toronto and upset the Spurs in between. They haven't lost at home since February 7 and are 12-4 since the trade.

Cold

Toronto West Coast trip took a turn for the worse this week, with blowout losses in Oakland and Denver and close losses in Phoenix and Los Angeles (to the Clippers, not the Lakers). The schedule isn't going to be any nicer for them now that they're heading back East, with games against Chicago and Orlando this week.

Utah's slim playoff chances disappeared with an 0-4 week against teams currently in the playoffs. It was probably a good thing they lost all 4, because if they had made the playoffs, they would have been embarrassed by an even better team in the first round.

New York's slide with Carmelo in the lineup continued this week, with 4 losses in a row to run their losing streak up to 6. Among those 6 losses, only 2 came against teams that will likely be in the playoffs this year.

Washington's trip out West didn't go much better than Toronto's, with the only difference being in the quality of one opponent (Portland rather than Phoenix). The Wizards still have just one road win all season, and if they fail to win another, they will tie the all-time record for worst road team.

NBA Player of the Day

Monta Ellis - GSW - 37 pts, 7 reb, 13 ast, 14-24 FG, 4-6 3P, 5-7 FT

Golden State is no longer mathematically alive in the playoff race, but Ellis didn't care. He played all 48 minutes of yesterday's game and had what may have been his best game of the season as the Warriors beat the Washington Wizards to keep from being their second road victim of the year.

Predictions - 28 Mar

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Celtics at Pacers - Celtics by 4

Bucks at Bobcats - Bobcats by 1

Magic at Knicks - Magic by 2

76ers at Bulls - Bulls by 9

Trail Blazers at Spurs - Spurs by 7

Wizards at Jazz - Jazz by 9

Prediction Results - 27 Mar

NBA: 7-2 (.778) 648-264 overall (.711)

NCAA Tournament: 1-1 (.500) 42-22 overall (.656)

Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 165-114 overall (.591)

NBA Rankings - 21 Mar

The NCAA Tournament may have overshadowed the NBA this week, and with good reason, but that doesn't mean that nothing interesting happened in the pros. For example, Sacramento had a 30-point blowout victory last night. When's the last time that happened? (Answer: January 22, 2008) Here are this week's rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Miami (3-1) (48-22) -6.97 (1)

2. LA Lakers (3-0) (50-20) -6.46 (3)

3. San Antonio (2-1) (56-13) -6.43 (2)

4. Chicago (2-1) (49-19) -6.09 (5)

5. Boston (2-2) (49-19) -5.86 (4)

6. Orlando (2-1) (44-26) -5.30 (6)

7. Dallas (2-2) (49-21) -4.62 (8)

8. Denver (2-2) (41-29) -4.46 (7)

9. Oklahoma City (3-1) (45-24) -3.51 (9)

10. Memphis (2-1) (38-32) -2.34 (12)

11. New Orleans (1-2) (40-31) -2.18 (10)

12. Houston (4-0) (37-34) -2.13 (11)

13. Portland (3-1) (40-30) -1.77 (13)

14. Philadelphia (2-2) (36-34) -1.44 (14)

15. New York (1-3) (35-34) -0.76 (15)

16. Phoenix (2-2) (35-33) -0.44 (17)

17. Atlanta (2-2) (40-30) -0.19 (16)

18. Utah (2-1) (36-34) 0.72 (19)

19. Milwaukee (2-2) (28-41) 0.99 (20)

20. Indiana (2-2) (30-40) 1.51 (18)

21. LA Clippers (1-3) (27-44) 2.68 (21)

22. Golden State (0-4) (30-40) 2.96 (22)

23. Charlotte (0-3) (28-41) 3.40 (23)

24. Detroit (2-1) (25-45) 3.79 (24)

25. Sacramento (2-2) (17-51) 4.62 (27)

26. Toronto (2-1) (20-49) 5.26 (28)

27. New Jersey (1-3) (22-46) 5.35 (26)

28. Minnesota (0-3) (17-54) 5.74 (25)

29. Washington (1-3) (17-51) 7.22 (29)

30. Cleveland (1-2) (13-55) 9.55 (30)

Bracketbusters

None of Memphis' last 4 games have been decided by fewer than 20 points, but that hasn't always been a good thing for the Grizzlies. This week it went in their favor twice, with wins over the Clippers and Pacers, but they also lost at New York between those two games. They are still desperately trying to hold off Houston, Utah, and Phoenix for the final playoff spot.

The Suns struggled while Steve Nash was sitting out with a pelvic injury, but as soon as he returned to the lineup they were back to form, beating the Warriors and Clippers by nearly identical scores to keep themselves alive in the playoff race, with a huge game against the Lakers looming tomorrow.

Portland looked like they were going to have a perfect 4-0 week for most of the evening yesterday, then they fell apart at the end and let the Lakers win the game, but losing at the Staples Center to the defending champs doesn't spoil an otherwise strong week from the Blazers. They started the week with a close win over Dallas, then blew out the Cavaliers by 41 two nights later.

Not only did Sacramento win a game by 30 points for the first time in over 3 years, they also won two games in the same week for the first time since January. They may have been eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago, but they can still be scary on some nights for good teams.

Brackets Busted

After going 3-1 last week and being one of the hotter teams in the league, the Golden State Warriors went 0-4 this week, including a loss to the lowly Kings and two losses to Dallas, the latter of which was a 28-point blowout on the road. Whatever slim playoff hopes they had have now disappeared.

The Clippers were also one of the hottest teams last week, when they had won 5 of 6 games over some decent competition, but this week was just the opposite, with just one win in 4 tries, and that win was over Cleveland, which doesn't really count for much.

It's no surprise that the Timberwolves fell short in road games against Utah and the Lakers this week, but when they got to host the Kings yesterday, they should have been ready to take out some frustration, but it turned out that Sacramento was the one doing the pounding, earning their biggest win in years over the Timbercubs.

The Celtics did manage to go 2-2 this week, but considering the fact that they are trying to earn the top spot in the East, they should not have lost in New Jersey or Houston, two teams that would not even be in the playoffs if they started today. It looks like they'll have to face both Chicago and Miami if they want to make the Finals again.

NBA Player of the Day

Kyle Lowry - HOU - 28 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast, 9-14 FG, 3-4 3P, 7-8 FT

Lowry controlled every aspect of Houston's huge win over Utah, a game that propelled them ahead of the Jazz in the playoff race and put them just 1.5 games behind Memphis for the final playoff spot. Lowry's first career triple-double could not have come at a better time for the Rockets, who would have fallen back to 11th place in the West with a loss.

Predictions - 21 Mar

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Magic at Cavaliers - Magic by 12

Pacers at Nets - Pacers by 1

Celtics at Knicks - Celtics by 2

Kings at Bulls - Bulls by 14

Jazz at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 6

Warriors at Spurs - Spurs by 12

Raptors at Nuggets - Nuggets by 13

Prediction Results - 20 Mar

NBA: 6-3 (.667) 608-252 overall (.707)

NCAA Tournament: 3-5 (.375) 38-14 overall (.731)

Upsets: 3-2 (.600) 161-111 overall (.592)

NBA Rankings - 14 Mar

It's amazing how quickly things can turn around in the NBA. A team can look totally dead one week and snap out of it a week later. That is the case with this week's number one team, which had lost every game just a week ago, but turned that around to pound some good teams this week. They may have blown their shot at the top record in the East, but they just might be the best team. Here are this week's rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

Contenders

1. Miami (2-1) (45-21) -6.92 (3)

2. San Antonio (3-0) (54-12) -6.83 (2)

3. LA Lakers (2-1) (47-20) -6.55 (1)

4. Boston (1-2) (47-17) -6.50 (4)

5. Chicago (4-0) (47-18) -6.47 (5)

6. Orlando (2-2) (42-25) -5.69 (6)

Average Teams

7. Denver (2-0) (39-27) -4.27 (8)

8. Dallas (2-2) (47-19) -4.06 (7)

9. Oklahoma City (3-1) (42-23) -3.34 (9)

10. New Orleans (2-1) (39-29) -2.41 (10)

11. Houston (1-2) (33-34) -1.77 (12)

12. Memphis (1-2) (36-31) -1.52 (11)

13. Portland (2-2) (37-29) -1.00 (14)

14. Philadelphia (2-2) (34-32) -0.89 (13)

15. New York (2-2) (34-31) -0.39 (15)

16. Atlanta (1-2) (38-28) -0.36 (17)

17. Phoenix (1-2) (33-31) 0.34 (16)

18. Indiana (1-3) (28-38) 1.04 (19)

19. Utah (1-3) (34-33) 1.14 (18)

20. Milwaukee (3-1) (26-39) 1.23 (20)

21. LA Clippers (3-1) (26-41) 1.80 (21)

22. Golden State (3-1) (30-36) 1.96 (22)

In Limbo

23. Charlotte (2-2) (28-38) 3.19 (23)

Crappy Teams

24. Detroit (0-3) (23-44) 4.27 (24)

25. Minnesota (2-2) (17-51) 5.05 (26)

26. New Jersey (2-0) (21-43) 5.28 (27)

27. Sacramento (0-4) (15-49) 5.39 (25)

28. Toronto (1-2) (18-48) 5.69 (28)

Even Worse

29. Washington (0-2) (16-48) 7.31 (29)

Cleveland

30. Cleveland (0-3) (12-53) 9.55 (30)

With the Clippers and Warriors getting hot and Detroit going cold, the Occasional Competitors category was dissolved this week, with only Charlotte not sure which way to go (before last night's win they would have been with the Crappy Teams). Washington proved themselves unworthy even to associate with the Crappy Teams, but they still aren't as bad as Cleveland.

Drunk With Power

The Denver Nuggets followed up a 19-point win in Phoenix with a 30-point blowout of the Detroit Pistons, improving their record to 7-2 since Carmelo was traded away, while the Knicks are just 6-5 in that same time. The #4 seed might not be out of reach for the Nuggets.

The Clippers just went 3-1 on a 4-game East Coast road trip, including one very impressive win in Boston on Wednesday. They are now 5-1 in March and moved up into the Average Teams this week for the first time.

The Golden State Warriors kept pace with the Clippers this week, going 3-1 and losing to the same New Jersey team that knocked off the Clippers in overtime. The Warriors' signature win this week was over Orlando in a game that featured a huge comeback from an early 21-point deficit.

Green With Envy

Memphis had been one of the hotter teams in the league for a while, until they lost a game they should have won against New York. They followed that one with a blowout loss to a Miami team that had been ice cold entering this week, and you can be sure that the Suns, Jazz, and Rockets are thankful that they still have a chance to catch the Grizzlies.

Speaking of the Jazz, they are becoming regulars on this list thanks to a 7-20 record over the past 2 months. They were 27-13 back then, and they had everyone talking about all of their great comebacks. They could use a few now.

The Washington Wizards got blown out by Milwaukee, Detroit, and the Clippers this week, and it's been years since a blowout against any one of those teams would be considered acceptable. Maybe they're trying to pass the Cavaliers for the worst record so they can have a better chance at the lottery again.

NBA Player of the Day

Stephen Curry - GSW - 24 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 8-15 FG, 4-6 3P, 4-4 FT

Curry led the Warriors in points, rebounds, and assists last night from the point guard position and the Warriors beat up on Minnesota 100-77. It was the first time in 54 games that Minnesota forward Kevin Love did not record a double-double.

Predictions - 14 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Celtics at Nets - Celtics by 9

Thunder at Wizards - Thunder by 8

Nuggets at Hornets - Hornets by 1

Spurs at Heat - Heat by 3

Clippers at Grizzlies - Grizz by 6

Suns at Rockets - Rockets by 5

76ers at Jazz - Jazz by 1

Warriors at Kings - Warriors by 1

Magic at Lakers - Lakers by 4

Prediction Results - 13 Mar

NBA: 4-2 (.667) 567-239 overall (.703)

College Basketball: 3-0 (1.000) 577-150 overall (.794)

Upsets: 1-1 (.500) 149-103 overall (.591)

NBA Rankings - 7 Mar

Two very big blowouts took place in San Antonio this week, both of which had a major impact on the top of the rankings. First, the Spurs destroyed the Heat and pulled themselves solidly into first place, but then the Lakers came to down and did the same to San Antonio, making a claim of their own for the top spot. It turns out that they did just enough to claim the top spot for the first time since early November. Here are this week's rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

The Contenders

1. LA Lakers (3-0) (45-19) -6.59 (4)
2. San Antonio (2-2) (51-12) -6.58 (1)
3. Miami (0-3) (43-20) -6.33 (2)
4. Boston (4-0) (46-15) -6.07 (3)
5. Chicago (3-1) (43-18) -5.92 (6)
6. Orlando (2-1) (40-23) -5.28 (5)

Average Teams

7. Dallas (2-1) (45-17) -4.02 (7)
8. Denver (3-1) (37-27) -3.30 (8)
9. Oklahoma City (3-0) (39-22) -3.00 (9)
10. New Orleans (2-2) (37-28) -2.42 (10)
11. Memphis (2-1) (35-29) -2.37 (11)
12. Houston (2-1) (32-32) -1.82 (13)
13. Philadelphia (2-1) (32-30) -1.59 (12)
14. Portland (2-1) (35-27) -1.08 (16)
15. New York (2-2) (32-29) -0.94 (15)
16. Phoenix (2-2) (32-29) -0.54 (17)
17. Atlanta (1-3) (37-26) -0.25 (14)
18. Utah (1-2) (33-30) 0.38 (19)
19. Indiana (1-3) (27-35) 1.00 (18)
20. Milwaukee (1-2) (23-38) 1.45 (20)

Occasional Competitors

21. LA Clippers (2-1) (23-40) 2.61 (23)
22. Golden State (1-3) (27-35) 2.67 (22)
23. Charlotte (0-3) (26-36) 3.46 (21)
24. Detroit (1-2) (23-41) 3.77 (24)

Crappy Teams

25. Sacramento (1-2) (15-45) 5.29 (26)
26. Minnesota (1-3) (15-49) 5.45 (25)
27. New Jersey (2-1) (19-43) 5.46 (27)
28. Toronto (1-2) (17-46) 5.72 (28)
29. Washington (1-3) (16-46) 6.55 (29)

Cleveland

30. Cleveland (1-2) (12-50) 9.10 (30)

It's Hot out West

The Lakers last couple wins weren't that impressive, so what happened in San Antonio yesterday came as a bit of a surprise. The Lakers dominated the team with the league's best record from the starting tip, and maintained a double-digit lead for the entire game. That win, coupled with San Antonio's blowout of Miami in the previous game, established a very clear pecking order among the top teams.

The Houston Rockets reached .500 this week for the first time since December 31, and they did it with large victories over two playoff contenders, Portland and Indiana. The Portland win was especially impressive since it was on the road, and the Rockets have a chance to get above .500 for the first time all season when they face Sacramento tonight.

Portland may have lost to the Rockets at home on Tuesday, but they followed up that disappointment by beating Sacramento on the road then blowing out the Charlotte Bobcats 93-69. If Portland can remain hot, they may have a chance to pull off some big upsets with week as they visit Miami and Orlando.

It's Cold Out East

The Charlotte Bobcats went 0-4 on their latest road trip, and the only game of those 4 that could even be considered close was their 8-point loss to the Lakers on Friday. This week alone they lost by 24 to Portland and 40 to Denver, and it looks like they have given up on grabbing that final playoff spot.

Atlanta started out their 4-game homestand well, beating Chicago by 3 points, but then they lost to the Thunder by 7 on Friday and New York by 13 yesterday, and the games aren't getting any easier, with the top-ranked Lakers in town tomorrow, followed by a trip to Chicago, where the Bulls will be looking for revenge after last week's upset.

The Pacers struggled this week in their trip to the Midwest, losing all three games against Oklahoma City, Dallas, and Houston. They were still able to hold onto the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, however, thanks to the Bobcats struggling even more than Indiana.

NBA Player of the Day

Andre Iguodala - PHI - 15 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast, 3 stl, 5-13 FG, 5-6 FT
It definitely wasn't as impressive as his previous triple-double, but his great performance was critical in the 76ers' overtime win over Golden State. Iguodala was the first Sixer in 10 years to record 2 straight triple-doubles, and he has Philly two games above .500 and looking like a lock for the playoffs.

Predictions - 7 Mar

Upset picks are in italics.
Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Trail Blazers at Magic - Magic by 7
Clippers at Bobcats - Bobcats by 2
Jazz at Knicks - Knicks by 4
Hornets at Bulls - Bulls by 7
Mavericks at Timberwolves - Mavs by 7
Thunder at Grizzlies - Grizz by 2
Rockets at Kings - Rockets by 4

Prediction Results - 6 Mar

NBA: 5-4 (.556) 533-222 overall (.706)
College Basketball: 2-1 (.667) 540-134 overall (.801)
Upsets: 0-1 (.000) 142-93 overall (.604)

NBA Rankings - 28 Feb

Another week, another change at the top. Miami looked like they were going to become the first team in months to hold on to the top spot until they blew a big lead at home against New York last night, opening the door for San Antonio to reclaim the top, which they did by beating the Grizzlies, although barely. Nobody is separating themselves from the pack, which means that a lot of teams will have a chance in the playoffs, which could make for a very exciting postseason. Here are this week's updated rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

The Contenders

1. San Antonio (3-0) (49-10) -6.96 (2)

2. Miami (2-2) (43-17) -6.80 (1)

3. Boston (2-1) (42-15) -6.06 (3)

4. LA Lakers (4-0) (42-19) -5.94 (6)

5. Orlando (2-1) (38-22) -5.60 (4)

6. Chicago (2-1) (40-17) -5.43 (5)

Could Go Either Way

7. Dallas (3-0) (43-16) -4.15 (7)

Average Teams

8. Denver (2-1) (34-26) -2.84 (9)

9. Oklahoma City (1-3) (36-22) -2.45 (8)

10. New Orleans (2-1) (35-26) -2.34 (10)

11. Memphis (2-2) (33-28) -1.97 (11)

12. Philadelphia (3-0) (30-29) -1.66 (12)

13. Houston (4-0) (30-31) -1.19 (15)

14. Atlanta (2-2) (36-23) -1.04 (14)

15. New York (2-1) (30-27) -0.61 (16)

16. Portland (1-2) (33-26) -0.49 (13)

17. Phoenix (3-0) (30-27) -0.30 (17)

18. Indiana (2-2) (26-32) 0.45 (18)

19. Utah (1-2) (32-28) 0.47 (19)

20. Milwaukee (1-2) (22-36) 1.18 (20)

Occasional Competitors

21. Charlotte (2-1) (26-33) 2.52 (23)

22. Golden State (0-3) (26-32) 2.91 (21)

23. LA Clippers (0-4) (21-39) 3.03 (22)

24. Detroit (1-3) (22-39) 3.70 (24)

Crappy Teams

25. Minnesota (1-3) (14-46) 5.57 (27)

26. Sacramento (1-3) (14-43) 5.80 (26)

27. New Jersey (0-2) (17-42) 5.81 (28)

28. Toronto (1-3) (16-44) 5.83 (25)

29. Washington (0-4) (15-43) 6.04 (29)

Cleveland

30. Cleveland (1-2) (11-48) 9.17 (30)

In Like a Lion

The Lakers are entering March on fire, winning four straight games this week, including home blowouts of the Hawks and Clippers and tough road wins against both Portland and Oklahoma City. This week's test comes Sunday, when they travel to San Antonio to face the league's best team and try to beat them for the first time this season.

The Phoenix Suns are also roaring into March after beating three Eastern Conference teams this week, two of which have playoff aspirations. Channing Frye's buzzer-beater last night in Indiana was the first for Phoenix since 2004, and it gives the Suns some much-needed momentum heading into a week of 4 straight road games, highlighted by trips to Boston and Oklahoma City.

Houston remains right on the heels of Phoenix as the two teams try to insert themselves into the Western Conference Playoff picture, and a 4-0 week sure helped. The first three wins could have been attributed to the level of competition they faced, but last night's win in New Orleans showed that these Rockets are not ready to give up yet. This week's big game is in Portland, who is currently #7 in the West.

Out Like a Lamb

Golden State entered the All-Star break on fire, but the flame has gone out. They were blown out at home by both Boston and Atlanta before going to Minnesota and surrendering to the Timberwolves. Their next six games are on the road against the East, and unless they can beat either Indiana or Philadelphia to go along with the 3 they should win, they may be dead before they get back home.

Miami's week consisted of two wins against horrible opponents and two losses to potential playoff foes. If they decide to follow that same blueprint this week, they will lose all three, because they are facing three of the top 6 teams in the league in the next 7 days.

Beating the Chicago Bulls should have moved Toronto up the rankings this week, but they followed up that amazing performance with two duds against Phoenix and Dallas. All three games were at home, but for some reason the Western Conference teams were each able to beat the lowly Raptors by 18 points. Looks like that Chicago game was a fluke.

NBA Player of the Day

Kevin Love - MIN - 37 pts, 23 reb, 2 stl, 8-13 FG, 3-4 3P, 18-23 FT

Love set new franchise records for free throws made and attempted in a game and the Wolves held on the upset the Golden State Warriors last night, 126-123. It was the 4th time this season that Love has had a 30-20 game, and the only other players to do it at least 4 times in a season since 1985 are Shaq and Charles Barkley.

Predictions - 28 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

Possible upsets are underlined.

NBA

Suns at Nets - Suns by 3

Bulls at Wizards - Bulls by 9

Hawks at Nuggets - Nuggets by 5

Celtics at Jazz - Celtics by 4

Clippers at Kings - Kings by 1

College Basketball

Kansas State at (5) Texas - Texas by 12

(14) Villanova at (9) Notre Dame - Notre Dame by 8

Prediction Results - 27 Feb

NBA: 6-4 (.600) 500-204 overall (.710)

College Basketball: 5-2 (.714) 504-122 overall (.805)

Upsets: 2-3 (.400) 132-83 overall (.614)

NBA Rankings - 21 Feb

With the All-Star weekend eating up half of the week, no team played more than two games this week, and as a result Cleveland was able to complete its first undefeated week of the season, winning a very improbable game against the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, the same team that beat them by 55 points last month. San Antonio gave the top spot back to Miami with their loss to Chicago, which kept the two month long game of hot potato for the top spot intact. Here are this week's rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Miami (2-0) (41-15) -7.91 (2)

2. San Antonio (1-1) (46-10) -7.46 (1)

3. Boston (1-0) (40-14) -6.56 (3)

4. Orlando (1-0) (36-21) -6.32 (5)

5. Chicago (2-0) (38-16) -6.19 (6)

6. LA Lakers (0-2) (38-19) -5.67 (4)

7. Dallas (2-0) (40-16) -4.22 (7)

8. Oklahoma City (1-0) (35-19) -3.35 (10)

9. Denver (1-1) (32-25) -3.07 (9)

10. New Orleans (0-2) (33-25) -2.82 (8)

11. Memphis (1-0) (31-26) -2.34 (12)

12. Philadelphia (1-1) (27-29) -2.16 (11)

13. Portland (2-0) (32-24) -1.49 (15)

14. Atlanta (1-1) (34-21) -1.26 (13)

15. Houston (1-1) (26-31) -1.20 (14)

16. New York (1-0) (28-26) -1.06 (16)

17. Phoenix (1-1) (27-27) -0.26 (18)

18. Indiana (0-2) (24-30) -0.22 (17)

19. Utah (0-2) (31-26) -0.01 (19)

20. Milwaukee (1-1) (21-34) 0.53 (20)

21. Golden State (2-0) (26-29) 1.54 (22)

22. LA Clippers (1-1) (21-35) 1.96 (21)

23. Charlotte (1-1) (24-32) 2.09 (23)

24. Detroit (1-1) (21-36) 3.02 (24)

25. Toronto (0-1) (15-41) 4.73 (26)

26. Sacramento (0-2) (13-40) 4.91 (25)

27. Minnesota (0-2) (13-43) 5.02 (28)

28. New Jersey (0-2) (17-40) 5.19 (29)

29. Washington (0-1) (15-39) 5.43 (27)

30. Cleveland (1-0) (10-46) 8.76 (30)

In Hot

When Sacramento arrived in Oklahoma City, they were one of the hottest teams, having challenged three straight playoff contenders, including the Thunder, before beating the Suns in their next game. So when the Thunder dominated the Kings by 30 points, it showed that the Thunder could learn from their mistakes, and they jumped two spots in the rankings as a result, landing in the #8 slot, a season best.

At this point, any time the Cavaliers win it's impressive, but no one expected them to take down the Lakers just one month after they were completely embarrassed by the defending champs. Cleveland has now won two of their past three games, and their next three opponents are all average teams. I'm not going to say that they're starting a winning streak, but I wouldn't be surprised if they won again before the month is over.

Golden State won three straight games heading into the break, all over potential playoff teams, including a road win against the Jazz. Overall, they have won 7 of their last 9 and look like they could possibly make a run at the playoffs, with a record just 3 games under .500 as of today. Monta Ellis seems to be using his All-Star snub to score more points, hitting at least 30 4 times this month.

Out Cold

The Lakers ended their East Coast road trip horribly, getting blown out in Orlando and Charlotte before turning in their worst performance of the season in Cleveland, losing by 5 to a team that shouldn't be beating anybody. There are good signs, though. Kobe was named MVP of the All-Star Game this weekend, and Pau Gasol had 30 points and 20 rebounds against Cleveland. Now if they can just put it all together.

The Kings were looking so good just one week ago. They were coming off 4 straight good games against teams with playoff potential, then everything fell apart against Oklahoma City and Dallas, both of which handled Sacramento easily. It's bad timing for them to go cold, with a visit to both Florida teams coming up this week.

Washington may have won their first road game in Cleveland last week, but they didn't even come close to getting their second one this week. The Wizards were totally manhandled by Orlando in their final game before the All-Star weekend, which killed the momentum of two wins in three games for Washington.

Predictions - 21 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

College Basketball

Oklahoma State at (2) Kansas - Kansas by 23

(20) Syracuse at (14) Villanova - Nova by 5

Prediction Results - 20 Feb

College Basketball: 6-0 (1.000) 468-107 overall (.814)

Upsets: 1-0 (1.000) 122-78 overall (.610)

NBA Rankings - 14 Feb

The most unpredictable week of the NBA season so far left us with only one team (Portland) that did not lose this week and one team (Atlanta) that failed to win a game. The result is that very few teams did enough to improve their standing much, because everybody's records this week were pretty similar. Even Cleveland won a game this week, but by losing to Washington at home by 15, they kept themselves locked into that bottom spot for the eighth straight week. Also, there is a new #1 for the eighth straight week, with San Antonio and Miami switching every week for the past two months, like a game of hot potato between the two teams most likely to win the title. If one of them can't establish themselves as the best, they just might let someone else slip in, but no one seemed to want it enough this week. Here are the new rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. San Antonio (3-1) (45-9) -7.53 (2)

2. Miami (2-1) (39-15) -7.48 (1)

3. Boston (1-2) (39-14) -6.21 (3)

4. LA Lakers (3-1) (38-17) -6.18 (4)

5. Orlando (3-1) (35-21) -5.66 (5)

6. Chicago (2-1) (36-16) -5.61 (6)

7. Dallas (3-1) (38-16) -3.62 (7)

8. New Orleans (1-3) (33-23) -2.76 (8)

9. Denver (1-3) (31-24) -2.69 (9)

10. Oklahoma City (1-2) (34-19) -2.15 (10)

11. Philadelphia (3-1) (26-28) -1.81 (16)

12. Memphis (3-1) (30-26) -1.79 (12)

13. Atlanta (0-2) (33-20) -0.82 (11)

14. Houston (1-2) (25-20) -0.801 (13)

15. Portland (3-0) (30-24) -0.796 (15)

16. New York (1-2) (27-26) -0.49 (14)

17. Indiana (3-1) (24-28) -0.23 (17)

18. Phoenix (3-1) (26-26) 0.11 (19)

19. Utah (1-2) (31-24) 0.31 (18)

20. Milwaukee (1-3) (20-33) 1.18 (20)

21. LA Clippers (1-3) (20-34) 2.35 (22)

22. Golden State (2-2) (24-29) 2.44 (21)

23. Charlotte (2-2) (23-31) 2.73 (24)

24. Detroit (1-3) (20-35) 3.48 (23)

25. Sacramento (1-3) (13-38) 4.50 (26)

26. Toronto (1-3) (15-40) 5.06 (25)

27. Washington (2-1) (15-38) 5.17 (28)

28. Minnesota (2-2) (13-41) 5.23 (27)

29. New Jersey (2-1) (17-38) 5.61 (29)

30. Cleveland (1-3) (9-46) 9.95 (30)

Burning With Love

No one was hotter than the Philadelphia 76ers this week. They blew out Atlanta and Minnesota, and in between those two they sandwiched a huge upset win over San Antonio and a narrow loss to Orlando, both of which are top 5 teams. The great week showed in the rankings as well, with Philly moving up 5 spots to set up camp just outside the top 10. With a lot of struggling teams sitting just ahead of them, they may be moving in next week.

Washington was blown out by the Spurs this week, but I think it would have been a bigger surprise if they hadn't. The reason they are on the hot list is the pair of 15-point wins that came before and after the loss to San Antonio. One was against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are still in contention for a playoff berth, and the other was a road win (their first of the season) over the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were coming off their first victory in nearly two months.

Before last night's embarrassing loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns were the hottest team in the league, beating Golden State by 12 on the road and by 24 at home while holding them to 92 and 88 points in those games, then beat Utah in Salt Lake City by 12 in the Jazz's first game without Jerry Sloan in over 22 years.

The Flame is Out

The Atlanta Hawks played only two games this week, both at home, and both were upset losses. The first, a 34-point blowout at the hand of the 76ers, can be partially attributed to the absence of Al Horford, the Hawks' best player. The loss to Charlotte hurt just as much, because Horford was back on the court and they still managed to lose to a team that may not make the playoffs.

Oklahoma City played three teams this week that would not make the playoffs if they started today, and came away with only one victory in those three games. The lone victory came as a result of a missed shot by last season's Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans, which came after MVP candidate Kevin Durant missed two very important free throws. Not the type of week any playoff contender should have.

New Orleans has been stone cold since their 10-game winning streak ended, but not every night. They lost by 12 at home to Minnesota this week, then lost to New Jersey in overtime two night later. After those two demoralizing losses, they went to Orlando, where they beat the Magic by 6. And just when you thought they had it figured out again, they went back home and lost by 9 to Chicago. They have been a team of extremes for the past few weeks.

NBA Player of the Day

LaMarcus Aldridge - POR - 36 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 12-17 FG, 12-13 FT

Aldridge has been one of the best players in the entire league for the past month, and he has especially turned it on since he was snubbed by the coaches in their All-Star reserve voting. If Tim Duncan hadn't been given the lifetime achievement vote, Aldridge would have made the team easily, and he should have anyway.

Predictions - 14 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Spurs at Nets - Spurs by 10

Lakers at Bobcats - Lakers by 6

Hawks at Pistons - Hawks by 2

Clippers at Bucks - Bucks by 4

Trail Blazers at Timberwolves - Blazers by 3

Nuggets at Rockets - Rockets by 1

College Basketball

(2) Kansas at Kansas State - Kansas by 6

West Virginia at (13) Syracuse - Cuse by 8

Prediction Results - 13 Feb

NBA: 5/8 (.625) 441/627 overall (.703)

College Basketball: 4/6 (.667) 425/525 overall (.810)

Upsets: 3/5 (.600) 110/184 overall (.598)

NBA Regular Season and Playoff Predictions - 12 Feb

Last week I introduced my long-term NBA predictions, and today I am updating those predictions to reflect the results of recent games. Each team's projected record is followed by its current standing in the conference and its change in projected wins in parentheses. Teams that performed better than expected this week saw an increase in wins and sometimes seeding.

Eastern Conference

1. Miami (61-21) (1) (+1)

2. Boston (59-23) (2) (-2)

3. Chicago (56-26) (3) (-2)

4. Orlando (53-29) (5) (0)

5. Atlanta (47-35) (4) (-2)

6. Philadelphia (42-40) (7) (+2)

7. New York (41-41) (6) (-1)

8. Indiana (39-43) (8) (+3)

9. Milwaukee (35-47) (10) (-2)

10. Charlotte (33-49) (9) (-1)

Indiana's strong week and Milwaukee's collapse have allowed Indiana to grab a firm hold on the final playoff berth for now. Philadelphia has also jumped a spot this week thanks to a combination of their success and New York's struggles. The other change happened at the top, where Miami passed Boston after the Celtics lost multiple games this week. Those are still the only two teams with a real chance at the top seed in the East, with Chicago still barely in the hunt.

Western Conference

1. San Antonio (65-17) (1) (+1)

2. LA Lakers (58-24) (2) (+2)

3. Dallas (55-27) (3) (+1)

4. Oklahoma City (51-31) (4) (0)

5. New Orleans (49-33) (5) (-2)

6. Denver (47-35) (6) (-2)

7. Memphis (43-39) (9) (-1)

8. Portland (43-39) (8) (+1)

9. Utah (43-39) (7) (-1)

10. Phoenix (41-41) (10) (+2)

11. Houston (40-42) (11) (0)

The Spurs will be #1, the Lakers and Mavericks will have home court in the first round, but nothing else in the West is set. Denver looks somewhat safe at this point, but their are still 5 teams with a very good chance at the final two spots, which means every game is very important. Phoenix and Portland played themselves into good positions this week, with Portland knocking struggling Utah out of the current playoff picture, but only by the skin of their teeth. This should be a very interesting race to watch play out.

Playoffs

First Round

Heat over Pacers in 5

Celtics over Knicks in 5

Bulls over 76ers in 6

Magic over Hawks in 6

Spurs over Blazers in 5

Lakers over Grizzlies in 6

Mavericks over Nuggets in 7

Hornets over Thunder in 7

Second Round

Heat over Magic in 6

Celtics over Bulls in 7

Spurs over Hornets in 6

Lakers over Mavericks in 6

Conference Finals

Heat over Celtics in 7

Spurs over Lakers in 7

Finals

Heat over Spurs in 7

NBA Player of the Day

Kobe Bryant - LAL - 33 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 12-17 FG, 4-7 3P, 5-8 FT

As nice as it would be to put Antawn Jamison here for his great effort in ending Cleveland's record losing streak, Kobe's performance alone trumped his last night. Kobe scored 19 points in the first quarter, then sat out the entire 4th as the Lakers ran away from the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Just imagine what his stats would look like if the game was close enough that he had to play more than 29 minutes.

Predictions - 12 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Bobcats at Hawks - Hawks by 6

Knicks at Nets - Knicks by 2

Bulls at Hornets - Hornets by 1

76ers at Timberwolves - 76ers by 3

Spurs at Wizards - Spurs by 9

Mavericks at Rockets - Rockets by 1

Pacers at Bucks - Bucks by 2

Thunder at Kings - Thunder by 5

College Basketball

(1) Ohio State at (14) Wisconsin - Ohio State by 1

Iowa State at (2) Kansas - Kansas by 22

Baylor at (3) Texas - Texas by 17

(4) Pittsburgh at (10) Villanova - Nova by 1

(6) San Diego State at UNLV - UNLV by 2

(7) Notre Dame at South Florida - Notre Dame by 6

Utah at (8) BYU - BYU by 25

(13) Syracuse at (15) Louisville - Louisville by 6

Fresno State at (17) Utah State - Utah State by 17

(18) Kentucky at (24) Vanderbilt - Vandy by 1

Tennessee at (19) Florida - Florida by 8

Oklahoma at (20) Missouri - Missouri by 18

(21) North Carolina at Clemson - North Carolina by 1

(22) Texas A&M at Texas Tech - Texas A&M by 5

(23) Saint Mary's at San Francisco - Saint Mary's by 5

Belmont at Campbell - Belmont by 13

Maryland at Boston College - Maryland by 3

Stanford at Washington - Washington by 19

Prediction Results - 11 Feb

NBA: 5/10 (.500) 432/611 overall (.707)

NBA Rankings - 7 Feb

The Cleveland Cavaliers have set a new record for futility, with a now-record 24-game losing streak currently in progress. They broke the record of 23 games that was originally set by the Vancouver Grizzlies in their first season, who had a certain current Cavaliers head coach on their roster at the time. I sure hope that's just a coincidence. The Indiana Pacers made a coaching change, and so far it's had the same kind of impact that Charlotte saw when it fired Larry Brown. Each team's name is followed by its weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Miami (4-0) (37-14) -7.69 (2)

2. San Antonio (2-1) (42-8) -7.30 (1)

3. Boston (2-1) (38-12) -6.69 (3)

4. LA Lakers (2-1) (35-16) -6.19 (4)

5. Orlando (1-3) (32-20) -5.24 (6)

6. Chicago (1-1) (34-15) -5.12 (5)

7. Dallas (4-0) (35-15) -3.98 (8)

8. New Orleans (1-2) (32-20) -3.44 (7)

9. Denver (2-2) (30-21) -3.35 (9)

10. Oklahoma City (3-0) (33-17) -3.06 (10)

11. Atlanta (3-0) (33-18) -1.89 (11)

12. Memphis (3-1) (27-25) -1.70 (12)

13. Houston (2-1) (24-28) -1.16 (14)

14. New York (1-2) (26-24) -0.99 (13)

15. Portland (2-2) (27-24) -0.52 (15)

16. Philadelphia (2-1) (23-27) -0.22 (16)

17. Indiana (4-0) (21-27) -0.17 (20)

18. Utah (2-2) (30-22) -0.09 (17)

19. Phoenix (1-1) (23-25) 0.60 (19)

20. Milwaukee (0-4) (19-30) 1.08 (18)

21. Golden State (2-0) (22-27) 1.82 (22)

22. LA Clippers (1-3) (19-31) 2.09 (21)

23. Detroit (2-1) (19-32) 2.92 (24)

24. Charlotte (1-3) (21-29) 3.21 (23)

25. Toronto (1-2) (14-37) 4.76 (27)

26. Sacramento (0-2) (12-35) 4.98 (26)

27. Minnesota (0-3) (11-39) 5.25 (25)

28. Washington (0-4) (13-37) 5.77 (29)

29. New Jersey (1-3) (15-37) 5.96 (28)

30. Cleveland (0-4) (8-43) 9.82 (30)

Hot:

The Indiana Pacers are on a 4-game winning streak since they switched coaches, and even though 3 of those games were against teams in the bottom 6, the other one was a convincing win over Portland, who is currently occupying a spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. While I wouldn't say they are resurrected quite yet, it's sure a good way to start a new coach's regime.

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a very strong week, starting out with an impressive victory over the Hornets, a team they had lost to just a week earlier. They followed that up with consecutive road wins at Utah and Phoenix, both in games I thought they would lose. They should be favored to win each of their next five, which could have them riding an 8-game winning streak into San Antonio after the All-Star break.

The Detroit Pistons looked rejuvenated on Saturday, with Tracy McGrady playing point guard and Rip Hamilton back in the lineup after a lengthy benching due to trade rumors. Not only did they blow out the Bucks on the road, but they won the game before, against New Jersey, by double digits as well.

Not:

The Milwaukee Bucks went 0-3 on their West Coast road trip against the middle of the Pacific Division, which included no one who is currently playoff caliber. After the disappointing trip, they returned home to be beaten by the Detroit Pistons, who are even worse than any of the teams they lost to on the road. Milwaukee's next two games are against Toronto and Washington, but given how this week went, I wouldn't be too sure they'll win either one of them.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have only beaten 3 teams all season who are not among the 10 worst in the league, and they weren't even close to increasing that number this week in home blowouts against Memphis and Denver. Kevin Love was selected to the All-Star team this week, but he is the only reason the Wolves have won a game this year.

The Chicago Bulls were looking so good heading into their game with Golden State on Saturday, with 6 straight wins, the last 5 by a minimum of 9 points, and they were looking good midway through the 3rd quarter, but everything fell apart in the 4th and they lost to the Warriors by 11. Most likely they just had a bad quarter, but when it comes against a team that has no playoff hopes you always have to be a little concerned.

NBA Player of the Day

Amare Stoudemire - NYK - 41 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk, 17-21 FG, 7-7 FT

Amare flirted with Pistol Pete's Super Bowl day record of 50 points for a while as he and the Knicks avenged their loss to the 76ers last week. Stoudemire missed only 4 shots in the entire game and continued to establish himself among the MVP contenders.

Predictions - 7 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

College Basketball

(15) Missouri at (2) Kansas - Kansas by 15

(4) Pittsburgh at West Virginia - Pitt by 1

NBA

Celtics at Bobcats - Celtics by 7

Timberwolves at Hornets - Hornets by 11

Lakers at Grizzlies - Lakers by 2

Cavaliers at Mavericks - Mavs by 17

Rockets at Nuggets - Nuggets by 5

Bulls at Trail Blazers - Bulls by 2

Jazz at Kings - Jazz by 2

Suns at Warriors - Warriors by 2

Prediction Results - 6 Feb

NFL: 1/1 (1.000) 78/123 overall (.634)

NBA: 4/4 (1.000) 412/573 overall (.719)

College Basketball: 4/4 (1.000) 389/479 overall (.812)

Upsets: 1/1 (1.000) 102/166 overall (.614)

NBA Regular Season and Playoff Predictions - 3 Feb

Starting with today's standings, I took each team's remaining schedule and added up it's chances of winning each of its remaining games, then used that to predict where each team would stack up at the end of the regular season. Assuming that there are no major injuries or trades, the teams should end up within 3 or 4 games of these predictions by the end of the regular season. Each team's current conference standing is in parentheses after its projected record.

Eastern Conference

1. Boston (61-21) (1)
2. Miami (60-22) (3)
3. Chicago (58-24) (2)
4. Orlando (53-29) (5)
5. Atlanta (49-33) (4)
6. New York (42-40) (6)
7. Philadelphia (40-42) (7)
8. Milwaukee (37-45) (10)

9. Indiana (36-46) (9)
10. Charlotte (34-48) (8)
11. Detroit (30-52) (11)
12. New Jersey (25-57) (12)
13. Toronto (24-58) (14)
14. Washington (24-58) (13)
15. Cleveland (14-68) (15)

There are 3 teams with a good chance at being the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but Boston's current lead in the standings gives them the inside edge. Orlando and Atlanta will almost definitely face off in the first round, with Orlando probably at home. Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Indiana, and Charlotte will be fighting for the final 2 playoff spots, and the 76ers are looking pretty safe for spot #7. Any one of the other 3 could take the last spot, but Milwaukee is the best of the 3 overall, though Charlotte has been hot lately and could sneak in.

Western Conference

1. San Antonio (64-18) (1)
2. LA Lakers (56-26) (2)
3. Dallas (54-28) (3)
4. Oklahoma City (51-31) (4)
5. New Orleans (51-31) (5)
6. Denver (49-33) (6)
7. Memphis (44-38) (9)
8. Utah (44-38) (7)

9. Portland (42-40) (8)
10. Houston (40-42) (11)
11. Phoenix (39-43) (10)
12. Golden State (34-48) (12)
13. LA Clippers (32-50) (13)
14. Sacramento (22-60) (14)
15. Minnesota (21-61) (15)

The Spurs have already wrapped up the #1 seed and most likely home court throughout the playoffs. Oklahoma City's win over New Orleans last night gave them the tiebreaker should the two teams end up tied at the end of the regular season, which would give them home court in their first round matchup. Denver will make the playoffs (assuming Carmelo is not traded for nothing), and could challenge for the 4th seed. Either Portland or Houston could pass the Jazz or Grizzlies for a spot in the playoffs, and the Suns have a very slim chance at making it in also, although it would be very surprising.

Playoffs

Close series are in italics.

First Round

Celtics over Bucks
Heat over 76ers
Bulls over Knicks
Magic over Hawks
Spurs over Jazz
Lakers over Grizzlies
Mavericks over Nuggets
Hornets over Thunder

Second Round

Celtics over Magic
Heat over Bulls
Spurs over Hornets
Lakers over Mavericks

Conference Finals

Heat over Celtics
Spurs over Lakers

Finals

Heat over Spurs

The Heat are my current favorite to win the title, but any of the top 4 seeds in the East and either of the top two seeds in the West have a realistic chance at the title, and the Mavericks could possible make the Finals, although I don't think they would win. The final 8 teams, in order of likelihood to win the championship, are:

Miami
San Antonio
Boston
Chicago
LA Lakers
Orlando
Dallas
New Orleans

NBA Player of the Day

Kevin Durant - 43 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast, 14-19 FG, 5-7 3P, 10-11 FT
Durant topped 40 points for the third time in the past 4 games as he led the Thunder to a very important win over the New Orleans Hornets. The win put Oklahoma City in 4th place in the West, just ahead of the Hornets, and gave them the season series, which will be the first tiebreaker if they end up tied at the end of the season.

Predictions - 3 Feb

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Heat at Magic - Magic by 1
Bucks at Warriors - Warriors by 1
Spurs at Lakers - Lakers by 2

College Basketball

Michigan at (1) Ohio State - Ohio State by 20
(8) Notre Dame at DePaul - Notre Dame by 13
(19) Washington at Oregon State - Washington by 16
(22) Arizona at Stanford - Arizona by 6
Belmont at Jacksonville - Belmont by 7
Pepperdine at Saint Mary's - Saint Mary's by 24

Prediction Results - 2 Feb

NBA: 8/11 (.727) 393/545 overall (.721)
College Basketball: 7/9 (.778) 361/446 overall (.809)
Upsets: 2/4 (.500) 97/156 overall (.622)

NBA Rankings - 31 Jan

Only one team in the entire league has a winning streak of at least five games right now, but there are two with losing streaks that have reached double figures. That has caused a little bit more shifting around in this week's rankings, and has widened the field of teams with real title hopes to 6. The team's name is followed by this week's record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. San Antonio (3-0) (40-7) -7.64 (2)

2. Miami (3-1) (33-14) -7.30 (1)

3. Boston (3-1) (36-11) -6.98 (4)

4. LA Lakers (1-2) (33-15) -5.81 (3)

5. Chicago (3-0) (33-14) -5.67 (6)

6. Orlando (2-2) (31-17) -5.50 (5)

7. New Orleans (2-2) (31-18) -3.89 (7)

8. Dallas (3-0) (31-15) -3.50 (9)

9. Denver (3-1) (28-19) -3.36 (8)

10. Oklahoma City (2-2) (30-17) -2.22 (11)

11. Atlanta (1-2) (30-18) -1.80 (10)

12. Memphis (3-1) (24-24) -1.53 (12)

13. New York (3-1) (25-22) -1.14 (16)

14. Houston (2-2) (22-27) -1.07 (15)

15. Portland (0-2) (25-22) -0.73 (13)

16. Philadelphia (3-1) (21-26) -0.65 (17)

17. Utah (1-3) (28-20) -0.31 (14)

18. Milwaukee (3-1) (19-26) -0.13 (18)

19. Phoenix (2-2) (22-24) 0.61 (19)

20. Indiana (1-2) (17-27) 0.93 (20)

21. LA Clippers (1-2) (18-28) 1.57 (21)

22. Golden State (1-3) (20-27) 2.15 (22)

23. Charlotte (3-1) (20-26) 3.36 (24)

24. Detroit (1-3) (17-31) 3.52 (23)

25. Minnesota (1-3) (11-36) 4.18 (27)

26. Sacramento (3-1) (12-33) 4.61 (29)

27. Toronto (0-4) (13-35) 5.14 (25)

28. New Jersey (2-2) (14-34) 5.47 (26)

29. Washington (0-4) (13-33) 5.66 (28)

30. Cleveland (0-4) (8-39) 9.80 (30)

All-Stars

The Sacramento Kings have won 3 of 4 for the first time since the season's opening weekend, and all three of those wins came against teams that are currently in playoff position in the West, including games at Portland and Los Angeles. 9 of their next 10 games are against likely playoff teams, so it's a very good time to be getting hot.

The San Antonio Spurs came back out of the cold this week with three straight wins, making that 11 wins in their past 12 games. They are now the 7th team in history to reach 40 wins with 7 or fewer losses, and five of those teams won the championship. The Spurs are now embarking on their 9-game rodeo road trip, mostly against weak Eastern Conference teams, so they should be looking very good at the All-Star break.

The Chicago Bulls own the league's longest current winning streak, 5 games, and the last two games were very impressive. First, they overcame Dwight Howard's 40 points and beat the Magic by 9, then they blew out the Indiana Pacers by 21. They will be on the road for the next two weeks, facing mostly the weaker members of the Western Conference.

Benchwarmers

The Utah Jazz ended their 6-game losing streak this week with a win over the lowly Minnesota Timberwolves, but the bleeding still hasn't stopped. Their road problems continued with a loss to Golden State last night, and they are now clinging to the 7th seed in the West.

The New Orleans Hornets, the league's hottest team just a week ago, saw their 10-game winning streak end in stunning fashion in Sacramento, then lost again the next night in Phoenix. It seems strange that a team can go from blowing out the Spurs to losing in Sacramento in the space of just 7 days.

The Portland Trail Blazers were one of just 4 teams to finish the week winless, and the only one of those with any playoff aspirations. The biggest reason they are included in this group is that they lost a home game to Sacramento by 15 points, something no other team has managed to do this year.

NBA Player of the Day

Amare Stoudemire - NYK - 33 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 11-19 FG, 11-12 FT

Amare had another monster game at home last night as the Knicks pulled away from the Detroit Pistons with a huge 4th quarter. Despite playing on a sprained knee, Stoudemire scored 26 points in the second half and New York solidified its hold on the 6th spot in the East.

Predictions - 31 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Raptors at Pacers - Pacers by 7

Nuggets at Nets - Nuggets by 6

Cavaliers at Heat - Heat by 20

Magic at Grizzlies - Magic by 1

Wizards at Mavericks - Mavs by 12

Bobcats at Jazz - Jazz by 7

Bucks at Clippers - Clippers by 2

College Basketball

(8) Texas at (11) Texas A&M - Texas by 2

(19) Louisville at (20) Georgetown - Georgetown by 7

Prediction Results - 30 Jan

NBA: 3/7 (.429) 377/523 overall (.721)

College Basketball: 2/4 (.500) 347/429 overall (.809)

Upsets: 0/1 (.000) 92/149 overall (.617)

NBA Rankings - 24 Jan

Before I go into this week's NBA rankings, I'd like to use the results of yesterday's games to provide an example of how each game affects the rankings. In the NFL, I picked Green Bay by 7 and Pittsburgh by 4 yesterday, and the actual results were 7 and 5. Because the results were nearly exactly as predicted, they made very little impact on the overall rankings. Any movement can be explained by changes in strength of schedule due to the results of the games, but even that was very minor. In the NBA, I picked Denver by 6, but they won by 14, so they got a little boost in the rankings. In college basketball, I picked Northwestern to upset Wisconsin by 3, but Wisconsin won the game by 32 points, a difference of 35 from the expected result, which resulted in large moves for both teams, but in opposite directions. The important thing to notice is that it's not the margin of victory that's important, it's how that margin compares to the predicted margin. If a team is picked to win by 34 and wins by 32, they would not get the boost that Wisconsin got, even with the same margin of victory.

Now, on to the NBA rankings. Miami has been struggling, but so has San Antonio. None of the top teams seem like they want to run away with it this season, which should make for a very interesting series of matchups in the playoffs. Here are the current rankings, with team name followed by weekly record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. Miami (1-1) (30-13) -7.67 (2)

2. San Antonio (2-1) (37-7) -6.73 (1)

3. LA Lakers (2-1) (32-13) -6.52 (4)

4. Boston (3-1) (33-10) -6.45 (3)

5. Orlando (3-1) (29-15) -6.13 (5)

6. Chicago (3-1) (30-14) -4.79 (6)

7. New Orleans (4-0) (29-16) -4.65 (9)

8. Denver (2-1) (25-18) -3.52 (7)

9. Dallas (2-2) (28-15) -3.13 (8)

10. Atlanta (3-1) (29-16) -2.36 (12)

11. Oklahoma City (1-2) (28-15) -2.29 (11)

12. Memphis (2-2) (21-23) -1.74 (13)

13. Portland (4-0) (25-20) -1.44 (14)

14. Utah (0-4) (27-17) -1.30 (10)

15. Houston (2-2) (20-25) -0.75 (15)

16. New York (0-4) (22-21) -0.54 (16)

17. Philadelphia (2-2) (18-25) -0.21 (18)

18. Milwaukee (2-2) (16-25) 0.49 (17)

19. Phoenix (3-1) (20-22) 0.87 (20)

20. Indiana (0-4) (16-25) 0.96 (19)

21. LA Clippers (3-1) (17-26) 1.96 (21)

22. Golden State (3-1) (19-24) 2.42 (22)

23. Detroit (2-2) (16-28) 3.67 (25)

24. Charlotte (2-2) (17-25) 3.94 (23)

25. Toronto (0-4) (13-31) 4.46 (24)

26. New Jersey (2-2) (12-32) 5.84 (28)

27. Minnesota (0-2) (10-33) 5.06 (26)

28. Washington (2-2) (13-29) 5.27 (27)

29. Sacramento (0-3) (9-32) 6.00 (29)

30. Cleveland (0-3) (8-35) 9.96 (30)

Smoking:

The New Orleans Hornets have now won 8 straight games, including the last two by a combined 65 points over the Hawks and Spurs, despite being expected to lose both of those games. The Hornets will be favored in each of their next 5 games, so a 13-game winning streak is not out of the question.

Since losing 8 of 9 in mid-December, the Magic have now won 13 of their past 16, and those 3 losses came by a combined 7 points against the Hornets, Thunder and Celtics, all on the road. This week's highlight was a 40-point win over Toronto, in which Dwight Howard was able to earn the Player of the Day award despite sitting out the 4th quarter.

Since the trade rumors ended, New Jersey has been playing its best basketball of the season. They beat Utah by 8 and then Detroit by 15 before taking Dallas down to the wire in a 1-point loss. It seems that the Nets' players try harder when they know they're not being traded away tomorrow.

Out Cold:

The Utah Jazz were supposed to struggle with the Boston Celtics on their current road trip, but no one expected them to lose to New Jersey, Washington, and Philadelphia in the same week. The road trip ends with a visit to the Lakers, but the losing streak may extend farther, with San Antonio making the trip to Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Speaking of the Spurs, they were looking good and riding an 8-game winning streak into New Orleans on Saturday when something strange happened: the entire team came down with a case of the sucks. The first-place Spurs were led in scoring by 11th man Tiago Splitter, who scored 11 in mostly garbage time, and looked more like a lottery team than a championship contender.

Milwaukee would not have been here if they had just taken care of Memphis on their home floor. The Bucks were the last team to reach 41 games this year, so they weren't tired, unless winning two straight for the first time since before Christmas took it out of them, so I'm forced to put them on the cold list until they figure out what happened.

NBA Player of the Day

Carmelo Anthony - DEN - 36 pts, 8 reb, 14-27 FG, 6-8 3P, 2-5 FT

With only one game played last night, Anthony was the obvious choice with his highest-scoring game since November. It looks like the Nets weren't the only ones who were able to relax a little when the trade rumors were put to rest, at least for now.

Predictions - 24 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Suns at 76ers - 76ers by 4

Cavaliers at Nets - Nets by 8

Pistons at Magic - Magic by 13

Grizzlies at Raptors - Grizzlies by 3

Wizards at Knicks - Knicks by 9

Thunder at Hornets - Hornets by 5

Bucks at Bulls - Bulls by 8

Rockets at Timberwolves - Rockets by 3

Kings at Trail Blazers - Blazers by 10

Spurs at Warriors - Spurs by 6

College Basketball

(16) Notre Dame at (4) Pittsburgh - Pitt by 13

Baylor at (24) Kansas State - Kansas State by 7

Prediction Results - 23 Jan

NFL: 2/2 (1.000) 77/122 overall (.631)

NBA: 1/1 (1.000) 337/468 overall (.720)

College Basketball: 1/2 (.500) 319/383 overall (.833)

Upsets: 1/2 (.500) 84/134 overall (.627)

NBA Rankings - 17 Jan

Last week's number one team has now lost three straight, which cost them the top spot (obviously). There have been a lot of really hot teams lately, but not as much movement as you would expect in the overall rankings. Here are the top teams of the season so far, with team name followed by this week's record, overall record, rating, and previous ranking.

1. San Antonio (4-0) (35-6) -7.13 (2)

2. Miami (0-3) (30-12) -6.76 (1)

3. Boston (2-1) (30-9) -5.64 (3)

4. LA Lakers (3-1) (30-12) -4.98 (4)

5. Orlando (1-2) (26-14) -4.26 (5)

6. Chicago (3-1) (27-13) -4.10 (6)

7. Denver (3-1) (23-17) -2.39 (13)

8. Dallas (0-3) (26-13) -2.25 (7)

9. New Orleans (3-0) (25-16) -1.99 (9)

10. Utah (2-0) (27-13) -1.85 (10)

11. Oklahoma City (2-0) (27-13) -1.54 (11)

12. Atlanta (1-1) (26-15) -1.18 (8)

13. Memphis (2-1) (19-21) -0.76 (14)

14. Portland (1-2) (21-20) -0.24 (12)

15. Houston (2-2) (18-23) -0.20 (17)

16. New York (1-2) (22-17) 0.34 (15)

17. Milwaukee (0-2) (14-23) 0.91 (16)

18. Philadelphia (1-1) (16-23) 1.36 (18)

19. Indiana (2-1) (16-21) 1.67 (19)

20. Phoenix (2-1) (17-21) 2.45 (20)

21. LA Clippers (2-1) (14-25) 2.65 (21)

22. Golden State (1-1) (16-23) 3.17 (22)

23. Charlotte (2-2) (15-23) 4.85 (25)

24. Toronto (0-3) (13-27) 5.08 (23)

25. Detroit (2-2) (14-26) 5.09 (24)

26. Minnesota (1-2) (10-31) 5.53 (26)

27. Washington (2-1) (11-27) 6.57 (27)

28. New Jersey (0-3) (10-30) 6.58 (28)

29. Sacramento (1-3) (9-29) 7.20 (29)

30. Cleveland (0-3) (8-32) 11.32 (30)

On Fire:

The Denver Nuggets beat last week's first place and last place teams by identical 28-point margins during the week, then lost to the new #1 team, the San Antonio Spurs, last night. The biggest reason for their sudden rise in the rankings was the win over Miami, along with the blowout of Phoenix that came right before it. Maybe the trade rumors aren't really having any impact after all.

The Houston Rockets played four very difficult games this week and all four ended up with five or six-point margins. Strangely, they won the road games against Boston and Atlanta, but lost at home to Oklahoma City and New Orleans. All four of those opponents were in the top 11 last week, so the fact that Houston played well against all four gave them a little nudge upward in the rankings.

Charlotte's story this week is very similar to that of Houston. They beat two very good teams, Chicago and Memphis, then lost close games to Boston and New Orleans. The Bobcats have won 6 of their past 10, and seem to be enjoying playing under a new coach. It may not be too late for a playoff push.

Ice Cold:

After winning 21 of 22 games, the Miami Heat have now dropped 3 straight. First came the loss to the Clippers, who have been hot of late but still shouldn't have been in the same class as Miami, especially since they were at full strength. They lost to Denver after that, a game in which LeBron sat out, but they still had two All-Stars on the court to Denver's one, so the loss was unacceptable, especially by 28 points. The loss to Chicago for forgivable, because Derrick Rose has had Chicago playing its best basketball since Michael Jordan retired the second time.

Atlanta tumbled back out of the top 10 this week after barely pulling off a win against Toronto and then losing to the Houston Rockets 3 nights later. We'll see a little better who they really are when they face the Miami Heat this week.

After losing a close game against Miami to finish up last week, the Portland Trail Blazers followed it up with much less impressive losses to the New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns. A close win over New Jersey, who's only won once since Christmas, didn't help their cause either.

NBA Player of the Day

Tony Parker - SAS - 30 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 11-15 FG, 2-2 3P, 6-6 FT

Parker was completely unstoppable and nearly perfect in the Spurs big win over the streaking Denver Nuggets in San Antonio last night. The Spurs have the 3rd-best record in league history at the midway point of the season and largest division lead they've had in 30 years, and Parker is one of the biggest reasons for it.

Predictions - 17 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

NBA

Suns at Knicks - Knicks by 5

Jazz at Wizards - Jazz by 6

Bulls at Grizzlies - Bulls by 1

Bobcats at 76ers - 76ers by 6

Raptors at Hornets - Hornets by 10

Bucks at Rockets - Rockets by 4

Mavericks at Pistons - Mavs by 5

Pacers at Clippers - Clippers by 2

Kings at Hawks - Hawks by 11

Nets at Warriors - Warriors by 6

Magic at Celtics - Celtics by 4

Timberwolves at Trail Blazers - Blazers by 8

Thunder at Lakers - Lakers by 6

College Basketball

(3) Kansas at Baylor - Kansas by 7

(4) Syracuse at (5) Pittsburgh - Pitt by 8

(7) Villanova at (9) Connecticut - UConn by 6

(20) Kansas State at (12) Missouri - Missouri by 6

Prediction Results - 16 Jan

NFL: 1/2 (.500) 75/120 overall (.625)

NBA: 1/2 (.500) 296/413 overall (.717)

College Basketball: 4/5 (.800) 286/339 overall (.844)

Upsets: 2/2 (1.000) 69/113 overall (.611)

NBA All-Stars

With the All-Star game just weeks away and the voting set to end next week, I've decided to put in my opinion on which players should be included on the All-Star teams. I've used the same formula that I use to determine my MVP rankings, but I've removed the use of team record as a measurement, since All-Stars should be the best players, and should not be limited to players on winning teams.

East

Starters

F LeBron James

F Amare Stoudemire

C Dwight Howard

G Dwyane Wade

G Derrick Rose

Bench

F Carlos Boozer

F Paul Pierce

C Al Horford

G Raymond Felton

G Joe Johnson

F Chris Bosh

F Joakim Noah

F Josh Smith (injury replacement, if necessary)

It looks like the voters have actually got the starting lineup right for the first time for as long as I can remember. The coaches have a few tough decisions, and I assume they will probably choose Rondo over one of the guards I've selected, but I believe this is the best team the East can put on the floor, and a downright scary starting five.

West

Starters

F Kevin Love

F Kevin Durant

C Pau Gasol

G Russell Westbrook

G Kobe Bryant

Bench

F Blake Griffin

F Dirk Nowitzki

C Zach Randolph

G Monta Ellis

G Deron Williams

F LaMarcus Aldridge

F Carmelo Anthony

F Rudy Gay (injury replacement, if necessary)

You may have noticed that both centers I listed on the West roster are actually power forwards, but with the lack of quality centers in the West right now and the injured Yao Ming leading the voting, I looked to a couple of big forwards who play more like centers to fill those slots. Leaving Chris Paul off my ballot may be a little controversial, but Westbrook and Williams are both playing better at the point this year, and Monta Ellis is one of the most exciting players that noone gets to watch. I would start Love over Anthony, which the voters wouldn't, but there is no more dominant inside player in the NBA right now than the Timberwolves' big man, Amare and Dwight Howard included.

NBA Player of the Day

Derrick Rose - CHI - 29 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast, 2 blk, 11-21 FG, 3-6 3P, 4-5 FT

Rose continued his stellar play with a double-double big man style last night. You don't expect 10 rebounds and 2 blocks from your point guard, but Rose does everything well, and he has the Bulls winning, which is what has made him an MVP candidate so early in his career.

Predictions - 15 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

College Basketball

Virginia at (1) Duke - Duke by 30

Penn State at (2) Ohio State - Ohio State by 25

Nebraska at (3) Kansas - Kansas by 19

Cincinnati at (4) Syracuse - Syracuse by 11

Seton Hall at (5) Pittsburgh - Pitt by 19

(6) San Diego State at New Mexico - San Diego State by 2

Maryland at (7) Villanova - Villanova by 3

(9) Connecticut at DePaul - UConn by 11

(12) Missouri at (13) Texas A&M - Texas A&M by 7

Oklahoma at (14) Texas - Texas by 24

LSU at (15) Kentucky - Kentucky by 26

(16) Illinois at (21) Wisconsin - Wisconsin by 6

Marquette at (17) Louisville - Louisville by 7

(19) Georgetown at Rutgers - Georgetown by 5

Texas Tech at (20) Kansas State - Kansas State by 18

(22) UCF at Southern Miss - Southern Miss by 2

(23) Temple at Duquesne - Duquesne by 5

Northwestern at (24) Michigan State - Michigan State by 7

Vanderbilt at Tennessee - Vanderbilt by 1

UNLV at Air Force - UNLV by 7

Campbell at Belmont - Belmont by 25

Santa Clara at Saint Mary's - Saint Mary's by 24

Arizona State at Arizona - Arizona by 21

NFL

Ravens at Steelers - Steelers by 5

Packers at Falcons - Packers by 2

Seahawks at Bears - Bears by 14

Jets at Patriots - Patriots by 12

NBA

Rockets at Hawks - Hawks by 5

Raptors at Wizards - Wizards by 1

Hornets at Bobcats - Hornets by 4

Kings at Pistons - Pistons by 5

Heat at Bulls - Bulls by 1

Magic at Timberwolves - Magic by 7

Mavericks at Grizzlies - Mavericks by 1

Cavaliers at Nuggets - Nuggets by 17

Nets at Trail Blazers - Trail Blazers by 10

Prediction Results - 14 Jan

NBA: 8/11 (.727) 288/402 overall (.716)

Upsets: 1/2 (.500) 60/104 overall (.577)

NBA Rankings - 10 Jan

The Spurs may have started the new year as the #1 team in the league, but after struggling a little this week, they have given up the top spot to a team that is as hot as any team in the past decade. As the season nears the midway point, let's take a look at where all 30 teams stack up. The team's name is followed by its record this week, its overall record, its rating, and its previous ranking.

1. Miami (4-0) (30-9) -9.01 (2)

2. San Antonio (2-2) (31-6) -7.02 (1)

3. Boston (3-1) (28-8) -6.98 (3)

4. LA Lakers (4-0) (27-11) -5.88 (7)

5. Orlando (4-0) (25-12) -5.47 (6)

6. Chicago (2-2) (24-12) -5.02 (5)

7. Dallas (1-2) (26-10) -4.14 (4)

8. Atlanta (3-0) (25-14) -2.78 (11)

9. New Orleans (2-2) (22-16) -2.62 (10)

10. Utah (2-2) (25-13) -2.40 (8)

11. Oklahoma City (2-1) (25-13) -2.14 (13)

12. Portland (2-2) (20-18) -1.52 (12)

13. Denver (1-3) (20-16) -1.20 (9)

14. Memphis (2-1) (17-20) -0.78 (14)

15. New York (2-1) (21-15) -0.67 (16)

16. Milwaukee (1-3) (14-21) -0.58 (18)

17. Houston (0-4) (16-21) -0.18 (15)

18. Philadelphia (2-2) (15-22) -0.10 (17)

19. Indiana (0-2) (14-20) 1.12 (19)

20. Phoenix (1-2) (15-20) 1.15 (20)

21. LA Clippers (2-0) (12-24) 2.84 (22)

22. Golden State (2-2) (15-22) 3.14 (21)

23. Toronto (2-2) (13-24) 3.89 (23)

24. Detroit (1-2) (12-24) 4.14 (24)

25. Charlotte (2-1) (13-21) 4.54 (26)

26. Minnesota (0-4) (9-29) 4.63 (25)

27. Washington (1-2) (9-26) 5.82 (28)

28. New Jersey (1-2) (10-27) 6.24 (27)

29. Sacramento (1-2) (8-26) 6.97 (29)

30. Cleveland (0-3) (8-29) 8.61 (30)

Power teams

The Miami Heat have won 21 of their past 22 games, have the two best players in the NBA on their roster, and have lost to only two teams with losing records. Their last two road wins have required overtime, and their next opponent, the Los Angeles Clippers, would love to keep that streak alive.

The Los Angeles Lakers have put together a 4-game winning streak after losing 4 of their previous 6, which had dropped them to a season-low ranking at #7. They have returned to their regular spot in the top 4, and if they can keep beating quality teams like they have the past two games, they should be able to maintain that position.

The Atlanta Hawks have yet to lose in 2011, including a very big 23-point win at Utah this week. Their next real test comes when they travel to Miami to face the scorching Heat on the 18th, and they may be riding an eight-game winning streak of their own by that point.

The Clippers are on the biggest role they have seen in 4 years, winning 7 of their past ten games. Blake Griffin is still a triple-double machine and may be the first Clipper All-Star in years, and a trip to the playoffs isn't even out of the question. Of course, after facing the Heat and Lakers this week, the optimism may fade a little.

Non-AQ's

The Dallas Mavericks desperately need Dirk Nowitzki to return from his injury. Since he went down, the Mavericks have lost 5 of 7, after losing only 5 of their first 29 games. They are still only 4.5 games out of first place, so a healthy Dirk could allow them to eventually pass the Spurs and take over the top spot in the West.

The Denver Nuggets were blown out by both the Clippers and the Kings this week, then lost a home game to the Hornets, and one of the big reasons behind the latest slump may be the trade rumors circling around their two star players, Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. It appears that the trade will happen sooner or later, but either way the Nuggets appear to be out of the running this year.

The San Antonio Spurs lost the top spot after falling to New York and Boston out East, then narrowly beating the Pacers and Timberwolves, two teams that are not currently in the playoff picture. A rematch with Minnesota is coming tomorrow, and if the current pattern holds up, they may be the latest top team that the Wolves upset.

NBA Player of the Day - 8 Jan

Kevin Durant - OKC - 40 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 13-24 FG, 13-14 FT

Kevin Durant put up his second 40-point game in just over 2 weeks, including 28 points in the second half, as the Thunder were able to avenge last week's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies with a 9-point victory on Saturday. The 40 points allowed him to extend his lead in the scoring race over Amare Stoudemire as he tries to repeat as league leader.

NBA Player of the Day - 9 Jan

LeBron James - MIA - 44 pts, 13 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 17-26 FG, 3-5 3P, 7-10 FT

LeBron's 44 points, including 8 in the overtime period alone (which was more than Portland's total), helped lead the Heat to their 9th straight victory and 21st in their past 22 games overall. The win was also their 13th straight on the road, just 3 away from tying the all-time record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Predictions - 10 Jan

Upset picks are in italics.

College Football

(2) Oregon vs. (1) Auburn - Oregon by 8

NBA

Grizzlies at Bobcats - Grizzlies by 2

Rockets at Celtics - Celtics by 10

Pistons at Bulls - Bulls by 12

College Basketball

(15) Notre Dame at Marquette - Marquette by 3

Jacksonville at Belmont - Belmont by 17

Prediction Results - 9 Jan

NFL: 2/2 (1.000) 72/116 overall (.621)

College Football: 1/1 (1.000) 57/85 overall (.671)

NBA: 6/7 (.857) 265/367 overall (.722)

College Basketball: 7/7 (1.000) 240/284 overall (.845)

Upsets: 2/2 (1.000) 54/91 overall (.593)