| Team | Record | Previous Rank |
|---|
| 1. MIAMI HEAT | 63-16 | 1 |
| A 5-game winning streak - this team is relentless. |
| 2. OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER | 59-21 | 2 |
| 2nd-best road record in the game, OKC is now the leader out West. |
| 3. SAN ANTONIO SPURS | 58-21 | 3 |
| It'll be interesting to see how Stephen Jackson release sits with vets. |
| 4. DENVER NUGGETS | 54-25 | 4 |
| With their home record, will only probably need 1 road win in a series. |
| 5. NEW YORK KNICKS | 52-27 | 5 |
| Carmelo would get my No. 2 vote in MVP balloting. |
| 6. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES | 54-25 | 6 |
| Held the Rockets, who average 105.8 ppg, to 78 pts Friday. Good defense. |
| 7. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS | 53-26 | 8 |
| 4-game winning streak at a good time. VDN going to smaller lineups late. |
| 8. INDIANA PACERS | 49-30 | 7 |
| Hard to have faith in them right now with 3 losses in last 4. |
| 9. BROOKLYN NETS | 47-32 | 9 |
| Won 4 straight with road wins over Indiana and Boston. Gonna be tough. |
| 10. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS | 45-35 | 10 |
| Just don't see them giving Denver or Memphis much of a battle. |
| 11. HOUSTON ROCKETS | 44-35 | 11 |
| Weird team come playoff time - up tempo style has won nothing recently. |
| 12. ATLANTA HAWKS | 44-36 | 12 |
| Let Smith walk, get a big in there with Horford and find a 2 somewhere. |
| 13. CHICAGO BULLS | 43-36 | 13 |
| Streak-busters show how well coached this group is. Derrick? Derrick? |
| 14. LOS ANGELES LAKERS | 43-37 | 14 |
| Obviously this team will go nowhere now that Kobe tore his Achilles. |
| 15. UTAH JAZZ | 42-38 | 16 |
| Two road games left to go. Game behind LAL. Gonna be tough. |
| 16. BOSTON CELTICS | 40-39 | 15 |
| Resting Pierce and KG will help playoff time. Should be fun against NYK. |
| 17. DALLAS MAVERICKS | 39-40 | 18 |
| They are better than the playoff-bound Milwaukee Bucks. |
| 18. MILWAUKEE BUCKS | 37-42 | 17 |
| Monta Ellis is playing really, really well. The Bucks are not. |
| 19. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS | 32-47 | 20 |
| Still fighting, but this franchise is in bad shape this offseason. |
| 20. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS | 33-46 | 19 |
| Losing 10 in a row to finish the season is not the ideal recipe. |
| 21. TORONTO RAPTORS | 31-48 | 23 |
| Team I'm most fascinated to see next season. |
| 22. WASHINGTON WIZARDS | 29-51 | 21 |
| Lost 4 in a row - I'm going to pick them for postseason next year. |
| 23. SACRAMENTO KINGS | 28-51 | 22 |
| This organization is a punchline. Maloofs? More like Ma-goofs. Good one. |
| 24. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES | 29-50 | 24 |
| What can you say about the T'Wolves? Seriously, I got nothing. |
| 25. DETROIT PISTONS | 28-52 | 26 |
| 3-game winning streak. Drummond is for real, and Monroe, could be great. |
| 26. NEW ORLEANS HORNETS | 27-53 | 25 |
| Ryan Anderson was a great addition. |
| 27. PHOENIX SUNS | 24-55 | 27 |
| Goran Dragic is a pretty competent NBA point guard. |
| 28. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS | 24-55 | 28 |
| Need to keep building - they'll get there. Could use an offensive big. |
| 29. ORLANDO MAGIC | 20-59 | 29 |
| Vucevic with back-to-back 20-plus scoring and rebounding nights. |
| 30. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS | 18-61 | 30 |
| 3 straight at home to finish, can they get to 20 wins? Probably not. |
