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2. Chicago Bulls (55-20): Man, who knew once person can be just the whole thing for your entire team? Derrick Rose is already MVP. LeBron James has even said so. No doubt about it. And there is no doubt this Bulls team is the best in the Eastern Conference. They have been rolling and are on a two-game win-streak currently.
3. Miami Heat (53-23): The Miami Heat have improved strongly now. They now hold the second spot in the Eastern Conference, ahead of the Boston Celtics and are challenging Chicago for number one. Things are looking great for them. You can tell they're serious now. They just pulled off a 25-1 run in their last game to destroy the Minnesota Timberwolves, 111-92.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (50-25): The Oklahoma City Thunder have been hot lately. Although they lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in their last game, they are still playing strong. Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed fit so well in their system and finally got some big man help. Serge Ibaka continues to play well alongside with the one-two punch of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
5. Boston Celtics (53-23): What has happened to the Boston Celtics? They have been struggling as of late. They trailed against the Indiana Pacers and they just can't get their groove going. Not only have they lost out on the first seed, but now they are losing out on the second seed as Miami is now ahead of them.
6. Dallas Mavericks (53-22): The Dallas Mavericks just got destroyed by the Los Angeles Lakers. But just before that, they had a five-game winning-streak rolling for them. But they should worry, as Caron Butler is out. He says he will return for the playoffs, but there are still some questions that arise.
7. San Antonio Spurs (57-19): Even though the San Antonio Spurs' record says they are the best in the league, they sure haven't been playing like it. Not at all. Their six-game losing-streak says so. All the teams they have lost to are playoff-teams, so it sure doesn't say much for them. San Antonio needs to fix themselves, fast.
8. Atlanta Hawks (44-32): You have gotta love how the Atlanta Hawks have been playing recently. They have been riding on a four-game winning-streak, including beating teams like the Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic. This has shown that Atlanta is not one of those playoff teams that can't compete. They have been showing that they can so far.
9. Denver Nuggets (46-29): The Denver Nuggets have been playing awesome basketball since trading away Carmelo Anthony. But you already knew that by now. Denver has got a five-game winning-streak going for them, including a big victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Denver just needs one more victory so they can clinch a playoff-spot. They will do that, easily.
10. Orlando Magic (48-28): The Orlando Magic have been playing like they usually do. But they didn't do so well last week, going 1-2 with losses to the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks. They did beat the Charlotte Bobcats, but who doesn't beat them?
11. Memphis Grizzlies (43-33): Just imagine how great Memphis would be playing if they did have Rudy Gay. The Grizzlies have been 6-1 since March 19th and are riding on a three-game winning-streak, including victories over the New Orleans Hornets and San Antonio Spurs.
12. Portland Trail Blazers (44-32): LaMarcus Aldridge continues to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to victory. Portland has capped off some big wins in the past week, with victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. In fact, they beat the Spurs twice! They have been 6-3 since March 15th.
13. Philadelphia 76ers (40-36): The Philadelphia 76ers have been rolling on a three-game winning-streak. They have beaten key teams like the Chicago Bulls and the Houston Rockets along the way. Philly is hanging their strong at the sixth seed, not letting New York take it away from them.
14. New Orleans Hornets (43-33): The New Orleans Hornets have been okay in the past week, but haven't been playing at a good, top level. They are hanging strong at the seventh seed. They recently lost to Memphis, as both are now tied for the seventh seed spot.They can't give it up. They face a hot Pacers team next, so they better watch out.
15. Indiana Pacers (35-42): The Indiana Pacers are really hot right now. They have been 5-2 since March 21st and are on a three-game winning-streak. They had a huge win over the Boston Celtics on Monday and are riding to keeping the eighth seed intact. They are only two games behind the New York Knicks for the seventh seed.
16. New York Knicks (37-38): Since their six-game losing-streak, the Knicks have been fixing their problems. They got a huge win over the New Jersey Nets and a big one over Orlando before that.
17. Houston Rockets (40-36): The Houston Rockets are also one of the latest teams to knock off the San Antonio Spurs. But this week hasn't been all good. I really don't see Houston making the playoffs either. They are gonna need a miracle to do so.
18. Phoenix Suns (37-38): It hasn't been a good week for the Phoenix Suns at all. This season has just been a so-so. I mean, they were there, but they aren't going to make the playoffs. Phoenix finally got a victory, killing the Los Angeles Clippers. But then again, it is the Clippers.
19. Golden State Warriors (32-44): Golden State looks to be a great team of the future. They may be on a two-game losing-streak, but boy did they put up a fight against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but they ended up losing 115-114 in overtime. It hasn't been much of a good March.
20. Charlotte Bobcats (32-43): The Charlotte Bobcats are hanging in there. They are really close to getting the eighth seed. In my opinion, I just don't see them landing it. However, I do see them ending up with the ninth seed. Charlotte has been 4-1 since last Friday, including key wins over the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks.
21. Milwaukee Bucks (30-45): Boy, it's been a long season for the Milwaukee Bucks. They trail the Indiana Pacers by five games, but how can they make the eighth seed when the Pacers hold it and Charlotte is right ahead of them -- two teams that have beaten them this past week?
22. Los Angeles Clippers (29-47): Blake Griffin, enough said. They may not have had a great week, but it's the Clippers.
23. Detroit Pistons (26-49): They may have gotten a win over the Indiana Pacers, but they got killed by them right after that. They did hold in close with the Chicago Bulls, however, in their last game; falling 101-96. Richard Hamilton is back in action and has been putting up some decent numbers. They should have put him in a long, long time ago.
24. New Jersey Nets (23-52): The New Jersey Nets got a pretty good future ahead of them if they manage to keep Deron Williams. With that, they can possibly land Dwight Howard, too. They may be on a five-game losing-streak, but they've been doing better than the rest of the teams following them on this list.
25. Sacramento Kings (21-54): The Sacramento Kings have been 4-2 since March 23rd, including key victories versus the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and Phoenix Suns. Sacramento hopefully will get a good future ahead of them for the next decade with Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins.
26. Washington Wizards (19-56): Can you believe it?! The Washington Wizards have been 2-1 in their past three games! This just came after coming off of a four-game losing-streak. John wall, baby!
27. Toronto Raptors (20-54): They've been on a five-game losing-streak, but hey, it's cool in Canada.
28. Cleveland Cavaliers (15-60): It's not all the time you have to put Cleveland at the last spot in the Power Rankings. I mean, they just beat the Miami Heat at home! They got back at LeBron James. Nice!!
29. Utah Jazz (36-40): When you're on a seven-game losing-streak, you have to be at this spot.
30. Minnesota Timberwolves (17-59): Nine-game losing-streak. Largest in the NBA. Enough said.
