NBA Power Rankings: Week of Feb. 23, 2009

The struggles of the 2008-09 Los Angeles Clippers extend far beyond their dismal 14-43 record. After an offseason in which they acquired big-named players Baron Davis and Marcus Camby, along with the drafting of the sharpshooting Eric Gordon, the Clippers have gone back to doing what they do best, which is being the same old Clippers.

I guess we should've known what kind of season this team would have when Elton Brand spurned them for Philly.

The team ranks dead-last in field goal percentage at just over 43 percent and they're seemingly stuck with the lengthy and lucrative contracts of Zach Randolph, Chris Kaman, and Davis for at least the next three seasons. There isn't an end in sight for the Clippers.

On the bright side, head coach/GM Mike Dunleavy has been one of the very few head coaches to not have gotten the axe so far this season. Unfortunately, he's been a huge part of the Clips' problems.

A team coming off of several consecutive playoff appearances, the 2008-09 Washington Wizards have suddenly become one of the bottom-feeders of the NBA. Sitting in the basement of the Eastern Conference at just 13-43, the Wizards have had to battle through a very disappointing, injury-plagued season so far.

Just two players, Antawn Jamison and Nick Young, have appeared in every game so far this season. $111 million man Gilbert Arenas hasn't set foot on the court this season, and, honestly, there isn't much reason for him to at this point.

The Wizards are a team sorely lacking a major inside presence, and, until they get one, they won't sniff a status as legitimate championship contenders, despite their great perimeter lineup.

No team was more active than Sacramento before the trade deadline last Thursday, and the Kings are now obviously in an all-out rebuilding mode. They were able to unload the contracts of high-scoring guard John Salmons and veteran center Brad Miller onto Chicago, exchanging them for the Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni, and Cedric Simmons.

While Gooden and Simmons are expiring after this season, Nocioni's contract ($8M this year, decreasing steadily each of the next 3) runs through the 2012 season, with a team option for another year.

26-year old sharpshooter Kevin Martin has returned from his injury in a big way, averaging about 24 points a game in just 35 games so far this season. The Kings are clearly building for the future, as they sit at 12-45 to this point in the season.

Other than the promising rookie seasons being had by OJ Mayo and Marc Gasol and recent improved play of second-year point guard Mike Conley, bright spots for Memphis have been few and far between this season. Rising star Rudy Gay's numbers have dropped with the arrival of Mayo, and he doesn't seem too happy about it.

The Grizz should've been quick to pull the trigger on a deal that would've landed them Amare Stoudemire in exchange for a package that included Gay, but told Phoenix that they weren't interested in trading the young small forward.

Fortunately, the team hasn't played all that badly (relatively speaking) since the firing of Marc Iavaroni, going 4-8 under Lionel Hollins.

At the beginning of the season, after a 2-24 start, the team formerly-known as the Seattle Sonics was being talked about as possibly the worst team in NBA history.

However, while the record is still not good (13-43), the Thunder have been very competitive of late, behind the stellar play of the sensational Kevin Durant, with help from fellow second-year player Jeff Green and rookie Russell Westbrook. Head coach Scott Brooks (12-31 as coach) has likely done plenty to be able to retain the full-time job after the season ends.

With a whopping four first-round draft picks in the next two drafts, the Thunder are a team that will have the ability to improve drastically very, very quickly.

Yet another team with an interim head coach (Kevin McHale), the T'Wolves have had a roller-coaster of a season. They stumbled out of the gates to a 2-10 start, which was followed quickly by a lengthy 13-game losing streak.

However, once 2009 came around, the T'Wolves started to show signs of life behind their underrated young big man, Al Jefferson. Minnesota was 10-4 in January, but a season-ending ACL injury to Jefferson has brought the T'Wolves back down to Earth, where they currently sit at 18-37.

Interim coach McHale has gone 14-22 while in charge, a huge improvement over Randy Wittman, who went 4-15 before getting the axe. Unfortunately, Minnesota is just 2-8 so far in February.

Coming into this season, the Raptors had aspirations of being serious contenders in the Eastern Conference.

They had just acquired Jermaine O'Neal from the Pacers to pair up with All-Star Chris Bosh, and they were handing the full-time point guard job over to Jose Calderon, one of the most efficient players in the entire league.

It hasn't panned out the way the Raptors had initially envisioned it, and it ended up costing Sam Mitchell his head coaching job. Interim coach Jay Triano hasn't fared any better, and the Raptors are way on the outside of the playoff picture, at 22-36.

Last week they swapped O'Neal for Shawn Marion, but it was more of a salary cap move than anything else, as it's not likely that he was the piece Toronto has been missing to turn them into a winning ball club.

The Bobcats are a team filled with collegiate all-stars, few of which have actually done anything close to what they were able in their college days. They're not nearly as bad as they were in their early years, but they've yet to make much of any improvement in any of the past three seasons.

They're currently 22-34, which shockingly doesn't even have them out of the playoff discussion this season in the Eastern Conference. Emeka Okafor has quietly turned into a very steady post presence, averaging a double-double to go along with his stellar interior defense.

They've made several significant acquisitions since the end of last season, including Vladimir Radmanovic, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, Desagana Diop, and DJ Augustin. They haven't had much success trying to blend this talent under first-year coach Larry Brown.

Not including that miraculous half-court prayer that Devin Harris was able to convert to beat Philadelphia last night, there hasn't been a whole lot for the Nets to be smiling about lately.

Since they were .500 at 19-19, New Jersey has since gone 6-13, distancing themselves from the eighth and final playoff spot a little bit.

The superb seasons so far of Vince Carter, rookie Brook Lopez, and Harris haven't been enough to get the Nets any higher in the standings, as the production outside of those three players has been very limited all season long.

In fact, a player not named Carter, Lopez, or Harris has led the Nets in scoring in a single game just five times all season.

The Warriors have the youngest team in the league, and for the first few months of the season, they played like it. Their young roster wasn't helped by the fact that the team had to play 24 of its first 38 games on the road.

Since the return of Monta Ellis, however, combined with a nice stretch of home games, the Warriors have enjoyed by far their best stretch of basketball all season.

Captain Stephen Jackson is having a great season, and is one of just two forwards in the league averaging over 20 points and six assists per game. The other? His name is LeBron.

It's been a crazy season so far for Jim O'Brien's team. They're 24-35, but have had several games decided on last second shots, and have defeated the likes of the Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, and Magic. They've also beaten the Houston Rockets twice.

Mike Dunleavy, a player who broke out last season, has been sidelined with injuries for most of this season, and now their breakout star this year, Danny Granger, is out for 2-3 weeks himself.

Troy Murphy, the highest-paid player on the roster, is another player that has enjoyed a nice season, and is averaging about 14 points and 12 boards a night. He's led the Pacers in rebounding in all but 15 games this season as well, including 21 last night in a loss to the Knicks.

Mike D'Antoni's Knicks have been an interesting team all season long. As of today, they're 24-32 and right in the thick of things as far as the Eastern Conference playoff picture goes, despite making several moves earlier in the season to slash payroll in an attempt to free up as much money as possible to possibly land LeBron James next summer.

Fortunately, the players New York has brought back in trades have fit perfectly into D'Antoni's system.

Al Harrington, acquired from the Warriors for Jamal Crawford, has had a nice resurgence for the Knicks, and is averaging over 20 points per game.

KryptoNate Robinson has been flying since his second dunk contest championship, and is averaging 29 points a game in the four games since (up from 16).

Somehow, a team that's lost three of its starters (Redd, Bogut, Ridnour) for an extended period of time due to injury is still playing competitive enough basketball to maintain their eighth spot in the playoff picture.

While Luke Ridnour has had a nice first season for the Bucks, 22-year-old guard Ramon Sessions appears destined for great things as a pro.

In just 26 minutes a game, Sessions is averaging over 12 points and almost five assists per game. He has good size at 6'3", and is able to both score and dish an an insane rate.

Starting in place of Ridnour a few weeks ago, Sessions racked up 44 points and 12 assists in an overtime loss. In a game at the end of last season, Sessions recorded over 20 points and 20 assists.

This season, Sessions has just 19 fewer total assists, in over 100 fewer minutes played than Ridnour.

The Bulls have been playing much better as of late under first-year coach Vinny Del Negro, and are now ninth in the Eastern Conference.

In his third season out of LSU, forward Tyrus Thomas appears to be on the verge of breaking out. In February, he's averaged about 17 points and nine rebounds a game, up from just 10 points and six rebounds for his season.

They were able to turn Drew Gooden and Andres Nocioni into Brad Miller and John Salmons from the Kings, and appear poised to make a run at the playoffs.

Number one overall pick Derrick Rose has also developed ahead of schedule, and seems like a likely choice to win Rookie of the Year.

Coming off of six consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Detroit Pistons now appear to be a team that is unraveling before our eyes.

Coming off a complete drubbing at the hands of the Cavaliers on Sunday, Detroit is now just 27-27, a far cry from what they've been in the recent past. The acquisition of Allen Iverson hasn't done much to help the Pistons, as he's having his worst season as a pro in terms of points per game at just 18.2.

The Pistons are currently sixth in the East, but unless head coach Michael Curry can get this team motivated, they won't be making a seventh consecutive ECF visit.

It's been an interesting year for the 76ers. Since struggling to open the season behind their new prized big man Elton Brand (who has since been lost for the season due to injury) and firing their head coach Maurice Cheeks, the Sixers have been rolling as of late and now find themselves in the seventh spot in the East.

Interim coach Tony DiLeo may find himself with a full-time job after what he's been able to do, going 18-14 so far at the helm. Without Brand clogging things up inside, the 76ers have been able to go back to their running ways that had them seriously challenging Detroit in the first round of last year's playoffs.

Second-year forward Thaddeus Young has continued to develop and is looking like a future star at times.

The Miami Heat won just 15 games during the 2007-08 season. This season, they've already won 29, and find themselves in fifth place in the East, all but a sure thing to make the playoffs once again.

Dwyane Wade has come back from his injury-plagued season and is having an MVP-type campaign, leading the NBA in scoring at 28.8 points a game.

While second overall pick Michael Beasley has struggled to stay on the floor because of defensive struggles, the Heat have proven to be quite capable of winning without him doing much.

They have the youngest coach in the league (Erik Spoelstra), but he's been able to resurrect Miami and put them in position to contend once again in the near future.

No team has experienced more ups-and-downs than the Suns this season. Playing their first full season with Shaquille O'Neal, the team suffered through well-publicized struggles under first (and only) year coach Terry Porter.

It was rumored that GM Steve Kerr would be trying to trade Amare Stoudemire before the deadline in an attempt to begin to rebuild the team.

However, they decided to let go of Porter and keep Stoudemire, instead trying Alvin Gentry as head coach. After enjoying two beat downs of the lowly Clippers, the Suns were riding high again.

Unfortunately, in the second game against LA, Stoudemire suffered an injury to his retina, and is now likely out for the remainder of the season.

While they're not out of the playoff race, it's looking like it'll be very tough for the Suns to enjoy much playoff success in 2009.

The young Hawks have been flying under the radar all season long. At 32-24, they're enjoying one of their best seasons in several years, on the heels of taking the eventual-champion Celtics to seven games in their first round series last May.

They're fourth in the East, and don't look like they'll be giving up that spot anytime soon. Joe Johnson is having another All-Star season, and Mike Bibby has provided the stability that the Hawks have so sorely lacked from a point guard since Mookie Blaylock left town about 80 years ago.

They're dangerous come playoff time.

After sputtering out of the gate, the Mavs have gotten it together lately under first-year coach Rick Carlisle.

Dirk Nowitzki is quietly having a phenomenal season, averaging about 26 points and 8 rebounds per game for Dallas.

Before his injury, Jason Terry was having the best season of any player coming off of the bench, providing a spark with his high-percentage shooting.

First-quarter Hall-of-Famer Josh Howard has battled injuries, but, when he's in the lineup, the Mavs are a much more complete team.

Jason Kidd has been overshadowed by Devin Harris in terms of individual performance, but is having a nice season leading the team, averaging nine points, eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals per game for the seventh-place Mavericks

Utah has been bitten by the injury bug just about worse than any other team in the league, with Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, and Andrei Kirilenko all missing significant time due to injury.

However, Boozer made his return last night in Utah's drubbing of the Atlanta Hawks, and the Jazz are a very dangerous team on the rise. They're all-but unbeatable at home, and are talented enough to be a very scary matchup for any of the top dogs in the West.

With the tragic passing of longtime team owner Larry Miller this past weekend, expect the Jazz to play very inspired basketball the rest of the way.

With the sudden "re-acquisition" of big man Tyson Chandler after an attempted trade with Oklahoma City fell through last week, the Hornets are suddenly back where they were among Western Conference contenders.

Another team that has had frequent injury issues, the Hornets are deep and talented enough to take down anyone in the West.

Nobody plays more inspired than point guard Chris Paul, who, when you combine with the low post talents of Chandler and David West, and perimeter assassins like Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, and Rasual Butler, can be a very dangerous team down the stretch and into the postseason.

Yet another team with well-documented injury problems, the Rockets are a team that will gladly be overlooked.

Because of the loss of Tracy McGrady for the season, and the trade that sent Rafer Alston to Disney World, the Rockets were dubbed as a team giving up on the season by many.

However, in the two games with second-year guard Aaron Brooks running the show, the Rockets haven't appeared to miss a beat.

They followed an impressive win over the Dallas Mavericks with a 21-point crushing of the Bobcats.

Barring significant injuries to either Yao Ming or Ron Artest, the Rockets are another team that could creep up on some people and make some noise in the postseason.

Despite the struggles at times of "rookie" Greg Oden, the Blazers have been able to stay afloat in the West, and currently sit in fourth place.

Budding superstar Brandon Roy has been able to lead a team seething with young talent all the way near the top of the powerful Western Conference in just his third season in the NBA.

Roy, along with the steady inside presence provided by LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Pryzbilla, and Oden, make Portland an intriguing team coming down the stretch.

Can they go deep into the playoffs? With a player like Roy, the sky is the limit.

The Denver Nuggets have quietly become one of the most improved teams in the entire league. Obviously, the major move to swap Allen Iverson for veteran point guard Chauncey Billups was the key move, but it was also very important for the Nuggets to get Nene back this season.

After missing much of last season recovering from testicular cancer, the 26-year-old Brazilian big man is averaging about 15 points and eight boards for the Nuggets, and is providing some punch on the low block that Denver had been missing in recent years.

Chauncey Billups has been a very steady and very good point guard in his time back home, and Carmelo Anthony is still playing at an All-Star level.

They lead the Northwest Division and are third in the West as of today.

So much for the dismal start. Since an unusually slow start that had them looking old and tired, Gregg Popovich now has his Spurs on top of the Southwest division at 37-17 and in complete control.

They were able to survive early season injuries to Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, and are now looking as strong as ever.

Role players such as Matt Bonner and Roger Mason Jr. have stepped up in big ways and are contributing big-time for the four-time NBA champions.

Combine the efforts of the role players with great seasons from Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and you have the Spurs where they're accustomed to being; at the top of the Western Conference and once again in contention for an NBA title.

Dwight Howard, Stan Van Gundy, and the Magic are having one of the best seasons in their short franchise history.

At 41-14, they're lightyears ahead of the rest of their division, and appear to be locked into at least the No. 3 seed in the Eastern playoffs.

Howard is having a monster season averaging 21 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks per game. $126 million man Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson are having All-Star seasons as well, and the Magic are rolling.

Despite losing Nelson with a shoulder injury, the Magic haven't really slipped up. They were able to acquire Rafer Alston to temporarily replace Nelson until he comes back, a very good move considering how little they were forced to give up.

While a championship may not be in store for Orlando this season, this is a team with a very bright future ahead.

The defending champions have picked up right where they left off last season. At 46-12, they're currently in the No. 1 spot in the East, a game ahead of Cleveland.

Young point guard Rajon Rondo is enjoying a career season, averaging about 12 points and eight assists a game.

While bench production has been down from last year, it's still been steady enough to win games, and they're hoping the acquisition of Mikki Moore (and probably Stephon Marbury) is good enough to boost them back to where they were.

Despite a recent injury to Kevin Garnett, the Celtics were able to spank the Nuggets in Denver last night, and don't look to be slowing down any time soon.

Although they're behind Boston as of today, the Cavaliers are the team that I believe will be the most dangerous once the playoffs roll around.

Led by Mo Williams, this is by far the best supporting cast that has ever played around LeBron James, and they're rolling through the regular season.

LeBron is having an MVP season, averaging about 28 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists per game.

He's stepped it up on the defensive end, and, at just 24, I believe he's the best player in the league.

With LeBron potentially playing 48 minutes in every playoff game, the Cavs will be a very, very tough out for anybody in the playoffs, even the Boston Celtics.

This list begins and ends in Los Angeles. Despite yet another injury to center Andrew Bynum, the Lakers were able to recently go on the road and beat both the Celtics and Cavaliers.

This trip affirmed their spot at the top of this list, and they are the odds-on favorite to come out of the Western Conference.

Kobe Bryant is vying for his second-consecutive MVP award, and Pau Gasol is having another quietly stellar season.

Lamar Odom has stepped up his game tenfold in Bynum's absence, giving the Lakers yet another viable weapon.

Los Angeles is arguably the deepest team in the league, and with Phil Jackson running the show, the Lakers are the best team in the NBA right now.