NBA Power Rankings: NY Knicks and More Scorching Teams on the Rise
If you follow the roller coaster of the NBA season too closely, you may just get dizzy. Here are the few teams enjoying that brief moment of exuberance that comes with putting a string of wins together.
Just when you thought the lockout shortened season would be far too cramped to allow for momentum shifts, the New York Knicks come out of nowhere to rise in the power rankings.
They are not the only team to enjoy a surge in production in the past week. We have a few other teams that caught the momentum train at the right time.
The key is to ride this wave into the All-Star break. With just a few games remaining until the mid-season classic, we delve into the hottest teams around.
1. New York Knicks
The Knicks were dead in the water and being hit hard with injuries to their top players Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire. It was going to take a miracle for them to mount a few wins and then a miracle happened in the form of Jeremy Lin.
The Knicks have enjoyed a five-game winning streak that coincides with Lin railing off five straight games of 20 or more points.
It seems even crazier when you consider Lin and the Knicks have won despite having so much talent on the sidelines with injuries.
2. Dallas Mavericks
It's tough to peg the Mavericks right now. They started as one hot mess and have since established themselves as a team that can beat just about anybody on any given night.
The Mavs are on a rare winning streak in which they even dispatched of the exciting young L.A. Clippers. They will need a lot more of these results to be taken seriously as contenders this time around.
3. San Antonio Spurs
This brings me to the Spurs, a team that may in fact benefit most from this shortened season.
Sure, the condensed schedule may wreak havoc on their legs, but they are showing once again that they can get as hot as any team around. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are leading this team on a seven-game winning streak that doesn't seem to have an end in sight.
| 1. Miami Heat |
| 2. Chicago Bulls |
| 3. San Antonio Spurs |
| 4. Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 5. L.A. Clippers |
6. Philadelphia 76ers |
| 7. Indiana Pacers |
| 8. L.A. Lakers |
| 9. Dallas Mavericks |
| 10. Denver Nuggets |
| 11. Boston Celtics |
| 12. Atlanta Hawks |
| 13. Orlando Magic |
| 14. Portland Trail Blazers |
| 15. Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 16. New York Knicks |
| 17. Houston Rockets |
| 18. Utah Jazz |
| 19. Memphis Grizzlies |
| 20. Golden State Warriors |
| 21. Phoenix Suns |
| 22. Sacramento Kings |
| 23. Milwaukee Bucks |
| 24. Toronto Raptors |
| 25. Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 26. Washington Wizards |
| 27. Detroit Pistons |
| 28. New Jersey Nets |
| 29. New Orleans Hornets |
| 30. Charlotte Bobcats |
