Best and Worst Case Second Half Scenarios for Every NBA Team

With the All-Star break come and gone, the NBA can now look forward to the second half of the season.

This is the time of year where last minute adjustments are made, and teams begin their final run to the postseason. Now is not the time to falter, as players begin to get into midseason form in anticipation for the playoff run that awaits them in only two months.

The second half represents a series of trials and tribulations, as NBA teams will look to finish off the season strongly, while also giving their star players the rest they need for the postseason. Even though the schedule has called for only 66 games, there's still reason to believe that nearly every player will be tired two months from now.

They're playing up to four games per week with insane travel schedules. These players' bodies have been put through a lot over the course of this season, which explains why we've seen so many devastating injuries to so many significant players.

Brook Lopez, Al Horford and Zach Randolph to name a few have all succumbed to serious injuries that have put their season in jeopardy.

Let's delve into the second half of the season and see the best and worst case scenario for every NBA team.

Atlanta Hawks

Best Case: They defy the odds and get a top-three seed

For the past three seasons, it's been the exact same story for the Atlanta Hawks—good enough to make it out of the first round—not good enough to get any further.

The Hawks have compiled a 12-8 record in their past three first-round matchups but went on to a 2-12 record in the second round. Those lone two wins came last season in their series with the Chicago Bulls. They were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic in the two years prior.

The problem with Atlanta is they've seemingly peaked. They got reliable talent at the two, three and four, a developing young guard at the one and minor help off the bench. It's a good team but not a great team. Since they threw $120 million to a seldom All-Star in Joe Johnson, the Hawks don't have the leverage to go out and spend on players that could possibly help them.

Instead, they're stuck with Johnson as their shooting guard. He's currently averaging 18 points per, which is the lowest he's ever posted up with the Hawks.

The best that can happen to the Hawks is if they can somehow secure the third seed. They've managed to defy the odds already by staying in the playoff race without Al Horford for most of the season. They're only separated by a game from the current three seed—Orlando.

Worst Case: Al Horford's injury is more serious than we thought

Because they didn't have much help in the frontcourt off the bench, the Hawks could not afford to lose Al Horford.

Unfortunately, they did, but the Hawks have yet to truly suffer even with the limited help and the desperation move of signing free-agent center Erick Dampier.

Josh Smith has been incredible this season in relief; Zaza Pachulia is putting in another solid year's worth of work, and even newcomer Ivan Johnson has made his impression felt.

Horford suffered a torn left pectoral muscle in early January, and the recovery time is slated for three months, which means he'll be ready by early April at the soonest. Even when he does return, Horford's still going to need time to get back into basketball shape after such a serious injury.

With the playoffs starting in May, the Hawks cannot afford any setbacks from Horford. Size always plays a huge part in the postseason, and they're going to need one of their few frontcourt scorers to be there for them.

Boston Celtics

Best Case: They acquire a reliable center

When the Boston Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins, we knew that there would be no possibility of them being a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference.

Stats will tell you of the impact Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen have, but they couldn't tell the story of Perkins, who was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder last season for Jeff Green.

Perkins was a huge, intimidating and all-around scary presence. He made it difficult for centers like Dwight Howard to get position and even more difficult for slashers like Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to attack the rim. When you're in a conference with the league's top centers and slashers, giving up the lone deterrence on your team may not be the smartest move.

Now the Celtics are playing with a 33-year-old Jermaine O'Neal as their starting center, and he doesn't do much to fill those big shoes.

If the Celtics want any chance of beating the Heat, Bulls or any contender in the East, they're going to need to pick up or trade for a center that's going to actually have some defensive influence.

Worst Case: They actually trade Rajon Rondo 

This scenario has been brought up since the end of the lockout when the idea of trading Rondo for Chris Paul was a possibility.

Rondo may arguably be the best pure point guard in the league on both sides of the ball, but his maturity has been brought into question a few times, and it appears to be the driving influence in the Celtics' attempts to shop the All-Star point guard.

As immature as Rondo has shown over the past year, his game is making it tough to remember why they were thinking of trading him in the first place. Even with injuries playing a large part this season, Rondo has been playing bonkers and recently became the third player in NBA history to have the game he had on March 4th against the New York Knicks.

Rondo had 18 points, 20 assists and 17 rebounds in the Celtics win. Do the Celtics think Avery Bradley is a better option?

Charlotte Bobcats

Best Case: Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo continue to develop

The Charlotte Bobcats don't have much to be happy about, but at least they have two rookie projects to mold into possible stars.

The Bobcats have been embarrassingly awful this year with a 5-31 record. In the midst of this painful season, however, they've been able to watch their rookie Kemba Walker begin to develop into quite a dangerous offensive threat. The ninth pick in the 2011 draft is currently averaging 13 points, four assists and four boards per 28 minutes worth of action per night.

The 37 percent shooting overall as well as the 33 percent shooting from deep isn't all that pretty, but it's his rookie season, and he's playing on a team where there are no offensive threats, so we'll give him a pass this time.

Bismack Biyombo was considered a risky selection with the seventh pick since he was only known for his defensive work. It turns out that it was completely true, as he's only averaging four points and five boards per.

The most the 'Cats can be proud of is the fact that he's averaging two blocks per and recently had 10 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks against Dwight Howard and the Magic.

Worst Case: Either of those players suffers a serious injury 

These two are essentially the future of the Bobcats until they pick up someone in next year's draft.

The Bobcats have nothing promising to look at in their lineup that contain the possibility of leading the team back to the postseason. Yes, Gerald Henderson and D.J. Augustin have looked good, but do you think they're going to start becoming All-Stars overnight?

Didn't think so. Walker and Biyombo are the Charlotte Bobcats, and the team has to make sure that nothing happens to the lone shreds of a bright future.

Chicago Bulls

Best Case: They obtain the number one seed heading into the playoffs

This idea didn't work out too well for the Chicago Bulls last season, but they could use all the help they can get if they're going to take on the Miami Heat in the Conference Finals.

It's not a knock against the Bulls because they have been playing excellent despite the nagging injuries applied to Derrick Rose and Richard Hamilton. Even without those two for a large part of the season, the Bulls are still atop the Eastern Conference and the NBA with a 32-8 record. They've got a two-game lead over the Heat, who have been relatively healthy the whole season.

This isn't the first time the Bulls have shown their resilience. They played a large part of the first half of last season with Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah nursing various ailments.

If the Bulls are looking to get a stranglehold of the East, they should start with the month of March. The Heat have an insanely difficult schedule, while the Bulls have a more relaxed schedule with games against Toronto twice, Detroit, Milwaukee and Utah.

They do have their fair share of difficult contests against the likes of Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia, but they should all be winnable to the team that's possibly the only source of competition to the Heat in the East.

Worst Case: Richard Hamilton's injuries persist 

It's expected that Rose's back spasms won't play too large a role in the postseason when you consider how young and athletic he is. Injuries tend to heal up a lot quicker when you're only 23 years old and have more athleticism than most NBA rosters put together.

It's also been stated that the injuries are not structural, which pretty much means that this won't devastate or derail his career.  

However, I'm not sure I can vouch for the injuries Richard Hamilton is dealing with.

Hamilton dealt with injuries the past two seasons and was also coming off of two of the worst shooting seasons of his career, but the Bulls still felt as if he'd play a huge part on offense. The Bulls expected him to take a lot of the pressure off of Rose, which was a huge problem playoff time last year.

Unfortunately, Hamilton has been dealing with numerous injuries including a right shoulder sprain, which he is currently suffering from. He was averaging a career low 11 points per on 45 percent shooting before he took another leave of absence to tend to yet another injury.

The Bulls don't have to rely on Keith Bogans at the two like last year, but Ronnie Brewer isn't much of a step up. They're going to need Hamilton in the postseason if they want to make it to the NBA Finals.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Best Case: Kyrie Irving wins Rookie of the Year

I suggest to everybody that they begin to put the Cleveland Cavaliers on notice.

No, they won't be winning 60 or more games every year, and they won't be making it to the NBA Finals anytime soon, but they do have heart, a great coach in Byron Scott and an excellent floor leader in rookie Kyrie Irving.

Growing pains haven't been a problem at all for Irving, despite only playing nine games at the NCAA level. Irving was ready out of high school, and it shows in his short NBA career. The point guard is leading the team in scoring at 19 points, tied in assists at five and nearly leading in three-point percentage at 42 percent.

Quietly, Irving is having an excellent rookie season and it'll be a shock for him not to win Rookie of the Year.

He's clearly changed the outlook of this Cavaliers team, has given them some sort of direction and even has them near a playoff spot. The chances are unlikely that they'll make a run, but a Rookie of the Year award for Irving would be a huge confidence booster as a consolation prize.

Usually the players that win ROY have something going for them after their rookie season. Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy and Chris Paul have won five of the past six awards and aren't doing too bad in the NBA currently.

Worst Case: Irving regresses and ends up like Tyreke Evans

The one player I didn't mention with those other five happens to be Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans.

After only becoming the fourth rookie to post up 20 points, five boards and five assists per, Evans substantially regressed due to injuries in his sophomore season and still hasn't recovered in his third year. He's still averaging 17 points, five boards and five assists, but he hasn't had nearly as much an influence as other Rookie of the Year recipients.

The Cavaliers can only hope that Irving doesn't end up like Evans and instead ends up like Paul or Rose. The Rookie of the Year award has been given to players with the potential to be great and more times than not they have ended up as All-Stars. Irving has the capability of becoming one, and the Cavaliers franchise has a lot riding on the back of the 19-year-old.

Dallas Mavericks

Best Case: The Mavericks end up with the number one seed out West

This is coming from a longtime fan of the Miami Heat: the Dallas Mavericks have not gotten the respect they deserve for winning last year's championship.

That's the problem when you beat a team as popular and as talked about as the Heat. There's going to be a lot more focus on them failing than their opponent winning.

That's how it was all year, and that's how it was in the NBA Finals. We gave the Mavericks credit for winning but not as much as they deserve for hitting all those timely shots and getting inside LeBron James' head.

Even this year, when we wrote them off immediately after getting rid of Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and Caron Butler, the Mavericks have proved us wrong with a strong start to their championship defense.

At 23-17, they're third in the Southwest Division and sixth in the Western Conference—only two and a half games ahead of the eighth spot but a game out of third place.

The Mavericks certainly don't have the defensive intensity that they possessed last year, but that's not going to stop them from making another significant run to the title. They still have the key pieces in Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, a veteran leader in Jason Kidd and an excellent defender in Shawn Marion.

Believe that this team will make another serious run at the number one seed if they can get into a rhythm

Worst Case: Dirk Nowitzki's jump shot is still inconsistent

Of course, that only happens if Nowitzki's regained his jump shot.

I know it sounds hard to believe, but Dirk is actually struggling with that awkward game of his for the first time in a long time. The Mavericks even went as far as telling Dirk to go home in order to regain his legs. There's no doubt that the lockout has taken its toll on veteran players, and Nowitzki has been no exception.

Nowitzki has finally managed to reach the 20 point per game threshold, but he's still converting on less than 46 percent of his shots overall and only 34 percent from deep. He's a 48 percent career shooter from the field and 38 percent from deep.

It's certainly surprising to see this from a player like Dirk. However, that jump shot and its consistency will only matter come postseason time when the Mavericks truly need it to begin falling in order to keep up with the athleticism of some of these young teams out West.

Denver Nuggets

Best Case: They finish with a seed that gives them home-court advantage at least in the first round

One of the better stories in the NBA this season, the Denver Nuggets, went from a possible first-pick contender to a playoff team.

Nene Hilario was halfway gone; J.R. Smith, Wilson Chandler and Kenyon Martin were stuck in China, and the team pretty much had all hopes stuck on Ty Lawson and Arron Afflalo. It wasn't a pretty picture, but the Nuggets were able to resign Nene while watching guys like Lawson, Afflalo and Danilo Gallinari overachieve.

Al Harrington has also been having himself an excellent year averaging 14 points and six boards per.

The Nuggets are getting a well-balanced attack from all of their players and are currently leading the league in points per game at 104. Seven players are averaging at least 10 points per while two others are averaging between nine and 10. This is not a team you want to get into a running match with.

Currently, the Nuggets hold a two game lead over the ninth spot in the West and should be able to hold onto a playoff seed as long as they continue the offensive intensity.

Worst Case: The lack of a true leader begins to show 

With these balanced teams like Denver and Philadelphia, you run into the problem of not having a go-to scorer who can just flat out go and get buckets.

The Nuggets don't have that. They have a whole bunch of guys who can score but not that one player who can score in a variety of ways and in volume. Teams like this run into problems during the postseason because they can't find that player they can rely on for quick and guaranteed points at dire moments.

Denver should make the postseason, but it's going to be tough to expect them to get any further than the second round as long as they have this roster.

Detroit Pistons

Best Case: Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe continue to develop

Like the Charlotte Bobcats but not as horrific to watch, the Detroit Pistons are also putting all their eggs into the basket of their young players.

The Pistons still have remnants of those teams that were perennial championship contenders, but they're clearly in a rebuilding mode that's making the youthful players the focal point of the offense.

Long gone are the days when Richard Hamilton was weaving in and out of offenses, Chauncey Billups was hitting big shots and Rasheed Wallace was hitting mid-range jumpers; this is a completely different team you have been subjected to watch.

The team is pretty bad, but any team would be in the overdue rebuilding phase that the Pistons are in the middle of. With guys like rookie point guard Brandon Knight, overachieving center Greg Monroe and Jonas Jerebko showing off flashes of brilliance, this team is certainly making it difficult to not get excited over the future of Pistons basketball.

Rodney Stuckey has also been playing terrific averaging 15 points, four assists and three boards per.

Worst Case: They start playing good—end up with a higher draft pick 

The Pistons have the capability of being a good team. That 13-26 record is mostly supported by that dreadful 3-15 mark on the road, yet you can only look at that 10-11 mark at home and wonder what kind of team Detroit has on their hands. Obviously, there's a problem with this team on the road, but the potential is there.

The season is pretty much lost for Detroit, as they are not going to gain ground on the New York Knicks for that final spot anytime soon. The most they can do is continue developing Knight and Monroe. However, they need to stay with this dismal record or risk losing out on another good pick in the top 10 in next year's draft.

Detroit could use a premier scorer, and there are plenty of talented players coming out of this year's draft that they could easily give a look and consider taking.

Golden State Warriors

Best Case: They play well and end up with a spot in the playoffs

Give credit where credit is due; Mark Jackson has done a pretty decent job with this young, up and coming Golden State Warriors team.

The Warriors have not one player over the age of 30 yet have shown great resilience at times to achieve a 15-21 record.

Golden State is currently 13th in the Western Conference but only four games out of the final playoff spot. A four game lead isn't much, especially to a team that can get as hot as the Warriors.

The team doesn't have the greatest amount of talent, but it's got enough to make a significant run if they have it in them. They've been dealing with the unfortunate circumstance of playing without Stephen Curry the whole year and have had Monta Ellis in the middle of a down season.

Still, the Warriors haven't been that bad, as they've gotten surprising contributions from the likes of Nate Robinson, Klay Thompson and Brandon Rush off the bench.

Worst Case: Trading Monta Ellis for someone of lesser value 

Ellis has been at the center of trade rumors for some time now.

While he hasn't been talked about as much as the Dwight Howard saga, trading Ellis is still a possibility from the Golden State Warriors camp.

After all, this team is only a few essential defensive pieces away from being a playoff team. Ellis provides a whole lot of scoring but so does Stephen Curry when healthy.

Ellis is averaging 22 points, six assists and three rebounds. The points per is surprising as it's far more than what he's averaged the past two seasons even though Curry played a larger part in those years.

Houston Rockets

Best Case: Keep pace and stay in the playoff race

A surprise team out in the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets, have slipped under the radar to become a possible playoff contender.

Of course, they have newcomers in the Minnesota Timberwolves to fight off. The Rockets actually just happened to lose their eighth spot last night with the 'Wolves' victory over Portland.

It would still be a surprise to most NBA analysts if the Rockets do pull it out and make it to the postseason. They managed to find a center over the offseason by acquiring Samuel Dalembert, and he's responded by averaging eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

Even though Kyle Lowry is having an amazing season, Dalembert is probably one of the biggest reason why the Rockets have had so much success this year. The team was desperate for a center in the wake of Yao Ming's retirement and Chuck Hayes' departure, and they managed to find it at the last minute when the former Philadelphia 76ers center signed with them.

Worst Case: Suffer a collapse and completely miss out 

The Rockets appear to be ready to somehow steal a playoff spot, but it has now been brought into doubt with the way Minnesota has been playing.

This isn't the Eastern Conference where you can be average and still make it. You have to be really good to make it to the playoffs. 21-19 simply isn't going to cut it. Teams have to be well above .500 if they're looking to confirm a spot in the Western Conference playoffs.

That means the Rockets are going to have to step it up. They've done a lot already with the resources they have but will need to continue getting production from their star players and then some if they want to make it any further than the regular season.

Indiana Pacers

Best Case: They hold on to the three seed

Last year, we saw the Indiana Pacers hobble their way to the playoffs with a 37-45 record.

It's funny the difference one power forward can make. The Pacers now find themselves at 23-14 and one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference ever since they signed former New Orleans Hornets power forward David West over the offseason.

The Pacers addressed their biggest need when they signed West. They were running with Josh McRoberts and Tyler Hansbrough as their power forwards last season. Hansbrough was a solid producer, but McRoberts was abysmal at just about every aspect of the game, and it was clear that he was the one who would need to be replaced.

Sure enough, the Pacers organization delivered. West is currently averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per. While it doesn't seem like much, it's so much more than what McRoberts and Hansbrough could even begin to offer on paper and on court.

Roy Hibbert and Paul George have also been having excellent seasons; George is a Most Improved Player of the year award candidate.

Worst Case: An injury to Roy Hibbert 

The Pacers have the rare advantage of having a center who can score at will as well as rebound and send back shots.

It's not everyday when you see a player like the 7'2" Roy Hibbert, who can post up, hit from the mid-range and use his footwork to get great position in the post. The Georgetown alum is averaging a career high 14 points, 10 boards and two blocks per, as he continues to improve yearly.

Hibbert gives the Pacers a huge advantage over every team they face simply because he's a center with an offensive prowess. The worst thing that could possibly happen to the Pacers would be finding out that Hibbert was injured and then losing him for the postseason, which then takes away Indiana's greatest asset.

Los Angeles Clippers

Best Case: They win the Pacific Division

The Los Angeles Lakers are attempting to prove why they're still the number one team in L.A.

They're having a tough time with that since the Los Angeles Clippers are having just as good a year as we all expected. They're only percentage points ahead of the Lakers at this point, but 22-15 is pretty much the most amount of success the Clippers franchise could ever dream of.

Don't forget that this team has only made the playoffs once in the past decade. Success isn't too familiar to the Clippers. Of course, acquiring All-Stars like Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups isn't too familiar either.

The team was fortunate enough to draft Blake Griffin two seasons ago and was just as fortunate to pick up a high flying center like DeAndre Jordan as well. With Griffin's offense and Jordan's defense, the Clippers suddenly have one of the NBA's most dangerous frontcourts, and they barely had to pay anything for it.

The Clippers are setting out to prove why they're the best team in Los Angeles. It's certainly not going to be easy with the way Kobe Bryant has been playing for the Lakers, but the Clippers still have the better all-around talent to eventually best the Lakers by the end of the year.

Worst Case: The lack of a shooting guard begins to show 

One of the largest problems the Clippers had coming into the season was their lack of shooting guard.

Chauncey Billups was named the starter. Even though he had played point guard his entire career, the Clippers still believed that moving Billups to the two would work, and we were all moderately surprised when it did.

However, all good things must come to an end, and that's exactly what happened when he got injured. Now the Clippers are forced to play guys like Randy Foye and Mo Williams as the two, which is giving opponents plenty of breathing room to work with when they hit offense.

Los Angeles Lakers

Best Case: They acquire a point guard

The NBA wouldn't allow the Los Angeles Lakers to find their point guard at the beginning of their season.

In turn, the Lakers struggled and became desperate enough to give Gilbert Arenas a workout. Fortunately, for the sake of everyone's sanity, they didn't sign him and instead set their sights on the likes of Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Ramon Sessions, who's averaging five dimes per.

The Lakers need it. It's just disappointing that it's not Chris Paul. The Lakers originally traded away Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom to acquire Paul but saw the NBA deny the trade for the sole purpose of the league not thinking the trade was fair enough.

This wasn't the Lakers getting Pau and the Grizzlies getting Kwame Brown. It was the Lakers getting Paul and the Hornets getting Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic, Lamar Odom and Luis Scola. I'm not sure where this whole unfair part begins to come into play.

Either way, the Lakers find themselves without a point guard, and it's truly hurt the team. It's not just because they don't have a player who is capable of running the point and giving the team a new dimension of the offense but more along the lines of the team not having a capable fourth scorer behind Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers have one of the highest scoring trio's in the league but don't get much support outside of Gasol, Bynum and Kobe Bryant.

Worst Case: Kobe Bryant begins to wear down 

Even though they lost the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, the Lakers find themselves at 23-16.

It's not just because Bynum is having a career year either. It's all due in part to Kobe Bryant playing as efficient as he has since the days before Pau Gasol joined the team, when it was just him, Odom and Chris Mihm.

The 33-year-old is averaging a league leading 29 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists per. He's doing this in over 38 minutes worth of action per night, and let's not forget that he's doing this with a busted finger in his shooting hand as well as torn ligaments in the wrist that he shoots with.

I know it's tough to doubt Kobe, but isn't there reason to believe that he's eventually going to wear down? This compact season is a burden on any player, yet the injured and aging Bryant has found himself playing nearly the same amount of time he was playing during his prime years.

Perhaps at 31 he could do this in a regular schedule, but 33 years of age and with injuries in a compact schedule, it seems like it's eventually going to catch up.

Memphis Grizzlies

Best Case: They maintain good health going into the playoffs

Last year, the Memphis Grizzlies pulled off one of the rarest feats that you can pull off in the NBA postseason by becoming only the fourth team in NBA history to defeat a number one seed.

This occurred when they defeated the San Antonio Spurs. However, this isn't the only story, as it also happened to occur without any help from Rudy Gay of all players. Gay wasn't playing on account of getting hurt in the final weeks of the regular season.

Memphis basically beat an NBA dynasty with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol as its two largest contributors. Both players size proved to be too much against a deteriorated Spurs team that was featuring Tim Duncan, Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair at the four and five.

This year, the Grizzlies have run into the same problem. Aside from it being Gay this time, it was the Grizzlies leading rebounder in Randolph going down with a significant injury. Somehow, the Grizzlies have only improved and are actually third in the Western Conference.

Worst Case: Injuries play a part but with negative consequences 

It's simply unbelievable how well the Grizzlies play with their backs against the wall.

When Gay went down with his injury last season near the end, Memphis managed to come back and take the eighth spot rather than just barely holding onto it. They're doing the same thing this year after starting off slow, watching Randolph get hurt and then responding with their best basketball.

Memphis has been running Dante Cunningham and Marreese Speights at the four since Randolph's injury.

With this stretch of injuries, you have to imagine that something's got to give with this team. Of course, Randolph and Gay may not be as valuable as Gasol, who's ability to score in a variety of ways at the five gives Memphis a huge advantage over the majority of its opponents.

Miami Heat

Best Case: They obtain the number one seed in the East

When they want to be, the Miami Heat are the best team in the league, and it's not even close.

When the Heat give an all-around effort with each member of the big three hitting their shots and getting to the rim as well as the shooters making their shots, it becomes nearly impossible to stop them in an open or half-court setting.

Speaking of half-court settings, it turns out that they're statistically the most effective team in the league in that type of offensive set. So much for this team not being able to coexist together. They actually possess more chemistry than any team in the NBA.

In year two, the Heat have yet to run into a snag of any kind outside of missing free throws during a three-game losing streak and missing Chris Bosh during a two-game losing skid.

LeBron James is having another MVP caliber season; Dwyane Wade is overcoming injuries to give this team some needed support, and even Bosh has settled into the role of third banana.

Not to mention that this team now has depth.

Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller are back from injuries; Norris Cole has added another cog to this fastbreak juggernaut, and Shane Battier has added only more perimeter defense. If the Heat made it to the Finals last year with Mario Chalmers and James Jones as the primary scoring threats outside of the big three, it's tough to believe that they can't grab a number one seed as well as another Finals nod.

Worst Case: The lack of a center hurts them when it matters 

Of course, each team has its flaw, and for the Heat, it's their lack of size in the middle.

When the Heat lost out on Chris Bosh for the first three games after the conclusion of the All-Star break, it became painfully obvious how badly the team needed some help in the middle. Miami got pounded on the boards by the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz simply because they lack the competent size to match up.

Haslem is a strong rebounder but isn't going to be out rebounding any centers anytime soon; Juwan Howard is a dinosaur; Eddy Curry still has a long way to go before he begins receiving significant minutes, and Dexter Pittman still appears to need some work in the D-League.

Joel Anthony has been terrific on the defensive end, but he can only do so much when he's 6'9" and happens to be the starting center.

With the Heat due to face teams like the Chicago Bulls with guys like Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Omer Asik and Taj Gibson manning the paint as well as Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, the Heat may just have to fine tune some things in order to adjust to those bigger teams.

Milwaukee Bucks

Best Case: They make a late surge and get into the postseason

I don't want to say it, but I feel like someone has to.

Don't sleep on the Milwaukee Bucks. Seriously, don't. Bad things happen to good people. This team runs the strangest looking offense you will ever see, but it can get scary when things are clicking and players are hitting their jump shots.

I say jump shots because that's the only thing the Bucks do. Brandon Jennings is the only player who can drive, and he mostly limits himself to jump shooting, which explains why he shot less than 40 percent in his first two seasons. This year he's averaging 19 points on 41 percent shooting to go along with two three-point conversions per on 34 percent shooting.

The Bucks run this style of offense that is so ugly that the opposition begins to play like it. The games are boring and awful to watch with the tempo of the game going at a snail's pace. Rarely will you see a game involving the Bucks that's fast-paced and exciting to watch because their idea of winning is forcing the team to play just as ugly as they do.

They're still three games out of the playoff spot, but anything could happen in the next two months.

Worst Case: Brandon Jennings gets traded 

Apparently this has been talked about as late as last summer. The Bucks are open to the idea of trading away their point guard in order to possibly secure some more consistent scorers that favor driving over jump shooting.  

The Bucks desperately need the help on offense. They've certainly improved in previous years with guys like Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova stepping up, but this United Nations of a team still could use some offensive help at key positions.

Jennings just happens to be the biggest name player on this team. Not much has been worked out in the two and a half years he's been there, and it's not surprising at all to see the Bucks attempting to work out a trade that involves him.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Best Case: Ricky Rubio continues to progress

The Minnesota Timberwolves are currently 21-19 after a win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

To put that into perspective, the Timberwolves won 17 games in an 82 game season last year. Funny the difference a coach, point guard and a year can make, isn't it?

With Rick Adelman now handling the Wolves along the sidelines and rookie Ricky Rubio (alliteration!) leading the way at the point, Minnesota not only finds itself with a record above the .500 threshold but with an actual chance to make it to the postseason. They're not even two games out of the final spot in the Western Conference and don't appear to have any plans on stopping.

Kevin Love has also been playing out of his mind this year, but all the focus has been on the mop-headed point guard from Spain who only made his NBA debut in late December.

Rubio faced a lot of criticism coming into the league with claims that he couldn't shoot well and wouldn't be able to handle himself in a more physical league but has shed those rumors to average 11 points, eight assists and four boards per. He's limited his turnovers to only three per and is a huge reason why this team is actually contending for a playoff spot.

Worst Case:  They miss out on the playoffs

The Timberwolves should be encouraged no matter what happens. This is a team that won 17 games last year and had no direction or any idea on how this Ricky Rubio experiment would pan out.

21-19 is a dream for this team. They've blown past expectations, and the worst that could happen now is if they miss out of the playoffs entirely. It wouldn't be a tremendous blow to their confidence, but it always hurts to come that close to a playoff spot and narrowly miss out.

The 'Wolves won't have much to worry about in the draft with their conditional first-round pick in the hands of New Orleans.

New Jersey Nets

Best Case: Dwight Howard still wants to go to New Jersey

Every time I watch the New Jersey Nets attempt to play basketball, the only thing I can think of is why would Dwight Howard want to play there.

I mean, I get Deron Williams is an amazing point guard, but what else is appealing? It can't be the 12-27 record and the fact that they're last in a division that also features the Toronto Raptors. Neither can it be the draw of playing alongside guys like Kris Humphries, DeShawn Stevenson and MarShon Brooks.

I don't get it. Luckily for the Nets, however, Howard wants to go to their team and begin another legacy outside of Orlando. He's stated in the past on many occasions how he'd like to join the Nets and even came close to a trade being worked out before Magic ownership shot down the deal at the last minute.

The Nets have the pieces to trade for Howard as well as the money to resign him when he becomes a free agent this summer. It's basically all on Dwight's broad shoulders at this point if he's that adamant about making a trade happen.

Worst Case: Howard works things out with Orlando 

Uh-oh. Suddenly this whole Dwight Howard going to New Jersey deal has hit a bit of a snag.

For months Dwight has wanted this trade to happen, but word is now coming in that he may be rethinking his plans and might just end up working something out with his current team. It wouldn't be surprising either. Howard has flip-flopped many times on the issue and still has extremely strong ties with the community that he has been a part of since 2004.

Howard lets his personality and character do a lot of the talking for him. He's got the charismatic personality and smile that feels as if he only wants to be loved by everyone. He realizes that with his strong fanbase in Orlando and that's exactly why he may not end up leaving the Magic after all.

I hope the Nets are ready for five rebounds per game with Brook Lopez.

New Orleans Hornets

Best Case: Eric Gordon doesn't end up leaving

"Hey, at least we got Eric Gordon out of that deal," says New Orleans Hornets fan who attempts to look on bright side.

If only life was that easy. The Hornets missed out on the chance to acquire Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and Lamar Odom in a deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers and are now stuck with Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Gordon and a conditional first-round pick that isn't looking as pleasing as it used to.

Kaman and Aminu were throwaways, but Gordon was a keeper. He had just exploded in his third season with the Clippers averaging a career high 22 points to go along with four assists and three boards per. Gordon has given the Hornets faithful a little something to be excited about up until that injury he suffered in the second game of the season.

Gordon hasn't played since, and the organization is now worried about him potentially leaving when he becomes a free agent. He's the lone strand of hope for this struggling Hornets franchise, and they need that young talent to make sure that there's even a team in New Orleans in the future.

Worst Case: They fail to trade Chris Kaman and end up with nothing 

All-Star center Chris Kaman also happened to be a part of the deal that sent Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Hornets weren't planning on keeping Kaman. From the second they got him, the first thing on their mind was what they could possibly get out of him. They went as far as telling him to go home so that he could wait to be traded but came away with nothing and brought him back in the midst of several injuries to frontcourt players.

Kaman's contract expires this summer, and the Hornets want to trade him before he walks away and leaves the team with nothing. David Stern did enough to hurt this franchise by not allowing the trade with the Lakers to go through, so why not find a way to trade Kaman in order to secure a solid shooting guard or power forward?

New York Knicks

Best Case: Carmelo Anthony fits in and this whole thing works out

On paper, the New York Knicks have the best team in the league.

Think about it. Pure scorers in Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire at the three and four, a strong defensive presence in Tyson Chandler at the five, a premier three-point shooter in J.R. Smith and a former All-Star point guard in Baron Davis. That's one hell of a starting five if I've ever seen one.

The only problem is that it takes more than to look good on paper to win games, and no team is feeling that more than the Knicks. The team has recovered from a woeful start to climb back to .500 but have fallen back down to 18-20 with a few sub-par efforts that have resulted in two straight losses.

With the talent they possess, the Knicks are the only other team in the East that can compete with Miami and Chicago. It's just they seem to have pieces that don't fit, particularly Carmelo Anthony who has yet to find any rhythm with the team he was traded to near the end of last season.

'Melo is the most significant part of this team, and without him the Knicks aren't that good. As the days pass and Anthony continues to struggle, the team can only wonder what could have been with Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler.

Worst Case: Jeremy Lin regresses 

Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire weren't the reason that the Knicks find themselves with a secure spot in the playoffs. It was all because of Harvard's finest Jeremy Lin, who has gone berserk with confidence since receiving his first starting job on February 6th.

Lin would have a streak of six consecutive games with at least 20 points, including a 38-point effort against the Los Angeles Lakers. He'd hit a game winner against Toronto and would even defeat the defending champion Dallas Mavericks with 28 points and 14 assists.

However, since running into a brick wall in Miami where he had nearly as many turnovers as points, Lin hasn't been at the top of his game. In the past three games, he's scored under 20 points and has recorded under 10 assists twice. One particular game where he struggled was against arguably the best defensive guard in the NBA in Rajon Rondo.

Lin is a fantastic leader, has excellent court vision and has confidence out of the ceiling. However, his shaky defense and the amount of turnovers are beginning to overshadow his accomplishments. The Knicks got a great thing going with him, but he's quickly fallen back down to Earth.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Best Case: They end up with the number one seed out West

Who would have guessed that a simple coaching change would make that much difference?

Ever since the Oklahoma City Thunder replaced P.J. Carlesimo with Scott Brooks, they've seen nothing but success and have gone from cellar dweller to championship contender in the span of a few years.

Of course, it's not like he was doing it alone. The progression of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have also had plenty to do with it. Durant, recent winner of the All-Star game MVP, has been the NBA's leading scorer the past two years, and Westbrook has loudly emerged as one of the top-five point guards.

Even though he's averaging less than six assists per, we still have to label Westbrook as a point guard because that's what the team lists him as.

The Thunder have a strong four and a half game lead over the second place San Antonio Spurs and shouldn't have much trouble in keeping it up over the next few weeks to secure a number one seed for the first time since the days of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp.

Worst Case: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have a leadership crisis 

Last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder should have made it to the NBA Finals—"should have" being the key words.

The Thunder lost in five games to the Dallas Mavericks in the Conference Finals but were capable of winning each game, as they held a lead in the fourth quarter of every one of their losses.

What it came down to was a crisis involving leadership between Durant and Westbrook. Durant was believed to be the offensive leader of this team, but when it came down to those moments, it was Westbrook taking the final shots and missing them.

The offense became disjointed; reports of the two having skirmishes came out, and they lost the series in an unfashionable five games. The two were reported to have an argument earlier this year, but nothing more has been reported since then.

Orlando Magic

Best Case: They keep Dwight Howard!

I don't think it's possible that fans of a 25-15 team could be as miserable as the Orlando Magic fanbase currently is.

For the entire season, they've had to deal with listening to where their All-Star center Dwight Howard could be playing as soon as March. Even before the season started, there were preliminary talks between the Magic and New Jersey Nets on a possible trade that would have sent Brook Lopez and Gerald Wallace to Orlando while Dwight gets his wish to play for New Jersey.

That's why it's so relieving for the Magic fanbase to hear that Howard is actually rethinking a trade and might just stick around with Orlando after all.

The fans of Orlando know the feeling of losing a future Hall of Famer all too well. Let's not forget the pain and suffering they went through when Shaquille O'Neal left Orlando to go win three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.

If Howard stays with Orlando, not only are the fans satisfied, but they also get the satisfaction of continuing to watch their star player wearing their uniform for however many years.

Worst Case: They lose Dwight Howard! 

Or not. Not is always a possibility. Especially when it's involving Howard, who has flip-flopped his decision on where he wants to possibly go.

One day it's Chicago, the next it's New Jersey and then possibly the Los Angeles Lakers the next. The Orlando Magic should be excited that Howard is finally looking towards striking a possible deal with the team that drafted him, but they should still be wary on the thinking inside of Howard's head.

Howard is an emotional and colorful character, and he lets his personality do the talking. We know he doesn't want to leave Orlando, but he's thinking about his best interests as well. He could either stay with the team that loves him and risk being surrounded by an inept roster or develop a new fanbase with a team that's going to give him help.

This next week is going to be interesting and we'll leave it at that.

Philadelphia 76ers

Best Case: They end up with the number three seed

The surprise team of the NBA, the Philadelphia 76ers, have proven that they don't require a main scorer to achieve success.

Well, Eastern Conference success at least. Not to take anything away from the Sixers, but you don't have to be that amazing of a team to be in the three-to-eight range of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The race between the first and second best team is clear and evident, and it leaves teams like the Sixers on the outside looking in because of their lack of talent or star power.

Of course, there's always the chance of an upset, and the Sixers don't have any problem doing so. They did a great job at handling the Miami Heat in their first-round loss last year and have even split their first two games against the Chicago Bulls. They struggled mightily in their two games against the Heat this season, but it's the postseason that matters, right?

The Sixers are currently fourth in the Conference and are two and a half games out of the third spot which is currently occupied by Orlando.

Worst Case: Lack of a primary scorer ends up hurting them 

The Sixers offense is an unorthodox one. Not only is their leading scorer not even posting up 16 points per game, but he also happens to be coming off the bench.

Yes, Philadelphia's leading scorer is Louis Williams who is the team's sixth man. He's converting on 40 percent of his shots overall and converting on 37 percent from deep. He's an excellent jump shooter that can get hot and is capable of being deadly from as far out as 30 feet.

Philadelphia currently has six players averaging at least 10 points per. As well balanced as this Sixers team is, you have to believe that this is going to catch up on them when they face teams with dominant scorers like Chicago or Miami.

Phoenix Suns

Best Case: They acquire some help for the future

The Phoenix Suns are certainly in an awkward position.

They find themselves at 17-20, which is unbelievable when you look at the components of this team. The problem with being at that mark and not having the players to give that leg up for a possible postseason berth is the high chance of becoming a lottery team with an undesirable pick in the early teens.

The Suns are currently being led by a 38-year-old point guard and a 39-year-old small forward.

They need all the young talent they can get and fast. Rookie Markieff Morris has been a solid addition averaging eight points and five boards, as well as the 28-year-old Marcin Gortat who complements Steve Nash well on the pick-and-roll, but it's still going to take far more than those two to make any sort of progress for the future.

Phoenix has plenty of players under the age of 30 but none worth keeping around outside of Gortat and Morris. They need to begin planning for the future if they want to have one when Nash and Grant Hill eventually retire, which isn't that long from now since they're nearing a social security check.

Worst Case: Steve Nash has no desire to stick around any longer 

For some strange reason, Nash has been adamant about denying trade rumors and showing off his allegiance to the Phoenix Suns.

Even though the team spurned him early on in his career, Nash still feels it necessary to be loyal to the Suns. It's tough to break their bond, however, as the two-time MVP has had his best seasons with the club while the franchise has also seen their best seasons come as a result of the court awareness of their All-Star point guard.

The Suns have announced that they're willing to listen to trade offers, but nothing significant has been reported. I think we can all just about guarantee that a majority of the teams are calling in to voice their possible deal in order to acquire Nash.

All quiet on the western front thus far.

Portland Trail Blazers

Best Case: They acquire another scorer

The Portland Trail Blazers just can't seem to catch a break.

Seriously, it's depressing to know the trials and tribulations this team has gone through just to win games. They get an unbelievable player in Brandon Roy who wins Rookie of the Year and makes a few All-Star games but eventually retires due to chronic knee problems.

Take note that this happened prior to the start of the 2011-12 season—just in time so that the Blazers can't pick up a player to replace him.

Maybe that Greg Oden guy will eventually help. The Blazers already feel awful that they picked him up over Kevin Durant, but Oden is still a 7-footer with an intimidating presence that could provide a lot on defense and the boards. That could actually happen if only the center didn't go through a number of setbacks that cause him to miss yet another season.

Not all luck has been bad luck for the Blazers, however. Remember that this team could've easily had Tyrus Thomas instead of LaMarcus Aldridge. The power forward has been a blessing for this team and is having the best statistical season of his career averaging 22 points on 51 percent shooting to go along with eight boards and three assists per.

Of course, he can't do it all on his own. The Blazers appear to be one offensive threat away from being a legitimate championship contender and it would be best for the team to go after a possible perimeter threat or center during the next week.

Worst Case: Greg Oden retires 

With all the time, money and patience the Blazers have devoted to Oden, it would be absolutely devastating for all of these injuries to force him into retirement.

He's only played in 82 games since being drafted in 2007 and hasn't played a game since 2010, where he only played in 21 contests. His offensive skill set was severely lacking, but his rebounding and shot blocking was clear and prevalent, and it gave the Blazers a strong second line of defense to rely on.

Without Oden, the Blazers have been subjected to utilizing aged veterans in Kurt Thomas, Marcus Camby and Joel Przybilla. Centers like Oden come around only so often and the Blazers don't want to lose faith that he'll eventually come around and get healthy.

Here's hoping that the 2012-13 season will be a productive one.

Sacramento Kings

Best Case: Isaiah Thomas continues to progress

I'm not sure if it's because he's playing underwhelming basketball or just due to being in Sacramento, but has Tyreke Evans lost a lot of publicity or what?

Joining an elite club consisting of himself, Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James after recording 20 points, five boards and five assists per in his rookie season, Evans has fallen off the map after an injury plagued sophomore season and a slow start to his third year. Despite averaging 17 points, five boards and five assists per, Evans still can't gain the draw that he had in his rookie year.

Instead, a lot more attention is being focused on another rookie point guard. Isaiah Thomas isn't the Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons. In fact, he probably never will be. The Kings could care less though, as they believe that they have found themselves a new spark off the bench as well as a new floor leader in their second-round pick.

Don't let Thomas' stats fool you. The kid's got game. He can get really hot really fast and showed that off with a 5-for-8 shooting performance from deep in a loss to the Miami Heat. Thomas shot 7-of-14 overall for a career high 24 points in that contest and gave the Kings plenty of reason to be excited about Evans' backup.

Worst Case: DeMarcus Cousins continues to be annoying 

The only publicity the Kings have gotten this year has mostly been bad publicity.

Of course, we have heard about the team staying getting a new stadium and staying in Sacramento, which is tremendous, but we've also heard plenty about DeMarcus Cousins. The second year forward started off the 2011-12 campaign with rumored verbal spats with former coach Paul Westphal, who was eventually fired after a slow start.

Cousins got into altercations with his teammates last season and went as far as getting thrown off the team plane after getting into it with Donte Greene. It's been a tumultuous first two years for Cousins and the Kings, but Sacramento has no intentions of trading away a big man who's averaging 16 points and 11 boards per.

With Cousins getting worked out by former Kings legend Chris Webber, all the organization can hope for is that "C-Webb" can possibly calm him down and start working out with his teammates in a more controlled state rather than an abrasive one.

San Antonio Spurs

Best Case: They end up with the number one seed

I'm not sure how this happens, but it seems to happen every year.

Whenever we think the San Antonio Spurs are going to be too old to be a legitimate contender or how this is surely going to be their final year, they rocket out to a quick start and stay atop the Western Conference for the majority of the season.

It's especially surprising now after the way they were manhandled by the Memphis Grizzlies in last year's postseason. Surely that was going to the Spurs last year of contention after they were essentially beaten by Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, two players with a combined two seasons worth of postseason experience under their belts.

However, the Spurs are beating the odds once again thanks in large part to the MVP worthy season Tony Parker is having.

He's averaging 19 points on 46 percent shooting, dishing out eight assists and three boards per. In the midst of Manu Ginobili dealing with injuries and Tim Duncan's play deteriorating, Parker has been the main reason why the Spurs are near the top of the West after the All-Star break.

A large thanks goes out to the unheralded role players who have stepped up hugely. Gary Neal, DeJuan Blair, Matt Bonner, Tiago Splitter, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard have played the role of role player to perfection as they hit their perimeter shots and make their presence felt in the middle in the case of Blair and Splitter.

Worst Case: Injuries and age begin to play too large a role 

Teams can get by in the regular season if they're dealing with injuries, but they can't expect to continue playing well if they're dealing with injuries to significant player in the postseason.

In the Spurs postseason loss to the Grizzlies last year, it was painfully obvious how badly they needed Ginobili at full strength. He was rushed back so that the Spurs could have a boost and it didn't matter much as the Grizzlies were eating their opponent alive in the middle.

Without Ginobili's creativity and explosive ability, the Spurs were subjected to being a perimeter team.

The Spurs will make the playoffs, so it's best that they give Duncan and Ginobili all the rest they can. Those two are prolific when it comes to the postseason, and the Spurs need to make sure that they're healthy and ready for the long haul of possibly making one last championship team.

It seems like I say that final line every year about this team.

Toronto Raptors

Best Case: DeMar DeRozan begins to emerge as the leader

I can't be the only one to forget that the Toronto Raptors existed.

Sorry to my loyal Raptors fanbase, but there just hasn't been any noise from north of the border. They're 12-26, playing absolutely awful on both sides of the ball and don't have much of a future outside of third-year guard DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan had a breakout season last year while helping the team make up for the loss of Chris Bosh. DeMar averaged 17 points on 47 percent shooting to go along with four boards and two assists per.

He had a lot of trouble getting into any sort of rhythm with his jumper, he shot 9 percent from deep, but he's extremely explosive and can rise up with the best of them when he's given the lane.

This year, however, he's actually regressed. Even though the Raptors need all the scoring they can get, DeRozan is only averaging 16 points on 41 percent shooting. He has improved his three-point shooting and is hitting 30 percent from deep, which is sadly a career high.

The Raptors aren't going anywhere, so the most they can hope for is that DeRozan eventually lives up to the moniker of being the ninth pick. God knows they need it.

Worst Case: Andrea Bargnani is still the leader 

As long as Andrea Bargnani is the leading scorer of this team, the Raptors are going to be a cellar dweller with no realistic chance of making it to the playoffs.

Oh, he's averaging a career high 24 points per game, you say? That's nice. When he's averaging above seven rebounds per, then let me know something useful because a 7-footer grabbing six boards per is as useless as far as a power forward or center goes.

It was nice of the Raptors to move him to the four, but he still won't be in his element until the Raptors move him to the two.

He's a poor man's Dirk Nowitzki and even that's disappointing when you consider that Dirk at least attempts to go after rebounds. The six rebounds per "Bargs" is averaging is actually a career high.

Utah Jazz

Best Case: They trade Devin Harris and get real backcourt help

The Utah Jazz are absolutely stacked in the frontcourt.

There isn't another NBA team, outside of Minnesota, that can go toe-to-toe with the amount of size the Jazz have. With Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap starting and having backups like Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter off the bench, the Jazz should have no problem in being one of the NBA's top teams.

They should be with that frontcourt. The only problem is that they have no backcourt. Devin Harris and C.J. Miles represent the lone offensive threats for the Jazz in the backcourt and neither player does too good a job at proving why.

Harris is averaging 10 points on 46 percent shooting while Miles is averaging ten points on 39 percent shooting. Neither player has been that good this year, but the blame seems to be falling on Harris due to the lofty expectations the Jazz had for him when they traded Deron Williams away.

Devin is the leading passer with less than five assists per, grabbing one rebound per and hitting only 33 percent of his three-pointers. Throw in the fact that he's leading the team in turnovers per at two and you have quite the bust of a point guard.

Harris has been involved in trade rumors and the best the Jazz can do is trade him to get an actual perimeter threat to assist the numerous big men down low.

Worst Case: They don't make a move 

If the Utah Jazz don't make a move, then I hope they're satisfied with missing out on the postseason and getting a lottery pick in the 10-to-15 range.

The Jazz need to make a move and there's no other way around it. They're one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league and it's truly disappointing when you consider the amount of attention that the frontcourt receives because of their offensive influence.

When you have guys as powerful as Jefferson and Millsap are in the post, it's disappointing for them to kick it out to teammates who can't shoot.

Utah is currently ranked 29th in three-point makes, 28th in three-point attempts and 28th in three-point percentage.

Washington Wizards

Best Case: They grow up

What happens when you have 30 ears, but the 15 mouths clearly outweigh the influence of the listening organ?

Well, you get the Washington Wizards. Even though they're not the worst team in the league, record-wise at least, they do have the worst personality and have little to no maturity from any of the young players on this team. It's even more depressing when you see that the main players on this team are the young players.

John Wall, JaVale McGee, Nick Young and Jordan Crawford just to name a few have absolutely refused to listen to the direction of former coach Flip Saunders and have done little to show why Randy Wittman should be permanent coach either.

The coach will always be the first one to go when times are tough, but this whole Wizards roster should be let go. We've been witness to some of the most asinine and ridiculous plays from this club, and it all stems from not one player wanting to learn how to play basketball the right way.

The sad thing is that they have talent. Wall is an excellent floor general, Young and Crawford are terrific scorers and McGee could be a 20-10 player if he refines his offense. It's just that none of them care to learn how to play team basketball when stats are so much easier to rack up.

Worst Case: John Wall starts bringing up trades and free agency 

There isn't much upside to this team outside of Wall, who appears to be the only player that wants to win games.

Averaging 18 points, eight assists and five boards per, Wall's sophomore season has been completely ignored and swept under the rug because of how awful his team is. There's more focus on McGee's antics or Andray Blatche getting booed by the Wizards crowd because it's a whole lot more entertaining than watching Wall develop into an All-Star.

Wall does have the potential to become an All-Star. In fact, he has the potential to become one of the NBA's top point guards.

He's arguably the fastest player in the league, can get to the rim with ease when he's playing aggressive and can involve his teammates as shown by the eight assists per he's averaged in his first two seasons.

Good players don't want to be on bad teams. All I'm saying is that if this club continues to play awful, then expect to hear various rumors coming in from John Wall's camp about a possible exit in the coming years.