| RANK | TEAM | THE RUNDOWN | LAST |
| 1 | THUNDER (15-4) |
Fantasy isn’t basketball. But for what it’s worth, Durant’s value is running an amazing 25-50% higher than ‘Bron, Kobe who head rest of pack across roto formats. | 2 |
| 2 | SPURS (14-4) |
NBA’s deepest team by far barely feels absence of injured Leonard, Jackson. Of course, when Pop adds Duncan, Parker, Ginobili and Green to that mix… | 3 |
| 3 | GRIZZLIES (13-3) |
Mike Conley, career 44% shooter, looking like Steve Nash at 50%, 46% on 3-pointers—good news for a team that’s still No. 24 in threes. | 1 |
| 4 | HEAT (12-4) |
This time Heat fails audition before even getting the appointment: I had them at No. 1 until Tuesday night loss to Wizards with Big Three scoring 70, Little Nine combining for 31. | 4 |
| 5 | KNICKS (12-4) |
Kidd’s absence doesn’t stop Knicks from scoring 102-108-106 in wins over small fries. Now for Thursday’s eagerly awaited TNT rematch with Heat team they beat by 20 – assuming Woodson plays everyone. | 6 |
| 6 | CLIPPERS (11-6) |
Clips are 4-0 since blowing a tire on East Coast, coming from 10-point fourth-quarter deficit in Utah to become first visitor to beat Jazz. | 9 |
| 7 | NETS (11-6) |
Ugly ducklings win 10 of 12, beating Knicks, Clippers and Celtics twice, giving up only 88 a game until Thunder comes in, gets 117 and ends their fun. | 5 |
| 8 | HAWKS (9-5) |
The return of J-Smoove: After slow start, Josh Smith bumps it up to 19-8-4 with 3.2 blocks, 1.8 steals in surprising Hawks’ 4-1 run. | 7 |
| 9 | CELTICS (9-8) |
S as in Soft: Doc rips new guys as Celtics wannabes. S also stands for Stupid as veteran Rondo starts Brooklyn brawl that spills into stands, getting two-game ban that could have been rest of season if one fan had been hurt. | 8 |
| 10 | SIXERS (10-8) |
76ers go 3-0 as Turner looks like long-sought No. 1 option, averaging 21, shooting 55%. Unfortunately, “The Villain” is at 14, 37% in next two, both losses. | 10 |
| 11 | WARRIORS (10-7) |
No, I don’t know what they’re doing here: New Jax City grit with what’s left of Nelly’s firepower. Now outrebounding opponents by 4.3 a game, NBA’s No. 5 differential. David Lee told us about it on our new radio show. | 14 |
| 12 | WOLVES (8-8) |
Just went 3-1, learning to play with Love after losing first three with him back. With Rubio back practicing, they can finally learn to play with everyone in a week or two. | 21 |
| 13 | NUGGETS (9-9) |
Gallinari was supposed to be a star with his ability to shoot and handle at 6-10, but at 15.7 a game, 39% from the floor in sixth season, hasn’t happened yet. | 11 |
| 14 | PACERS (9-9) |
Danny Granger still out (cont.): Hunt for No. 1 option continues as Paul George scores 4 in loss in Sacramento, zero in loss in Oakland, 34 in win in Chicago. | 16 |
| 15 | JAZZ (9-10) |
Actually doing OK with 12 of first 18 on road (18 of 29 by Christmas). Would be better still if they didn’t just celebrate return home by blowing 10-point fourth-quarter lead vs. Clippers. | 12 |
| 16 | BUCKS (8-8) |
Equation-changer, as long as it lasts, or Skiles lets him play: Sanders gets 36-25-22 blocks in three games. Of course, in four before that, Skiles played him 6-29-12-14 minutes. | 13 |
| 17 | ROCKETS (9-8) |
No I don’t know what they’re doing here, either: At 4-7, Rockets seemed to be fulfilling low expectations. They’re 5-1 since, with unknown Parsons-Patterson forward tandem averaging 22-19. | 18 |
| 18 | BULLS (8-8) |
Rumble, rumble, rumble: Despite Bulls’ insistence Rose won’t play before All-Star break, Chicago Sun-Times reports teammates think he will be practicing by Christmas. | 17 |
| 19 | MAVERICKS (8-9) |
With Dirk out 2-3 more weeks – they hope -Carlisle trying everything, with Mayo the lone starter he hasn’t benched and 38-year-old Derek Fisher his new starting point. | 19 |
| 20 | LAKERS (8-10) |
Kobe, Pau’s long-time defender, tells him to “put on his big boy pants” after Magic scores 30 in last 6:00 to stun them in Staples. Mike D makes his own adjustment, keeping him out of win at Houston with “sore knees.” Is Ryan Anderson walking through that door? | 15 |
| 21 | BLAZERS (8-10) |
With Lillard at 18, 6.2 assists, 1.4 steals, ever-inventive ESPN Stats says Magic, AI, Damon Stoudamire, Steve Francis were only rookies to average 18-6-1. OK, does that make this a good thing or a bad thing? | 23 |
| 22 | MAGIC (7-10) |
Huh? Dwight’s little leftovers flatten Dwight’s new team in Staples with 40-point fourth quarter, then drop 33 in fourth on Warriors in 102-94 win next night. | 24 |
| 23 | PISTONS (6-13) |
Monroe up to 3.4 assists a game from last season’s 2.3 as Lawrence Frank runs offense through him. Unfortunately, he’s down FG-wise from last season’s 52% to 46%. | 25 |
| 24 | BOBCATS (7-9) |
Clock strikes 12: Still looking for that elusive eighth win to top last season’s total after 45-point loss to OKC, late giveaways to 76ers, Hawks, Blazers. | 20 |
| 25 | SUNS (7-12) |
Pumpkin’s finally rolling to a stop: After years of hanging in despite exits of Amar’e, JJ, Marion, Colangelos, D’Antoni and Nash, 1-5 East Coast trip makes it eight losses in 11. | 22 |
| 26 | RAPTORS (4-14) |
Did I say Raps are one of your better 3-12 teams? Make that one of your better 4-14 teams, now 2-7 since Lowry’s return and getting battered up and down West Coast trip. | 27 |
| 27 | HORNETS (5-11) |
Rookie race back on (not): Davis, who has missed last eight games, out two more weeks with “stress reaction” in ankle. | 26 |
| 28 | CAVALIERS (4-14) |
Varejao at career-best 15-15 … and on his way out? Cavs keener on trading him than paying him, knowing – OK, hoping – Kyrie, Waiters will get max extensions. | 28 |
| 29 | WIZARDS (2-13) |
That was the week that was: After 0-12 start, Wizards didn’t just win a game, they took two of three! And one was over Heat! Playoffs, here we come! By 2020, anyway. | 30 |
| 30 | KINGS (4-12) |
Maybe he’s too chilled (cont.): Keith Smart, given credit for calming down Cousins, now working on his center’s 42% shooting. | 29 |
PREVIOUS RANKINGS: Most Improved | MVP | Rookies | Power
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“Nothing required them to rest all three of their “Big Three” plus another starter for a game in November.”
So six road games (From Boston, to Indiana, to Toronto, to Washington, to Orlando, to Miami) in nine days isn’t a reason to rest starters, especially against a run ‘n gun team like the Heat, especially when the Spurs had a more important division game two nights later?
Seems like sound strategy to me. Pop is the coach, and can play who he sees fit. David Stern is a micromanager. Would you like copy editors to change up your columns to the point where they’re not recognizable?
Oh, AND It was still a competitive game, which is the point of watching sports.
I get it. You need to sell your superstars. But by fining the Spurs, the NBA has shown that’s ALL it cares about, which is alarming.