Pistons continue to hold onto top spot

[Big Bid'Ness]

By Johnny Ludden, Yahoo! Sports

February 20, 2008

The NBA's stretch run begins with Pau Gasol in Los Angeles, Shaquille O'Neal in Phoenix and Jason Kidd on a plane to Dallas. The West, apparently, is where it's at.

Except in the Powerless Rankings.

The Detroit Pistons held onto the No. 1 spot for taking a 10-game winning streak into the All-Star break while the Boston Celtics remained second. The Lakers' hopes for overtaking either next week likely rest on the strength of Kobe Bryant's pinkie.

As usual, rankings are judged on games from Tuesday through Monday. Previous standing for each team follows current ranking.

PARADE PLANNERS

1. (1) Detroit Pistons – Here's to Rasheed Wallace, the NBA's last honest man. Asked if he was excited to be an All-Star, Wallace replied, "I'd rather be a 'Bahamanian.'" Wallace and his wife had been scheduled to take a quick vacation to the Bahamas before the NBA named him an All-Star sub.

2. (2) Boston Celtics – Asked if he felt any sympathy for the struggles the Minnesota Timberwolves were enduring, Kevin Garnett had this to say: "No." Oh, the nostalgia.

3. (3) Los Angeles Lakers – Did forcing Kobe Bryant onto the court for three minutes in Sunday's All-Star game really benefit the NBA? Was there some fan in the Ukraine thinking, "This is sweet! I just saw Kobe jog up AND down the floor"?

4. (4) New Orleans Hornets – No matter how far the Hornets go in the playoffs this spring, they and the city of New Orleans deserve credit for helping put on one of the best All-Star weekends in recent memory.

5. (6)Utah Jazz – Deron Williams upstaged Chris Paul again. Yes, it was just the All-Star skills competition, but you get the feeling both these guys know the score.

6. (5) Phoenix Suns – If you're Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, don't you have just a twinge of concern after seeing how Shaquille O'Neal spent part of his weekend?

STILL DREAMING

7. (7) San Antonio Spurs – Brandon Roy's All-Star credentials looked a lot more credible before Manu Ginobili went for 46 points against King James and the Cavs.

8. (9) Houston Rockets – Good times for Rockets. They exit the break with an eight-game winning streak, Yao Ming enjoyed his trip to the All-Star game and Tracy McGrady hasn't had to make a single hospital visit in the past 48 hours.

9. (8) Dallas Mavericks – By having to substitute Trenton Hassell and Keith Van Horn for Jerry Stackhouse and Devean George, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban looks like he'll have to shell out an extra $11 million for Jason Kidd. Just a guess, but George's agent, Mark Bartelstein, might want to spring for an extra fruitcake for Cubes next Christmas.

10. (11) Golden State Warriors – Watching Chris Webber's first few games with the go-go-go Warriors raised this question: Did Golden State sign him to start at center? Or turnstile?


11. (10) Cleveland Cavaliers – How does LeBron James spell relief? M-I-L-L-E-R. Whether it's Mike or Andre doesn't matter.


12. (13) Orlando Magic – That whole Superman act by Dwight Howard looked a lot more impressive before Amare Stoudemire dunked in his grill Sunday night.


13. (12) Denver Nuggets – Carmelo Anthony wants Denver to trade for Ron Artest, and who can blame him? At this point do the Nuggets have anything to lose? Besides their sanity?


14. (15) Toronto Raptors – Raptors said to be shopping Jason Kapono. They'll even throw in the red, white and blue bonus ball for free.


15. (14) Portland Trail Blazers – Are the Blazers still exceeding expectations? Or just flat-lining?


16. (17) Philadelphia 76ers – Sixers enter the stretch run with a four-game winning streak. At this rate, they'll be the East's No. 5 seed in two days.


17. (16) Sacramento Kings – Kings begin post-Bibby era, also known as "Beno Udrih's Contract Drive."


18. (19) New Jersey Nets – We all deserve to be Keith Van Horn for a day.


GET THOSE TEE TIMES READY

19. (18) Atlanta Hawks – Hawks GM Billy Knight appeared to redeem himself after landing Mike Bibby for four expiring contracts. Until, of course, you remember that had he not passed on both Deron Williams and Chris Paul, he wouldn't have needed Bibby.


20. (17) Washington Wizards – Wizards have yet to find a cure for the injury bug: Caron Butler suffered a setback in his first shootaround after the All-Star break.


21. (21) Chicago Bulls – Interim coach Jim Boylan said the Bulls plan to "start over again" after the All-Star break. Chicago's marketing department has yet to decide whether to adopt that as the slogan for the season-ticket renewal drive.


22. (22) Los Angeles Clippers – Recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, Elton Brand went through 5-on-0 drills the other day without any problems. Clippers coaches immediately cleared him to play against the Grizzlies' defense.


23. (23) Indiana Pacers – Pacers entered the All-Star break with their worst record since 1992 while ranking last in the league in attendance. But maybe that's a positive. If you were playing that bad, would you want anyone watching?

24. (25) Milwaukee Bucks – Bucks owner Herb Kohl didn't single out anyone for blame last week when he expressed disappointment over the team's poor play. "I'm sure all of the players, coaches, everybody associated with the team, front-office people, our fans, are disappointed we haven't done better so far," Kohl told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The season's not over," Kohl added without specifying whether that, too, is disappointing.


SECAUCUS SIX

25. (27) Charlotte Bobcats – How about those Tar Heels?


26. (26) Seattle SuperSonics– NBA commissioner David Stern called the Sonics' departure from Seattle an "inevitability." Stern's decision to use the All-Star game as a platform to intimidate a city into building a new arena for him? Also an "inevitability."


27. (28) New York Knicks – Remind us: Just when is Isiah Thomas' "championship" plan supposed to kick in?


28. (24) Minnesota Timberwolves – When a cupcake dunk is your season's biggest highlight, well …


29. (30) Memphis Grizzlies – All those hotshot assistant coaches pining for their first head job are advised to call Marc Iavaroni for advice.


30. (29) Miami Heat – Someone needs to tell Dwyane Wade that tanking the skills competition doesn't improve the Heat's draft position.