NBA Power Rankings: Pacers, 76ers And Bobcats Jockey For Playoff Spots In The Shallow East

In the bottom half of the SBNation.com Week 11 NBA Power Rankings, the slew of teams chasing the East's No. 7 and 8 spots begin to sort themselves out while teams hoping to capitalize on the Nuggets' apparent plans to rebuild jockey for position.

16. Houston Rockets (17-21): The Rockets became even more wounded when Kevin Martin went down with a wrist injury. Houston is always active at the trade deadline, but will the team have anyone healthy enough to trade?

17. Philadelphia 76ers (15-22): Andre Iguodala is nearing a return to the court, and the Sixers hope this is the last time this season that his tendinitis keeps him out. Philadelphia needs him on the court; Andres Nocioni isn't nearly the defender that Iguodala has been, and if this team wins, it's usually because of its defense.

18. Indiana Pacers (14-20): Roy Hibbert is trying to figure things out, but the damage may be done after the latest 1-6 stretch. Until a team zips away with the East's No. 7 and 8 spots, the Pacers will remain in the thick of the playoff chase. But it's fool's good. Indiana as presently constructed isn't ready.

19. Milwaukee Bucks (14-21): The Bucks continue to play 'til their hearts burst, with Ersan Ilyasova infamously picking up center duties last week when Andrew Bogut needed a game off. The schedule calls for a back-to-back with the Hawks and Spurs this week; fret not, though, as Milwaukee has played the league's most difficult schedule so far. It will get easier, and perhaps the Bucks will be the team that runs off with the No. 7 seed.

20. Phoenix Suns (15-20): That the Suns were in a contested home game with the Cavaliers is all you need to know. This team is toast, and not only should the team assess how many young prospects and picks it can get for Steve Nash, but it should try to pawn off its 2010 "haul" -- Channing Frye, Josh Childress, Hakim Warrick -- while it still can. There's no sense in carrying that type of payroll to win the No. 12 pick in the draft.

21. Los Angeles Clippers (12-24): The Clippers continue to impress; Blake Griffin even has Baron Davis excited about basketball again! Clips Nation is wondering if L.A. can get to 41 wins. It seems far-fetched, but ...

22. Golden State Warriors (15-22): Has David Lee been a failure? His numbers haven't been bad (15/10, basically), but the Warriors still can't rebound and still lag in paint scoring. That either speaks to Lee's production coming in a vacuum, or highlights just how deep and institutional Golden State's interior deficit was.

23. Toronto Raptors (13-24): The Raptors' offense is like a two-year-old kid starting a fire with flint. Just by dumb chance it occasionally sparks. Otherwise? Clank. Clank. Clank. (The Toronto defense, by the way, is more like a banana trying to build a model F-16 using toothpaste and napalm. What a mess.)

24. Detroit Pistons (12-25): That the Pistons can free up a modicum of cap space by losing Rip Hamilton is small consolation, because it is going to take a lot of cap space to fix this team. Do we know anything more about Rodney Stuckey than we did his rookie year?

25. New Jersey Nets (10-27): Like the Nuggets, the Nets can't do this dance much longer. The franchise's state of fugue has even made Avery Johnson, who has to rally troops that have their bags packed, sympathetic. (Solution for this misplaced sympathy: watch Johnson coach. I've seen amateur John Cage tributes more composed.)

26. Charlotte Bobcats (13-22): Tyrus Thomas has now had something like 14 NBA head coaches who won't (or can't) play him starters' minutes. But strangely, since it had been sneering Scott Skiles, Jim Boylan, Vinny Del Negro and Larry Brown, I had kept hope that it was just a personality clash. With Paul Silas? I don't see it.

27. Minnesota Timberwolves (9-29): You know, if Ricky Rubio does come over this summer (he's not, he's not, he's not), the Wolves might actually be decent. Kevin Love and Michael Beasley almost never get the ball in creative ways -- there's rarely an opening for unabated attack for the scorers, even with Luke Ridnour in place. Rubio, if nothing else, could change that.

28. Washington Wizards (9-26): This week sees one of Washington's three best remaining options for the team's first road win of the season: a visit to Minnesota on Thursday. If the 'Zards don't get on the board there, two games in Cleveland loom large.

29. Sacramento Kings (8-26): The Kings and Wizards meet up Tuesday night in what should be a preview of the 2016 NBA Finals. DeMarcus Cousins has continued to be a monster, and if John Wall isn't careful, his Kentucky teammate could move into the top spot in Rookie of the Year, Non-Blake Griffin Division voting.

30. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-29): Let's not pretend the loss of Anderson Varejao for the rest of the season actually means anything to the success of the Cavs -- they've lost 10 straight and 20 of 21. But if Varejao could have been a desirable trade asset at the deadline to help Cleveland free up more cap space or grab assets ... well then, yes, this is a blow.