The bottom half of this week's SBNation.com NBA Power Rankings features a few teams looking to make the playoffs, including the New York Knicks, who despite their record have some serious issues and a real chance of deflation. Out west, the Clippers soar above the mire. Meanwhile, the East's mid-level teams duke it out for the coveted No. 8 seed.
NBA Power Rankings: Knicks’ Carriage Is A Pumpkin, Clippers Rising
16. New York Knicks: Record - 19-14 | SB Nation Blog: Posting And Toasting
The good: Amar'e Stoudemire is still the best scoring big man, even without Steve Nash.
The bad: Amar'e Stoudemire is still an awful defender, without the Phoenix Suns.
The rude awakening: At some point, New York’s bad points margin is going to catch up with the team’s solid win-loss record. And Knicks fans aren’t going to like it one bit.
17. Philadelphia 76ers: Record - 13-21 | SB Nation Blog: Liberty Ballers
The good: Despite the brief loss of Andre Iguodala, the 76ers are still showing some defensive mettle consistently.
The bad: Jodie Meeks is the only Philly guard (Iguodala and Evan Turner included) with a True Shooting percentage better than league average.
The nice to see: Spencer Hawes is finally rebounding like a center ought to be, with a 23 percent defensive rebound rate.
18. Indiana Pacers: Record - 14-18 |SB Nation Blog: Indy Cornrows
The good: Darren Collison has begun to provide a glimpse of why everyone was so excited for his move to Indiana this summer.
The bad: Roy Hibbert’s offense fell off the table in December. The Pacers need him to be what he was back in November.
The surprise of the year: As athlete Twitter connoisseur Eric Freeman has noted, the Pacers have the funniest tweeters in the league.
19. Milwaukee Bucks: Record - 13-18 | SB Nation Blog: Brew Hoop
The good: Anchored by Andrew Bogut, the Bucks continue to have one of the league's top defenses. Bogut has been excellent at protecting the rim and convincing opponents to take jumpers.
The bad: The offense is absolutely dreadful, worst in the league. Worse than the Nets!
The vomit-worthy: The Bucks' offseason decisions -- re-sign John Salmons, sign Drew Gooden, trade for Corey Maggette -- currently look like the worst collection of choices of the summer.
20. Phoenix Suns: Record - 14-18 | SB Nation Blog: Bright Side Of The Sun
The good: Like Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash is pretty close to the vaunted 50-40-90 standard. Of course, Nash has gotten there in four of the past five seasons (or all five, if you round 89.9 percent up to 90 in 2006-07).
The bad: New defensive-minded big man Marcin Gortat gave up 13 points in the fourth quarter to a 20-year-old rookie (DeMarcus Cousins) on Sunday.
The "what is he doing?": Josh Childress has fallen back to the bottom of Alvin Gentry's rotation. I was not aware Alvin Gentry had the luxury of too many good players.
21. Los Angeles Clippers: Record - 10-24 | SB Nation Blog: Clips Nation
The good: DeAndre Jordan’s given first name is Hyland. Also, he has a block rate of 5.1 percent, good for No. 10 in the NBA.
The bad: Blake Griffin seems to be on track to follow Shaq and Tim Duncan in the pantheon of awesome big men who'd be even better if they could hit a damned free throw. Griffin is at 58.8 percent from the line this season.
The totally believable unbelievable fact: Blake Griffin has 21 straight double-doubles. He also has a streak of 10 straight 20-10 games going.
22. Golden State Warriors: Record - 13-21 | SB Nation Blog: Golden State Of Mind
The good: Monta Ellis is a legitimate All-Star candidate out West; he has basically been Kobe Bryant's equal on offense this season, and that's not hyperbole.
The bad: Despite signing a legit big man (David Lee) and playing "normal" line-ups (Dan Gadzuric even got some minutes!), the Warriors are No. 29 in defense and a shocking No. 30 in defensive rebounding.
The yo-yo: Jeremy Lin was recalled from the D-League a few days after being sent down. Expect that to happen two more times in the next couple months. And have fun on I-80, J-Lin!
23. Toronto Raptors: Record - 11-22 | SB Nation Blog: Raptors HQ
The good: DeMar DeRozan averaged 16 points on 48 percent shooting in December, good progress for a good young player.
The bad: The Raptors are on pace for a second straight bottom-five finish in defense.
The still weird: Amir Johnson's unmasking and fat(tish) contract in Toronto still haven't taught us anything about Amir Johnson, except that we know nothing about Amir Johnson.
24. Detroit Pistons: Record - 11-23 | SB Nation Blog: Detroit Bad Boys
The good: Tracy McGrady has seven or more assists in three of his last six games. He's remade himself as a point guard!
The bad: Coach John Kuester had to remind players to not complain about him publicly.
The trade bait: Detroit should figure to be prime candidates in the January-February trade market, with Tayshaun Prince the most desirable Piston thanks to a smart game and an expiring contract.
25. Charlotte Bobcats: Record - 11-21 | SB Nation Blog: Rufus On Fire
The good: The Bobcats are 2-2 since Paul Silas took over, and sanity has forced Gerald Henderson and Tyrus Thomas into the rotation in heavy doses.
The bad: As Rufus On Fire notes, T-Time is taking way too many long jumpers, something Silas might not have the will to force change with.
The resigned nod: Stephen Jackson’s awful three to end the Bobcats’ New Year’s Eve loss to the Warriors -- a shot of which no video proof apparently exists -- pretty much explained why a playoff run will be a tough task for Charlotte: Jackson is not dialed in.
26. New Jersey Nets: Record - 9-25 | SB Nation Blog: Nets Daily
The good: Derrick Favors' play has been comparable to that of Kevin Garnett and Dwight Howard ... when those dudes were 19 years old.
The bad: Troy Murphy, who averaged 14 and 10 in each of the last two seasons, is playing 16 minutes a game, ensuring that an army of middle-aged Notre Dame faithful will declare war on Avery Johnson within the next few weeks.
The regrettable: The Nets have the league’s second lowest home attendance percentage, ensuring that Newark will not be in the NBA’s relocation plans once the team moves to Brooklyn.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves: Record - 9-26 | SB Nation Blog: Canis Hoopus
The good: Kevin Love has six 20-rebound games this season. The only players who have hit 10 this millennium are Ben Wallace and Dwight Howard.
The bad: No team fouls more frequently than the Wolves. Not even the Jazz, who have been near the top of this list since the mid-80s.
The conundrum: As Canis Hoopus lays out perfectly, you can’t really take real issue with many of the Wolves’ individual moves ... but it’s impossible to ignore that, on the whole, the roster is a huge mess.
28. Washington Wizards: Record - 8-24 | SB Nation Blog: Bullets Forever
The good: The Wizards have maintained some semblance of home court advantage at the Verizon Center, currently 8-8.
The bad: The Wizards are 0-16 on the road. The worst road record for any team since 1986-87 was the Kings’ 1-40 season in 1990-91. The ‘Zards aren’t that bad, are they?
The unfortunate: It took just two months for Andray Blatche to fall out of favor with the Wizards management that drafted him, re-sign him and give him a contract extension before he reached free agency. That’s how you know how much of a dolt (both on and off the court) Blatche has been this year.
29. Sacramento Kings: Record - 7-24 | SB Nation Blog: Sactown Royalty
The good: The Kings have finally won two straight at home for the first time all season.
The bad: The Kings just won two straight home for the first time all season. It’s January.
The shining beacon of hope: DeMarcus Cousins is back in Paul Westphal's good graces (for now), and averaged 21.6 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his last three games.
30. Cleveland Cavaliers: Record - 8-26 | SB Nation Blog: Fear The Sword
The good: Among all players with 100 three-point attempts this season, Daniel Gibson is No. 2 in conversion rate at 43.8 percent.
The bad: That 43.8 percent is really strong. So is the 41.7 percent Cavs opponents are shooting from behind the arc.
The sweet mercy: The season is almost halfway over. Almost.
See More:
