NBA Rankings: Raptors climb back into top 10

After 19 straight wins and a perfect month of January, the Hawks finally lost a game, falling to the Pelicans on Monday. They aren’t invincible, but they’re still the league’s best.

Basketball hall of famer George “Iceman” Gervin doesn’t believe Klay Thompson’s 37-point third-quarter should count against his single-quarter scoring mark of 33 points—the previous record. Why? Other than seeming a little bitter, Gervin makes a pretty good point: There was no three-point line when he played.

Things are looking great for the Grizzlies. They’ve won 11 of their last 12, and saw their most recent win streak climb to seven on Monday. In contrast, their D-League affiliate, the Iowa Energy, looks to be out of sorts as two players on the team recently fought each other and were subsequently suspended.

The Cavaliers are gelling, winners of 11 straight and looking damn near invincible right now. It took a lot of tweaking to the role players from Cavaliers GM David Griffin, but the Cleveland freight train has picked up speed at last and there seems to be no stopping it.

You may have noticed this already, but Blake Griffin isn’t dunking nearly as much as he used to. As he’s rounded into more basketball player than dunker, Griffin has come the realization that he was relying on his athleticism far too much and expending too much energy in the process. Evolution folks.

Dwight Howard just can’t seem to catch a break. In a season that’s been defined mostly by whatever’s ailing him on a week-to-week basis, the eight-time all-star is now expected to miss “extended time” with a knee injury.

The Spurs were blown out by the Clippers at home Saturday and this Boris Diaw half-court heave before the buzzer perfectly encapsulates that game. Gregg Popovich gets drilled in the back of the head but keeps on moving like nothing happened.

Monday’s ugly loss to the Bucks aside, the Raptors appear to have shaken off their mid-season funk, having won six games straight entering Monday’s contest, including back-to-back overtime games. They sit relatively comfortably in second place in the East, but making up the seven games necessary to catch the Hawks doesn’t seem feasible.

Rajon Rondo is expected to miss at least three games after breaking his left orbital bone and fracturing his nose following a scary-looking accidental knee to the face from teammate Richard Jefferson. In lighter news, Japan has proclaimed Chandler Parsons the NBA’s most handsome man.

Lillard on his all-star snub: “I just feel disrespected.” Look out league, you now have to deal with an even more pissed off Damian Killer.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, talk about free agency is also ramping up. The Suns will have to be prepared to give Goran Dragic a max deal as he’s recently come out and said “every team in the NBA is an option” when it comes to his impending free agency.

Having lost five of their last seven games, it appears the Wizards have a bad case of the mid-season blues. The worst part about this slump for Washington is probably the fact that they lost to Eastern Conference rival Toronto in overtime on Saturday. They’ve now lost to Toronto five times in six contests over the past two seasons.

How do you beat the Atlanta Hawks? Have Anthony Davis on your team of course!

Despite boasting a roster that should have them at the top of the Eastern Conference, the Bulls remain in fourth place and playing inconsistent ball. It appears that Chicago’s management thinks the reason for the underperformance is coach Tom Thibodeau, as the two sides’ relationship is reportedly beyond repair.

The Bucks have had a good two weeks. They’ve managed to win five of their last six and Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to headline the Slam Dunk Contest and Rising Stars Challenge during NBA All-Star Weekend.

Despite Kemba Walker being out with a meniscus tear in his left knee, the Hornets have found ways to win and stay in a playoff spot. Pretty impressive considering how awful their start to the season was.

Just when it looked like the Thunder were going to make a push into a playoff spot, they get stymied by a slump that’s seen them lose four games in their last seven and fall three back of eighth-place Phoenix.

Major bummer! Just as the Pistons were opening a new chapter in their history, Brandon Jennings ruptured his Achilles and was forced out for the season. It’s still possible for Detroit to sneak into the playoffs, but it will be a mighty tall task without the player who had emerged as the team’s leader in the wake of Josh Smith being waived.

Chris Bosh is a deserving all-star, but Dwyane Wade? That pick has legacy written all over it. As mean as this sounds, it’s probably for the best that Wade is out indefinitely so a more deserving all-star replacement—Kyle Korver—can get a chance to play in the big game.

Real shocker here. Tayshaun Prince doesn’t want to be on a loser like the Celtics.

Dante Exum will participate in the Rising Stars Challenge as a member of the World Team despite putting up very tepid numbers. There was a lot of pre-season hype surrounding Exum as there was almost nothing known about him. So far, the air of mystery has remained. Maybe we’ll finally get to see what makes him so special when he’s on the floor with other talented players his age.

DeMarcus Cousins will replace Kobe Bryant as an all-star, although he never should’ve been on the bubble in the first place. Regardless, he’s in. And more importantly, isn’t some criminal .

The Nuggets have lost nine of their last 10 and despite the potential benefits of blowing up their team, it appears they’re just looking to re-tool. Denver is reportedly trying to make a big trade for Nets centre Brook Lopez and is even willing to include a first-round pick in the package—presumably one of the two acquired in the Timofey Mozgov trade with Cleveland.

An Andray Blatche return to the Borough? Sure, why not bring back the guy you totally didn’t want to re-sign in the off-season?

In a very revealing video interview by Bleacher Report, Paul George and his family open up about that summer evening no basketball fan will ever forget.

For a team and fan base that didn’t really seem to appreciate what he did for them, the Lakers sure did have a nice tribute for Pau Gasol on his first trip back to Los Angeles.

Bad news for the 76ers: Leading scorer Tony Wroten has a partially torn ACL in his right knee and is done for the season.

Under Jacque Vaughn’s watch, the Magic have developed a pretty exciting and talented young core with all-star worthy players on the roster like Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris. Yet, it’s being reported that Orlando’s management is close to firing Vaughn. Dropping nine straight will do that I guess.

Andrew Wiggins will headline the Rising Stars Challenge, which also features fellow Wolves Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammed. That’s nice and all, but we really wanted to see him in the dunk contest—no offence to his Bounce Brother LaVine.

What’s this? The Knicks have won two of their last three games? Doesn’t matter, they’re still garbage.