We kick off each week by letting you know what's been going well around the NBA — and what's been falling apart. This time, Miami is going up, the trade market is sliding and there's a new No. 1 in the rankings.
In addition, there are more hot story lines and sleaze than you can sneeze at — of course.
Rising
1. Heat disdain. For the season's first two months, it was almost as if NBA fans forgot about their No. 1 expressed duty: desperately hoping that the Heat lose. It seemed to take the All-Star Game to snap fans back into that realization. After all, their had been mesmerized by story lines like the lockout, Chris Paul with the Clippers, Dwight Howard's trade saga and the Jeremy Lin phenomenon.
But when Dwyane Wade knocked Kobe Bryant's nose out of whack (accidentally, for sure) and LeBron James passed up on a chance to win the All-Star Game for the East, it seemed that all was set right again.
Fans slipped right back into delighting over the Heat's current two-game losing streak, as well as poking at James for late-game flops. Wade got into the act in Sunday's loss to the Lakers, fouling out for the first time since 2008.
"I don't foul out much," Wade said after the game. "I guess I had the red flag on me today, but you're not going to get me to comment on the referees. I like my money in my pocket."
2. Deron Williams. It has been an odd year for Williams, who was a headliner last summer when he signed to play for Besiktas in Turkey and returned to the Nets once the lockout ended. Williams is on a max contract and will seek another max deal as a free agent this summer.
He hasn't quite played up to that dollar value, though, shooting a career-low 41.4 percent from the field for a 12-26 Nets team that began the week 12th in the East and 6.5 games out of a playoff spot.
But Williams showed why he is a franchise cornerstone on Sunday, scoring 57 points and shooting 16-for-29 from the field against the Bobcats.
"It's just one of those games where you start feeling good and let it go," Williams said.
Yes, it was only the Bobcats, but it was a good reminder that Williams is really the only difference between the Nets and Bobcats at this point.
3. Grizzlies. Memphis has done it again — taken an injury to a major piece of the starting five and turned it into a rallying point. Last season it was Rudy Gay; this season, it's Zach Randolph.
The Grizzlies won 10 of their past 12 games opened the week fifth in the West standings, a game behind the Lakers. Unlike Gay last season, Randolph will return to the lineup in plenty of time for the playoffs, maybe even as early as this week.
Falling
1. Trade market. All eyes will be on Dwight Howard as the March 15 trade deadline approaches — but if he is not dealt, expect a pretty slim day of swapping.
Increasingly, with new, more stringent luxury-tax penalties looming after next season, teams are valuing future financial flexibility over short-term roster improvement, and are much less likely to take on weighty contracts. With the regular season ending a little more than a month after the deadline, expect more teams to let this goofball season wrap up and wait until the offseason to make big decisions on the future.
2. Donald Sterling. Just when things were going well for the Clippers, we were reminded who owns that team. By now, we've all gotten used to court testimony that paints Sterling as a bigot, a buffoon and/or a creep. But the latest instance, reported on Sunday by SportsByBrooks.com, has a woman Sterling referred to as a "prostitute" saying Sterling consulted her on personnel matters.
"During our relationship, Mr. Sterling consulted me on issues he was considering almost every day including, among others, whether he should hire Alvin Gentry to coach the Los Angeles Clippers (although I had no experience in such matters), how he should respond to requests by players for the Los Angeles Clippers for increases in their compensation (Mr. Sterling and I often had dinner at the Arena Club with agents for a number of players)," Alexandra Castro said.
3. Sacramento. This is the ultimate good news/bad news situation. The city will get to keep its basketball team — but that team is still the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins is their best player — but DeMarcus Cousins is their best player. The Kings will have a high pick in one of the best drafts in recent memory — but they're desperate for a point guard, and there are not many point guards in this draft.
We could go on, but you get the idea.
Rank 'em — NBA power rankings
(midseason rankings in parentheses)
1. Chicago Bulls (4)
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (2)
3. Miami Heat (1)
4. San Antonio Spurs (3)
5. Los Angeles Clippers (5)
6. Los Angeles Lakers (12)
7. Indiana Pacers (7)
8. Memphis Grizzlies (11)
9. Orlando Magic (8)
10. Atlanta Hawks (9)
11. Denver Nuggets (17)
12. Dallas Mavericks (6)
13. Philadelphia 76ers (13)
14. Houston Rockets (10)
15. Boston Celtics (20)
16. New York Knicks (14)
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (15)
18. Phoenix Suns (19)
19. Portland Trail Blazers (16)
20. Utah Jazz (21)
21. Milwaukee Bucks (23)
22. Cleveland Cavaliers (22)
23. Golden State Warriors (18)
24. Toronto Raptors (26)
25. New Jersey Nets (27)
26. Detroit Pistons (24)
27. Sacramento Kings (25)
28. New Orleans Hornets (28)
29. Washington Wizards (29)
30. Charlotte Bobcats (30)
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