L.A.
Sidekick
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RK(LW) TEAM
1(2) Thunder
So, so typical. The Thunder, especially offensively, are flat-out rolling. They've won 10 games in a row for the first time since the franchise relocated. And even with San Antonio (and maybe even Stephen Jackson) coming to town, Jeremy Lin at MSG is sure to get all the Monday night spotlight.
2(4) Clippers
How hot and deep is the best team in Los Angeles? Chris Paul hasn't reached the 20-point plateau in any of the Clippers' eight games in December. The Clips, with the suffocating Jamal Crawford/Eric Bledsoe combo coming off the bench in support of CP3, have won all eight of those games.
3(3) Knicks
The Knicks are on a 64-win pace, rain 3s, protect the ball better than any team going, and -- in case you want even more evidence that this (relatively speaking) might be their year -- have somehow won their last six one-point games after Saturday's Melo-less escape against Cleveland.
4(1) Spurs
Maybe they still need one more rim protector to really go all the way. In the meantime? The Spurs are quietly back up to a very vintage Spurs-like sixth overall in defensive efficiency ... while Mr. Duncan threatens to become the first player EVER to average better than 17 and 9 this late in life.
5(6) Heat
Did the Heat get a free pass from media pests like me after the Washington loss because we're all so consumed with the Lakers' chaos? Does a 30-point weekend rout of the Wiz atone for that no-show? Do you realize Miami's other five losses were all inflicted by teams in our top seven?
6(5) Grizzlies
Winning in Salt Lake City, after a three-game slide, is a handy response to the "Let's see how the Grizz handle their first dose of adversity" crowd. Also have to pass along that, since its opening night stumble in Clipperland, Memphis hasn't allowed any of its 20 foes to score 100 points.
7(9) Warriors
The Dubs just finished the best road trip in team history, posting wins in Miami, Brooklyn and Atlanta for a 6-1 finish. And with 10 road Ws already, Golden State needs just one more to top its total from the last three non-lockout seasons (10, 8, 8). As for David Lee's heroics ... click here.
8(7) Hawks
The Hawks bookended last week with Ls in the games that meant most, first dropping a divisional showdown in Miami and ultimately getting routed at home by scorching Golden State. Yet they remain a top-five defensive team to uphold their status as one of the season's big early surprises.
9(12) Nuggets
Despite Andre Iguodala's nightmarish December and the Nuggets' status as just the second team in history (along with the '85-86 Bulls) to play 17 of its first 23 games on the road, check it out: They're No. 3 in the West in +/- with six more road wins than home defeats.
Bulls
10(8)
Joakim Noah has scored at least 20 points five times this season after never reaching the 20s more than three times in any previous season. Yet the numbers that matter most to panicky Bulls fans are 40.2 and 41.1: Noah and Deng's minutes-per-game averages with D-Rose still healing.
11(10) Nets
Forget the game-winning J that beat Detroit and all of Joe Johnson's struggles before that. The trade, for all of the crowing out about how much better Atlanta is without him, is working out for the Nets, too. Have to draw that conclusion if JJ's arrival indeed helped convince D-Will to stay.
Bucks
12(11)
Who projected The Larry Sanders Show to be swatting three shots a game just like Serge Ibaka? Who forecasted the Bucks to have a better record than Boston, Indy or Philly as the NBA made its quarter turn? Can't quite call 'em Christmas miracles, but no one predicted any of that.
13(16) Pacers
We've been pretty hard on Indy, even after the big St. Elmo's news covered here last Monday, but defense continues to save 'em. The Pacers have dug out a league-high four wins when scoring under 90 points and rank No. 2 in the East in +/-with three more road W's than home L's.
Timberwolves
14(19)
The Wolves are one win away from their first five-game winning streak since January 2009. Ricky Rubio has been back for all of one game and has already thrown the pass of the season. Kevin Love is still ailing but presumably smiling more regularly thanks to those two developments.
15(15) Lakers
No such thing as a bad win for the Lakers in their current state as they wait impatiently for Steve Nash's return ... and, yes, Pau Gasol's as well. So I wouldn't wait on an apology for how ragged they looked in DC before routing Philly or Kobe's turn-back-the-clock run of six straight 30-point games.
16(13) Jazz
A stat that can't be ignored now that Trade Season is fully underway: Utah ranks No. 23 in defensive efficiency and allows 106 points per 100 possessions when Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap anchor the frontcourt. When it's anchored by Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter? Just 95.3 points.
17(17) Rockets
It was just last Monday that Jeremy Lin, taking the ball back with James Harden felled by an ankle sprain, rediscovered some Linsanity and uncorked 38 points on mighty San Antonio. Who's to say, on another Monday night, Lin won't recapture some more magic in his ballyhooed NYC return?
18(14) Celtics
The Celts were a possession away from going 0-3 against last week's three straight foes from Texas but will gratefully accept their double-OT escape at home against the Dirk-less Mavs before the Ls in Houston and San Antonio. Still hard to process seeing 'em only 12th in defensive efficiency.
19(21) Magic
For all the justifiable fawning Golden State is generating in the wake of its best trip since the days of Phil Smith, John Lucas, Robert Parish, Sonny Parker and my beloved Purvis Short, let's not shortchange the one team out of seven that managed to beat the Dubs. Jacque Vaughn's Magic!
20(25) Trail Blazers
The Blazers have quietly inched to the brink of .500 by winning six of seven games at home, gratefully watching Nic Batum and J.J. Hickson extend their best-ever starts ... while naturally reveling in how ROY favorite Damian Lilliard just capped his first duel with The Unibrow.
21(18) 76ers
The good news: Evan Turner, like Jrue Holiday, is playing the best ball of his career, joining LeBron, Durant and Marc Gasol in the exclusive club of players averaging at least 15, 7 and 4. The bad news (in addition to Bynum's ongoing knee woes): 10 of Philly's next 11 games are on the road.
22(20) Mavericks
The O.J. Mayo Show has been a fun story to keep folks occupied while Dirk heals, but the numbers are starting to stack up against Dallas in a big way. One win in 11 tries against teams with winning records, six losses by 19 points or more and the next five games against teams above .500.
23(22) Pistons
Brandon Knight's run of five successive games in the 20s, after never stringing more than two straight 20-point games together, is Detroit's latest morsel of tangible hope to go with the occasional flashes we've seen from Andre Drummond and Kyle Singler and Greg Monroe's overall promise.
24(27) Suns
Give the Suns this much: They haven't stopped scrapping for Alvin Gentry in the wake of that 40-point debacle in Detroit. The proof: Phoenix's stunning home win over Memphis marked the fifth time already this season that it managed to erase a double-digit deficit to come back and win.
25(29) Raptors
Home Ws from nowhere over Dallas and Houston over the weekend at last lifted (some of) the gloom from a 4-19 start that also stuck Kyle Lowry (shoulder) and Andrea Bargnani (elbow) with long-term injuries. Next encounter with a Texas team: Dec. 26's not-so-inviting trip to San Antonio.
26(23) Kings
Not sure how many vets would be interested, given all the uncertainty in Sactown, but the Kings so badly need a proven old head or two to bring some perspective to that locker room. The Kings won a few games recently and gave off a vibe like they had it all figured out. Not yet, kids.
Cavaliers
27(30)
A quick 28 points, 11 assists and six boards against the Lakers in his return from an 11-game absence? An eruption four nights later to become the youngest player ever to score 40+ points at MSG? Guess I know now what Kyrie Irving thinks of my recent "I'm officially worried" missive.
28(28) Wizards
Modest improvement in Month 2 as a pro for Bradley Beal, as well as the whispers about how highly Oklahoma City rates Washington's rook, is about as good as it gets in the nation's capital. The frustrating John Wall Watch rolls on ... amid rising fears that it'll be 2013 before we see him again.
Bobcats
29(29)
One of our parting gifts for Professor Hollinger: Patting him on the back for pointing out from the start that the defensively challenged Bobcats, even when they were riding high at 7-5, were much more Wiz-like than their record suggested. Have to say my old friend nailed that one.
30(26) Hornets
Exactly one year removed from the CP3 trade, New Orleans has to make due with the smallest of victories. Like Ryan Anderson's fine start to life as a future Pelican. Or Anthony Davis' long-awaited return. Or becoming the first team in a month to hold OKC under 100 points in another L.
1(2) Thunder
So, so typical. The Thunder, especially offensively, are flat-out rolling. They've won 10 games in a row for the first time since the franchise relocated. And even with San Antonio (and maybe even Stephen Jackson) coming to town, Jeremy Lin at MSG is sure to get all the Monday night spotlight.
2(4) Clippers
How hot and deep is the best team in Los Angeles? Chris Paul hasn't reached the 20-point plateau in any of the Clippers' eight games in December. The Clips, with the suffocating Jamal Crawford/Eric Bledsoe combo coming off the bench in support of CP3, have won all eight of those games.
3(3) Knicks
The Knicks are on a 64-win pace, rain 3s, protect the ball better than any team going, and -- in case you want even more evidence that this (relatively speaking) might be their year -- have somehow won their last six one-point games after Saturday's Melo-less escape against Cleveland.
4(1) Spurs
Maybe they still need one more rim protector to really go all the way. In the meantime? The Spurs are quietly back up to a very vintage Spurs-like sixth overall in defensive efficiency ... while Mr. Duncan threatens to become the first player EVER to average better than 17 and 9 this late in life.
5(6) Heat
Did the Heat get a free pass from media pests like me after the Washington loss because we're all so consumed with the Lakers' chaos? Does a 30-point weekend rout of the Wiz atone for that no-show? Do you realize Miami's other five losses were all inflicted by teams in our top seven?
6(5) Grizzlies
Winning in Salt Lake City, after a three-game slide, is a handy response to the "Let's see how the Grizz handle their first dose of adversity" crowd. Also have to pass along that, since its opening night stumble in Clipperland, Memphis hasn't allowed any of its 20 foes to score 100 points.
7(9) Warriors
The Dubs just finished the best road trip in team history, posting wins in Miami, Brooklyn and Atlanta for a 6-1 finish. And with 10 road Ws already, Golden State needs just one more to top its total from the last three non-lockout seasons (10, 8, 8). As for David Lee's heroics ... click here.
8(7) Hawks
The Hawks bookended last week with Ls in the games that meant most, first dropping a divisional showdown in Miami and ultimately getting routed at home by scorching Golden State. Yet they remain a top-five defensive team to uphold their status as one of the season's big early surprises.
9(12) Nuggets
Despite Andre Iguodala's nightmarish December and the Nuggets' status as just the second team in history (along with the '85-86 Bulls) to play 17 of its first 23 games on the road, check it out: They're No. 3 in the West in +/- with six more road wins than home defeats.
Bulls
10(8)
Joakim Noah has scored at least 20 points five times this season after never reaching the 20s more than three times in any previous season. Yet the numbers that matter most to panicky Bulls fans are 40.2 and 41.1: Noah and Deng's minutes-per-game averages with D-Rose still healing.
11(10) Nets
Forget the game-winning J that beat Detroit and all of Joe Johnson's struggles before that. The trade, for all of the crowing out about how much better Atlanta is without him, is working out for the Nets, too. Have to draw that conclusion if JJ's arrival indeed helped convince D-Will to stay.
Bucks
12(11)
Who projected The Larry Sanders Show to be swatting three shots a game just like Serge Ibaka? Who forecasted the Bucks to have a better record than Boston, Indy or Philly as the NBA made its quarter turn? Can't quite call 'em Christmas miracles, but no one predicted any of that.
13(16) Pacers
We've been pretty hard on Indy, even after the big St. Elmo's news covered here last Monday, but defense continues to save 'em. The Pacers have dug out a league-high four wins when scoring under 90 points and rank No. 2 in the East in +/-with three more road W's than home L's.
Timberwolves
14(19)
The Wolves are one win away from their first five-game winning streak since January 2009. Ricky Rubio has been back for all of one game and has already thrown the pass of the season. Kevin Love is still ailing but presumably smiling more regularly thanks to those two developments.
15(15) Lakers
No such thing as a bad win for the Lakers in their current state as they wait impatiently for Steve Nash's return ... and, yes, Pau Gasol's as well. So I wouldn't wait on an apology for how ragged they looked in DC before routing Philly or Kobe's turn-back-the-clock run of six straight 30-point games.
16(13) Jazz
A stat that can't be ignored now that Trade Season is fully underway: Utah ranks No. 23 in defensive efficiency and allows 106 points per 100 possessions when Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap anchor the frontcourt. When it's anchored by Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter? Just 95.3 points.
17(17) Rockets
It was just last Monday that Jeremy Lin, taking the ball back with James Harden felled by an ankle sprain, rediscovered some Linsanity and uncorked 38 points on mighty San Antonio. Who's to say, on another Monday night, Lin won't recapture some more magic in his ballyhooed NYC return?
18(14) Celtics
The Celts were a possession away from going 0-3 against last week's three straight foes from Texas but will gratefully accept their double-OT escape at home against the Dirk-less Mavs before the Ls in Houston and San Antonio. Still hard to process seeing 'em only 12th in defensive efficiency.
19(21) Magic
For all the justifiable fawning Golden State is generating in the wake of its best trip since the days of Phil Smith, John Lucas, Robert Parish, Sonny Parker and my beloved Purvis Short, let's not shortchange the one team out of seven that managed to beat the Dubs. Jacque Vaughn's Magic!
20(25) Trail Blazers
The Blazers have quietly inched to the brink of .500 by winning six of seven games at home, gratefully watching Nic Batum and J.J. Hickson extend their best-ever starts ... while naturally reveling in how ROY favorite Damian Lilliard just capped his first duel with The Unibrow.
21(18) 76ers
The good news: Evan Turner, like Jrue Holiday, is playing the best ball of his career, joining LeBron, Durant and Marc Gasol in the exclusive club of players averaging at least 15, 7 and 4. The bad news (in addition to Bynum's ongoing knee woes): 10 of Philly's next 11 games are on the road.
22(20) Mavericks
The O.J. Mayo Show has been a fun story to keep folks occupied while Dirk heals, but the numbers are starting to stack up against Dallas in a big way. One win in 11 tries against teams with winning records, six losses by 19 points or more and the next five games against teams above .500.
23(22) Pistons
Brandon Knight's run of five successive games in the 20s, after never stringing more than two straight 20-point games together, is Detroit's latest morsel of tangible hope to go with the occasional flashes we've seen from Andre Drummond and Kyle Singler and Greg Monroe's overall promise.
24(27) Suns
Give the Suns this much: They haven't stopped scrapping for Alvin Gentry in the wake of that 40-point debacle in Detroit. The proof: Phoenix's stunning home win over Memphis marked the fifth time already this season that it managed to erase a double-digit deficit to come back and win.
25(29) Raptors
Home Ws from nowhere over Dallas and Houston over the weekend at last lifted (some of) the gloom from a 4-19 start that also stuck Kyle Lowry (shoulder) and Andrea Bargnani (elbow) with long-term injuries. Next encounter with a Texas team: Dec. 26's not-so-inviting trip to San Antonio.
26(23) Kings
Not sure how many vets would be interested, given all the uncertainty in Sactown, but the Kings so badly need a proven old head or two to bring some perspective to that locker room. The Kings won a few games recently and gave off a vibe like they had it all figured out. Not yet, kids.
Cavaliers
27(30)
A quick 28 points, 11 assists and six boards against the Lakers in his return from an 11-game absence? An eruption four nights later to become the youngest player ever to score 40+ points at MSG? Guess I know now what Kyrie Irving thinks of my recent "I'm officially worried" missive.
28(28) Wizards
Modest improvement in Month 2 as a pro for Bradley Beal, as well as the whispers about how highly Oklahoma City rates Washington's rook, is about as good as it gets in the nation's capital. The frustrating John Wall Watch rolls on ... amid rising fears that it'll be 2013 before we see him again.
Bobcats
29(29)
One of our parting gifts for Professor Hollinger: Patting him on the back for pointing out from the start that the defensively challenged Bobcats, even when they were riding high at 7-5, were much more Wiz-like than their record suggested. Have to say my old friend nailed that one.
30(26) Hornets
Exactly one year removed from the CP3 trade, New Orleans has to make due with the smallest of victories. Like Ryan Anderson's fine start to life as a future Pelican. Or Anthony Davis' long-awaited return. Or becoming the first team in a month to hold OKC under 100 points in another L.
t:
When Dwight leaves and the lakers are stuck in mediocrity for 5 years, blame Kobe. 
