From Dennis Velasco,
Your Guide to Basketball.
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16. Los Angeles Clippers (14-16; 4-6): The Clippers ended off the year with a nice four wins in five games, but before that had a six-game losing streak. Sam Cassell will be out a little longer with his heel injury, so it'll be about Shaun Livingston getting his time to lead the club into the playoffs. Look for the youngster to do well as the season goes along.

17. Minnesota Timberwolves (14-15; 4-6): They've been consistently inconsistent - winning and losing, winning and losing. You get the idea. However, rookie Randy Foye is looking really good and meeting the preseason hype.

18. Sacramento Kings (13-15; 5-5): Is Ron Artest really giving it his all? The rumors of him being traded have to be taking a toll on the team and could implode at any point until Artest is actually traded or the Kings decline in play and this list.

19. Toronto Raptors (13-18; 6-4): The Raptors are probably the class of the Atlantic Division. Of course that's not saying much as they are tied with the New Jersey Nets for the lead with 13-18 records. However, Chris Bosh has been out, so expect the Raptors to improve once he returns, which is expected to be on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. What a great time to come back.

20. Miami Heat (13-17; 4-6): Take away Wade and this team is in big trouble. They gotta hope that Flash gets back on the court in a flash!

21. Portland Trailblazers (13-18; 6-4): The Blazers have lost three in a row, but had a good run beforehand. Look for Brandon Roy, who just came back, to make his mark in the Rookie of the Year voting.

22. Seattle Supersonics (13-19; 3-7): The Sonics are simply a bad luck team. Just when Ray Allen was coming back, Rashard Lewis is lost for about two to three months because of a torn tendon in his right hand. Damien Wilkins should do well, but it'll probably be all for naught as far as making the playoffs are concerned.

23. New Jersey Nets (13-18; 4-6): Is it time to dismantle the team? No way, not in this division. Plus with the imminent move to Brooklyn, they'll need some star power, so Vince Carter just may be resigned after the season.

24. New York Knicks (13-20; 5-5): It's hard to believe with as ugly the Knicks have been for most of the season, they are still in contention for the playoffs. Playing in a downright stinky division may be Isiah Thomas' saving grace as far as keeping his job.

25. Charlotte Bobcats (9-22; 4-6): The Bobcats have some great young talent and lived up to their "giant-killer" tag by beating the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers in the last week. Their record is their record, but they have played better than that.

26. New Orleans Hornets (12-18; 2-8): It's confirmed, {link url=http://probasketball.about.com/od/nbaplayerprofiles/a/chrispaul.htm]Chris Paul[/link] will be out a much longer time than expected. Sorry, Hornets fans, but CP3 will be out for about a month and it'll be hard to cushion that loss.

27. Boston Celtics (10-19; 4-6): The Celtics lost four games last week and it's no surprise with Paul Pierce out of the lineup. Even with Pierce in the lineup, it probably wouldn't have made too much of a difference.

28. Atlanta Hawks (9-20; 1-9): The young Hawks team have basically been like geese, laying goose eggs all over the league. Don't expect it to get any better, even when Josh Smith returns in about a month or less.

29. Philadelphia 76ers (8-22; 3-7): The Sixers should trade Andre Miller and get some more pieces in their rebuilding stage, be it actual talent coming back or expired contracts and draft picks. Otherwise Miller will waste away. The Cavs could use a point guard.

30. Memphis Grizzlies (7-25; 2-8): This team is chaos personified. Mike Fratello was fired as head coach, replaced by Tony Barone, Sr., a coach without any NBA head coaching experience. Let's see if Barone can take the young guys and salvage the season by making the games exciting. Good luck.