Denver Nuggets
Though preseason division favorites, the Nuggets find themselves in a battle to remain above .500, shiny new acquisition Allen Iverson is putting up impressive stats (30.2 points, 8.6 assists, and 3.0 steals in the last five games). But in the absence of Carmelo Anthony, who is still serving a suspension for embarrassing himself with the wimpiest fight-exiting backpedal in league history, even Iverson’s superhuman stats have not rescued the Nuggets from three straight losses... Point guard Earl Boykins has been picking up the slack left by Andre Miller’s departure, scoring 20 or more points in four out of the last five games... Marcus Camby, Reggie Evans, and Eduardo Najera have been demons on the glass but Najera is suffering from hamstring problems... Denver faces division rival Utah this week, along with Milwaukee, San Antonio, and Houston.
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves sit third in the division, playing at a .500 clip, having won four of their last six games including an emotional victory over the San Antonio Spurs... Kevin Garnett continues to be Mr. Everything, tallying over 20 points and 12 rebounds on the season... Center Mark Blount evidently asked Santa for a scoring touch, as he’s averaging 18.4 points per game after Christmas... Rookie Randy Foye has scored 18+ in two of his last three outings... Heralded summer signing Mike James continues to struggle at the point... The ‘Wolves will test themselves against the Rockets, Clippers, Grizzlies, and Nets in the coming week.
Portland Trailblazers
Despite a surprisingly mediocre start to the season, the Trailblazers are showing signs of slipping back into the league’s cellar. At 13-20 they are barely holding off the Seattle Supersonics in the race to avoid the division dunce cap... Zach Randolph has cooled considerably from his 25 and 10 start to the season and is now showing signs of wear, or possibly discontent... Surprisingly strong second-year point guard Jarrett Jack has found his minutes and confidence disrupted by the return of rookie sensation Brandon Roy from injury. Roy has notched at least 14 points in six of the eight games since his return. Jack is averaging 29% shooting in the last three games... The Blazers squandered home games against Atlantic Division opponents this week, losing to Philadelphia, Boston, and New York as part of a four game losing streak. Now they must face Sacramento, Miami, San Antonio, Dallas, and then Sacramento again.
Seattle Supersonics
The Sonics have set up shop in the division cellar, defending their territory by losing four of their last five games. Ray Allen, battling injury and celebrating the birth of a child in a spotty December, has come back strong in the New Year, ringing up 27 and 32 point games in 2007... Rashard Lewis, Allen’s sidekick, is out for the next couple of months with a hand injury... Young point guard Luke Ridnour is playing inconsistently and the entire Seattle frontcourt registers barely a blip on the radar... The Sonics are allowing opponents to shoot over 47% and have among the worst rebounding percentages in the league. The road doesn’t get any easier as Seattle faces Golden State, Phoenix, Miami, and Utah this week.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz continue to stake their claim as the only noteworthy team in the division. They’ve won three of their last four games and are 23-9 overall. They allow a stingy 44.5% opponent shooting percentage. They are one of only eight teams in the league to average triple digit scoring themselves and the only ones besides the Chicago Bulls to do so without allowing their opponents to average 100+ points... Carlos Boozer has averaged a double-double in four of their last five games, all wins... Matt Harpring shot 10-for-14 and scored 20 against the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday night, rookie Paul “Don’t Call Me Ronnie” Millsap has been rebounding well and has scored in double figures twice, center Mehmet Okur topped 20 four times in the last five games, and point guard sensation Deron Williams keeps alternating between double-digit scoring and double-digit assists... The Jazz face a stiff test at home Tuesday night when the Dallas Mavericks come to town, but then they’re off until next weekend when they face Seattle and Miami.
DIVISION REPORTS
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
Western Conference