The Times’ NBA rankings
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Last week’s ranking in parentheses, statistics are through Friday’s games:
1. ATLANTA: Better stop underestimating these Hawks. Their 11-game winning streak currently is longest in the NBA. (2)
2. GOLDEN STATE: It’s a trend: Steve Kerr rested Andrew Bogut, Andre Iguodala during loss to Thunder. (1)
3. MEMPHIS: Newly acquired Jeff Green scored 12 of his 21 points in fourth quarter of victory at Orlando. (9)
4. PORTLAND: Of the Trail Blazers’ 30 victories, 23 are against teams with current records under .500. (3)
5. HOUSTON: James Harden is carrying the Rockets. Leads the NBA in scoring (27 a game), handing out 6.8 assists. (6)
6. DALLAS: Old Man Dirk Nowitzki, 36, responded after resting a game by dropping 25 points on Denver. (4)
7. WASHINGTON: Growing pains: Beat San Antonio and Chicago on back-to-back nights, lost to struggling Nets. (5)
8. TORONTO: Got DeMar DeRozan (groin) back after he missed 21 games, but still has lost six of eight games. (7)
9. CHICAGO: The Bulls will lose to anybody. Six of 13 losses have come to sub-.500 teams, five of them at home. (8)
10. CLIPPERS: Still waiting to go on that winning run. An impressive win at Portland, but lost the games before and after. (10)
11. SAN ANTONIO: Feeling whole again: Kawhi Leonard returns after missing 15 games with injured hand. (11)
12. PHOENIX: Home cooking. Suns have won five straight at home, in midst of franchise-long eight-game homestand. (12)
13. CLEVELAND: Cavaliers win last two on West Coast swing, taking some of heat off Coach David Blatt — for now. (14)
14. MILWAUKEE: At halfway mark of season, the Bucks have already won six more games than they did last season. (13)
15. OKLAHOMA CITY: Who says Russell Westbrook won’t pass? He had a career-high 17 assists against Warriors. (16)
16. NEW ORLEANS: More depth, please: Injuries to starters Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday hurt. (15)
17. MIAMI: Dwyane Wade is injured again. Missed two consecutive games with injured hamstring. (17)
18. BROOKLYN: Lots of noise here. Talk of trading Brook Lopez and Jarrett Jack. Talk of selling the team. (19)
19. DENVER: Averaged 109.8 points per game during five-game win streak, 8.3 points higher than season average. (21)
20. INDIANA: At least the bench is productive. Reserves have scored 30 or more points in 36 of the 41 games. (18)
21. CHARLOTTE: Volatile guard Lance Stephenson back after missing 14 games, and now he’s on trading block. (20)
22. DETROIT: Brandon Jennings is getting it done. He averaged 21.6 points as Pistons won 10 of 12 games. (22)
23. SACRAMENTO: Not big on sharing the ball. Kings average 19.8 assists a game, the second-worst in the NBA. (23)
24. ORLANDO: Athletic rookie forward Aaron Gordon (fractured left foot) cleared to practice after missing 32 games. (24)
26. BOSTON: Trader Danny. Danny Ainge acquires five players, then trades one and buys out another. (26)
25. UTAH: Good defense goes only so far. Held four of last five opponents under 100 points, but only a 2-3 record. (25)
27. LAKERS: Kobe is rested for the seventh game. It doesn’t matter much to Lakers, who went 0-4 for the week. (27)
28. PHILADELPHIA: This is different: After starting season 2-23 on the Road to Tankville, 76ers have gone 6-8. (28)
29. MINNESOTA: There’s no defense here. Timberwolves yield a league-high 108.2 points a game. (29)
30. NEW YORK: Phil Jackson offered “mea culpa” to Knicks fans. Carmelo Anthony returned. Losing streak reached 16. (30)
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