The Toronto Raptors’ 13-2 start to the season gave them a sizeable cushion atop the Eastern Conference, and by the looks of things recently, they’re going to need every bit of that leeway.
Over the last couple of weeks a combination of the DeMar DeRozan injury, an inability to sustain their torrid play and sudden surges from the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers has put a great deal of pressure on Toronto to remain in the pole position.
Both the Hawks and the Cavs have reeled off seven seven straight victories to close the gap. As the standings are now, the Raptors hold just a 1.5-game lead on Atlanta and the rock solid Washington Wizards, and a three game lead over the Cavaliers.
This entire season has been an exploration of uncharted territory for the Raptors, but having teams hot on their tails is a particularly new experience. Can they fend off all comers even with DeRozan out of the lineup?
| Rank | Team | Previous | |
| 1 |  |
Winners of 13 straight, playing the best defence in the league, boasting a roster with a legitimate MVP candidate who hits ice-cold game winners and makes awesome viral videos. Yup, the Warriors are good. |
1 |
| 2 |  |
If it wasn’t for Golden State, the Blazers would definitely be the hottest team in basketball right now, having racked up 13 wins in their last 14 contests. The main reason? LaMarcus Aldridge. The big man from Texas is averaging a double-double in that span (22.4 points and 11.3 rebounds), while shooting an absurd 70 percent from deep. |
4 |
| 3 |  |
Don’t look now but the perfect-pick-and-rolling, all-motion, never-dribbling, always-passing-up-good-shots-for-great-shots offence that destroyed the Heat in the Finals is re-awakening. San Antonio has won 10 of their last 11 games. In that span they’re scoring 110.3 points per 100 possessions and assisting on 64.9 percent of all their made-field goals. |
6 |
| 4 |  |
The Rockets haven’t missed a beat since Dwight Howard went down with a knee injury, going 7-2 and (surprisingly) fielding the sixth-ranked defence in the league during that span. New personnel have helped them clamp down, but so has James Harden’s sudden commitment to D. |
5 |
| 5 |  |
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7 |
| 6 |  |
Marc Gasol is enjoying a career year and should be considered an early season MVP candidate. His secret? Dropping weight thanks to a semi-vegetarian diet. No wonder the big man was reportedly spotted at a raw food joint when he was in Toronto. |
3 |
| 7 |  |
The Clippers have won eight straight, obliterating teams with a net rating of 17.9 points per 100 possessions over that span. The turnaround is mostly thanks to their absurd offence; they’re currently the Association’s best shooting club both from the floor (48.4 percent) and deep (38.5 percent). |
15 |
| 8 |  |
Remember when the Cavaliers were below .500 and the sky was falling? Me neither. Cleveland has won seven straight. Better than the wins though, LeBron James got to meet the Royal Family and, Dion Waiters could be on his way out of Cleveland. |
18 |
| 9 |  |
The Raptors remain one of the most explosive offences in the league, but have really seen their defence slip since DeRozan was forced out of the lineup. On Monday against the Nuggets, however, they really tightened the screws while showing some real grit in forcing OT and pulling out the win. |
2 |
| 10 |  |
The Hawks have reeled off seven straight and are right on the Raptors’ tail. During their hot streak they’ve been the top defensive team in the league and have been beating opponents by an average of 14.8 points per game. Impressive. |
13 |
| 11 |  |
Last March, Wizards guard John Wall took the time to meet and befriend six-year-old Miyah Nelson, who was battling Burkitt’s lymphoma. Unfortunately, Nelson passed away recently and Wall—after a 26-point, 17-assist effort in a 133-132 2OT win over the Celtics—broke down speaking about her. The kid’s got a real heart. |
9 |
| 12 |  |
Ladies and gentlemen, the Gerald Green show: Baseline slam, huge alley-oop, the T-Mac, breakaway flush and the “can you please just participate in the dunk contest again?” |
8 |
| 13 |  |
Good news: Derrick Rose is back! Bad news: In the seven games he’s played since his return, he’s been struggling, shooting just 37.9 percent from the field. Perhaps it’s time to stop putting up threes (6.6 attempts per game since his return) because he really doesn’t have the range (30 percent from deep this season). |
11 |
| 14 |  |
Back to reality. The Kings have lost five of their last six games, and budding superstar DeMarcus Cousins is out with viral meningitis. |
10 |
| 15 |  |
Is Jason Kidd hurting Jabari Parker’s development by limiting the second-overall pick’s minutes? A number of Eastern Conference scouts and executives think so. Parker is the leading rookie scorer (12.4 points per) and is getting the third-most minutes as a rookie this season (29.9 a game). |
17 |
| 16 |  |
Anthony Davis is averaging 17.2 field-goal attempts per game, but Pelicans coach Monty Williams wants his young superstar to take at least 20. Hard arguing against more shots for the Brow, but why just 20? When I play as the Pelicans in 2K, I gun for at least 40. I’ve never lost as NOLA. Just sayin’. |
12 |
| 17 |  |
Russ and KD are back and the Thunder are starting to win again. Coincidence? No. Definitely not, no. |
29 |
| 18 |  |
The Magic remain a bad team with clear upside. Nikola Vucevic looks like a star, Tobias Harris could blossom into a Shawn Marion-type and Victor Oladipo has made great strides. Now, if only they could find a way to speed up the development of rookie Elfrid Payton’s awful shot. |
20 |
| 19 |  |
Brook Lopez is sidelined with a back injury and is expected to miss the Nets’ next three games. This would be bigger news if Brooklyn could put together anything resembling consistent play. |
21 |
| 20 |  |
Gabrielle Union took over a post-game interview in spectacular fashion. That’s been about the only good thing that’s happened to the Heat in the past two weeks. They’ve lost four straight and are playing the worst defence in that span, allowing 117.8 points per 100 possessions. |
14 |
| 21 |  |
The up-and-down Nuggets are down again (losers of four straight), but boy did they have some wicked highlights. |
16 |
| 22 |  |
Could Jeff Green be an all-star? He’s got the numbers to make an argument: 19.3 points per game, 45.3 percent shooting. |
24 |
| 23 |  |
The Lakers are marching towards an unflattering milestone for points allowed per 100 possessions. But hey Lakers fans, at least Kobe had breakfast with Rajon Rondo. |
28 |
| 24 |  |
Indiana just can’t catch a break. Add Ian Mahinmi to list of victims hit by the Pacers’ injury bug. Mahinmi was just one of five players on Indiana’s entire roster who’d played in every game up until he was forced out of Monday’s contest. |
19 |
| 25 |  |
The Hornets are bad, but Kemba Walker is awesome! |
23 |
| 26 |  |
Andrew Wiggins was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for November. He hasn’t set the league on fire, but the Thornhill, Ont., native has shown flashes of his huge potential, and it’s been a lot of fun to watch. |
25 |
| 27 |  |
Alec Burks will require shoulder surgery at the end of the season, but he says he’s going to play through the injury for now. On one hand, it’s an admirable sacrifice for the good of his team. On the other, the Jazz have lost eight straight with no reason to hope they’ll bounce back, so why not do the surgery now and come back 100 percent next season? |
22 |
| 28 |  |
It looks like Phil Jackson is learning just how messed up an organization the Knicks really are. |
26 |
| 29 |  |
The Sixers have won not just one, but two games! Magic really does exist. |
30 |
| 30 |  |
When the 76ers are playing better ball than you, there’s a problem. |
27 |
