The Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks leapfrog the Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, respectively, as the race for the bottom becomes uglier and uglier by the week.
| Ranking | Team | Record | nERD | Last Ranking | Plus/Minus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Phoenix Suns | 18-41 | 23.1 | 29 | -1 |
| 29 | Sacramento Kings | 18-39 | 23.6 | 30 | 1 |
| 28 | Chicago Bulls | 20-37 | 31.9 | 28 | 0 |
| 27 | Brooklyn Nets | 19-40 | 33.9 | 27 | 0 |
| 26 | Atlanta Hawks | 18-41 | 35.6 | 26 | 0 |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies | 18-38 | 35.7 | 25 | 0 |
| 24 | Orlando Magic | 18-39 | 37.2 | 24 | 0 |
| 23 | New York Knicks | 23-36 | 39.9 | 22 | -1 |
| 22 | Dallas Mavericks | 18-40 | 41.2 | 23 | 1 |
| 21 | Los Angeles Lakers | 23-33 | 43.2 | 21 | 0 |
Risers
The Sacramento Kings are 5-6 over their last 11, which basically does nothing outside of hurting their chances for the top pick. They still stink, but the Phoenix Suns bottomed out so hard that the Kings had to basically get out of their way for the bottom spot in our rankings.
Much like the Kings, the Dallas Mavericks move up a spot in our bottom tier simply to make room for a team headed in the opposite direction (the New York Knicks). The Mavs have won two of their last six, for whatever that's worth.
Fallers
We have a new team at the bottom, folks! And boy, have the Phoenix Suns earned it. They've lost seven in a row and 12 of their last 13, and now sit tied with the Atlanta Hawks for the worst record in the Association. They've dropped their last seven games by an average of 24.3 points, including losses of 32, 48, and 46 to the Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, and Golden State Warriors, respectively. Silver lining: they now sit at the top of the draft lottery odds rankings, according to tankathon.com.
The Knicks are plummeting, having lost eight in a row and 11 of their last 13. Now that Kristaps Porzingis is out for the season with a torn ACL, they are destined to miss the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. The big problem in New York is that they have basically no hope of making the postseason -- we give them a 0.2% chance -- but also have too many wins to get in the mix for the top spot in the draft lottery odds. Knicks gonna Knick.