* The Cavaliers have lost 16 straight. 16. Straight. God help this team.
* New York is also on a slide, losing six straight. They are still playing tough, but they are losing down the stretch. The Knicks need to fix this hiccup soon because playoff positioning matters.
* The Spurs are on a tear again, 8-2 in their last ten games despite a recent smashing they suffered at the hands of the Hornets. Overall, they are 37-6 as I write this. We have to take them seriously as a title contender no matter how ancient they are.
* Speaking of the Hornets, they are also on a tear after having some struggles in the last few weeks. Besides crapping all over the impressive Spurs, they completely pulverized and embarrassed the Atlanta Hawks 100-59 this weekend, and Atlanta is a decent squad! These guys might surprise a little in the West if they keep this kind of play up for the last half of the season.
* A surprising win streak: Golden State. The Warriors have such high school level defense that I wouldn’t have expected them to string together four or more wins in a streak at this point of the season. The NBA is full of surprises.
* Blake Griffin is going to win ROY hands-down even though he’s technically a sophomore (the NBA has a quirk where a rookie who missed his entire first season is still eligible to win ROY the following season). The guy essentially has no competition from one of the weakest rookie crops in recent years. Even John Wall is rather overrated: the guy can’t shoot worth a lick, turns it over too much even for a rook, and he can’t seem to lead his team to a road win (the Wizards are STILL winless on the road, and we’re halfway through the season, folks!). Geez – even the lame 2006 rookie group had Brandon Roy and Rajon Rondo. I’m just sayin’.