The New York Knicks defeated the Washington Wizards Monday to end a six-game losing streak. That was not, however, enough to keep the Knicks from tumbling out of the top half of the latest SB Nation NBA Power Rankings. The Knicks careened into the bottom half of the latest rankings, landing at No. 16 after having been No. 13 a week ago.
The Knicks (23-21) have games coming up Thursday at home against the Miami Heat (31-13) and Friday in Atlanta against the 29-16 Hawks, so a tumble back to the .500 mark is a distinct possibility.
The 13-32 New Jersey Nets ascended to 27th in the rankings, up from No. 30 a week ago. The Nets have actually won three of their last four, and those 13 victories are more than they had all of last season. SB Nation thinks that the playoffs (gasp!) might even be within shooting distance for the Nets.
The top five teams in the current rankings are the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls. The hapless Cleveland Cavaliers are last in the rankings of the NBA's 30 teams.