Who's Hot Who's Not
Who's Hot
BUCKS ON PARADE
That's no mix-up. Since acquiring John Salmons from the LeBron-minded Bulls, Milwaukee has been the pride of the Midwest, winning nine of 10 behind its new two guard's 19.2 points per game. The Bucks have catapulted from ninth to fifth in the East while Chicago has slunk from sixth to eighth.
LEIGH ANNE TUOHY
Thanks to alter ego Sandra Bullock, the plucky Ole Miss--lovin' soccer mom won Oscar gold by association on Sunday, and she'll offer her take on the Michael Oher story in a book this summer. Which, we guess, puts a Blind Side video game out in time for Christmas.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
The Mavs have got that winnin' feeling, with a mix of old—28 points per game for Dirk Nowitzki, 31, since the All-Star break—and new, like rookie Rodrigue Beaubois (right), who dropped 18 in the third quarter during a franchise-best 11th straight win last Saturday.
PUT UP YOUR DUKES!
A return to normalcy in Durham, where last Saturday the Blue Devils broke a four-game losing streak to Carolina, stomping the Heels at home by a rivalry-record 32 points. Now the question: Will five Top 25 wins earn Duke its sixth No. 1 seed of the decade?
Who's Not
GARDEN CHARADE
Where's John Starks when you need him? Even that 2-for-18 stinker in the '94 Finals beats the Knicks' history-making 0-fer at MSG last Saturday: New York missed all 18 trey trys in falling to the Nets. Said coach Mike D'Antoni (left) of his club's 12th loss in 14 games, "It is as bad as it can get."
ARTEST'S 'DO: AIEEE!
Ask for "The Ron Artest" at Fantastic Sam's in L.A. and you get Sisqo-meets-Dennis Rodman-meets-Rosetta Stone. On Sunday, with his team headed for its third straight loss, the Laker debuted the coif, which has DEFENSE spelled out in Hebrew, Japanese and Hindi.
BUFFALO ICEMEN
Mayday-mayday.... Get goalie Ryan Miller some help. The American Olympic hero's Northeast-leading Sabres have lost eight of 11 while putting the puck in the net a mere 2.4 times per game. Ten of Buffalo's last 14 defeats have been by one goal.
STICK TO YOUR DUKES!
We pull no punches in reviewing the song stylings of world welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (left), who popped by Jimmy Kimmel Live—his second such visit—to warble through Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You: vocally, a lightweight.
SI PLAYERS NBA POLL
WHICH TEAM IS LEAST LIKELY TO WIN A TITLE IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?
New Jersey Nets 31%
Minnesota Timberwolves 16%
Memphis Grizzlies 15%
New York Knicks 11%
Los Angeles Clippers 5%
FAST FACTS
The Charlotte Bobcats also had 5%.... As of Monday the 7--55 Nets were threatening to match the futility of the alltime losingest team, the 76ers of 1972--73, who went 9--73.... Silver lining? The Pacers (20--43) received only one vote—the same as the league-leading Cavaliers (49--15).... Perception is that the decade's losingest team, the Hawks (313--485), could fly high; Atlanta got a mere two votes.
Based on a survey of 173 NBA players
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JEFF ZELEVANSKY/ICON SMI (D'ANTONI)
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FERNANDO MEDINA/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (ARTEST)
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PATRICK GREEN/ICON SMI (BEAUBOIS)
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MICHAEL DESMOND/ABC (PACQUIAO)
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CHRISTOPHER PASATIERI/US PRESSWIRE (NETS)
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ZHANG JUN/XINHUA/ZUMAPRESS.COM (TIMBERWOLVES)