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25. Memphis Grizzlies (24)

Losers in nine of their last 10 outings, the Grizzlies will get Boston and Toronto (on the road) in their next two games. Something tells me the losing isn't quite finished.

Kyle Anderson's ankle will keep him out until at least February, further thinning Memphis' wing options. Chandler Parsons is on the way out, and Dillon Brooks' season is likely over following surgery to repair a ligament in his toe.

Remember when the Grizzlies were 12-5 and leading the West? That was a real thing that happened.

24. Detroit Pistons (23)

The Pistons' season may still be headed down the tubes, and they may also still own the league's fifth-worst net rating since Dec. 1, but at least Blake Griffin got a little catharsis this week.

He scored 44 points in Saturday's 109-104 road win over the Clippers, and though he denied ill intent, he appeared to snub his former boss, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer before the game. Maybe he was sprinting toward a supply closet looking for one of those "Pioneers" T-shirts L.A. had made up as part of its 2017 free-agency pitch to Griffin. Those are probably collector's items.

The Pistons went 2-1 this week (3-1 if you count Griffin's owning Ballmer as a victory).

23. Atlanta Hawks (25)

The Hawks have a three-game winning streak this season (they beat Washington, New York and Detroit from Dec. 18 to 23), but this was easily their best week of the year. Atlanta downed the playoff-bound 76ers and Thunder and had a loss to Milwaukee sandwiched in between.

Kevin Huerter has shown flashes of being more than a shooter, and the one-handed dime he tapped to Taurean Prince against the Bucks stands out as the latest evidence. He also scored 29 points against the Sixers last Friday and is 12 of his last 21 from deep, bringing his season mark up to 39.1 percent.

Remarkably, Atlanta is 8-7 over the last calendar month. Time for these guys to get a bump up the rankings.

22. Charlotte Hornets (20)

Charlotte finished its six-game road trip with a 2-4 record, though Monday's 108-93 win over the Spurs, in which Tony Parker's return to San Antonio produced all the feels, made the journey seem a bit more successful than it was.

Cody Zeller's absence (hand) is, once again, coinciding with a Hornets slide. Nothing like two years ago, when Charlotte was 33-29 with him and 3-17 without him, but it's clear from the Hornets' 3-5 mark over his recent eight-game stint on the sideline that Zeller matters.

21. Dallas Mavericks (19)

Dallas' bench was its greatest strength through the first half of the season, but because Maxi Kleber moved into the starting five and J.J. Barea is out for the season following surgery to repair a torn Achilles, the Mavs have lost the drivers of their strong reserve group. Barea and Kleber were both part of Dallas' best five-man unit.

It's possible the Mavericks will add depth via a seemingly inevitable Dennis Smith Jr. trade, but Barea's pick-and-roll artistry and irritating (in the best way) playing style aren't easily replaceable.

The Mavs went 1-2 this week to fall four games under .500 for the first time since early November.