MVN: Most Valuable Network

Every week here at NBA Outsider we look at which teams and players are hot and who's not from the Association. Here's the league's latest movers and shakers...

Rising:

Minnesota Timberwolves - Without looking at the latest NBA standings, can anyone guess which team currently holds the league's longest winning streak? That would be these Wolves, who have won seven out of their last nine (including five in a row) and are still unbeaten in 2009. Since Kevin McHale took over as head coach Minnesota has gone 7-10, a marked improvement over the the same Wolves that went 4-15 under Randy Wittman. McHale has gotten guys like Randy Foye and Ryan Gomes playing much better, and by shortening the rotation and pushing the offensive tempo, the Wolves have quickly moved up from the second-worst team in the league to a respectable ninth in the deep Western Conference.

Andre Iguodala (76ers) - Since Elton Brand was sidelined with a shoulder injury, Iguodala has upped his game on both ends of the floor. In Philadelphia's last 10 games, Iggy has averaged 2.5 steals, and during the Sixers' current four-game winning streak that includes wins over the Rockets and Hawks, Iguodala has averaged 21.8 points, 6.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and shot 53.4 percent from the field. Philadelphia is now only percentage points away from being in eighth place in the East thanks to their recent surge.

Mehmet Okur (Jazz) - Things were rather bleak in Utah only a few weeks ago, but since Christmas, the Jazz have rebounded to go a solid 5-2, putting themselves back into eighth place in the West. Okur's scoring over the stretch has been the difference, as he's scored at least 20 points in seven of his last eight games and is shooting 21-of-31 from the field (including 6-of-8 from downtown) in his last three.

Falling:

Dallas Mavericks - Just a few days ago the Mavericks were all the way up to fifth place in the crowded West, but thanks to a pair of ugly losses (including a 28-point thumping on national television to Shaquille O'Neal and the Suns on Friday), Dallas has fallen all the way to ninth. Dirk Nowitzki has struggled mightily during the Mavs' mini-slump, averaging only 14.7 points off just 32.5 percent shooting over the team's last three. With Dirk off his game and Josh Howard back on the pine with another injury, Rick Carlisle is going to have to get his team to dig in on defense in order to get back to winning games.

Atlanta Hawks - Atlanta's six straight wins to close out 2008 seem like they came ages ago, as the Hawks have lost four of five in '09. Even worse is the fact that Al Horford is due to miss a few more games as the team begins a quick three-games-in-four-nights road trip to the West coast. All of a sudden the Hawks have fallen below the Pistons and have only a three-game cushion over the sixth-place Heat in the East.

Gerald Wallace (Bobcats) - Wallace's effort has been clearly lacking of late, and it all culminated into an abysmal zero-point, zero-shot game in Charlotte's win over the Wizards on Saturday. Wallace got himself benched in the second half and managed only five rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes of passive play. For a guy with a reputation of making all the hustle plays on defense and getting to the free throw line on offense, his combined zero blocks, two steals and three free throw attempts in his last three games certainly make the benching seem warranted.