NBA standings 2012: Cavaliers still in basement of Central Division

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in last place in the Central Division and have the second worst record in all of basketball at 5-22. Only the Washington Wizards (3-20) are worst off than the Cavs.

In the Central, Cleveland trails the division-leading Chicago Bulls (14-10) by 10.5 games. The Cavs are 9.5 games behind both the Milwaukee Bucks (13-11) and Indiana Pacers (14-12). The Detroit Pistons (7-21) have lost six straight games and are only 1.5 games ahead of the Cavaliers,offering some hope that Cleveland can climb out of the cellar at some point.

Cleveland had hopes of improvement when Kyrie Irving returned from a broken finger on Dec. 11 and led the Cavs to a victory over the Lakers, but since that time Cleveland has lost five straight games. To make matters worse, the lone bright spot on the roster other than Irving, Anderson Varejao, missed Cleveland's last game with a knee injury and is day-to-day.

The Cavs face off against the Pacers and Bucks this weekend before matching up with the Wizards on Dec. 26 in a battle of the NBA's worst records.