Well folks, it’s time for another weekly installment of Slam Dunk Central NBA Power Rankings. This week, there was quite a bit movement, both north and south. Cleveland and Portland definitely made some noise this week, while some other teams barely made a whimper. Without further ado, here we go:

( ) – Last week’s ranking.

1. Boston Celtics (1). First the good. Boston managed to beat Orlando on Christmas Day. Now the bad. Their offense sputtered against Los Angeles and despite Rajon Rondo’s offensive brilliance this week, he struggled at the charity stripe.
2. Los Angeles Lakers (2). Christmas wasn’t too kind to the Lakers. There was lots of falling down going on, between the Lakers’ home loss to Cleveland, Kobe’s finger injury and Ron Artest imitating Dick Van Dyke at his house. Their offense, as of late, has been pretty average (100.7 PPG). Not Lakeresque by any stretch.
3. Orlando Magic (4). The Magic got a lump of coal Friday, as well (thank you very much Boston). Fortunately, they’re now relatively healthy, their defense has picked it up a notch and there was a J.J. Redick sighting.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (5). We know what LBJ has done this past week. But a pleasant surprise is the play of Mo Williams (54.8% shooting and 24.8 PPG the past four games). And of course, the Cavs continue their dominance at the Q, winning 10 straight.
5. Dallas Mavericks (6). The Mavericks, with minimal offense from Dirk Nowitzki (13 points) against the Nuggets, got the big win at the Pepsi Center. They can definitely pick up some momentum this week when they face the Lakers this Sunday.
6. Portland Trail Blazers (9). The Blazers are for all intents and purposes without a center, yet still find ways to win, as evidenced with some key W’s against Dallas, San Antonio and beating Denver on Friday. And they’ll be at the Rose Garden for awhile.
7. Atlanta Hawks (3). The Hawks get the unenviable task of facing Cleveland on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wanna bet that the suits in the Hawks front office are cursing David Stern?
8. Denver Nuggets (7). Even with Melo’s offense, the Nuggets clearly miss Chauncey Billups’ presence as their 1-4 record indicates. And it shows from both sides of the ball. Maybe Billups will return against Utah on Saturday. Groin injuries are so problematic.
9. San Antonio Spurs (11). They’ve gotta love the patsies they face this week (Minnesota on Tuesday, Washington on Saturday and Toronto on Sunday). They need to pick up their defense as their loss to Portland last Wednesday illustrated.
10. Phoenix Suns (8). Phoenix and the month of December don’t like each other as they’ve gone 5-9 thus far. IT doesn’t get any better as they face the Celtics and the surprising Memphis Grizzlies this week.
11. Houston Rockets (12). Now that McGrady’s days wth the team are numbered, expect bigger contributions from Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks. Anyone notice the smackdown that Cleveland gave Houston last Sunday?
12. Miami Heat (13). They’re on a roll, having won five of their last 6. And the defense gets all of the credit. And what gives them a bump up this week is that they waxed their opponents by at least 20 points per game. Next 3: At New Orleans, At San Antonio and Charlotte at home. Two winnable games there.
13. Utah Jazz (10). Now that Carlos Boozer will stay in the SLC for another year, they gave up Eric Maynor (who the Jazz really liked) and Matt Harpring to Oklahoma City. Call the trade a tradeoff on Boozer’s substantial salary. Boozer’s lighting it up, but they need to get offense from other places (D-Ron and AK-47, you listening?).
14. Oklahoma City Thunder (14). They have a sweet shcedule coming up as only one of their next 8 opponents are .500 or better. That would be Utah. They can only hope that for one game, Eric Maynor can embarrass the Jazz. Oh, did I mention that the Thunder are just a game behind the Jazz?
15. Toronto Raptors (19). Finally, Toronto has a decent winning streak (four and counting). Hard to say whether it’s their defense or their opponents’ are having shooting issues. Probably a bit of both. They get a late Christmas present Wednesday in the form of the Charlotte Bobcats.
16. Memphis Grizzlies (15). Yes, Zach Randolph had a heck of a week. But sharing the ball is still a work in progress. Saturday should be a big test as they visit Phoenix.
17. Sacramento Kings (17). Their statement game of the year so far was their 35- point, come-from-behind win over Chicago (the game that sealed Vinny Del Negro’s fate). Their near-win over the Lakers Saturday was impressive (should’ve won that one); they’ll get another shot at Los Angeles at Staples Center on Friday.
18. Milwaukee Bucks (18). The good news is that Michael Redd lit up the Wizards Wednesday for 32 points. The bad? Milwaukee plays nine of their next 11 on the road. They face Orlando then Oklahoma City this week…yikes!
19. New Orleans (16). The Hornets have been offensively challenged lately, save for their 108 against Golden State last Wednesday. But then again, any decent team in the Association can put up 108 against the Warriors. Although this is CP-3′s team, certainly offense can be found elsewhere (and that means you David West and Peja Stojakovic).
20. Los Angeles Clippers (20). The road brutalized the Clips, as evidenced by losing three straight by at least 19 per game. One good piece of news – Blake Griffin is close to returning. And they definitely need him as they face Portland and Philadelphia this week.
21. Charlotte Bobcats (25). First glance says that the Stephen Jackson trade should’ve made their offense more potent. Tough to say, but the Bobcats’ split this week indicates that their defense had something to do with it (93 PPG while giving up 83.5 PPG).
22. New York Knicks (23). The last seven games found the Knicks not cracking the 100-point barrier, which hasn’t been done under coach Mike D’Antoni since his days as the Suns coach (pre-Steven Nash). Thst trend should continue as they face Detroit, New Jersey, Atlanta and Indiana this week. This team is built for defense, folks.
23. Chicago Bulls (21). Just the fact that they let a 35-point lead slip away against Sacramento warrants a drop in the rankings. Their next three are: Indiana, Detroit and Orlando. Two out of 3 ain’t bad, considering that Vinny Del Negro’s job is on the line here.
24. Detroit Pistons (22). And the beat goes on in Motown, where losing these days is a way of life (seven games and counting). On the bright side, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince are back. While that’s good news, Detroit was losing when they were healthy. Now they can get acquainted once again.
25. Washington Wizards (26). This team, with Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler should be winning their fair share of games. This week, they win two straight followed by a loss to the Timberwolves. The freakin’ T-Wolves! Certainly Abe Pollin is rolling around in his grave.
26. Minnesota Timberwolves (29). The bright spot for Minnesota this week? They beat the doormats of the Eastern Conference: New Jersey and Washington. For them, that’s progress. Kevin Love is hot these days with 11 double-doubles in his last thirteen games. Look for the brief spurt of prosperity to end as they get to face the likes of San Antonio, Utah, Orlando and Indiana this week. 0-4 looks real doable here.
27. Philadelphia 76ers (27). This week for the Sixers finds coach Eddie Jordan still tinkering with his lineup, which never helps them sustain any kind of winning streak. I hesitate to say this, but the team misses Allen Iverson already. Their West Coast road trip doesn’t help matters either as they get to take on Sacramento, the Clippers and Denver.
28. Golden State Warriors (28). The proverbial “blind squirrel finding a nut” took place when the Warriors somehow beat Phoenix last Saturday. The prosperity should end starting when they face the Lakers and Portland this week.
29. Indiana Pacers (24). This team has issues, especially on offense and turning the ball over. Need proof? Against Miami on Sunday, they scored only 80 points despite going to the free throw line 44 times. There’s something wrong with that picture. It doesn’t get any better for Indiana as it looks like Danny Granger will be out another 2-3 weeks.
30. New Jersey Nets (30). If anything good came out of this week from th eNets, it’s the play of Yi “You have me in stiches” Jianlian as he’s scored 39 in the last two games. Believe it or not, their best chance to win is on Wednesday when they host the Knicks. Whoever gets to 100 first wins.