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This week’s edition of Slam Dunk Central’s NBA Power Rankings will be the final one for 2010. The year closes out with the Los Angeles Lakers taking a trip south (rankings-wise) while the Spurs remain King of the Hill for the second straight week.

So let’s close out 2010 with this week’s edition of Slam Dunk Central’s NBA Power Rankings:

(Win-loss records and games played are reflected for the week of December 20-26, 2010. Listed are teams, win-loss records and last week’s ranking in parentheses)

1. San Antonio Spurs (26-4) (1) Things remain the same in San Antonio as they went 3-1 during this past week. Perhaps there is a 6th man controversy as Gary Neal stepped up his game while George Hill recovered from a toe injury. Now that Hill is back, Neal is a bit lower on the Spurs’ food chain. Not a bad problem to have if you’re Gregg Popovich.
2. Boston Celtics (23-5) (2) They had a light schedule last week in which they beat Philadelphia while losing to Orlando. Now the Celtics are on the road for three of 4 games this week, with the only home game being against New Orleans. Nothing of any real consequence took place, so expect the Celtics to roll this week.
3. Miami Heat (23-9) (5) Kings of the Southeastern Division, Miami just keeps rolling along. Mike Miller should be back from his thumb injury relatively soon, which makes the Heat that much more dangerous. While beating New York Tuesday, they now face Houston and a have a fun matchup in Golden State.
4. Dallas Mavericks (23-5) (3) One would ask why the Mavs drop a spot in the rankings, and probably rightfully so. It really has nothing to do with their performance insomuch as the Miami Heat are arguably the league’s hottest team right now. The health of Dirk Nowitzki will be key this week as he’s nursing a sprained knee. Shawn Marion will probably start a couple of games this week.
5. Utah Jazz (21-9) (6) While they did defeat a pair of NBA weaklings (Cleveland and Minnesota), they now have a heavy load to close out the 2010 calendar year, facing Portland twice, the Clippers and Memphis. Three out of 4 is very doable here.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (21-10) (7) They and Utah have been gaining ground in the rankings and they are percentage points behind Utah in the Northwest Division. They’re healthy, so things can get better for the OKC, despite losing to Dallas on Monday.
7. Los Angeles Lakers (22-8) (4) I have no idea what the problem is with the Lakers, other than poor shooting. It doesn’t matter much as they have the good fortune to be in arguably the weakest division in the NBA. They won’t be down much longer, rest assured.
8. Chicago Bulls (19-10) (12) This team took three of 4 this past week and are a real threat to the Boston Celtics at this point of the season. Derrick Rose seems to have gotten out of his offensive funk, which is good news for the team fromj the Windy City.
9. Orlando Magic (18-12) (9) It looks like the players in the trade with Phoenix (Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark) are starting to pay dividends for their new team. Turkoglu will probably make the loss of Rashard Lewis palatable as will Richardson replacing Vince Carter. The big question is will the Magic miss Marcin Gortat? Only time will tell, but things are looking up – for now.
10. Atlanta Hawks (19-12) (8) Winners of two out of 3, Atlanta could be hurting with Marvin Williams fighting a bruised lower back and is day-to-day. Despite that issue, I do not think that they will suffer too much if Williams loses any appreciable game time.
11. Denver Nuggets (18-10) (11) The Nuggets lost three straight last week. But to be fair, they lost those games without Carmelo Anthony. And no, he wasn’t injured. But his absence could provide a strong case to keep him in the Mile High City, nevertheless.
12. New York Knicks (16-13) (13) You have to give the Knicks credit where it is due as they beat Oklahoma City and Chicago. Raymond Felton has found a home in the NYC; not only is he scoring, but playing some pretty decent defense, as well. Even at the 30-game juncture, the Knicks are to be taken seriously.
13. New Orleans Hornets (16-13) (10) Winning games on the road has proven difficult for the Hornets and they will need to correct that issue if they want to remain relevant in the Western Conference playoff picture.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (15-15) (14) Their win-loss record would have them in 7th place in the Eastenr Conference, As it were, they’re hanging onto #8, which can change on an almost daily basis. Like a few other teams, they need to do a little better on the road.
15. Houston Rockets (14-16) (15) Nothing can help a team more than to beat the weak sisters. In the Rockets’ case, they beat the Clippers and Warriors last week. What I am wondering is how long the team can survive without a true canter in the paint because Chuck Hayes is not the answer.
16. Indiana Pacers (12-16) (16) Playing only two games during the holiday season apparently didn’t agree with the Pacers. Perhaps it’s time for the team to think of some trades as by all appearances, they have lost focus which is not good when you hold the #7 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
17. Memphis Grizzlies (13-17) (18) Defense wins games, regardless of what team you are in the NBA. And Memphis is proof of that. Now only if they can put together a string of victories to boost them in the playoff hunt.
18. Phoenix Suns (17) Even with the new players on their team, the Suns appear to have forgotten how to win games, as witnessed by their losses to San Antonio, Miami and the Clippers. They’re getting to the point where every game is a must-win game these days.
19. Philadelphia 76ers (12-17) (20) Don’t let their recent win-loss record fool you. This team is gelling together and Jrue Holiday plays a big part of that. And that’s a big deal when you hold the #8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.
20. Milwaukee Bucks (10-17) (19) They won two of 3 last week, but that’s an anomaly as they’re the NBA’s modern day version of a MASH unit. As snakebitten as they are, it’s amazing they are within sniffing distance of Indiana and Philadelphia in the playoff chase.
21. Golden State Warriors (10-18) (22) As strange as it sounds, Golden State is enjoying a resurgence, especially with David Lee returning from injury. They could sure use Andris Biedrins’ presence on the court right now as defense has been an afterthought.
22. Charlotte Bobcats (11-17) (23) Is it any wonder why nomad Larry Brown resigned? There’s arguments from both sides on that matter, but that’s irrelevant as Paul Silas takes over. The thing is is that it may be a case of too little, too late for the squad from Charlotte.
23. Toronto Raptors (11-19) (21) They played just one game last week and get blown out. Such is the life of the squad north of the border. But to be fair, injuries have a lot to do with their recent freefall. But even when they were healthy, the Raptors weren’t doing much, so this basically compounding an already bad situation.
24. Detroit Pistons (10-20) (24) Lately, their shooting has improved. They will need to continue that trend as Richard Hamilton is pretty much an afterthought these days in Detroit. He better get used to being the 6th man from the bench.
25. Los Angeles Clippers (8-22) (26) Break out the Clippers! They won two of 3, thanks to the play of Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon. Now if they could get something similar from the rest of the lineup. And it doesn’t help that their schedule in January will get brutal.
26. New Jersey Nets (8-22) (25) All this team has to do is simply play hard and things will fall into place. Of course, this being New Jersey, they’re too consumed with getting Carmelo Anthony instead of concentrating on the task at hand – which is winning games.
27. Washington Wizards (7-20) (28) This is the lone team yet to win on the road, so their win-loss record isn’t surprising in that respect. Not only that, rumor has it that they’re shopping Andray Blatche around. These are the signs of a team that ius going anywhere fast. A tleast the team had someresemblance of success when they were named the Bullets.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-23) (29) While it’s good to shoot three-pointers and be successful at it, points in the paint matter, too. That’s been the scourge of the team from Minneapolis. Then there’s the Jonny Flynn trade rumors floating around. This is exactly why the T-Wolves aren’t successful. The upper management is awful and the owner even worse.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-21) (27) The Cavaliers can’t do any worse, can they? They let go Jawad Williams and sign someone by the name of Alonzo Gee. As if that is going to really help this squad. I don’t care what the Cavs’ coach says, he was let go because of his $1 million contract, not because of his skills as a basketball player.
30. Sacramento Kings (6-21) (30) Their best player, Tyreke Evans, is suffering with plantar fasciitis. As such, his health is of paramount concern to the Kings. Even with Evans’ health issues, they still have team chemistry problems to deal with – something that has been going on all season long.