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What a weird week. The Sacramento Kings beat both the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Hornets while the Toronto Raptors attempt to overtake the Cleveland Cavaliers as the worst team in the National Basketball Association.

Meanwhile, San Antonio is still on top of the rankings. That and more in this week’s edition of Slam Dunk Central’s NBA Power Rankings:

Listed below are the teams, their win-loss record as of January 30 and last week’s ranking:

1. San Antonio Spurs (40-7) (1) Another perfect week for the Spurs. Shocker, no? As good as they are, they eclipsed 40 wins faster than any of their other seasons when they won a NBA title.
2. Boston Celtics (36-11) (2) It was expected to see the Celtics beat up Cleveland and Portland. But lose to Phoenix and see that neither team scored 100 points? Consider it an anomaly. Can the Celtics not suffer a case of the swollen head (defeating the Lakers does that to some teams) as they face Sacramento (Laker-beaters recently), Dallas and Orlando this week?
3. Chicago Bulls (33-14) (5) A perfect week for the Bulls, despite the fact that Derrick Rose is playing with not one, but two ulcers. I’d have to say that Chicago is giving its opponents ulcers. They’ll be away from the United Center for the next five games, which will show their true colors. They visit the Clippers and Golden State this week.
4. Miami Heat (33-14) (4) The Big Three finally are back; the question is for how long? Maybe this is just me, but I think the Heat would do better (if that’s possible) if they started Joel Anthony instead of Zydrunas Ilgauskas at center? It seems that Anthony provides that defensive spark more consistently than Z does.
5. Dallas Mavericks (31-15) (10) You have to give coach Rick Carlisle some big props for somehow getting the Mavs through the tough times, especially since Caron Butler’s out for the season. Yes, Dirk Nowitzki’s a big part of it, but other players are stepping up. The small forward position is in flux, so let’s see if Dallas pulls a trigger on a trade.
6. Los Angeles Lakers (33-15) (3) Ok, let’s see here. They crush Utah by 29 then follow that up with losses to Sacramento and Boston at home. It seems to me that all of a sudden, Los Angeles is mortal. Even wearing retro jerseys from the 1971-72 championship years didn’t help any. Once again, a lack of focus rears its ugly head.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder (30-17) (8) To prove that the exorcism of the Seattle SuperSonics is complete, Kevin Durant said this after Sunday’s loss to Miami: ”We don’t take moral victories here. We wanted to win that game. We had the game and we just didn’t (finish). Moral victories have been out the door for two years now.” I’m with Kevin on this one. There’s no such thing as a good loss.
8. Orlando Magic (31-17) (6) All of a sudden, the Magic roster isn’t so healthy, save for Dwight Howard. While the injuries aren’t serious, it puts a strain on both guard positions as Jameer Nelson, Gilbert Arenas and J.J. Redick are hurting. That aside, they have a tough 3-game run this week as they face Miami, Washington and Boston.
9. Atlanta Hawks (30-18) (9) Inconsistency has been a recurring theme lately for the Hawks. The inability to finish games did them in, for the most part. There’s no reason they can’t be perfect this week as they face Toronto, the Clippers and Washington; it doesn’t get any easier than this.
10. New Orleans Hornets (31-18) (8) New Orleans joined the Lakers as losers to the Sacramento Kings; perhaps their defense took a dump. They get a chance to correct that issue when they take on Washington, Oklahoma City (again) and the Lakers.
11. Utah Jazz (28-20) (12) Just when you thought that the Jazz was recovering from their recent six-game slide, players started getting hurt, with Deron Williams the big one on the list, followed by Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko. They can ill afford to miss those three for any length of time as the 50-game juncture is fast approaching.
12. Denver Nuggets (28-19) (11) As easy a schedule that Denver had last week, they could go only 2-1. And this time, you can’t blame Carmelo Anthony. As long as the trade rumors persist, the Nuggets will be a mystery team in terms of daily results on the hardwood.
13. Memphis Grizzlies (24-24) (14) As strange as it seems, the Grizzlies are on a roll as they took three of four this week. Their defense can be thanked for the surprising week as they gave up just 94.5 PPG. Now it looks like they will need to find a point guard on the waiver wire.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (25-22) (13) Another Blazer bit the dust as Nicolas Batum suffered a knee injury against Boston last Thursday. This probably puts more pressure on LaMarcus Aldridge (not that he needs any more pressure with Brandon Roy out indefinitely). All this and yet Portland still remains above .500.
15. New York Knicks (25-22) (16) Lots going on over in the NYC; Amare Stoudemire’s knee took a beating agaisnt Atlanta last Friday and now the team is very close to hiring a former Denver Nugget executive – presumably to entice Carmelo anthony to become a Knick. It looks like New York is going to do what New Jersey has already done: lose their focus. All because of ‘Melo.
16. Phoenix Suns (22-24) (15) Poor Marcin Gortat. With all of the money he’s making with the Suns, he can’t crack the starting lineup – through no fault of his own. He clearly outperforms Robin Lopez nearly every game and yet he doesn’t start. Phoenix is playing better, but they have the wrong center starting.
17. Philadelphia 76ers (21-26) (19) They had an impressive week, going 3-1. I think the team has bought into Doug Collins’ program and the end result seems to bear that out. Most impressive is that all of their three wins this week were margins of double-digits, not to mention that they’re healthy, for a change.
18. Golden State Warriors (20-27) (17) Losers of three of four this past week, the Warriors’ Monta Ellis performed well, save for scoring just two points vs. Utah. I wonder if the All-Star coaches for the Western Conference coaches took notice?
19. Houston Rockets (22-27) (18) Not all is pleasant on the Rockets’ front. Aaron Brooks’ doesn’t start like he used to; despite what he publicly says, he’s not happy about not getting a contract extension. And they still lack that presence at the 5. Until they address that issue, Houston isn’t going to visit the postseason.
20. Charlotte Bobcats (20-26) (21) They were successful out West this past week, eclipsing 100+ points twice. What’s telling here is that they’re still in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. But they need Gerald Wallace to produce, otherwise the Bobcats won’t see the playoffs.
21. Los Angeles Clippers (18-28) (20) The Clips are getting mixed results lately, as Randy Foye starts for the injured Eric Gordon while DeAndre Jordan’s game is improving – even if it’s baby steps. Fortunately, Blake Griffin’s his usual self. It should be interesting what Los Angeles does when Chris Kaman returns.
22. Milwaukee Bucks (19-26) (22) They’re playing better these days, courtesy of Carlos Delfino. Yet Brandon Jennings, despite just recently returning, is complaining about his playing time already. The Bucks don’t need dissension, especially since they’re within sniffing distance of the eighth seed of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.
23. Indiana Pacers (17-27) (23) Jim O’Brien got canned and Frank Vogel is the coach for the rest of the season. Will the Pacers rebound and rally around their new coach? If their win over Toronto is any indication, then yes may be the answer. Roy Hibbert scored 24 vs. the Raptors, so there’s a glimmer of hope.
24. Detroit Pistons (17-31) (24) This next couple of weeks should indicate whether the Pistons see the postseason as they play a good portion of their schedule at the Palace. With the Eastern Conferenc eplayoff chase in constant flux, anything can happen. This week they have Charlotte, New Jersey and Milwaukee, so it’s now or never in terms of making that last stand.
25. New Jersey Nets (14-34) (26) Allegedly, the Carmelo Anthony drama is over in New Jersey. Perhaps now, assuming that episode is over, they can concentrate on getting some wins. they earned a split this week, so perhaps they’re over the hump. Just maybe …
26. Sacramento Kings (12-33) (29) They were certainly giant-slayers this past week, beating Portland at the Rose Garden, the Lakers at Staples Center and New Orleans at Arco. DeMarcus Cousins is showing why the Kings took him with their first-round pick, which bodes well for the team down the road. They have the unenviable task of hosting San Antonio on Friday.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-36) (27) While the team flounders, Kevin Love’s All-Star campaign continues. As it were, the team has little to play for except pride and K-Love’s bid to play in the NBA All-Star Game. His numbers suggest he plays in the game; to not be selected would be a shame.
28. Washington Wizards (13-33) (25) One must ask if Flip Saunders is the coach who will lead this team next season as this season is a disaster. One telling clue is that Nick Young is openly wondering about Saunders himself. This is Saunders’ second year in D.C., so the jury’s out.
29. Toronto Raptors (13-35) (28) Losing seems to make you forget how to play the game the right way. The Raptors, losers of 11 straight (as of Monday), are examples of that. Not only are they not scoring much, but they’re outrebounded on nearly a game-by-game basis. There’s talent on the team, but that takes you only so far.
30. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-39) (30) 20 and counting (as of Monday). That’s the loss count for the Cavaliers and I’m thinking that it will get larger. They’re close to eclipsing the NBA record of 23, held by the 1996 Vancouver Grizzlies. First-to-worst certainly is in the windshield of the Cavaliers. Their schedule this week isn’t looking good in terms of the streak ending as they face Indiana, Memphis and Portland.