• Tweet

• Tweet

The San Antonio Spurs are still in their rightful place at #1 of Slam Dunk Central’s NBA Power Rankings, while the Indiana Pacers, under new coach Frank Vogel are on a 4-game winning streak. Meanwhile, Dallas remains hot along with Miami while Washington is still looking for their first road win this season and Cleveland … is still Cleveland.

This and more in this week’s edition of Slam Dunk Central’s NBA Power Rankings for the week of January 31-February 6:

Listed below are the teams, their win-loss record as of February 6 and last week’s ranking:

1. San Antonio Spurs (42-8) (1) Other than losing to Portland last Tuesday, the Spurs are 2-1 on their “Rodeo Road Trip”. What that means is that they probably will end up wither 8-1 or 7-2. They’ll be out East all week as they get the enviable task of taking on Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia and Washington. It’s good to be the king.
2. Boston Celtics (38-12) (2) Shaq’s out with a sore Achilles tendon, which means Kendrick Perkins will start in the meantime. Whether that’s good or bad is up to discussion; despite that, the Celtics roll on even without a true center in their lineup. of course, when the other four players are having decent seasons, the lack of a center isn’t such a big deal.
3. Miami Heat (37-14) (4) They’re on another of those hot streaks, yet at some point of time, the lack of a true center is going to bite them. Having Zydraunas Ilgauskas starting doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, not to mention that their bench really hasn’t manned up, save for the occasional contribution from Eddie House.
4. Chicago Bulls (34-15) (3) The Bulls would be at #3 this week, but it just so happened that Miami’s got the hot hand right now, so it isn’t Chicago’s fault, really. Derrick Rose had a rare game where he turned the ball over more than his assist totals indicate (9 turnovers vs. Golden State on Saturday). Look at Steve Nash; he turns the rock over a lot yet is still a top point guard in the NBA.
5. Dallas Mavericks (35-15) (5) Is it a coincidence that the Mavericks have won eight straight, once Dirk Nowitzki returned to the lineup? maybe, maybe not. Nevertheless, the forward position will be reinforced when Peja Stojakovic returns in the next week or so.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (33-17) (7) They’re healthy, they have two All-Stars this season, yet their defense isn’t what it used to be. Maybe coach Scott Brooks and/or his assistants can correc tthat issue before it’s too late. They can’t expect to give up 102 PPG and expect to win consistently.
7. Los Angeles Lakers (35-16) (6) Nothing out of the ordinary in terms of this team, other than Andrew Bynum tweaked his knee (bone bruise). Maybe it’s a matter of time before some controversy comes out of 1111 South Figueroa. A pretty average week in LA.
8. Atlanta Hawks (33-18) (9) The good news is that they were perfect this past week (3-0); the bad news is that Al Horford suffered a sore lower back and is day-to-day. With the makeup of this team, they should be ok, thanks to Josh Smith. Don’t be surprised if Zaza Pachulia starts at center for now.
9. Orlando Magic (32-20) (8) It is tough to put on a finger on why the Magic lost three of four this past week, but being shorthanded doesn’t help matters as Brandon Bass is out with a sprained ankle. Look for Ryan Anderson to get a few starts until Bass is healthy again.
10. New Orleans Hornets (32-20) (10) I think it’s safe to say that the Hornets’ defense isn’t the real reason they lost two of three this past week. But at the same time, the offense was sorely lacking. They’re shorthanded, as well, as Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza will be out for a bit. It isn’t a good sign when Aaron Gray replaces Okafor and Quincy Pondexter replaces Ariza.
11. Denver Nuggets (30-21) (12) The Nuggets will geta test of sorts as they have have five of their bext seven games on the road. The amount of games they win during that stretch will go a long ways in dertermining whether Carmelo Anthony gets dealt (No doubt New York is crossing their fingers).
12. Utah Jazz (30-22) (11) Let’s hope that the debacle in Salt Lake City against Oklahoma City (a loss) was just a hiccup; after a 37-point first quarter, they rolled over. With a Sloan team, losing focus usually ends real quick. And it begins in Sacramento on Monday and ends this week on Friday in Phoenix.
13. Memphis Grizzlies (27-25) (13) ”Moving into playoff contention only means something if you keep moving up. We want to move up as high as we can, because last year we were in the eighth spot and got knocked out at the end.” Leave it to Mike Conley to state the obvious, yet it’s true. Theyt have a tough schedule this week as they face the Lakers, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee and Denver.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (27-24) (14) Nine weeks left in the NBA regular season and the Blazers are at #8 in the Western Conference playof chase. Without a doubt, overall team health will be the key here and Lamarcus Aldridge will have to continuously have his A-game out there. Their schedule’s light this week (Chicago, @Toronto and @Detroit).
15. New York Knicks (26-24) (15) Coach Mike D’Antoni, instead of focusing his team on each individual game as they come, is already talking about playoff seeding. Not a good approach given the Knicks history. Then there’s the issue of Carmelo Anthony; this team, in my humble opinion, do not need him a sthey’re doing just fine without him.
16. Phoenix Suns (23-25) (16) They haven’t been at the .500 mark since December 13, yet they need to get to that plateau (preferably higher) if they even want to think about the playoffs. Will the age and experience of the Suns (especially Grant Hill, Vince Carter and Steve Nash) benefit or hinder them? Should Marcin gortat start at center for Phoenix? Short answers: jury is out and absolutely.
17. Indiana Pacers (21-27) (23) Currently on a four-game win streak, the Pacers are a much improved team under new coach Frank Vogel. He has a dilemma to deal with: use Brandon Rush or Dahntay Jones as the fourth wing player in the team’s rotation? While Vogel’s figuring that out, Indiana has to deal with Miami on Monday (4 game-win streak on the line).
18. Golden State Warriors (22-27) (18) It appears that the Warriors are now realizing that they have that outside shot of sneaking into the #8 seed of the Western Conference playoff chase, if their impressive win over Chicago last Saturday is any indication. Perhaps a trade is all that they need as their defense is porous, to put it mildly. Their short-term performance will dictate how hard GM Larry Riley works the phones.
19. Philadelphia 76ers (23-27) (17) They’re just three games behind New York for the #6 seed, which is huge because neitehr team wants to face either Boston or Miami during the playoffs. The push starts Tuesday when they play four games in five nights (@Atlanta, Orlando, San Antonio and @Minnesota).
20. Houston Rockets (24-28) (19) Just when the Rockets seemed to be pulling themselves out of their funk, Aaron Brooks took his toys and went home. And that’s a situation that coach Rick Adelman doesn’t need right now as the team is just 3 1/2 games out of the # 8 seed in the Western Conference playoff chase.
21. Charlotte Bobcats (21-29) (20) As soon as Gerald Wallace get his offensve game going, the better that Bobcats will be. Granted he went 25-10 against Miami, but he will need to do more of the same since Stephen Jackson can’t shoulder the offensive load alone.
22. Detroit Pistons (19-32) (24) While they won two-of-three against lesser teams, every little bit helps and a win is a win, right? And they’re just 3 1/2 games behind Indiana for the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Rip Hamilton’s been productive as of late, but he probably returns to the bench to sit when Rodney Stuckey returns.
23. Los Angeles Clippers (19-31) (21) For one week (this past week anyways), the Clippers did what the old version of themselves did regularly: Lose more than they won. Although to be fair, they lost to Chicago, Atlanta and Miami. And it doesn’t get any better as they face Orlando and New York in their slate of four games they play this week.
24. Milwaukee Bucks (19-30) (22) Remember when John Salmons was signed to a multi-year deal? Then he got hurt and now comes off the bench. He’s having one of his worst years, shotting 38 percent and averaging 13.2 PPG. If the Bucks look to reach the playoffs, he will need to stay healthy and get his offensive mojo back – and in a hurry.
25. Sacramento Kings (12-35) (26) They’ve played solid defense, although they lost their last two, which leads one to believe that their offense has been spotty. Can they be dragonslaters like they were earlier in late January? Their schedule this week at home includes: Utah, Dallas, Oklahoma City and Phoenix on the road.
26. New Jersey Nets (15-37) (25) Not a very good week as they lost three of four by an average margin of 14 per loss – all of this after beating Denver by 16 last Monday. Slow starts have haunted the Nets – not much different than what Sacramento went through earlier this season.
27. Toronto Raptors (14-37) (29) ”These guys care and they work hard every day in practice and like I’ve been saying all along, I want to get a win to reward them for all the work that they’ve done and hopefully they feel good about tonight.” These are the words of coach Jay Triano. Has it come to this, not one year after Chris Bosh leaves the team? I know baby steps are in order, but the season’s 50 games old.
28. Washington Wizards (13-37) (28) They’ve lost eight straight and still haven’t won on the road. But on the bright side, they may have a Most Improved Player in Nick Young, their offensive go-to guy. Some would argur that Andray Blatche would be the #1 offensive player, but at least Young’s been more consistent – and not a head case.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (11-39) (27) Now that Kevin Love finally got added to the 2011 Western Conference All-Star roster, the T-Wolves can do what they do best – lose. Hey they lost all of their games last week by double-digits, so where is that glimmer of hope at? Apparently, everywhere but Minneapolis.
30. Cleveland Cavaliers (8-43) (30) 24 and counting – that’s the current losing streak of this now LeBron James-less team. Things have gotten so bad that GM Chris Grant has been spending the bulk of his time scouting college players. Speaking of which, the Cavaliers, at their current rate, can’t draft any lower than fourth in the next NBA Draft.