Updated Dec. 26
For the first time all season, the Eastern Conference has awoken in these Power Rankings. Although the top four teams continue to reside out West, four of the next five are from the East.
What to make of this? Is the Western Conference dominance slowing down?
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| Luol Deng has been MVP for the Bulls, who move up to No. 6. (Getty Images) |
The Atlantic Division is still an abomination, dragging the entire conference down with it. However, the Central is still the most competitive division in the game, top to bottom, and the Southeast appears much improved. Strides have definitely been made.
That, at least for this season, figures to be a nice consolation prize, because the true powers of the NBA reside in the Western Conference -- at least until Shaquille O'Neal comes back and demonstrates he still has it.
Essentially, the current state of the league offers up a lot of parity, except for the fact that the main championship contenders are all lumped together. It's like everyone outside the top four is playing for the right to lose to either the Suns, Mavs, Spurs or Jazz in the NBA Finals.
Who else could you throw into this mix? The Rockets if Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady can ever stay in the lineup together; the Lakers if they can recapture their magic once Lamar Odom returns; and maybe Denver, provided Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony prove all the doubters wrong and form a devastatingly formidable duo.
It's shaping up to be a King of the Jungle tournament over in the West, where only the true champion will reign supreme. In the East, a bunch of pretty good, improving teams are competing for a conference banner. No one has really taken command, because no one has been sufficiently good enough to do so. That's why Miami remains on everyone's mind.
Based on what we've seen thus far, whoever comes out of there figures to be devoured come June. There's no other way around it.
The week's Power Rankings:
| Power Rankings | ||||||||||
| Current | Team | Previous | ||||||||
 | 1 | Lakers · Trends | 1 | |||||||
| Knicks, Warriors, Nets -- it's been a while since Lakers faced a real team. ... Best passing big man in game? Pau Gasol averaging 4.2 assists. | ||||||||||
 | 2 | Magic · Trends | 2 | |||||||
| Battle of Florida, Round 1, ends in controversy; no Magic in referee's non-call. ... Last road loss: Nov. 8 at Oklahoma City. | ||||||||||
 | 3 | Suns · Trends | 5 | |||||||
| Tweet: NBA blows whistle on multitasking Amare Stoudemire, but he says he's innocent (and $7,500 poorer). ... Average score in four-game win streak: 119-98. | ||||||||||
 | 4 | Cavaliers · Trends | 3 | |||||||
| LeBron in the NFL? Might be great tight end, but why take paycut?. ... No consistency: Inexcusable losses at Toronto, Washington, Charlotte. | ||||||||||
 | 5 | Celtics · Trends | 7 | |||||||
| Truth has $30,000 price: Rasheed Wallace labels "Turkododo" a flopper. ... Time to get serious: Kevin Garnett ties season-high with 35 minutes in win at Miami. | ||||||||||
 | 6 | Hawks · Trends | 4 | |||||||
| First crack: Joe Johnson shoots 23 for 66, club loses three of four. ... Easy to figure out these guys: 9-1 when scoring 100 or more, 3-4 when held to double digits. | ||||||||||
 | 7 | Mavericks · Trends | 8 | |||||||
| Wrong side of history: Warriors play just six players, win at Dallas. ... Blowout loss to Cavs nothing new: That's four straight by average of 17.5 points. | ||||||||||
 | 8 | Nuggets · Trends | 6 | |||||||
| M-V-P? Fans shout it out as Carmelo Anthony scorches Knicks for 50. ... Shocking end to 17-game home streak; club had beaten Timberwolves 10 straight. | ||||||||||
 | 9 | Jazz · Trends | 11 | |||||||
| Carlos Boozer averaging 23.7-11.1 double-double in club's six-of-seven march up standings. ... Jazz have 36 assists, Blazers 34 hoops in 16-point drubbing. | ||||||||||
 | 10 | Spurs · Trends | 14 | |||||||
| Room for improvement: Richard Jefferson has nine field goals last four games. ... Softies devoured, three heavyweights (Celtics, Nuggets, Jazz) await in five-day stretch. | ||||||||||
 | 11 | Trail Blazers · Trends | 9 | |||||||
| Last quality win (at home vs. Spurs) now almost month away. ... Zach Randolph (remember him?) enjoys homecoming at Blazers' expense. | ||||||||||
 | 12 | Heat · Trends | 13 | |||||||
| Too much stuffing? Heat among seven home losers (to Wizards) on day after Thanksgiving. ... Hope to avoid you in April: Club has lost nine of 10 to Celtics. | ||||||||||
 | 13 | Rockets · Trends | 10 | |||||||
| Honeymoon's over: Early surprise team hasn't won back-to-back in a month. ... Where's Tracy McGrady? Club shoots 71 of 175 in home losses to Mavericks, Spurs. | ||||||||||
 | 14 | Thunder · Trends | 15 | |||||||
| Giant-killing continues: Add Jazz to list that includes Magic, Spurs, Heat. ... He can pass, too: Kevin Durant has at least a handful of assists in five of last seven. | ||||||||||
 | 15 | Bobcats · Trends | 19 | |||||||
| Trade paying dividends: Stephen Jackson averaging 40 minutes for club that's won four straight. ... Gerald Wallace takes Michael Jordan's advice, outplays LeBron James in win over Cavaliers. | ||||||||||
 | 16 | Bucks · Trends | 12 | |||||||
| Four-game losing streak includes two-, three-point losses. ... What's problem? Brandon Jennings since 55-point explosion: 59 of 160 (369). | ||||||||||
 | 17 | Bulls · Trends | 17 | |||||||
| Time to move up: After 10 of first 15 on road, nine of next 11 at home. ... No laughing matter: Club now 10-61 last 10 "Circus Trips." | ||||||||||
 | 18 | Kings · Trends | 24 | |||||||
| Bring on New England: Club sweeps three against New York, New Jersey, New Orleans. ... Another surprise for surprising team: Sergio Rodriguez impresses at point guard. | ||||||||||
 | 19 | Hornets · Trends | 18 | |||||||
| Last four road games: 0-4, 15.0 average margin of defeat. Next visit: Lakers. ... Good time for Chris Paul to rest: Club follows two-game week with two-game week. | ||||||||||
 | 20 | Raptors · Trends | 16 | |||||||
| Blown-out club glad Canadian Steve Nash (20 points, 16 assists) comes north just once a year. ... Only Warriors (112.4 ppg) worse defensively than Raptors (109.3). | ||||||||||
 | 21 | Wizards · Trends | 21 | |||||||
| Antawn Jamison doubles up on double-doubles in two wins, goes double-single in loss to Bobcats. ... Time to make move: Celtics, Suns only elite foes in December. | ||||||||||
 | 22 | Clippers · Trends | 25 | |||||||
| Marcus Camby climbing rebound list: 62 in last four games. ... Is .500 in their future? The 8-10 club gets next five at home. | ||||||||||
 | 23 | Warriors · Trends | 26 | |||||||
| Short-handed travelers make total of seven substitutions in shocker at Dallas. ... Scorching Monta Ellis goes for 34, 37, 42, 45 in five-game stretch. | ||||||||||
 | 24 | Pistons · Trends | 22 | |||||||
| Bloody Charlie Villanueva helps in win over Hawks, then has surgery on broken nose. ... TV truck catches fire, Pistons don't in viewer-less home loss to Clippers. | ||||||||||
 | 25 | Pacers · Trends | 20 | |||||||
| League leader in free throws allowed puts Monta Ellis on line 16 times in loss to Warriors. ... Mike Dunleavy hits first 11 foul shots after nearly 10-month absence. | ||||||||||
 | 26 | 76ers · Trends | 23 | |||||||
| A.I. II: Ay yi yi. ... Knew it wouldn't be easy: Seven-game losing streak includes Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks, Spurs, Mavericks. | ||||||||||
 | 27 | Grizzlies · Trends | 27 | |||||||
| Improvement noted: Club is 5-4 after 1-8 start. ... Jamaal Tinsley puts PT over W's, signs with Grizzlies. | ||||||||||
 | 28 | Knicks · Trends | 28 | |||||||
| Double your pleasure: Sunday duel with lowly Nets one of two this month. ... Anthony adds to infamy: Four of last 10 to score 50 have faced Knicks. | ||||||||||
 | 29 | Timberwolves · Trends | 29 | |||||||
| Don't want to make them mad: Club avenges home loss to Nuggets with stunner at Denver. ... Improving Ramon Sessions cutting into Jonny Flynn's playing time. | ||||||||||
 | 30 | Nets · Trends | 30 | |||||||
| Frank-ly speaking, change needed after noncompetitive Western swing. ... Good news for new coach Kiki Vandeweghe: Bobcats, Knicks, Bulls, Warriors, Pacers in eight-day stretch | ||||||||||
