Standing Pat

The lead of this story was supposed to be about how the Cavs had made the trade that will get LeBron James his first NBA championship. We knew all season long that Cleveland had a move to make with Wally Szczerbiak's expiring contract worth $13 million. They were supposed to land another star, or at least a solid complementary player that would help them take out both the Celtics and the Lakers.

That didn't happen. Szczerbiak is still in Cleveland, Vince Carter is still in New Jersey, Richard Jefferson is still in Milwaukee and Shaquille O'Neal is still in Phoenix.

Of course, the Cavs could still win the championship. Their roster, as it stands, may be enough to get LeBron a ring. They have the edge on the Celtics in the chase for home-court advantage in the East and are only one game behind the Lakers in the loss column (although L.A. would get home court in the Finals in the case of a tie). And Cleveland still leads the league in average margin of victory. They're a top three team both offensively and defensively.

Still, you have to think that both the Celtics and Lakers are happy to see that the Cavs didn't make a move. Those three teams each lost once since our last rankings and hold their places in the top three.

• Two Weeks Ago: Lakers Earn the No. 1 Spot
• This Time Last Year: It's Winning Time -- The West occupied the top four spots, the Lakers were 9-1 with Pau Gasol, the Spurs had also won nine of their last 10, the Rockets' streak was at 12, the Pistons were within two games of the Celtics after beating the Suns by 30, and Andris Biedrins put up 21 and 13 with an appendicitis.

Hero Team of the Fortnight: Utah (4-0)
Zero Team of the Fortnight: New Jersey (0-4)

High jumps of the week: Indiana (+6), Toronto (+5), Three teams (+3)
Free falls of the week: Detroit (-6), New Jersey (-5), Philadelphia (-4)

East vs. West: The East leads 172-160 (.518) in inter-conference games, and was 16-16 over the last two weeks.

Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
Off: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
Def: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league averages through Sunday are 90.4 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 109.3 points scored per 100 possessions.

As always, the stats don't determine the rankings, but they help evaluate each team and provide a picture of where they stand on both sides of the ball.

NBA.com's Power Rankings are just one man's opinion and are released every Monday during the season. If you've got an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, send him an e-mail.

	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
1	L.A. Lakers (1)	46-10	Pace: 93.4 (5), Off: 115.7 (1), Def: 107.0 (8) If you count the game he got hurt (and only played five minutes), the Lakers are 10-1 without Andrew Bynum. But their defense has fallen off a bit (as it did last year when he went down), from 106.4 in their first 45 games to 109.0 in their last 11. That's why they've struggled to beat the Warriors, Hornets and T-Wolves.
2	Cleveland (2)	43-11	Pace: 88.0 (25), Off: 114.4 (3), Def: 102.9 (2) LeBron's 55 points (hitting 8-of-11 from downtown) and nine assists in Milwaukee on Friday was a ridiculous performance and I'd say that it almost puts a wrap on the MVP race, but that's not my column.
3	Boston (3)	45-12	Pace: 89.5 (17), Off: 112.4 (5), Def: 102.1 (1) Before they host the Cavs next Friday, the Celtics' toughest challenge in dealing with the loss of Kevin Garnett (out 2-3 weeks with a "posterior muscle strain of the right knee") comes tonight in Denver. After that, they play the Clippers, Pacers, Pistons and Nets. So, don't hand the No. 1 seed in the East to the Cavs just yet.
4	Orlando (5)	41-14	Pace: 90.8 (12), Off: 112.1 (6), Def: 103.6 (3) Rafer Alston picked up 18 assists in his first 58 minutes as the Magic's new point guard. More importantly, Orlando picked up a pair of wins after getting crushed in New Orleans on Wednesday, it's worst defensive game of the season. Weird coincidence of the week: Orlando's worst defensive game last year was also the second game after the break.
5	San Antonio (4)	37-17	Pace: 87.3 (26), Off: 110.2 (13), Def: 106.1 (5) With the rodeo in town, the Spurs went 5-3 away from the AT&T Center, but that included losses in Toronto and New York. The next six games (three home and three away) could be critical as they deal with the loss of Manu Ginobili (out 2-3 weeks with a stress reaction in his right leg). They play Portland twice, Dallas twice and Cleveland during that stretch.
6	Portland (8)	35-20	Pace: 85.8 (30), Off: 114.8 (2), Def: 110.0 (18) The Blazers wasted an opportunity to make a serious upgrade to their roster by holding on to Raef LaFrentz's contract on Thursday. Clearly, they've got a lot of young talent, but they need a veteran defender in order to compete with the best in the West. A back-to-back in Houston and San Antonio this week just might prove why.
7	Denver (6)	37-19	Pace: 93.2 (6), Off: 110.7 (9), Def: 107.2 (9) Losses at Chicago and Milwaukee make it three straight against teams under .500 for the Nuggets. They've been able to keep their frontline healthy this year, but Kenyon Martin missed Sunday's game with back spasms and Nenê left after banging knees with Richard Jefferson late in the fourth quarter. He'll be re-evaluated on Monday.
8	Houston (10)	35-21	Pace: 86.4 (28), Off: 110.8 (8), Def: 108.1 (10) The Rockets have won four straight and are now 15-6 without Tracy McGrady, who (we think -- you never know with this dude) is done for the season. They're both a better offensive (112.4) and defensive (104.7) team without him.
9	Utah (12)	33-23	Pace: 90.9 (11), Off: 112.0 (7), Def: 108.7 (12) With Deron Williams averaging 26.9 points and 10.7 assists over the last seven games, the Jazz are 7-1 in February with wins over both the Lakers and Celtics. Saturday's win over the Hornets was both a fitting tribute to Larry Miller and a key victory in the Western Conference race. And Carlos Boozer just might return Monday.
10	Dallas (7)	33-22	Pace: 90.6 (15), Off: 110.7 (12), Def: 108.9 (14) Dirk Nowitzki has scored a total of just 21 points in the last two games. Fortunately for the Mavs, the last one was against the Kings. But that doesn't make up for Friday's loss in Houston, where Josh Howard and Antoine Wright were the only starters in double-figures.
	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
11	New Orleans (9)	32-22	Pace: 86.4 (28), Off: 110.8 (8), Def: 108.1 (10) The Hornets have a better chance for success with Tyson Chandler on their roster, as long as he gets healthy. He's now missed 22 of their 54 games and without him, the Hornets have lost nine of their last 12 and are in danger of falling out of the playoffs. Chandler plans on returning from his sprained ankle Monday in Sacramento.
12	Phoenix (13)	31-24	Pace: 93.4 (4), Off: 113.5 (4), Def: 111.3 (20) I wrote this on Tuesday and the Suns have since proved me wrong with a pace of 101 possessions per 48 minutes in their four games under Alvin Gentry. Of course, they still can't defend, and that's what will likely keep them out of the postseason for just the third time in 21 years.
13	Atlanta (16)	32-23	Pace: 89.0 (21), Off: 110.7 (11), Def: 109.1 (17) Opening their post-break schedule out West, the Hawks have dropped two out of three. They were outrebounded by the Lakers 67-39 and by the Blazers 44-36, while Joe Johnson has shot just 20-for-58 in the three games. They finish their trip with visits to Utah and Denver, and then return home for Miami and Cleveland. That's a big stretch.
14	Miami (15)	29-26	Pace: 89.0 (22), Off: 107.8 (19), Def: 108.2 (11) Miami got a nice win over the Sixers on Saturday, but losses to the Timberwolves and Magic were two of its worst defensive games of the season. That's how you lose by 23 when your star scores 50. It's no coincidence that Shawn Marion is now in Toronto.
15	Philadelphia (11)	27-27	Pace: 89.7 (16), Off: 107.0 (24), Def: 106.3 (6) The Sixers have lost three straight coming out of the All-Star break. Despite their first 30-point game of the season (Andre Miller scored 30 in Miami on Saturday), they've returned to their anemic offensive ways, shooting just 36 percent over the three games. Andre Iguodala is 13-for-40 since the break.
16	Milwaukee (19)	28-31	Pace: 90.8 (14), Off: 109.1 (17), Def: 109.0 (15) First it was Michael Redd. Then it was Andrew Bogut and Luke Ridnour. And at All-Star Weekend came what seemed to be the back-breaker: Bango tore his ACL. But in the wake of all their injuries, the Bucks have changed their identity, become a potent offensive team (116.1 rating over the last 10) and are holding strong to that eighth spot in the East.
17	Indiana (23)	24-34	Pace: 95.1 (3), Off: 108.8 (18), Def: 110.8 (19) The Pacers have won two straight without Danny Granger, who sprained his right foot Wednesday in Charlotte, and Mike Dunleavy, who's right knee has been bothering him again. They've done it with defense and have a solid 103.3 defensive rating in four games since the break.
18	Chicago (20)	25-31	Pace: 92.3 (9), Off: 107.6 (22), Def: 109.1 (16) Playing with just eight guys, the Bulls got a big win on Friday over the Nuggets. But with John Salmons and Brad Miller in uniform, they couldn't beat the Granger-less Pacers on Sunday. That sums up their season pretty well.
19	New York (18)	23-32	Pace: 95.5 (2), Off: 109.9 (14), Def: 112.0 (25) Having lost six straight, the Knicks needed the All-Star break. They came out of it with a win over the Spurs and a blowout of the Raptors, but lost in Toronto on Sunday as a rusty Larry Hughes shot 1-for-9 and the Raps shot 51 percent.
20	Detroit (14)	27-27	Pace: 85.9 (29), Off: 107.6 (23), Def: 108.7 (13) The Pistons have lost 15 of their last 20 games and are just five away from their highest loss total since 2001. Aside from a couple of games this week (they were competitive with the Spurs on Thursday), their defense has been terrible (112.0) over that stretch and the offense hasn't been able to do much against the better defensive teams.
	TEAM (LAST WEEK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
21	Toronto (26)	22-36	Pace: 89.4 (18), Off: 107.7 (21), Def: 111.3 (22) Chris Bosh is back, but he's wearing a huge brace on his right knee and not moving too well. The Raptors don't have much time to make a run for the playoffs and the schedule over the next few weeks won't help them do it.
22	New Jersey (17)	24-32	Pace: 88.6 (24), Off: 109.3 (16), Def: 112.3 (26) After blowing out the Nuggets two weeks ago, the Nets have dropped five straight by an average of 16.8 points. Their offense continues to get worse, and their defense (122.8 rating over the last five) has taken two steps back. They've now lost to the Wizards twice, both at home.
23	Charlotte (21)	22-34	Pace: 86.8 (27), Off: 104.6 (28), Def: 106.9 (7) The Bobcats won their last two games going into the break and came out of it with an OT loss in Orlando and a win over the Pacers. But when his point guards went 9-for-29 and his team had more turnovers (16) than assists (14) in Friday's home loss to the Magic, Charlotte coach Larry Brown was not happy.
24	Golden State (25)	20-36	Pace: 96.5 (1), Off: 110.7 (10), Def: 114.1 (28) The Warriors have won four of their last five and the only loss in that stretch was to the Lakers on Wednesday, a game they led by four with less than five minutes to go. Sunday brought the news that Monta Ellis will miss at least a week of action. But the Warriors have been winning with balance and Nellie usually has someone else to plug in.
25	Minnesota (22)	18-37	Pace: 91.4 (10), Off: 107.7 (20), Def: 111.7 (23) The Wolves had a chance to beat the Lakers down the stretch on Sunday, but couldn't get any stops to pull it off. Al Jefferson is clearly missed, but Kevin Love is averaging 10.6 boards over his last 14 games.
26	Oklahoma City (24)	13-43	Pace: 92.7 (7), Off: 105.3 (27), Def: 111.9 (24) For about 24 hours this week, the future of the Thunder was looking a lot brighter. But Tyson Chandler is back with the Hornets and Oklahoma City still lacks a big man in its young core. OKC has lost five straight and gave up 273 points in back-to-back nights in Phoenix and Oakland.
27	Washington (29)	13-43	Pace: 89.1 (20), Off: 105.9 (25), Def: 114.7 (29) The Wizards won their first two games out of the break, holding the Timberwolves and Nets to 39 percent shooting combined. Then on Saturday, the Spurs showed them that there's another level when it comes to playing defense. San Antonio smothered Washington to the tune of 67 points on 33 percent from the field.
28	L.A. Clippers (27)	13-43	Pace: 89.4 (18), Off: 107.7 (21), Def: 111.3 (22) The Clippers won three of their last four before the break, but have lost their three games since by an average of 30.7 points. Opponents (the Suns twice and the Blazers) are shooting a ridiculous 58 percent from the field.
29	Sacramento (30)	12-45	Pace: 92.6 (8), Off: 105.8 (26), Def: 116.1 (30) Is Kevin Martin feeling a little lonely these days? It's difficult to gauge what's left of the Kings, but Andres Nocioni should help their putrid defense. It can't get any worse.
30	Memphis (28)	15-40	Pace: 88.8 (23), Off: 104.3 (29), Def: 111.3 (21) The Grizzlies have lost four straight (including a Friday loss at home to the shorthanded Kings -- that's as bad as it gets). They play 13 of their next 18 games on the road, where they're 3-21. Unless we're underrating the Chris Mihm acquisition, that stretch should help them accumulate more lottery combinations as the season winds down.