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• Last Week: The Good Stay Good, The Bad Stay Bad
• Power Rankings Mail -- Numbers Crunching
• The Chase For 70 -- Boston Celtics
• NBA.com’s Power Rankings Mailbox
• NBA.com’s Power Rankings Mailbox
• NBA.com’s Power Rankings Mailbox

Reader: How can you move the Blazers down when they went 3-1 and avenged their only loss?
J.S.: The Lakers have been terrific, the Hornets got two huge wins over the weekend, and I may have had the Blazers a little too high in the first place.

Reader: How can you move the Suns down three spots? They're a half game behind the Spurs for the best record in the West!
J.S.: The teams that passed them have been playing too good and the Suns just aren't themselves lately. Part of me thinks both Dallas and Denver also eserve to move ahead of Phoenix, but moving them down five spots when they only lost once would be too much. We'll see what happens when they host the Nuggets tonight.

Reader: How can the Nuggets go 3-0, beat the Spurs and only move up one spot?
J.S.: Because the Mavs went 3-0 too and the other teams above them didn't falter enough. Sometimes, you have a good week and move up a lot, and sometimes you have a great week and don't move at all. It depends on everybody else. Frankly, the top nine teams all deserve to be in the top five, but somehow, they don't all fit.

Dave M. (Secaucus, NJ): Great job moving the Lakers into the top five. Now admit that you were wrong about them. Kobe is the greatest!
J.S.: I was wrong. Tim Duncan's still the greatest, though.

If you've got a question or comment that I haven't addressed already, drop me a line and I'll answer mail on Wednesday.

Hero Team of the Week: New Orleans (3-1)
Zero Team of the Week: Miami (0-3)

High jumps of the week: Cleveland (+3), Memphis (+3), New Jersey (+3), Utah (+3), Washington (+3)
Free falls of the week: Atlanta (-7), Seattle (-4), Phoenix (-3)

Off: Points scored per 100 possessions
Def: Points allowed per 100 possessions
The league averages 91.9 possessions (per team) per game and 107.2 points per 100 possessions.

	TEAM (LAST WK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
1	Boston (2)	29-3	Off: 111.6 (6), Def: 97.1 (1) -- If you predicted that Big Baby would be the game's leading scorer on Saturday, give yourself a pat on the back, and then give me a call. I've got some questions for you.
2	Detroit (1)	26-8	Off: 114.5 (1), Def: 102.6 (2) -- The good thing about the Boston game is that it prepares the Pistons well for a back-to-back in Dallas and San Antonio on Wednesday and Thursday.
3	San Antonio (3)	23-9	Off: 111.4 (7), Def: 103.9 (4) -- The Spurs had a loss in Denver and two too-close-for-comfort wins over really bad teams this week. But it's all about the big picture, and getting Manu Ginobili back was more important than the results.
4	L.A. Lakers (6)	21-11	Off: 111.6 (5), Def: 105.6 (7) -- Andrew Bynum just keeps getting better. He averaged 20.0 and 14.5 in the two wins this week and his numbers are 16.1 points, 10.7 boards, 2.46 blocks and .677 from the field in his last 13 games. That's better than Jermaine O'Neal's numbers, by the way.
5	New Orleans (7)	23-11	Off: 109.1 (12), Def: 104.4 (6) -- Road wins over Golden State and Phoenix (without David West) on back-to-back nights is about as impressive as it gets. And they have them within one game of the No. 1 seed in the West.

	TEAM (LAST WK)	REC.	BREAKDOWN
6	Portland (5)	21-13	Off: 109.2 (11), Def: 108.3 (19) -- Do you believe yet? And they're winning on the road (five of their last six) now too. And Mo, it's time for Brandon Roy to crack the Top 10.
7	Phoenix (4)	23-10	Off: 113.6 (2), Def: 108.0 (17) -- For the sobering stat of the week, I turn to Paul Coro: The Suns are 1-6 against the current top eight in the West, with the only win coming against a Parker-less Spurs team.
8	Dallas (8)	23-11	Off: 113.4 (3), Def: 108.3 (18) -- Jerry Stackhouse says he'll be back for Wednesday's game against the Pistons, but it might be time to start worrying about Erick Dampier.
9	Denver (10)	21-12	Off: 107.4 (14), Def: 103.5 (3) -- Nene and Kenyon Martin are both healthy and as they get back in game-shape, they only make the Nuggets stronger. Martin had a career-high seven blocks in Thursday's big win in San Antonio and the two combined for 18 boards on Sunday against the Sixers.
10	Orlando (9)	22-13	Off: 109.5 (10), Def: 105.9 (10) -- Here's my take on the whole Nelson-Arroyo, Bogans-Dooling debate: It doesn't matter. The defense has been bad (110.8) since they began this 6-9 run (with Houston being the most impressive win) in early December.
11	Washington (14)	17-15	Off: 110.4 (9), Def: 107.5 (15) -- The Wizards, thanks to The Blog and the Bog, are always good for a couple of laughs. But perhaps that's not always a good thing, so some changes are being made.
12	Golden State (11)	19-15	Off: 111.0 (8), Def: 109.6 (26) -- My response to reading that Don Nelson is making an adjustment to his offense: How about an adjustment to the D? The last two losses have been two of their three worst defensive performances since Stephen Jackson returned from suspension.
13	New Jersey (16)	17-16	Off: 103.2 (26), Def: 107.8 (16) -- Of the Nets' 17 victories, only one has come by double digits. It would probably be nice to win comfortably one of these days, but at least they're executing well down the stretch.
14	Cleveland (17)	17-17	Off: 104.9 (20), Def: 108.3 (20) -- The Cavs looked pretty bad in the first half on Sunday, but then LeBron steamrolled the Raptors in the fourth quarter with 24 of his team's 36 points. And the Mike Bibby discussion lives on.
15	Toronto (13)	17-17	Off: 108.7 (13), Def: 107.5 (14) -- The Raptors haven't been able to capitalize on an impressive conclusion to their road trip where they won in San Antonio and New Orleans. They've dropped their first two upon returning home.
16	Utah (19)	18-17	Off: 112.9 (4), Def: 108.9 (23) -- Just when you thought the Jazz were getting their groove back (they ended Portland's winning streak on Monday), Carlos Boozer has his worst game of the season and they allow Martell Webster to outscore them in a quarter.
17	Houston (15)	17-17	Off: 105.1 (18), Def: 103.9 (5) -- Is Aaron Brooks the new back up point? The rookie went off for 22 points on 8-of-10 (4-of-5 from downtown) in Saturday's win over the Knicks. The Rockets have now won four of six during this last stretch without Tracy McGrady.
18	Chicago (20)	13-19	Off: 102.0 (27), Def: 105.7 (9) -- The good news is that the Bulls are now winning the games they're supposed to. The bad news is that they haven't showed that they can handle playoff teams yet.
19	Atlanta (12)	15-16	Off: 105.0 (19), Def: 106.6 (12) -- With four straight losses, the Hawks are back under .500 sans swagger. And it could be tough to get it back considering the four remaining opponents on their homestand (Cleveland, Washington, Chicago and Denver).
20	Indiana (18)	16-19	Off: 105.8 (16), Def: 106.8 (13) -- The Pacers have dropped six of seven and the rest of this five-game trip could be tough if Jamaal Tinsley doesn't return soon.
21	Philadelphia (21)	14-20	Off: 103.6 (22), Def: 106.0 (11) -- The Sixers are your team this week. E-mail your thoughts on Philly and I'll post the best of them in the Court Reporters on Wednesday.
22	Sacramento (23)	12-20	Off: 105.1 (17), Def: 108.6 (21) -- You know it ain't going your way when Ben Wallace beats you at the free throw line. Thankfully, Bibby and Martin are due back next week.
23	Memphis (26)	10-23	Off: 107.2 (15), Def: 111.4 (27) -- Anybody else feel that Rudy Gay has all the tools to be a First Team All-NBA player in a few years?
24	Milwaukee (24)	13-20	Off: 104.7 (21), Def: 111.6 (28) -- Maybe Charlie Bell's 11-for-18 yesterday will quiet the critics. If not, just rejoice in that the Bucks don't play the Pistons again until after the All-Star break.
25	Charlotte (25)	11-21	Off: 103.4 (24), Def: 109.3 (25) -- With a rough stretch on the horizon, it would have been really nice to hold on to a late lead against the Bucks on Sunday. But then Gerald Wallace turned the ball over three times in the final minutes as Milwaukee finished the game on a 12-2 run.
26	Seattle (22)	9-24	Off: 101.6 (29), Def: 108.6 (22) -- KD faces his idol for the first time tomorrow night in Cleveland. If the grey hairs and achy back don't make me feel old, reading about an NBA player whose idol is almost 10 years younger than me will.
27	L.A. Clippers (28)	10-21	Off: 99.9 (30), Def: 105.7 (8) -- The Clippers' only win in their last nine games was Monday's victory over the hapless T-Wolves, and they needed a big fourth quarter to win that one. It was their first win when trailing after three.
28	Miami (27)	8-26	Off: 103.3 (25), Def: 109.2 (24) -- The Heat have lost seven straight and three more than they did the entire 2004-05 season. And they're on pace for their worst season since 1989-90, the second year of their existence. You can't see me, but I'm shaking my head in disgust.
29	New York (29)	8-24	Off: 103.5 (23), Def: 112.6 (30) -- Was Zach Randolph's absence the reason for Eddy Curry flourishing (25 points on 10-for-12 shooting and 12 boards) in San Antonio on Friday? Maybe, but a loss is a loss.
30	Minnesota (30)	4-29	Off: 101.9 (28), Def: 112.2 (29) -- The Timberwolves' best chance at a win in January comes tomorrow night, when they host the Heat. Here's a suggestion for a different frontline.