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By Doug Word
Published: February 8th, 2009
Athlon Sports NBA Writer

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Rankings as of Sunday, Feb. 8



1. L.A. Lakers (41-9) — What a week it was for the Lakers. Kobe goes off for 61 in The Big Apple on Monday, Pau powers L.A. in Toronto on Wednesday, the Lakers sweep the season series in a classic in Boston on Thursday, and L.A. ends Cleveland's home-court perfection on Sunday. Lamar Odom's 28 points and 17 rebounds in Cleveland were a welcome sight.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (39-10) — The loss to the Lakers on Sunday snapped Cleveland's 23-game winning streak at Quicken Loans Arena. It was the first defeat Cleveland suffered at The Q since April 30 in a first-round playoff game against Washington. The fourth-best streak to start a season in NBA history (37 straight for the 1995-96 Bulls, 33 straight for the 1995-96 Magic and 26 straight for the 1977-78 Blazers) should be applauded.
3. Boston Celtics (42-11) — Consecutive home losses to the two teams most likely to come out of the West hurts, and Boston must now hit the road for six games. Still, the Celtics are tied with the Magic for the best road record in the East and remain a game ahead of Cleveland in the Eastern Conference standings. Trips to New Orleans and Dallas loom before the break.
  4. San Antonio Spurs (34-15) — Perhaps Pop knew what he was doing when he rested The Big Three against Denver. In a potential Finals match-up, the Spurs notched a big 105-99 win in Boston. The victory was San Antonio's ninth in its last 11 games with five games remaining on its eight-game road swing. Look out for this team in the second half.
  5. Orlando Magic (38-12) — Losing Jameer Nelson is such a drag for the Magic and the NBA, but the show must go on. Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson give the team a veteran backcourt, but the shooting and play-making ability Nelson delivered will be lacking. The Magic slipped in Indiana, but winning two of three without their All-Star point guard isn't too bad.
  6. Dallas Mavericks (30-20) — Jason Kidd hadn't scored a bucket before delivering a game-tying and overtime-forcing 3-pointer against Chicago on Saturday night. The Mavs went on to win the game 115-114, and they've now picked up wins in five of their last six contests. The win came at a cost, however, as Jason Terry will be "out for a while" according to Rick Carlisle after breaking his left hand.
  7. Denver Nuggets (34-17) — A 44-point loss in New Jersey still has us scratching our heads, but the Nuggets rattled off four straight wins heading into that one. We'll chalk it up to the rigors of an eight-game road trip, but back-to-back games in Miami and Orlando will test this team before the week-long layoff.
  8. Portland Trail Blazers (31-19) — Just when we were ready to give the Blazers some props, they suffered losses in Dallas and Oklahoma City to snap their four-game winning streak. Brandon Roy came to the rescue once again, however, dropping in a game-winning layup on Sunday to give Portland a 109-108 win over New York. The Blazers' schedule remains highly favorable until a Feb. 25 trip to San Antonio.
  9. Houston Rockets (31-20) — Finally healthy, the Rockets looked great Saturday night against Minnesota. However, if Houston wants to be mentioned among the West's elite, it can ill-afford slip-ups like it had in Wednesday night's 104-93 loss in Memphis.
  10. New Orleans Hornets (30-18) — With the possible exceptions of the Lakers and Cavs, the Hornets are the last team that can afford to lose its star player. Somehow, the Hornets have pulled out two of three in Chris Paul's absence (groin injury) with Memphis and Boston remaining before the All-Star break. Rasual Butler (23 points) and Sean Marks (18 points) led the way in New Orleans' 101-97 win over Minnesota on Sunday night.
  11. Philadelphia 76ers (25-24) — A 94-84 win over the Heat put the Sixers back over .500, but will they stay there? Phoenix and Memphis are winnable games at the Wachovia Center this week, but the Sixers haven't made as much progress as we expected since finally evening their record back on Jan. 17.
  12. Phoenix Suns (28-21) — The Suns have won three of four with trips to Philadelphia and Cleveland on the docket before the break. Steve Nash delivered a season-high 21 assists in Sunday night's 107-97 win over Detroit, but as the Feb. 19 trade deadline draws closer, all of the attention turns to Suns GM Steve Kerr as we await the seemingly inevitable shake-up in the Valley of the Sun.
  13. Utah Jazz (29-23) — Utah's road woes continued Sunday evening in Oakland, when the Warriors snapped the Jazz's winning streak at three games. The Jazz is just 9-17 on the road this season, but the good news is eight of the team's next 10 games come at EnergySolutions Arena. The bad news? Four of Utah's next five opponents have winning records and include the Lakers, Celtics and Hornets.
  14. Atlanta Hawks (29-21) — How bad was Atlanta's 121-97 home loss to the lowly L.A. Clippers? Head coach Mike Woodson called his team out by saying, "We just didn't compete." Not a good sign for a team getting ready to embark on a six-game road trip after Monday night's home game against Washington. Especially since that team is just 11-15 away from Philips Arena.
  15. New Jersey Nets (24-28) — The Nets crept back into our top 15 following four straight wins that included blowout victories over Washington (115-88) and Denver (114-70). The streak came to an end in Orlando on Sunday, however, as New Jersey fell 101-84 without Vince Carter (hyper-extended right elbow).



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