Power Rankings - AthlonSports.com

NBA Power Rankings

The playoffs are almost here, and the final edition of our power rankings is in for the 2008-09 regular season. Not much has changed over the past few months as the Cleveland Cavaliers and L.A. Lakers have taken turns at the top.

NBA Power Rankings

We're just over one week from the start of the NBA playoffs, and things are starting to take shape in each conference. The seeding is another matter, however, as several teams continue to jockey for more attractive playoff spots.

NBA Power Rankings

Playoff positioning is underway in the NBA, and the Denver Nuggets are surging in the West. With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Spurs, Nuggets, Rockets and Trail Blazers are each within at least two games of the No. 2 seed.

NBA Power Rankings

The Cavs and Lakers are still jostling for the top spot in this week's power rankings, but the Houston Rockets also made a surge. Led by Ron Artest and Yao Ming, the Rockets have asserted themselves as a legitimate threat to come out of the West.

NBA Power Rankings

With less than a month remaining in the regular season, the same two teams — the L.A. Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers — continue to jockey for the top spot in our weekly power rankings.

NBA Power Rankings

We're just about six weeks away from the beginning of the playoffs, and several teams have caught fire including the Jazz, Magic, Hornets and Bobcats. With positioning for the postseason on the line every night, we have more than one shake-up in this week's power rankings.

NBA Power Rankings

Two of the NBA's big three fell on Sunday with the Lakers and Celtics suffering rare defeats, but the Cavaliers held on for a hard-fought 88-87 win in Atlanta. The win was Cleveland's 45th of the season, but more importantly, it earned the Cavs the No. 1 spot in this week's power rankings.

NBA Power Rankings

Winners of four straight games, the Cleveland Cavaliers are healthy and on top in the East. They're racking up the style points, too, as LeBron James hit shots from all over the gym Friday night in Milwaukee. He finished with 55 points on the evening and collected the seventh 50-point effort of his young career.

NBA Power Rankings

The first half of the season has come and gone, and three teams — the Lakers, Celtics and Cavaliers — stand above the rest. Several others are flying under the radar, however, and we think Denver, Philadelphia and Utah, among others, are worth monitoring with the playoffs officially on the horizon.

NBA Power Rankings

No. 1 this week is a no-brainer as the Lakers scored two huge road wins in Boston and Cleveland and saw Kobe Bryant rack up 61 points against the Knicks in Madison Square Garden.

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