NBA Power Rankings: Spurs Make a Statement

The Suns and the Blazers might be the hottest teams this week, but no one made a statement quite like the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs have been hampered by injuries, age, and a general lack of the level of talent they've possessed in previous seasons. But this week, they showed that even without Tony Parker, the combination of a healthy Manu Ginobili, a serviceable Tim Duncan, and a smarter-than-most Gregg Popovich might be enough for one last chance at playoff glory.

Wins over Cleveland and Boston have propelled San Antonio back into the top 10. As for everyone else? Read on to see where your favorites landed this week.

1. Cavaliers (58-16) | Prev.: 1

Share Cleveland actually lost a game without LeBron James. When the Cavaliers fell last Friday to San Antonio, it broke a streak of 13 straight wins in games James played. The team had gone 1-1 when James sat out two games early in March. So who needs Shaq, out since Feb. 25 with a thumb problem? And who needs Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Well, at least Big Z is back. -- Chris Tomasson
2. Magic (52-22) | Prev.: 3
Even with all that depth, health is still of vital importance for the defending East champs. Need all the athletic wings with range they can have in order to attack by barrage, their MO. -- Matt Moore
3. Suns (48-26) | Prev.: 4
Phoenix has won eight in a row, and is 17-4 since the All-Star break. This recent surge has them sitting at fourth in the Western Conference playoff picture, and incredibly, the team is just a game behind Dallas for the two-seed. The loss of Robin Lopez may be big once the playoffs roll around, but until the schedule gets a bit tougher near the end of the regular season, the Suns are likely to continue to roll. -- BP
4. Lakers (54-20) | Prev.: 2
Is the regular season over yet? That must be what the Lakers are thinking, the way they've dropped two of their last three to the Thunder and the Hornets. L.A. would have to go into a complete tail spin to end the year to fall from the top spot in the West, so these losses are of little concern. Something that is worth worrying about, however, is the health of Andrew Bynum, and whether or not he'll be at 100 percent by the time the postseason begins. -- BP
5. Blazers (45-29) | Prev.: 12
Getting hot at the right time. All they have to do is avoid injuries. Which they don't have chronic problems with at all. Wait. -- MM
6. Mavericks (49-25) | Prev.: 7
Denver has been horrid of late, there is something fundamentally wrong with the Lakers, and the Suns are nothing more than fools gold. Dallas meanwhile, has quietly taken over the second seed in the west, behind the timeless play of Jason Kidd (3.76 assists-to-turnover ratio) and Dirk Nowitzki (25 and 8). But this Mavs team isn't just an offensive barrage anymore. Far from it. Thanks to the addition of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood, the Mavs have transformed from pushover to strong-armed enforcers. Butler is one of the few guys in the league who can effectively limit – or at least bother – Kobe Bryant in a seven-game series. His strength and physicality may give Dallas just enough of the boost it needs to reach the finals once again and dethrone the champs. -- Jordan Schultz
7. Jazz (49-26) | Prev.: 5
Red hot. Smoking. En fuego. And if the Jazz make it to the Western Conference Finals, they're likely to be swept. Bizarre. -- MM
8. Spurs (44-29) | Prev.: 10
Manu Ginobili is back, way back. In his last five games, the "bat-killer" is averaging 26 points, 5 assists, and nearly 5 rebounds. But the Spurs won't go anywhere in the playoffs unless Tony Parker finds a way to get healthy, and do so quickly. George Hill has had a nice season filling in, with his 12.4 points and a superb 2.19 assists-to-turnover ratio. The problem? Hill only averages 2.8 assists per game. There is simply no substitute for the speed and tenacity of Mr. Longoria, both in transition and in the half-court. He provides a true driving threat and his ability to create for Tim Duncan makes life much easier for the entire Spurs offense. If he's not ready for the playoffs, than the Spurs could lose consecutive first-round series for the first time since the 1991-92 seasons. -- JS
9. Celtics (47-26) | Prev.: 11
Boston was 6-1 in its last seven games, before getting demolished at home by the Spurs. Paul Pierce has a shoulder injury now that could cause him to miss a little time, but with the team all but assured of home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, they might as well be as cautious as they can with him. And given the fact that the Celtics seem to have figured things out a bit recently, all they need now is to be recharged for the postseason and then, at least in their minds, anything can happen. -- BP

10. Heat (40-34) | Prev.: 14
Getting hot at the right time, but you still can't like a beaten-down, injury-filled, inconsistent team in the first round. -- MM
11. Hawks (47-26) | Prev.: 9
It's been the best of the Hawks, it's been the... well, mediocre of the Hawks. But they're starting to fire on all cylinders for stretches and Josh Smith is somehow playing better, which is terrifying. Their first round series needs to be decisive, though, because their second round will not be, either way. -- MM
12. Thunder (45-28) | Prev.: 13
Playoffs. This young. No veteran additions. Patience. There's a dominant stretch being put together by Presti. -- MM
13. Bucks (41-32) | Prev.: 6
Who thought John Salmons would be a savior? The Bucks are 17-4 since the guard was acquired at the Feb. 18 trade deadline from Chicago. Wednesday's game at Cleveland should prove to be a good test. The Bucks beat the Cavaliers on March 6 at home, but Cleveland played without LeBron James. During their run with Salmons, the Bucks have wins over heavyweights Boston, Utah, Denver and Atlanta. -- CT
14. Nuggets (48-27) | Prev.: 8
Early in the season things were going well. Early in the season, Kenyon Martin was hitting 18 foot jumpers. Kenyon is hurt and unlikely to start hitting those shots if he does return. Concerns growing in Denver. -- MM
15. Raptors (36-37) | Prev.: 20
The Raps appear to be in line to hang onto the eight-seed in the East, but no one would be shocked if they had a bit of a collapse and allowed the Bulls to overtake them. And even if they do make the playoffs, those four games against the Cavaliers in the first round are going to make them wish that they hadn't. -- BP
16. Bobcats (38-35) | Prev.: 15
Team would play up to the 72-win Bulls or down to the '73 Sixers. An amazing ability to rise or fall to their opponent. -- MM
17. Grizzlies (38-35) | Prev.: 16
It's been an impressive run for Lionel Hollins' club. Sitting 5.5 out of the eighth spot out west though, the Grizz have a brutal stretch remaining on their schedule to close out the year. Seven of their last nine games are against teams with winning records, including road games at Dallas, Denver, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. But the future is bright in Memphis. Even if Rudy Gay bails for more cash, this is a team that still features the core nucleus of O.J. Mayo, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol (just chalk up Hasheem Thabeet as one hugggeee mistake). There's reason to feel optimistic Grizzly fans! -- JS
18. Rockets (37-36) | Prev.: 18
GM Daryl Morey is the Billy Beane of the hardwood -- how he's managed to keep this edition of the Rockets competitive should earn him Exec of the Year. He has a gem of a young point guard in Aaron Brooks, and a respectable duo of big men in Luis Scola and Chuck Hayes, who both have shown vastly improved offensive games and consistent production on the glass. If Yao Ming fully returns next season and scorer extraordinaire Kevin Martin remains healthy, Houston should sit comfortably in the upper half of the west. Well done, Mr. Morey, well done. -- JS
19. Hornets (35-40) | Prev.: 19
The argument that Darren Collison makes Chris Paul expendable is a tough pill to swallow, but you can't say the rook from UCLA didn't surprise you. In the months of February and most of March with out CP3, Collison put up 19 points and 9 assists per game. Paul is too good to declare a point guard controversy, but with the cap expected to decrease next season and Paul sure to receive a very healthy flow of cash, Collison is one helluva back-up plan. -- JS
20. Bulls (35-39) | Prev.: 17
So, Derrick Rose guaranteed Chicago would make the playoffs. Then the Bulls went out and lost their first game since his Tuesday prediction, falling at home to Phoenix. Back in the days of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, fans could have more confidence in Bulls' boasts. Chicago is 1 ½ games behind Toronto for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East, but the Raptors could be candidates to choke. -- CT
21. Pacers (28-47) | Prev.: 22
The Pacers are kicking away lottery ping-pong balls by the day. For some reason, they've started to win, having won six of their past seven, which included a five-game streak. And two of the wins during that streak were routs of Oklahoma City and Utah. The key for the Pacers has been Danny Granger, averaging 31.3 points in his past seven games, including a career-high 44 last Friday against the Jazz. -- CT

22. Knicks (26-47) | Prev.: 21
Carlos Boozer may think highly of Mike D'Antoni, but I'm not sure the same can be said for his current crop of players. During a blowout loss to the Suns last week, D'Antoni had Tracy McGrady sub back in with his team trailing by 30, and allowed All-Star David Lee to play half of the final period with the deficit at the same point or worse. Can you imagine if one of the Knicks' few remaining assets had been injured playing those extended garbage time minutes? -- BP
23. Sixers (26-48) | Prev.: 24
Picked up a couple of good wins this week over the Hawks and the Bucks. It's good to see the team hasn't completely quit on Eddie Jordan yet. -- BP
24. Warriors (21-52) | Prev.: 27
Rodrigue Beaubois of the Mavericks dropped 40 on the Warriors this week, just as fellow rookie Brandon Jennings lit them up for 55 earlier this season. It's great to see these young guards go off like this, but against a Warriors team that is loaded with barely-passable NBA talent at this point (and doesn't even attempt to play any defense), there should be some asterisks next to those monster performances. -- BP
25. Nets (10-64) | Prev.: 30
Worst team ever? Fuggeddaboudit. The Nets got their magical 10th victory of the season, beating a Spurs team that sat Manu Ginobili due to injury. -- BP
26. Clippers (27-47) | Prev.: 26
Drew Gooden and Chris Kaman appear to be still trying on a nightly basis. Everyone else? Yeah. Not so much. -- BP
27. Kings (24-51) | Prev.: 23
The Kings waived Joey Dorsey this week, and if you're getting dropped this late in the season, there must be a reason. Turns out, there was: the team feared Dorsey's "clownish behavior" would become contagious. -- BP
28. Pistons (23-50) | Prev.: 25
The Pistons are working on another losing streak. Earlier this season, they dropped 13 straight. Now, they've lost eight in a row. With games against Miami, Phoenix and Atlanta coming up, the streak might not end soon. Some good news is guard Rodney Stuckey starting to look mostly like himself after missing six games following his collapse in a March 5 game. He's scored 20 or more points in two of his first five back. -- CT
29. Wizards (21-52) | Prev.: 28
They can't even effectively manage the backup minor league players they bring up to replace the inconsistent trade dumps they got in a rebuilding effort. Yeesh. -- MM
30. Timberwolves (14-60) | Prev.: 29
The worst team in the NBA. Forget the Nets, the Wolves are an abomination. -- MM