Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics leapfrog the Spurs and Mavericks in our NBA Power Rankings here at TSJ after completing a perfect 3-0 week with a victory over Indiana on Sunday that stretched their current winning streak to thirteen games. The Heat, Spurs, and Lakers have also won 12, 8, and 5 consecutive games, respectively, and as such they rank high on this week’s list.

I’m also as curious as everyone else must be as to how the new pieces will fit in Orlando. Will they rise or fall after Saturday‘s blockbuster trades?

Check out all the info on the trades Orlando made HERE.

Oh, and I’m sorry Kevin Love - I’d love to add you and your Timberwolves here after last night’s 43 point, 17 rebound effort but you have to start winning for that to happen!

I’m dedicating this week’s edition to venerable NBA legend and TNT stalwart Charles Barkley for his fantastic comments regarding the Brett Favre - Jenn Sterger fiasco. Check out what he said HERE.

Now onto the rankings….

(NOTE: As usual, each team’s previous rank is listed in parenthesis)

1. (3) Boston Celtics: 22-4 (Last week: 3-0)

Paul Pierce recorded a triple-double, Shaq nailed all three freebies, Kevin Garnett looked spry and that Glen Davis guy can sure fill it up, can’t he? That was life for the Pacers this past Sunday and, quite frankly, for every other team this Boston juggernaut has faced in the last three weeks. This Celtics team is absolutely loaded and even with Rondo out while nursing a sprained ankle the Celtics are simply dominating. The Celtics are still #1 in defensive efficiency and are now #7 in offense heading into next week. Scary stuff.

2. (2) San Antonio Spurs: 23-3 (Last week: 3-0)

Manu Ginobili is simply marvelous, folks - watch this guy operate if you can right now as his performance so far this season merits MVP consideration. Spectacular game-winning plays against the Bucks and Nuggets allowed the Spurs to stretch their winning streak to eight. San Antonio is ranked #9 in defense and a surprising (for a Gregg Popovich team) second in offense. At this rate Tim Duncan will be ultra-fresh come playoff time - he’s averaging just 29.4 minutes per game right now.

3. (1) Dallas Mavericks: 21-5 (Last week: 2-1)

The Mavs had their twelve-game winning streak snapped by the suddenly feisty Bucks on Monday night but rebounded to defeat the Trailblazers and Suns to salvage their week. Dirk Nowitzki continued his red-hot shooting and is posting a career-best .558 percentage from the floor so far. Dallas is continuing to get the job done defensively - they rank #5 in opponents PPG (93.2) and #7 in defensive rating. Tough week coming up for Mark Cuban’s bunch - they have the Heat, Thunder, and new-look Magic on tap.

4. (4) Miami Heat: 21-8 (Last week: 4-0)

LeBron and company have been torturing the league on their way to twelve consecutive wins but have been beating up on a plethora of mediocre teams on their current rampage. Wade and LeBron have been playing ridiculously well together and James put up an impressive triple-double against the Knicks at MSG. Coming up the Heat face the Mavericks, Suns, Lakers, and Knicks so we’ll have a much better idea of where they stand at that point.

5. (5) Los Angeles Lakers: 21-7 (Last week: 4-0)

After losing to the Bulls on December 10th the Lakers have posted five consecutive victories, although four of them were against the league’s cellar-dwellars. They did win their rematch with the Pacers rather handily and finally began benefiting from the return of Andrew Bynum on Sunday versus the Raptors - Bynum posted 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench in his second game back. Should be a fantastic game on Christmas between the Heat and Lakers.

6. (7) Chicago Bulls: 16-9 (Last week: 3-1)

Chicago lost a heartbreaker to the Clippers on Saturday night after winning their previous seven games, including triumphs over the Lakers and Thunder. The return of Carlos Boozer has definitely helped diversify this offense but losing Joakim Noah for the next 8-10 weeks while he recovers from thumb surgery is a huge blow. If the Bulls could somehow shoot the three with accuracy - only two players (Rose, Korver) on their roster are nailing more than .300 of their treys - they would be a much more fearsome team to contend with.

7. (9) Oklahoma City Thunder: 19-9 (Last week: 2-1)

The Thunder have won five of their past six as Kevin Durant has re-discovered his touch from the perimeter - he has hit over forty-six percent of his field goals in four of the past six. Westbrook’s scoring is down a tick (17.8 over his last four) but he’s racking up the dimes and OKC is winning despite a very average defensive unit, which is surprising at times considering this team was dynamite on that end last year.

8. (8) Utah Jazz: 19-9 (Last week: 2-1)

The Jazz ended their week with a win over Milwaukee that saw center Mehmet Okur play in his second game since returning from injury. Deron Williams recorded 22 points, 11 assists, and just two turnovers vs. Milwaukee to enhance his already budding MVP candidacy. Utah has alternated wins and losses since December 1st but has a soft schedule coming up: Cavs, Bulls, Clippers, Pistons, and the perpetually injured Blazers.

9. (6) New York Knicks: 16-12 (Last week: 0-3)

Wow… that was certainly a turn of events. After posting eight consecutive wins followed by a nail-biting loss to the Celtics at MSG Amare and crew were blasted by the Heat and clipped by the Cavs in overtime. Not the way to begin an extremely tough stretch, my friends! Coming up the Knicks have the Thunder, Bulls, Heat, Magic and Spurs before January 4th - yikes.

10. (12) New Orleans Hornets: 16-11 (Last week: 2-2)

I can’t figure these guys out - in the past two weeks the Hornets have been defeated by the 76ers (a blowout) and last night in overtime to the Pistons yet are talented enough to beat the Jazz by 29 points on Friday? Chris Paul put up another gem in their loss last night, recording 23 points and ten assists but when your third-ranked defense somehow allows 111 points to the twentieth-ranked offense something is up, wouldn’t you say?

11. (10) Orlando Magic: 16-10 (Last week: 1-2)

Well, that was some weekend haul for Dwight Howard and the Magic! I’m thinking these moves will pay almost immediate dividends and that they’ll rise higher in the rankings by next week but when you’ve currently lost six of your past seven you deserve to be out of the top ten - for now.

12. (11) Atlanta Hawks: 17-12 (Last week: 1-3)

The memories of that five-game run in late November are all but gone for the Hawks after winning just one game last week against the Bobcats in Atlanta. They were handled pretty easily by the Pistons on Tuesday 103-80 and are showing signs of offensive ineptitude since Joe Johnson’s injury - they haven’t scored more than 100 points since a 116-101 victory over the Nets on December 7th. The Magic loom as their only tough test, on paper at least, this week.

13. (N/A) Denver Nuggets:  16-10 (Last week: 2-1)

I can’t imagine what must be going on in the Nuggets locker-room right now. Between the Carmelo to NY-NJ-ANYWHERE drama and the very obvious rebuilding and shuffling of their roster if/when a trade occurs I’m surprised these guys maintained enough focus to absolutely destroy the Magic 111 - 94 on Tuesday. No time to rest for George Karl’s group either as they have the Spurs and Thunder coming up.

14. (N/A) Houston Rockets: 12-15 (Last week: 3-1)

Someone suggested the other day that Houston must be devastated that they will be without Yao for the rest of the season and I just had to laugh - while I’m a huge fan of Yao and I’m sure the Rockets coaching staff wishes he were present that doesn’t hide the fact that they’ve been without Yao for a long, long time and have become an up-tempo unit (#7 in offense) in his absence. Houston has a chance to right this ship even more as their next three games feature the Warriors, Wizards, and Clippers.

15. (N/A) Phoenix Suns: 13-13 (Last week: 2-1)

Only a shorthanded victory over the Thunder on Sunday behind a throwback performance from Grant Hill (30 points and 11 boards) and the typical brilliance of Nash (20 points and ten assists) inspired me to include them in the top fifteen. How Vince Carter and Marcin Gortat will fit in is anyone’s guess but I’m thinking that Vince should keep his bags packed and keep his cell phone on - I see him being shipped out before the deadline for additional pieces if Suns management thinks they can make a run.

THE BEST OF THE REST

  1. Portland Trailblazers - LaMarcus Aldridge scored 35 and 36 points in back-to-back games last week

  2. Indiana Pacers - Two steps forward and two steps back for Hibbert and crew

  3. Milwaukee Bucks - Had won three straight before falling to the Spurs and Jazz

  4. Memphis Grizzlies - O.J. Mayo is alive! Twenty-seven points on 11-19 shooting vs. Spurs

  5. Philadelphia 76ers - Four wins in their last five for Doug Collins’ crew

  6. Toronto Raptors - Bargnani is averaging 26.2 points over his last five including 41 against the Knicks

  7. Golden State Warriors - You have disappointed me this season, you know that! Such high hopes

  8. Detroit Pistons -  Recent wins over the Hawks and Hornets show signs of life

  9. Charlotte Bobcats - I bet they regret letting Tyson Chandler go now. Jordan’s bunch has lost four of six.

  10. New Jersey Nets - Am I the only person who thinks Devin Harris is slightly overrated?

  11. Minnesota Timberwolves - Kevin Love, you are a beast.

  12. Los Angeles Clippers - So are you, Blake. Don’t get jealous. I wrote a column on you to make up for it

  13. Cleveland Cavaliers - Welcome back to the starting lineup, Antawn! 21 points and 9 boards in win over Knicks

  14. Washington Wizards - Rashard Lewis, Flip? Is that the best you could do?

  15. Sacramento Kings - Please come back Vlade Divac! You too, Bobby Jackson!

Until next time….