The West might be best, but right now the Pistons are the NBA's hottest team. Detroit not only has won eight straight, and 12 of 13 overall, but it also has been dominating foes. The Pistons have won each of those 12 games by double digits, holding opponents to an average of 73.3 points per contest. The additions of Rasheed Wallace and Mike James have transformed their D from good to great.

The Pistons are starting to get in the heads of foes, too. The Nets acted as if they'd won the NBA title last Thursday when they scored a last-second basket to reach 70 points against Detroit. Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony staged his sitdown strike only after being hounded all night last Friday in Motown.

Can the Pistons keep it up? Time will tell. But nobody is playing better than these Bad Boys right now.

THIS WEEK'S HIGH RISER: Utah Jazz (to No. 11 from No. 16)
THIS WEEK'S BIG DROP: Denver Nuggets (to No. 15 from No. 11)

NBA Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 3 Detroit Pistons (46-25) Here's what they have given up over their last eight games, through Sunday: 68, 66, 65, 65, 69, 71, 75, 76. Those are more like Lotto numbers than basketball scores. But can they play power ball Thursday at San Antonio? 2 6 Los Angeles Lakers (47-23) The Big Four are healthy, and the Lakers have won 9 of 11. With the Kings (Wed.) and T'wolves (Fri.) set to visit Staples this week, this is L.A.'s chance to make a statement. 3 4 San Antonio Spurs (46-24) That giant sucking sound coming from Texas isn't Ross Perot getting ready to run for president again. It's the huge sigh of relief from Spurs fans now that Tim Duncan's knee is apparently OK. 4 1 Sacramento Kings (51-19) Victories over the Pacers and Rockets have freshened the air after those stinkers at New Jersey and Washington. But they're just 6-4 in their last 10, and Brad Miller's sore right elbow could be a concern. 5 2 Indiana Pacers (50-19) Morgan Freeman is going to drive the pace car at this year's Indy 500? Will Miss Daisy be in the back seat? The Pacers missed their chance to take over the NBA wheel with weekend losses to the Kings and Grizz. 6 5 Minnesota Timberwolves (48-22) Who can take a good team?/Mess up all its flow/Stand around and clog the middle/So K.G. has nowhere to go?/The Kandi Man can/The Kandi Man can ... 7 7 Dallas Mavericks (44-25) They won at New Jersey on Sunday to kick off a five-game Eastern road trip. But it's a bad sign when you give up 98 points to a Nets team playing without Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin. 8 9 Houston Rockets (39-29) Get ready, John Starks. With Charles Oakley joining Mark Jackson and (assistant coach) Patrick Ewing, coach Jeff Van Gundy has almost realized his diabolical plot to re-form the '91-92 Knicks. 9 10 Memphis Grizzlies (43-26) James Posey is the unsung free-agent signee of the year. He closed out the Pacers on Saturday with seven of his 16 points coming in the final two minutes. Two weeks ago he iced the Spurs in similar fashion. 10 8 New Jersey Nets (41-28) From bad to worse: Not only did they get embarrassed by the Pistons at home last week, but now Kidd could be out the rest of the season. Good thing they have a nine-game cushion in the Atlantic. 11 16 Utah Jazz (36-34) They won at Cleveland and Atlanta over the weekend to move into the No. 8 spot in the West. Now Jerry Sloan and his never-say-die crew get set for Saturday's big visit from the Nuggets. 12 14 Portland Trailblazers (35-34) If they can avoid any more incidents outside of strip clubs, they might yet keep that 22-year playoff streak alive. They've won five of six to creep within a half game of the Jazz for the last playoff spot in the West. 13 12 Cleveland Cavaliers (31-38) After winning seven straight, they suffered back-to-back weekend losses to the Jazz and Pistons. They're hoping the return of Jeff McInnis (right shoulder) will get them back on track. 14 15 Miami Heat (33-37) They won at Washington on Sunday to run their win streak to a season-high five games. But seven of final 12 are on the road, where the Heat are just 9-25 this season. 15 11 Denver Nuggets (36-35) OK, so Carmelo Anthony finally acted like the 19-year-old he is. He'll be fine, but his slumping team has bigger issues. Sunday's loss in Minnesota made it three straight defeats, and 12 of 16 overall. 16 13 New Orleans Hornets (36-34) They're trying to hold on until Jamal Mashburn (knee bruise) gets back, probably in early April. But it's beginning to sound like Mash and his teammates won't be on the same page anyway. 17 17 New York Knicks (32-38) Tim Thomas (strained groin) has joined Allan Houston (knee) on their list of walking wounded. Without the duo, New York's offense can be really bad -- as it showed in Saturday's loss in Chicago. 18 21 Seattle SuperSonics (32-38) Who put the Starbucks in the microwave? Sunday's win over the Magic ran their win streak to a season-high five games. Even Vitaly Potapenko has been getting in the act of late. 19 18 Milwaukee Bucks (34-35) Who put the Old Milwaukee in the icebox? Sunday's loss at the Lakers was their fifth straight defeat, their eighth in nine games, and dropped them below .500 for the first time since Dec. 20. 20 19 Boston Celtics (31-40) Interim coach John Carroll says he lost 16 pounds recently on the South Beach Diet. Meanwhile, the Atkins Diet (Chucky, that is) has helped the Celtics go 8-4 in his last 12 games through Sunday. 21 20 Toronto Raptors (30-39) Vince Carter pumped in 42 points to lead them to a stirring OT win over the Hornets on Sunday. It almost made up for that horrid loss at home to the Bulls on Friday. Almost. 22 24 Golden State Warriors (29-40) At week's end they'd won four in a row to ease the sting from that nine-game losing skid. With a relatively soft schedule the rest of the way, they have a chance to at least finish on a favorable note. 23 23 Philadelphia 76ers (28-42) They got blown out Sunday in Miami, their fourth straight loss (and third since Allen Iverson returned to the lineup). Overall, Chris Ford is 7-11 since taking over for Randy Ayers. 24 25 Phoenix Suns (23-47) Add Maciej Lampe to their list of promising young players getting a chance to shine. The 6-foot-11 Polish teen had 17 points and seven boards in 26 minutes Saturday to help them beat the Bucks. 25 22 Los Angeles Clippers (27-43) Marko Jaric (left foot) is out for the season, another blow to a team that's just 5-18 since Feb. 4. They're now headed toward another 50-loss season, which would be their 15th in 19 full years in L.A. 26 28 Washington Wizards (22-47) Just when they get back Larry Hughes from a wrist injury, Gilbert Arenas goes down again, this time with a sprained ankle. The Wizards ought to have a revolving door to the training room. 27 26 Atlanta Hawks (22-48) They're closing in on the worst record in franchise history. As of Sunday they needed to win four of their final 12 to avoid supplanting the 2000-01 Hawks (25-57) for the dubious distinction. 28 28 Chicago Bulls (20-49) Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford came up big in weekend victories over the Raptors and Knicks. Once again, they're making a late-season push in what Scott Skiles once termed "meaningless games." 29 27 Orlando Magic (19-53) Anybody for a high draft choice? They'll seriously consider dealing their lottery pick in June's draft in order to get some help for T-Mac. But with the Bulls thinking along the same lines, it could be a buyer's market.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com.