The big fat jolly guy is coming to town. No, not Charles Barkley. We're talking about Santa Claus.
Yes, old St. Nick is on his way to bring cheer to his NBA fans. There are no games scheduled for Christmas Eve (Santa and his tricked-up sleigh block out the satellite reception on League Pass as he makes his way from the North Pole). But Christmas Day brings the gift of a tripleheader, with the Heat-Cavs, Lakers-Suns and Sonics-Blazers on the slate.
As for that list Santa keeps -- the one he's been known to check out once or twice? Well, were here to give him some help with who's been naughty and nice this past week.
This week's high riser: Blazers (No. 9 from 14)
This week's big drop: Cavs (No. 18 from 15)
| NBA Power Rankings |
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They bounced back from a last-second loss to the Pistons by defeating the Bulls and Magic by 25 and 12 points, respectively. Given the Spurs' ailments (see below), it's enough to put the Eastern Conference leaders back atop these rankings. But with a four-game Western road trip ahead, starting Wednesday in Sacramento, they are about to get tested. |
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Their Christmas wish is to get their own Big Three back together again soon, as they had dropped four of six games since the injury bug hit. Manu Ginobili (sprained finger) is the latest casualty, sidelined shortly after Tony Parker (ankle) and Tim Duncan (ankle, knee) had returned to action. |
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With five straight victories (including one last week over the Celtics) and a 14-3 record overall since Nov. 21, might they deserve to be ranked ahead of Boston? The Pistons are playing about as well as any team right now, but let's first see how the Celtics fare on their road trip. |
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Dirk Nowitzki is starting to heat up. The reigning MVP had 30 points in Saturday's win over the Clippers as the Mavs ran won their fifth straight. It marked the third straight 30-point game for the German Bird, who is trying to score closer to the basket after struggling with his three-point shot this season. |
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After Lakers coach Phil Jackson called a timeout late in his team's 119-98 drubbing of the Suns back on Nov. 2, Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni accused the Zen Master of rubbing it in. "We will remember," D'Antoni said. It should make Tuesday's Christmas matchup that much more festive. |
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One big difference for them this season has been their ability to win on the road. Sunday's romp at Cleveland left them 3-2 on their five-game road trip and improved their overall road mark to 9-7. Last year they were 12-29 away from home, and didn't record their ninth road win until April 4. |
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Kobe Bryant became the youngest player to score 20,000 points in Sunday's win at New York, beating out Wilt Chamberlain for the distinction. Better yet, it was Kobe & Co.'s eighth victory in 10 games as they continue to put last summer's soap opera behind them. |
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Chris Paul is playing like an MVP candidate, Tyson Chandler continues to rack up double-doubles and Peja Stojakovic is back in the lineup. It's all looking good these days for this club, except of course for home attendance. |
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Brandon Roy continues to do it all, even blocking Carmelo Anthony's last-minute shot last Friday night to hold off the Nuggets and seal Portland's 10th straight victory. With home games this week against the Sonics, T'Wolves and Sixers, Blazermania should rage through the New Year. |
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After missing a last-second potential game-winner at Portland, Linas Kleiza got a second chance and made the most of it Sunday at Sacramento. The third-year forward is averaging 10.4 points (on 47.8 percent shooting) and 3.9 boards in 22.9 minutes while being used mostly off the bench. |
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