On the eve of the big Texas presidential primary, it's only fitting that two teams from the Lone Star State would be battling it out atop these Power Rankings. Yes, the Rockets and Spurs are this week's choice to head up this ticket. They get the edge over the similarly high-flying Lakers for now, though the race is tighter than the delegate count between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The Rockets, who lost All-Star center Yao Ming to a season-ending foot injury last week, managed to win all three games after that devastating news. It ran their winning streak to a franchise-record-tying 15 games, longest in the NBA this season, and made them 19-1 in their last 20 games. The Spurs, meanwhile, have quietly reeled off nine straight and 13 of 14 to climb back atop the Western Conference standings.
How long can Houston hold on without Yao in the middle? Are the Spurs ready to regain their spot atop the league? Will the Lakers show California is king? We'll know when the polls close next week.
This week's high riser: Wizards (No. 12 from 20)
This week's big drop: Suns (No. 15 from 6)
| NBA Power Rankings |
| 1 |
1 |
 |
They're wagging their finger Dikembe Mutombo-style at those who predicted their demise without Yao. Mutbombo, the new starting center, played about one-third of his total minutes for the entire season in those three victories last week. |
| 2 |
5 |
 |
With Tony Parker back in the lineup and Manu Ginobili playing like an MVP candidate, the defending champs are looking like themselves again. Even Brent Barry doesn't want to miss out on the fun. |
| 3 |
3 |
 |
They downed the Mavericks on Sunday in OT to get back on track after having their 10-game winning streak snapped in Portland. Kobe Bryant had an NBA-season-high 52 points, along with 10 rebounds, to continue his MVP surge. |
| 4 |
4 |
 |
Motown apparently wasn't big enough for two Flips, so they waived veteran guard Flip Murray. Theo Ratliff, waived by Minnesota, will take his roster spot as they bulk up the frontcourt for the regular-season homestretch. |
| 5 |
7 |
 |
With Sam Cassell set to join P.J. Brown as new roster additions, the Celtics' bench suddenly looks a lot more potent. Meanwhile, they are riding a five-game winning streak heading into Wednesday's big visit from the Pistons. |
| 6 |
9 |
 |
Just when they thought they were back on track (consecutive wins over the Suns and Jazz), they lose to the injury-depleted Wizards for the second time in a week. Also, Bonzi Wells has been hurt and unable to make any impact so far. |
| 7 |
2 |
 |
We hate to sound redundant, but they are the only division leader to have a losing record on the road (13-19). They have even dropped games at the Clippers and Timberwolves in the past few weeks. That's not going to get it done. |
| 8 |
8 |
 |
Jason Kidd hasn't been able to lift them to victories over any quality foes yet (see road losses to Spurs, Lakers and Hornets). But with contests this week at Utah (Monday) and vs. the Rockets (Thursday), he'll get two more chances. |
| 9 |
12 |
 |
Dwight Howard had 26 points and 22 boards as they smoked the Knicks on Saturday to make it four of five, with nine of their next 12 at home. Now they just need to get Jameer Nelson (flu) and Keyon Dooling (foot) healthy. |
| 10 |
10 |
 |
Thanks in part to Monta Ellis' continuing emergence, they entered the week having won seven of nine to climb into the No. 8 spot in the West. They were also 14 games over .500 for the first time since the 1993-94 season. |
|
1 of 3
