Injuries are testing top contenders

The Cavaliers survived their bout with the injury bug. Can the Lakers, San Antonio, Boston and Orlando do the same? We're going to find out over the next few weeks.

The Lakers have been rolling since Andrew Bynum went down, but how long will Lamar Odom continue to dominate the boards? The Spurs have some experience playing without Manu Ginobili, who also missed the first 12 games of the season. Boston's depth will be tested while Kevin Garnett is sidelined with a knee injury. And the Magic have two months to develop chemistry with Rafer Alston, who will finish the season in Jameer Nelson's spot.

The Cavs, meanwhile, welcomed back starting shooting guard Delonte West on Sunday. Combined with the earlier return of center Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland has its starting lineup together for the first time since late December.

NBA Power Rankings

1 Last Week: 1	Los Angeles Lakers (46-10) If you don't believe them when they say they can win a championship without Bynum, at least consider what others around the league are saying. "I think they are better without Bynum," an Eastern Conference head coach said. "Look at the way the league is trending. The really good teams are the ones that play fast. This Lakers team plays really fast." Bynum's replacement in the starting lineup, Lamar Odom, continues to play well, having pulled down at least 14 rebounds in seven games this month.
2 Last Week: 4	Cleveland Cavaliers (43-11) Remember when Wally Szczerbiak was deemed expendable, when the only reason to speak his name was to remind everyone of his expiring contract? Maybe the Cavs decided to hold on to him because he is actually needed. Szczerbiak's consistent scoring during West's absence helped keep the Cavs rolling. It's looking more and more like Szczerbiak will be counted on to play significant minutes down the stretch.
3 Last Week: 2	San Antonio Spurs (37-17) Ginobili had been coming on offensively of late, scoring at least 30 points in three of his last six appearances, before being sidelined for two to three weeks with a stress reaction in his right ankle. Coach Gregg Popovich expressed optimism about Ginobili's status. "New bone has already been laying down, they've seen it on the X-rays," Popovich told reporters. "So the healing process has already begun."
4 Last Week: 3	Boston Celtics (45-12) There are two ways to look at Garnett's recent injury. One, the Celtics may struggle without their defensive quarterback. Or two, the injury could turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as it gives the hyperactive Garnett a few weeks to cool his engines and refresh his body in time for the playoffs. I'll take Option B. Remember, Garnett missed nine games in the middle of last season and had a full tank for Boston's championship run.
5 Last Week: 5	Orlando Magic (41-14) Their deadline acquisition of Alston for, essentially, the seldom-used Brian Cook and a first-round pick isn't in the Pau Gasol-to-the-Lakers category, but it was a savvy move. "I couldn't believe they got him," said an Eastern Conference assistant coach, who noted that, when Nelson returns next season, the Magic could get more for Alston than the the pick they gave to Houston. Alston was steady in his first start, scoring 12 points with nine assists as Orlando dusted division rival Miami on Sunday.
6 Last Week: 7	Denver Nuggets (37-19) Could free-agent forward/center Mikki Moore be bound for Denver? While Boston is still considered the front-runner, Moore's agent reportedly had discussions with Denver last week. The Nuggets could certainly use another big man. Kenyon Martin has back spasms and the Nuggets suffered a scare when Nene went down with a bruised right knee in Sunday's loss at Milwaukee.
7 Last Week: 8	Houston Rockets (35-21) Who will be Alston's long-term replacement at point guard? Houston should have a good idea by the end of the season whether it will be Kyle Lowry, a 2006 first-round pick acquired in the Alston trade, or Aaron Brooks, a 2007 first-round pick who had 19 points and eight assists as a starter in a victory against Dallas in the first game after the trade.
8 Last Week: 10	Portland Trail Blazers (35-20) Memo to those who have questioned me about putting Joe Johnson over Brandon Roy on my All-NBA third team in Sports Illustrated's midseason package: It was close. Razor close. That's not to say Roy won't end the season with the spot, especially if he continues to have more weeks like this past one. Roy averaged 29.3 points in three Portland home victories.
9 Last Week: 13	Utah Jazz (33-23) A 3-0 week was overshadowed by the loss of longtime owner Larry Miller, who died from complications from diabetes on Friday. "I looked up to Larry," Mavs owner Mark Cuban wrote in an e-mail to SI.com. "He was fiery, he stuck to his beliefs, even if they weren't popular, and he wanted to win as badly as anyone. He pulled no punches, whether it was letting the guys know how he felt in a huddle or in the locker room, or his work ethic in the business community. It was clear that there are few people in this world as competitive as Larry."
10 Last Week: 6	Dallas Mavericks (33-22) Jerry Stackhouse, who expected to be traded or bought out by now, will now be thrust back into the rotation after the Mavs lost Jason Terry to a broken hand. After missing 40 games with a right foot injury, Stackhouse went scoreless in his first two games back last week. "If you love to play basketball, you love to compete," Stackhouse told the Dallas Morning News. "That's all my focus is, to be a contributor in helping us achieve our goals, and that's winning a championship."
11 Last Week: 9	New Orleans Hornets (32-22) When the trade with Oklahoma City was rescinded after Tyson Chandler flunked his physical, I believed Chandler wouldn't come back with any hard feelings. I may have been mistaken. Writing on TysonChandler.com, Chandler said: "With my teammates, it's all love. They welcomed me back like a brother. With management, it's always going to be a little funny because these guys just tried to trade me away and I got bounced back to them. I'm sure that will be pretty awkward."
12 Last Week: 11	Phoenix Suns (31-24) Without Amar'e Stoudemire, the Suns went with a three-guard starting lineup (of Steve Nash, Jason Richardson and Leandro Barbosa) in Sunday's 20-point home loss to the Celtics. Expect more spread-the-floor small ball, which Nash called "liberating for 90 percent of our roster. ... Playing a little more of a half-court game only suited Shaquille [O'Neal]. We can still go into him. As you've seen, he was really effective [in three consecutive victories before the Boston loss]."
13 Last Week: 14	Atlanta Hawks (32-23) Earlier in the season, GM Rick Sund told me that he was using this season to evaluate the team. Well, it's starting to look like the same group that limped into the playoffs last season. The Hawks are just 11-13 after a 21-10 start, and this week they face a four-game stretch that includes visits to Utah and Denver followed by home dates with Miami and Cleveland.
14 Last Week: 15	Miami Heat (29-26) In the first quarter Sunday in Orlando, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was picked up by the ESPN mics muttering that Dwyane Wade was "going to go for 40 again." Close, Wade actually went for 50 in the Heat loss. Miami has to be encouraged by the health of its franchise player, who hasn't missed a game despite once again mistaking the floor for a trampoline. Now the Heat just need consistent play from Jermaine O'Neal, who averaged 15 points in his first two games with his new team but delivered a clunker (six points, 2-of-10 shooting) against Orlando.
15 Last Week: 12	Philadelphia 76ers (27-27) Rookie Marreese Speights is taking advantage of his opportunity in Elton Brand's absence. The versatile, 6-10 power forward picked up his first career double-double last week and has scored in double figures in five of eight games this month. "We really didn't expect him to play this well this quickly," coach Tony DiLeo said. "He has really surprised us with his ability to score on the run and his nice touch around the basket."
16 Last Week: 18	Chicago Bulls (25-31) Introducing Brad Miller and John Salmons into the mix gives the Bulls a leg up in the race for the East's eighth playoff spot. "Big move for them," a scout in that conference said. "Salmons can flat-out score and I think Miller is going to be really good for them. He just had to get out of Sacramento." Chicago lost at Indiana on Sunday in the debuts of both newcomers.
17 Last Week: 19	New York Knicks (23-32) They beat the Raptors 127-97 in New York on Friday and then dropped the rematch 111-100 two days in Toronto. Sunday's loss left the Knicks at 7-20 on the road, including 2-9 in the new year. The good news in the short term is that the Knicks play five of their next six games at Madison Square Garden.
18 Last Week: 16	Detroit Pistons (27-27) The wheels have officially come off the wagon. "They are bad," an Eastern Conference assistant coach said. "They may not even make the playoffs." The Pistons have dropped six straight games, including a 21-point drubbing in Cleveland on Sunday, and are 6-16 since Jan. 6.
19 Last Week: 20	Milwaukee Bucks (28-31) Charlie Villanueva dropped 36 points in a win over the Nuggets on Sunday, raising his scoring average for February to 21.9 (after averaging 20.2 points in January). More important, Villanueva is helping the Bucks keep their tenuous hold on the East's final playoff spot.
20 Last Week: 17	New Jersey Nets (24-32) After surrendering 60 points in the paint in a loss to the lowly Wizards on Friday, coach Lawrence Frank told reporters that he was doing a "poor job" preparing the team (which is in the midst of a five-game skid). Frank quickly received a vote of confidence from team president Rod Thorn, but in a rough coaching climate, Frank might want to be careful not to fall on his sword again.
21 Last Week: 21	Indiana Pacers (24-34) They couldn't be more pleased with the play of rookie center Roy Hibbert, who is averaging 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 15.3 minutes in February. Hibbert has been a fixture at post-practice workouts and in the video room. The coaching staff envisions the 7-footer's developing into a starting center as early as next season.
22 Last Week: 22	Charlotte Bobcats (22-34) "I can't understand why the Bobcats were so eager to move Raymond Felton," an NBA source said after Charlotte kept the point guard at the trade deadline. "Sometimes I think he is the best player on their team." In a loss to Orlando last week, Felton became the first Bobcat this season to lead the team in points (22), rebounds (10) and assists (five) in the same game.
23 Last Week: 25	Golden State Warriors (20-36) Warriors coach Don Nelson notched his 1,300th career victory on Saturday, joining Lenny Wilkens (1,332) as the only two coaches with that many wins. Nelson is planning to play his youngsters more down the stretch, which is good news for forward Anthony Randolph, who has played sporadically as a rookie.
24 Last Week: 24	Minnesota Timberwolves (18-37) Shelden Williams hasn't amounted to much since the Hawks took him with the fifth pick in the '06 draft, averaging just 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. But a trade to the frontcourt-starved Timberwolves could be just what the doctor ordered. "Different guys have different paths," Williams told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "You have to work at what you have to do or find the situation. Some people kind of land in the right spot. I'm still looking for the right situation. Hopefully, it's here and I can stay here for a long time."
25 Last Week: 23	Oklahoma City Thunder (13-43) The Thunder surrendered 100, 140 and 133 points in losses to the Hornets, Suns and Warriors, respectively last week. Too bad there wasn't a defensive-minded center like, say, Tyson Chandler available at the trade deadline.
26 Last Week: 26	Toronto Raptors (22-36) "I watched a lot of film of Chris Bosh recently," an Eastern Conference scout said. "He looks lost out there. I think this season has really gotten to him." The best evidence of Toronto's collapse was that 30-point pasting against the Knicks, in which Bosh scored 12 points on 4-13 shooting in 31 minutes.
27 Last Week: 29	Washington Wizards (13-43) With less than two months remaining in the season, they need to make a decision: Do they bring Gilbert Arenas back to play some games? The Wizards had a strong week, going 2-1 with wins over New Jersey and Minnesota. But the playoffs are a pipe dream, and with Arenas' injury history (three knee surgeries in two years), they would be wise to leave them on the shelf.
28 Last Week: 30	Sacramento Kings (12-45) Their wheeling and dealing at the trade deadline yielded six newcomers with expiring contracts (along with Andres Nocioni), no prospects and no draft picks, leaving some to speculate that the struggling Kings might be gearing up for a move. "Most everybody's business to one extent or another in the current economic environment ... has been somewhat affected," Kings president Geoff Petrie told reporters. "That's all been pretty well-documented with most of the major sports leagues as well. So there's an element of that in some of the things teams are trying to do, whether it's about the rest of this season or future seasons."
29 Last Week: 28	Memphis Grizzlies (15-40) They began the season with former first-round picks Mike Conley, Kyle Lowry and Javaris Crittenton as their top three point guards. Crittenton was traded to Washington in Deceember. Lowry was sent to Houston last week, clearing another obstacle in the path-to-point-guard for rookie O.J. Mayo.
30 Last Week: 27	Los Angeles Clippers (13-43) Mike Dunleavy's sinking ship gave up an average of 132.7 points in three losses last week. Now the Clippers also have former executive Elgin Baylor's employment discrimination lawsuit hanging over their heads. No wonder the NBA suspended Zach Randolph for only two games for taking a swing at the Suns' Louis Amundson: Playing with the Clips is a far worse punishment.

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