| | Rankings as of Tuesday, Jan. 18
|  | | Ruben Patterson and the Sonics are the high-risers for the week. |
Since there are a few Kings and Sonics fans in our office here at ESPN.com, as much as we tried to ignore the five-game winning streaks for each team (and ignore those people), we could not. But seriously, how could we not notice that Sacramento and Seattle have gotten hot? It's reflected in this week's Power Rankings as each team is now in our top 10. Each passed the slumping Spurs, since they both beat Duncan and crew.
For our ranking of the Sonics, we refer you to an e-mail from Brian Marantz of Redmond, Wash. We were going to rank the Sonics at No. 5 anyway, but this guy hit it right on the head. Brian writes, "So, the Sonics are now where on your Power Rankings? Beat the Spurs twice in two weeks, and the Lakers in L.A. Won 6 out of 7. Golden State was the only bad team. No, they aren't No. 1 or No. 2, but how about No. 5?" Agreed.
Does San Antone deserve their drop? Maybe they were too high to start with. Portland deserves to drop this week (they lost to the Mavs!) but no team deserves the No. 2 spot. And just because the Lakers lost twice, no, they cannot drop from the top spot. Sorry, Kings and Sonics fans, not yet. But without any other results in mind, Lakers at Blazers this Saturday could be for the top spot in the rankings next week.
Anyway, here are the ESPN.com Power Rankings as of Jan. 18. We already know you don't agree so click here and start offering a few Rank Comments of your own. But please remember these two factors: a) these rankings were compiled Tuesday morning, and will not reflect anything that happens beginning Tuesday night; b) overall records are not the most important thing.
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Team (Record)
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Last week
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Pvs.
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ESPN.com skinny
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1. Lakers (32-7)
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2-2
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1
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So maybe they won't win 70; Pair of close losses no reason to panic, but loss to Portland this week might be
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2. Blazers (28-9)
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2-1
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2
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Blazers fans, listen: You can't lose to Dallas and move up; But would be No. 2 even with 3-0 week
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3. Pacers (25-12)
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3-1
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4
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Loss to Wolves not really a big deal; Win over Lakers was; Who beats Lakers but loses to Clips in same week?
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4. Jazz (24-11)
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2-0
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5
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Imagine the Jazz without Malone and Stockton? Can't do it, can you? And this Howard Eisley starting thing, why?
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5. Sonics (25-13)
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4-0
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14
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Beat Lakers, Spurs and Suns in one week; Maybe Payton is enough; Beat Lakers with only 3 points from Baker
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6. Kings (23-12)
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4-0
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13
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Only tough win was Spurs, but we admit they were ranked too low; Road woes only thing holding them back
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7. Knicks (23-14)
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2-1
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7
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Team went to Finals with bad PGs and sans Ewing; Why would getting moody Rod Strickland be important?
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8. Heat (24-12)
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2-1
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8
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Unlike NY.., Heat will do better with upgrade at point, but can Timmy play? Riles should hold him until playoffs
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9. Spurs (25-14)
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1-2
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3
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Even Spurs fans admit we likely overrated them due to magical Finals run; Barely beat Clips on Monday!
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10. Wolves (19-16)
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2-2
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6
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Even before Sealy shot beat Pacers, they had to drop a few; Team didn't seem to suffer much without Brandon
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11. 76ers (22-16)
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3-0
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10
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They don't make it easy; No other NBA team goes to the wire each night; Note: Sixers' drop because of other teams' rise
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12. Suns (21-15)
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2-2
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9
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Here's to Uncle Cliffy -- Scoring 50 is a nice accomplishment; However, Suns needed that to avoid losing to Denver
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13. Pistons (21-16)
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3-1
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11
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Borderline top 10 team, but so are Wolves, Sixers and Suns; What's up with Hunter's all-or-nothing games?
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14. Bucks (22-17)
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2-2
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12
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Only one of the big three can go to All-Star game: Our vote is it's the one Vince Carter suddenly hates
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15. Hornets (19-17)
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1-1
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16
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Hard to judge team in week like this, but we'll say this: Hornets are still good enough to win the East
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16. Raptors (20-18)
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2-2
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18
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Lost last two on road, and badly; Are Raps just the East's eighth seed, or can they win consistently?
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17. Celtics (17-20)
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3-1
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21
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What, was that a road win for Boston? Wait a minute, two road wins? Oh, it was the Wiz and Nets. Sorry
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18. Nuggets (17-19)
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0-3
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17
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Had a chance for big things by meeting Sonics, Heat and Suns, and ended up with a big zero for the week
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19. Nets (15-22)
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1-2
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15
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When you start a season this badly, with no room for error, you need to win close ones like vs. Philly and Boston
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20. Cavaliers (16-21)
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1-2
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19
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There's talk Shawn Kemp will be dealt to Philly; Will Sura carry the considerable load, so to speak?
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21. Rockets (13-24)
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3-1
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27
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Here, at 21, begins the ugly group; Getting Hakeem back, eventually, will really help, as Cato was overmatched
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22. Mavs (12-25)
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2-1
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26
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Beat Portland. Beat Portland. Beat Portland. Hey, even that blind squirrel eventually finds the acorn.
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23. Grizzlies (10-27)
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0-3
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20
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Really capitalized on that winning streak, didn't they? Like Lindsey Hunter, Othella is either great or stinks
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24. Hawks (13-23)
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1-2
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23
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Can't imagine Lenny wants to deal with this much longer; Could there be major changes coming? Goodbye, Isaiah?
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25. Magic (16-23)
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0-4
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22
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Amazing how fast this team crumbled, with no change in personnel; Just wait till the offseason...Tim, Grant...
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26. Warriors (7-30)
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1-2
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28
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How do you stop a 12-game losing streak? With Magic! That Jamison-Marshall duo is unstoppable
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27. Wizards (12-27)
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1-4
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29
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Beat Raps by 28, then start another losing streak; Think it will get better with Richmond out? Does MJ need this?
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28. Clippers (10-27)
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0-4
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25
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Now Mo Taylor says he doesn't want a trade, so the team can't get something for him and be worse; Nice situation
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29. Bulls (5-29)
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0-3
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24
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At least these weren't blowouts; Houston, Atlanta and New York all got a little scare; Bulls return to the bottom
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ALSO SEE
NBA Power Rankings, Jan. 11
NBA Power Rankings, Jan. 4
NBA Power Rankings, Dec. 28
NBA Power Rankings, Dec. 21
NBA Power Rankings, Dec. 14
NBA Power Rankings, Dec. 7
NBA Power Rankings, Nov. 30
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