On the heels of Sunday's gutsy triumph over the Miami Heat, it's easy to forget that the Boston Celtics lost three of their previous four games. And even though two of those three losses came to top-tier opponents in the Mavericks and Lakers, it might have been the stumble in Charlotte that caused Boston to drop yet another peg to No. 4 in this week's ESPN.com NBA power rankings.

The Celtics are still the highest ranked team in the East (the Heat, Bulls and Magic at their heels), but sit behind the Spurs, Mavs, and Lakers. Writes curator Marc Stein: "Boston has been alone atop the East for a whopping 83 days this season -- compared to Miami's three -- but the Celts' overall deteriorating health (with Pierce hobbling now) makes it impossible for them to celebrate."

In John Hollinger's daily computerized power rankings, the Celtics are way down at No. 6, behind the Spurs, Heat, Lakers, Magic, and Bulls. Boston's 6-4 mark over its last 10 games not helping the team's cause.

Over at NBA.com's power rankings, the Celtics hang tight at No. 2 behind the Spurs. Writes curator John Schuhmann, "At this point, the Celtics are hurting more on the wings than they are on the interior, but they've been outrebounded by 30 over the last four games. And their offense has been downright ugly over the last nine, scoring just 97.1 points per 100 possessions and turning the ball over 16 times per contest. "