Updated: March 13, 2013, 11:53 PM ET

Power Rankings: No cooling the Heat

Week:
 
Team:
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Monday, March 11

Dwight Howard plays his first game as a visitor to Disney World on Tuesday night. And then Carmelo Anthony, knee willing, finally goes back to Denver on Wednesday night.

And hopefully those big reunion games satisfy your cravings for something out of the ordinary in the NBA this week, because you won't get it in ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings.

By virtue of its comfortable win Sunday night over its (alleged) rivals from Indiana, Miami became just the second team since the NBA expanded to 30 teams in 2004-05 to beat all 29 of the other franchises within the first 61 games of the season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. We'll see how long the Heat can extend their 18-game winning streak now with nine of their next 12 games on the road, but it's fair to start asking whether they can realistically be dislodged from the top spot in any of our final five editions of the rankings.

In a week of scant change overall in the top 10, Indiana dropped from No. 5 to No. 7, while the Lakers climbed to No. 8, their highest position since Week 4. Boston is up to No. 9, and Houston dropped from No. 8 to No. 10, with the Melo-less Knicks nudged to No. 11 by the steady improvement coming from L.A. and Boston.

The ranks, as always, were compiled with Jamal Crawford-esque flashy lobbing from ESPN Stats & Information and the Elias Sports Bureau. Click here to rank the teams yourself ... and click here to catch up with what the scouts were saying in our latest Weekend Dime.

Also, check out John Hollinger's daily Power Rankings.

2012-13 Power Rankings: Week 19
RANKTEAM / RECORD TRENDINGCOMMENTS
1
Miami
47-14
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Last Week: 1		The Heat are the ninth team in history to uncork a single-season win streak that spanned at least 18 games. And five of the previous eight, if you're curious omenwise, went on to win it all. Only Boston (19 in a row in 2008-09), Houston (22 in 2007-08) and Boston (18 in 1981-82) fell shy.
2
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Last Week: 2		If you miss Professor Hollinger and check the point-differential standings on a daily basis in his honor -- as we're known to do -- you'll note that the Thunder rank as the league's point-margin kings at a nightly average of plus-9.7. That's what a league-high 33 wins by 10 points or more will do.
3
--

Last Week: 3		Guess they were due for a night like Blazers 136, Spurs 106. Especially with Tony Parker just completing Week 1 of a four-week absence. San Antonio hadn't allowed that many points at home since a 161-153 win over the Paul Westhead Nuggets ... seven years before Timmy D showed up.
4
Denver
42-22
1
Last Week: 5		Eager to see how venomous Carmelo Anthony's reception is Wednesday night in his two-years-in-the-making return to the Mile High. Also eagerly tracking how long Ty Lawson, who's averaging 23.1 PPG since the All-Star break after 15.8 PPG before it, can keep up this Melo-esque scoring.
5
1
Last Week: 4		No matter what happens to the Clips from here, no one's catching them in the NBA Commercial Rankings. Chris (and Cliff) Paul and Blake Griffin (via all those Kia spots) have set the bar too high. The Jamal Crawford-to-Blake alley-oop and DeAndre Jordan's response weren't bad, either.
6
Memphis
42-19
1
Last Week: 7		For a minute there, Memphis leapfrogged the Clips in the standings and reacquainted itself with the West's No. 3 spot. The Griz, though, have to play 13 of their final 21 games on the road, so achieving the more realistic goal of holding off Denver for No. 4 would presumably be satisfactory.
7
Indiana
39-24
2
Last Week: 5		Won't write the Pacers off because they couldn't beat Miami in Miami in the midst of the hottest streak, both personally and teamwise, of LeBron's career. Indy got bullied by the Heat, true, but sit at a pretty passable 13-11 on the road since a dreadful 1-6 start on its travels.
8
1
Last Week: 9		The committee (of one) is feeling pretty good about its stubborn refusal to proclaim the Lakers' playoffs hopes doomed when they were a season-high five games out of No. 8 on Jan. 11. If they don't start the playoffs as the most feared No. 8 seed ever, it's because they went in as No. 6 or 7.
9
Boston
34-28
1
Last Week: 10		The Rondo-less Celts have won seven of their past eight games decided by five points or fewer. They've also got Kevin Garnett in peak quote form before we even get to the playoffs judging by KG's latest gem scolding the media for ever doubting them: "We haven't given in to the bulls--- a-- critics."
10
Houston
34-30
2
Last Week: 8		Of the six teams realistically battling for the final three playoff spots in the West, Houston entered Sunday's games with the easiest remaining schedule in terms of opponent winning percentage, with the Lakers not far behind. The toughest remaining schedules belong to Portland and Utah.
11
1
Last Week: 10		Daunting as it sounds for the Knicks to see their 3-point percentage decline in December, January and February -- and to know they'll be on the road for 13 of their final 22 games -- they surely take heart hearing that Mike Woodson posted a record of 55-27 in his first 82 games in charge.
12
4
Last Week: 16		By not trading Monta Ellis, Milwaukee actually acquired a new Monta Ellis. They Bucks have won six of seven, starting with an unexpected back-to-back sweep of Dallas and Houston, in the wake of a 1-7 skid leading up to the trade deadline. And Ellis is at 26.1 PPG and 7.1 APG during the surge.
13
Chicago
35-28
1
Last Week: 12		The Bulls can insist all they want in the wake of this ESPN Chicago story that they're not trying to pressure Derrick Rose into returning ASAP. The problem now is that the mere appearance of putting pressure on D-Rose is a mess of proverbial ketchup that ain't going back in the bottle.
14
4
Last Week: 18		Eleven of their final 19 games are against teams that'll definitely miss the playoffs. And few teams are as ruthless against sub-.500 teams as the 23-3 Nets. But 12 of those 19 games are on the road, so Brooklyn needs this recharged D-Will to keep delivering to cling to the East's No. 4 seed.
15
2
Last Week: 13		David Lee hasn't been the same player since his All-Star berth (thanks partly to an ailing knee) and the Warriors, not coincidentally, have gone 4-12 since that 30-17 start that helped make Lee their first All-Star since Spree. It'll take more than a favorable schedule to keep 'em in the top eight.
16
Atlanta
34-28
1
Last Week: 15		More Al Horford props because we feel kinda guilty for talking so much all season about the Josh Smith situation: Horford is at 17.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG and 3.3 APG for the season. The last Hawk to do that for an entire season was Walt Bellamy way back in 1971-72 (18.6 PPG, 12.8 RPG and 3.2 APG).
17
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Last Week: 17		At 9-18 since its 20-15 start, Portland is leaving us little choice but to devote this precious real estate to Damian Lillard and his bid to join Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Damon Stoudamire, Allen Iverson and Steve Francis on the short list of rookies in history who averaged 18 PPG and six APG.
18
Dallas
29-33
2
Last Week: 20		With Utah spiraling and Portland presumably content to fade into the lottery, Dallas still has some unforeseen playoff life. Yet the most likely scenario remains finishing a frustrating ninth in the West and never getting back to the magical .500 mark that allows the Mavs to finally bust out some razors.
19
Utah
32-31
5
Last Week: 14		Resisting trades at the deadline was supposed to supply some stability in Jazzland, but the team mentioned here often as most at risk for dropping out of the West's playoff race has already fallen out of the top eight. Ankle ailments plaguing Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap sure aren't helping.
20
1
Last Week: 19		Bradley Beal's sprained ankle is a bummer because the 19-year-old still has things to achieve before his rookie season runs out, like (A) clinching the team lead in scoring and (B) hiking his PER up from 13.81 (which obviously includes his shaky first two months) to the league average of 15.
21
Toronto
25-39
2
Last Week: 23		Back spasms and his 38 percent shooting from the floor as a Raptor brought a hasty end to the Rudy Gay honeymoon in Toronto. It got so bad during the Raps' recent 1-6 plummet that Kobe's 41 points Friday night felt a lot like the 81 points Mamba hung on them on the same floor back in 2006.
22
1
Last Week: 21		X-rays were negative on Kyrie Irving's latest injury -- bruised shoulder this time -- but one of the hot stats of the weekend stung in its own way: Miami, by clinching a playoff spot in its 60th game, became the fastest team to do that since the Cavs, with LeBron, also clinched in Game 60 in 2008-09.
23
Phoenix
22-41
1
Last Week: 22		Saturday night's playoff-spoiler win over Houston only shed more light on how far these Suns are from Suns standards, halting a very un-Suns-like record run of 16 straight home games under 100 points. If they don't win seven more games, it'll be the worst season in Phoenix since 1987-88.
24
New Orleans
22-42
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Last Week: 24		Here's hoping Monty Williams figures out that Anthony Davis needs to be on the floor as much as his health will allow for the rest of a rookie season annoyingly stalled by injury far too often. Only 18 games to go, meanwhile, before the nickname Hornets officially gives way to Pelican Fever.
25
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Last Week: 25		Marcus Thornton has been scorin' freely of late, but who we kiddin'? As always with the Kings, two topics dominate discussion: DeMarcus Cousins' latest utter meltdown ... and the franchise's uncertain future in Sacramento that has only made it harder for the Kings' kiddies to stay locked in.
26
1
Last Week: 27		Not really sure what to say anymore. Our six-line limit doesn't leave nearly enough space for all the injuries, as watching what was supposed to be one of the most watchable teams on Earth lose by 15-plus in each of its past five L's has gotten so sad. Such a long, hard season for Rick Adelman.
27
Orlando
18-46
2
Last Week: 29		Last week they nearly sprung one of the shockers of the season by giving Miami an almighty scare that went down to the final ticks. This week it's Tuesday night's long-awaited return of Dwight Howard. After that? Orlando takes the Vooch & Tobias Show on the road for 11 of its final 17 games.
28
Detroit
23-42
--

Last Week: 28		Securing a high pick and making sure they use their cap space far wiser than they did in the Ben Gordon/Charlie Villanueva summer of 2009 is all that matters right now. That said ... it's pretty hard to watch how uncompetitive the Pistons are these days if, like us, you're a Jose Calderon fan.
29
3
Last Week: 26		Well played, Sixers: Julius Erving, Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain bobbleheads arrived in the mail this week to commemorate 50 seasons of Philadelphia basketball. And they temporarily did distract me from another loss to Orlando and Philly's ongoing 1-12 fade without Andrew Bynum.
30
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Last Week: 30		At 6-44 in its past 50 games, Charlotte just joined two truly hideous Dallas squads from 1992-93 (11-71) and 1993-94 (13-69) on the short list of teams to know how it feels to lose 44 times in a span of 50 games in back-to-back seasons. That 7-5 start gets harder to explain/believe by the day.
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