Updated: March 26, 2009, 9:12 AM ET

Power Rankings: Rockets rise into top five

Week:
 
Team:
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com

Thanks to a stubborn foursome of 50-win teams, there is typically only one spot up for grabs every Monday in the top five of ESPN.com's weekly NBA Power Rankings.

And the Houston Rockets have grabbed it.

For the first time since way back in Week 4, Houston has risen to No. 5, having displaced San Antonio thanks largely to Sunday's road slaying of the Spurs. The win was so Texas-sized that the Rockets -- now 16-4 since losing Tracy McGrady for the rest of the season -- have seized sole possession of first place in the Southwest Division, which marks the latest point in a season in which they've been alone in first place since they won the old Midwest Division, and eventually their first championship, in 1993-94.

Atlanta's rise to No. 7 is the only other major development in this week's top 10. You can click here to rank the teams yourself and click here to comment.

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

Tune in Tuesdays to "NBA Fastbreak" on ESPN to see this week's U.S. Army Power Rankings. The Rockets are the U.S. Army Team of the Week after capping their 4-0 run last week with a win Sunday in San Antonio to avenge a March 14 home loss to the Spurs.

2008-09 Power Rankings: Week 21
RANKTEAM / RECORD TRENDINGCOMMENTS
1
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Last Week: 1		Spotty D. Inconsistent bench. A killer instinct publicly questioned by the coach. And still no Bynum. But you know what? Nothing's changed: Roughly 29 teams would trade for L.A.'s issues, just like we said in October.
2
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Last Week: 2		They might not rise higher than No. 2 here, but don't make the mistake of suggesting that the Cavs have the league's best record by default. They've had as many injuries (Delonte, Ben, Big Z and now Wally) as anyone.
3
Boston
53-18
1
Last Week: 4		Just have a feeling that Boston, with KG back, wins Wednesday's big showdown in Orlando. Can't help it: Teams always sway the committee (of one) when they win in San Antonio, even if the Spurs helped them out.
4
Orlando
51-18
1
Last Week: 3		Don't think Orlando cares that Houston doesn't miss Rafer Alston. Getting the East's No. 2 seed, getting to the conference finals, seeing Dwight Howard get the DPOY trophy ... that's the stuff Orlando cares about.
5
Houston
47-25
1
Last Week: 6		There have been so many high-profile injuries this season that maybe we were bound to see one actually stabilize a team. Maybe that explains why the Rockets have risen from seventh to second in the West minus T-Mac.
6
1
Last Week: 5		Manu hasn't played since Feb. 11. Timmy is averaging 16.4 points on 42.4 percent shooting since the All-Star break. That's the real double whammy for the Spurs, brutal as those losses to Boston and Houston were.
7
Atlanta
41-29
2
Last Week: 9		This should be interesting. After sweeping a seven-game homestand that got us all slobbering about its Philips Arena prowess, Atlanta has the Spurs in on Wednesday, then the Celts on Friday, then the Lakers on Sunday.
8
New Orleans
44-25
1
Last Week: 7		Are we reading this right? Is No. 4 the universal ceiling for the Hornets and their star guard? Can the Hornets finish any higher than fourth in the West? Can Chris Paul finish any higher than fourth in MVP balloting?
9
1
Last Week: 10		Greg Oden has logged only 33 minutes in three games since coming back, but his season obviously isn't over. Nor did Portland exactly suffer without him, winning 10 games and absorbing five losses you can live with.
10
Utah
43-26
2
Last Week: 8		Suns, Blazers, Nuggets, Hornets, Mavericks, Spurs and Lakers. In that order. Nothing but quality road opponents left for the Jazz in their quest to finally prove to folks that they don't have to be in the SLC to look good.
11
Denver
45-25
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Last Week: 11		The schedule has indeed been cake lately and the defense isn't as tight as it was early on, but credit the Nuggets for taking advantage of the must-sweep, five-game virtual vacation that was just served up to them.
12
Dallas
42-28
1
Last Week: 13		Those who study victory margin say that winning a lot of tight regular-season games is not a great predictor of playoff success. But where would the Mavs be if they weren't 16-3 in games decided by five points or less?
13
Phoenix
38-31
1
Last Week: 14		Props to the Suns. Everyone figured that the home defeat to Dallas on March 10 finished them off, but they've clung to just enough life to keep the race for No. 8 in the West spicier than the East's version. Agreed?
14
Miami
37-32
2
Last Week: 12		I suppose we need a disclaimer about D-Wade's new hip injury before we say too much about the Heat beating Atlanta in a series with or without home-court advantage. Not that D-Wade looked very iffy in Detroit.
15
1
Last Week: 16		If the Sixers win in Portland, they'll have gone 3-2 on a West Coast swing no one expected to be profitable. Yet Philly also might have already blown that chance by somehow losing to Golden State after stunning the Lakers.
16
Chicago
32-38
2
Last Week: 18		We've always jumped on the Bulls for the trades they didn't make, so give it up to them for a deadline move they did swing that's making a difference: Salmons is filling the Deng void with almost 23 ppg this month.
17
3
Last Week: 20		Everyone says that the Bobs have the best coach of any team vying for No. 8 in the East. Here's what Larry Brown says: "If we had this [roster] from day one, with the schedule we had early, we'd have been pretty good."
18
Detroit
34-35
3
Last Week: 15		You can't judge these guys when Rip, Sheed and Iverson are all out, but you also can't ignore the idea that the drama-laden, injured-riddled Pistons might actually be OK if you could just throw out all the Sundays (2-12).
19
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Last Week: 19		Remember when we talked about the Bucks playing Orlando three times in their final 13 games? Turns out it's the first time the schedule has spit out a sequence like that for two teams in a non-lockout season since 1995-96.
20
New Jersey
30-40
2
Last Week: 22		Devin Harris is out indefinitely with that shoulder injury. Which naturally makes us want to say that the Nets are definitely done playoff-wise. But we can't. The always-doughy middle of the East standings won't let us.
21
Indiana
29-42
--

Last Week: 21		If it's Monday that must mean we're looking at another Pacers paradox. Indy is a respectable 7-10 against the Celts, Cavs, Magic, Nuggets, Lakers and Rockets ... but also a fatal 22-32 against non-division leaders.
22
5
Last Week: 17		Our pal Hojo Beck captured the spirit of the thing in the NY Times: "It is not the math, but the Knicks' complete lack of competence [in home losses to the Nets and Kings] that makes the postseason seem like a fantasy."
23
2
Last Week: 25		Best team in the league that has already been mathematically eliminated from playoff consideration? With the Thunder at 16-21 in 2009 and fresh off wins this month over the Mavs and Spurs, I don't think it's even close.
24
1
Last Week: 23		The forgiving soul in us wants to cut the Dubs some slack because of all the injuries. But then Nellie shifts the focus back to all the drama by saying something like Ellis and Crawford are "oil and water" as a guard tandem.
25
Toronto
25-45
1
Last Week: 24		The Raps, if nothing else, were up for Sunday's Disappointment Bowl that hooked up the season's two main flops. The 24-point rout of the Clips only gets Toronto to 2-8 in March but does rank as its largest victory all season.
26
Memphis
17-52
--

Last Week: 26		At 6-22 since its January coaching change, Memphis has to dig deep for a positive spin. Example: The Grizz are the first team in 11 years to start three rooks (O.J. Mayo, Marc Gasol and Darrell Arthur) in at least 50 games!
27
2
Last Week: 29		How disinterested and uncompetitive have the Clips been? They've lost 18 games by 20 points or more ... more beatings than any team has taken since Cleveland (20) in its final season before LeBron (2002-03).
28
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Last Week: 28		Teams in playoff races that still have to play these guys -- nine such opponents remain, including Dallas twice -- will be so glad to see them. Because the Wolves, without Big Al, have pretty much packed it in.
29
2
Last Week: 27		Even with two games left on the schedule against Cleveland -- and we all know how tasty Wiz-Cavs hookups can be -- I'm still in the camp that says there's no reason now for Arenas (or Haywood) to play. Even if they can.
30
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Last Week: 30		Now that the Kings are done with their Eastern Conference schedule, winning by 27 in New York to eke out a 1-29 mark, we're the ones in trouble. Three weeks of comments to go and we're out of Kings material.
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