NBA Vine Power Rankings 1-15-08

Here are the latest NBA Vine Power Rankings for January 15, 2008. The Boston Celtics keep the top spot despite consecutive losses to the Wizards. The Los Angeles Lakers surge up the rankings and sit at number two - but have lost emerging center Andrew Bynum for two months. Rounding out the top 5 this week are Detroit, Phoenix and Dallas. The Minnesota T-Wolves temporarily vacate last place after beating the Miami Heat.

1. (1) Boston Celtics (30-6) - The Celtics have now lost back-to-back games to a Gilbert Arenas-less Washington Wizards team and are only 1-3 in their last four contests. The talks of a 70 win season have quieted dramatically.

2. (6) Los Angeles Lakers (26-11) - The Lakers have won 7 straight and 16 of their last 19 games. Now, can they withstand the loss of young gun Andrew Bynum for two months? Kobe will be shooting more - but will it be beneficial to the team?

3. (2) Detroit Pistons (28-10) - An up and down week for Detroit, culminated with a spanking by the New York Knicks. No questions the boys in Motown have the goods, but the lack of focus against weaker teams is still evident.

4. (7) Phoenix Suns (26-11) - Grant Hill will miss the next couple of weeks after undergoing an appendectomy. Boris Diaw steps back into a larger role and Raja Bell's production should increase.

5. (5) Dallas Mavericks (26-12) - Avery Johnson is still tweaking the lineup, but Dirk Nowitzki's early season struggles are history.

6. (3) San Antonio Spurs (25-11) - The Spurs are doing their usual fly under the radar and then explode in the second half of the season routine. Just wait and see.

7. (4) New Orleans Hornets (25-12) - How long can Peja stay healthy?

8. (9) Portland Trail Blazers (23-14) - Portland is not a fluke. There young players have just matured quicker than expected. With Greg Oden in the paint next year, this team will be dangerous.

9. (12) Washington Wizards (20-16) - The Wizards move into the top 10 with back-to-back victories over the top ranked Celtics. Even though the victories weren't lopsided, give the Wizards credit for closing the show.

10. (10) Denver Nuggets (22-14) - Last week mentioned that Nene was healthy and had returned from injury. This week unfortunately, Nene is suffering from a serious injury and will not in the Nuggets' lineup for an extended period of time.

11. (11) Golden State Warriors (22-16) - Gary Payton is reportedly in talks to join the team. At 39, can he keep up the pace?

12. (16) Utah Jazz (22-17) - Four straight wins. The true measure of the Jazz should be if the team shows improvement on the road. They are 6-14 away from Salt Lake City.

13. (8) Orlando Magic (23-16) - The Magic continue to struggle at home (7-8) and thrive on the road (16-8). The Magic sorely need more production from the guard position.

14. (15) Toronto Raptors (20-17) - Chris Bosh has been on fire over the last three games - all victories. Clearly, he's making a push for the All-Star nod at forward in the East. It's working.

15. (17) Houston Rockets (20-18) - The Rockets have won 7 of their last 10 games and are managing to stay in the playoff race without T-Mac. Has anyone else noticed the usually solid Shane Battier's season long slump?

16. (14) Cleveland Cavaliers (19-18) - Reports are indicating that the Cavs may not be able to acquire Mike Bibby. For all the negative publicity that Anderson Varejao received for holding out, he's been playing well on the interior.

17. (13) New Jersey Nets (18-19) - Vince Carter hasn't scored over 20 points in the last five games. If the Nets are going to have any success he needs to pump in 20 a night.

18. (18) Atlanta Hawks (16-17) - For some reason, the Hawks cannot make it over the hump. The club needs solid point guard production night in and night out.

19. (19) Chicago Bulls (14-21) - Some would say that the Bulls' players quit on fired coach Scott Skiles, and the same group of players recently voted on suspending Joakim Noah an extra game for disrespecting the coaching staff. We see who's really in charge in Chi-town.

20. (20) Indiana Pacers (17-22) - David Harrison hit with a five game suspension for his third drug policy violation - another public relations misstep for the franchise.

21. (23) Sacramento Kings (15-21) - John Salmons is the real deal. Add in Francisco Garcia and Beno Udrih and the Kings' management has assembled a good talent base. The Kings are the one team in the bottom half that could be in the top 15 if they weren't stricken with injuries to Ron Artest, Mike Bibby and Kevin Martin.

22. (25) Charlotte Bobcats (14-23) - A win over the Celtics. Gerald Wallace is making himself a serious All-Star candidate. The future has the potential to be bright in Charlotte if Sean May and Adam Morrison return from injury ready to contribute.

23. (21) Milwaukee Bucks (15-23) - Michael Redd has the scoring potential to keep this team in most games, but someone other than the former Ohio State star has to shoulder some of the load.

24. (28) New York Knicks (10-26) - If the Knicks quit on their coach, they would have gotten blown out against the Detroit Pistons. Instead they held the Pistons below 70 points and gave head coach Isiah Thomas a win over his former squad.

25. (22) Philadelphia 76ers (14-24) - Seven straight losses. Looks like the 76ers will be competing for a lottery balls and not a playoff spot.

26. (27) Los Angeles Clippers (10-23) - What a feel good story if Shaun Livingston can return this year after that horrific knee injury. At this point both Livingston and Elton Brand should take their time returning from their ailments.

27. (24) Memphis Grizzlies (10-27) - We're hoping Rudy Gay gets the invite for this year's Slam Dunk competition.

28. (26) Seattle SuperSonics (9-28) - The search for 10th win of the season continues. The Sonics have dropped 4 straight.

29. (30) Minnesota Timberwolves (5-31) - The T-Wolves have escaped from the basement after beating the Miami Heat. However, it may only be a one week lease.

30. (29) Miami Heat (8-28) - Pat Riley may be dismissing talk of retirement publicly, but at his age why would you want to stick around for the rebuilding process?

Lang Greene is the Managing Editor of the NBA Vine. He is also the senior basketball writer for Sports Buff Network and a member of the United States Basketball Writers Association. E-mail him - editor-at-nbavine.com