MVN: Most Valuable Network

The Celtics were perfect last week once again, cementing them at number one for the second straight week, while the Lakers slipped up in Sacramento, opening up the door for Cleveland to move up to number two. But Atlanta ended the Cavs' hopes for jumping L.A., and thus our top three remain unchanged from last week. Portland dropped out of the top 10 after losing three in a row, while the Spurs, winners of six straight, moved up to number six.

1. Boston Celtics (22-2) - With the way that the Celtics are easily dispatching every foe (the latest victims being a tough Hornets team), you have to wonder if they will start to become complacent. It's on Doc and KG to make sure that doesn't happen.

2. Los Angeles Lakers (20-3) - The Lakers end their four-game homestand against the Knicks on Tuesday before beginning the four-game road trip that precedes their long-awaited Christmas Day bout with the Celtics.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (20-4) - Despite their loss to the Hawks that ended their winning streak, the Cavs are poised to be the only legit challenger to the Celtics in the East. Too bad they won't face off again until January.

4. Orlando Magic (18-6) - Orlando has built up an impressive record, but they've done it against mostly weak opposition. Beat Boston or Cleveland, then we'll talk.

5. Denver Nuggets (16-7) - 'Melo's scoring binge against the Wolves might have been the greatest 12-minute offensive display ever. The Nugz hope he stays hot as they face a tough schedule.

6. San Antonio Spurs (15-8) - Lost in all the talk about Boston, Cleveland and L.A. are the Spurs, who have all of a sudden won six in a row and are up to third in the West.

7. New Orleans Hornets (13-7) - Like many before them, the Hornets found out that they're not playing at Boston's level yet. The addition of Antonio Daniels is a nice insurance policy for CP3.

8. Utah Jazz (15-10) - Losing at home to the Howard-less Magic wasn't the way the Jazz wanted to end the week. Getting a win in Boston tonight would change their tune.

9. Dallas Mavericks (13-9) - No one is playing better in the West than Dirk Nowitzki. He has to at least be in the conversation for MVP after dropping a season-high 46 on the Thunder.

10. Houston Rockets (15-9) - T-Mac is back, but now Artest is having issues with a bum ankle, and Yao is having to carry the load once again. That's not what Houston wants.

11. Portland Trail Blazers (15-10) - Tough luck for Portland, which got punked by Hedo Turkoglu and Zach Randolph in two of their three losses last week.

12. Atlanta Hawks (14-9) - The Hawks went 0-3 against the state of Texas, but were able to follow that up with quality wins against Miami and Cleveland. A date with the C's is ahead...

13. Phoenix Suns (14-10) - It'll be interesting to see how the Suns look with J-Rich in and Bell/Diaw out. Is this still a defense-minded team or are they reverting back to the D'Antoni era?

14. Detroit Pistons (13-9) - The Pistons have the talent to be up there with the East's best, but they're playing as if they don't care to be. I believe they miss Chauncey Billups' leadership.

15. Chicago Bulls (11-12) - It's good to see that Derrick Rose's accidental knife slash to the leg while in bed didn't affect his ability to slash into the paint and score.

16. Miami Heat (12-11) - The tides of the Heat are controlled by D-Wade. Two straight sub-par games from the league's leading scorer led to two L's for Miami.

17. New York Knicks (11-12) - Al Harrington is looking increasingly more comfortable in New York, averaging a little under 26 points now in 10 games as a Knick.

18. New Jersey Nets (11-11) - The Nets came back down to earth last week after their recent hot streak in which they won nine of 12. They need to re-commit to playing defense.

19. Philadelphia 76ers (10-14) - Elton Brand scored a season-high 27 points in Tony DiLeo's first game as Mo Cheeks' replacement. Is a turnaround imminent with a soft schedule this week?

20. Memphis Grizzlies (9-15) - Now winners of four straight, Memphis has to be looking up after unloading one of their many guards and picking up a future first rounder.

21. Toronto Raptors (10-13) - Chris Bosh's patience has to be running thin in Toronto. He continues to play solid basketball while his team keeps underachieving.

22. Milwaukee Bucks (10-15) - Milwaukee is a passable team at home, but their struggles on the road were apparant last week. They begin a short three-game roadie tonight in Miami.

23. Los Angeles Clippers (6-17) - Zach Randolph went off over the weekend to lead the Clippers to victories against Portland and Houston. Two more road back-to-backs await this week.

24. Sacramento Kings (6-18) - Big ups to the Kings for knocking off the Lakers at home early last week to snap an eight-game losing streak. John Salmons has been big in K-Mart's absence.

25. Indiana Pacers (7-16) - Indiana has lost six in a row in the midst of a brutal schedule, but there's light at the end of the tunnel: the Wizards, Warriors and Clippers are up next.

26. Golden State Warriors (7-17) - Corey Maggette is out indefinitely with a hamstring tear, but at least the Warriors got some good news that Monta Ellis is getting closer to returning.

27. Charlotte Bobcats (7-17) - I have no idea who this team will get any consistent offense from now after trading away their only legitimate scorer in Jason Richardson.

28. Washington Wizards (4-17) - I'm not sure that the additions of Mike James and Javaris Crittenton will do much to change the Wizards' fortunes until Gilbert Arenas comes back.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (4-19) - Kevin McHale should have picked a softer spot in the schedule to take over as head coach. Expect them to try to move Mike Miller before the deadline.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder (2-23) - I'll give the Thunder some props for making it interesting in their close losses over the weekend to the Mavs and Spurs on the road.