MVN: Most Valuable Network

It's been two weeks since the last edition of my power rankings, where the East's mighty trio of Boston, Cleveland and Orlando took the top three spots. But that was last year, and now that 2008 has come and gone, it's time for a new leader: the Lakers. There was plenty of repositioning elsewhere as well, including the Detroit Pistons re-entering the top-10 for the first time since mid-November.

1. Los Angeles Lakers (27-5) - Technically the Lakers are still a half-game behind the Celtics for the NBA's best record, but after L.A. beat Boston pretty convincingly on Christmas Day, then downed both Utah and Portland by double digits, there's no question who should be #1.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers (27-6) - LeBron couldn't rally the Cavs past the Heat last week on his birthday despite dropping 24 of his 38 in the second half, and I can forgive him for that. But if it weren't for his travel that cost his team a win in Washington, the Cavs would've had a shot at #1.

3. Boston Celtics (29-6) - After coming out of the gates a blazing 27-2, it's totally understandable for a team to lose some focus against a couple of good teams like the Lakers and Blazers. But the Warriors and Knicks? Come on Boston, you're better than that!

4. Orlando Magic (26-8) - Dwight Howard has been getting a lot of the praise for Orlando's success, and for good reason. But his 39-point showing in a loss to the Raptors shows that the Magic need more than just Howard's inside presence: they need him to make free throws.

5. San Antonio Spurs (23-11) - Like just about every other season this decade, the Spurs are quietly rolling along under the radar. They've won eight of nine and beaten up on a number of poor teams, but we'll see what they're really made of after Orlando and L.A. come to town.

6. Atlanta Hawks (22-11) - The Hawks have only two losses since their 0-3 trip through the Texas Triangle. That 10-2 stretch includes wins over Cleveland, Detroit, Denver and Houston. They spent most of December at home, however, where they have gotten 15 or their 22 wins.

7. Denver Nuggets (24-12) - Since struggling through a rough patch in their schedule in mid-December, Denver has rebounded to win six of their last seven, but expect them to struggle to keep it going if Carmelo misses significant time after breaking his hand last night.

8. New Orleans Hornets (20-10) - The Hornets have played the fewest games of any team in the league so far, meaning that the rest of the season will be jam packed with games. A tough back-to-back begins today in L.A. and finishes tomorrow in Utah.

9. Phoenix Suns (19-12) - If it weren't for the heartbreaking loss to the Spurs on Christmas Day, the Suns would be in the midst of a 9-for-their-last-11 stretch. They'll see the Mavs on Friday in what should be a battle for fifth place in the West.

10. Detroit Pistons (21-11) - Detroit's seven straight wins is nice enough to vault them back into the top-10, but upon closer inspection you'll notice that only one of those wins came against a team with a winning record (Orlando). Up next: at Portland, Denver and Utah.

11. Dallas Mavericks (20-13) - After hosting the Knicks and Clippers, Dallas will play eight of its next 11 games on the road in January, including stops in Denver, Detroit, Boston and Miami. Dirk is going to need more scoring help from J-Ho to keep them in the picture.

12. Houston Rockets (21-14) - Without McGrady and Artest out of the lineup, it's a lot to ask of Yao to hold down the fort. Both could be out again tonight in Philadelphia, and Houston could be looking at five straight road losses for the first time in more than four years.

13. Portland Trail Blazers (20-14) - Portland will need their leading scorer back and healthy tomorrow night when the surging Pistons visit the Rose Garden, or else the Blazers might risk losing their third straight game and falling to ninth place in the West.

14. Miami Heat (18-15) - Dwyane Wade has already proven that he can carry Miami almost completely on his own shoulders. But the Heat are a sub-par 6-9 on the road, and tomorrow they begin a season-high seven game road trip with six of those games against the West.

15. Utah Jazz (20-15) - The Jazz haven't put together more than two wins in a row since starting the season 5-0, yet they're still hanging around only a half game out of eighth place in the West. Give some credit to Jerry Sloan for getting the most out of a continuously banged up roster.

16. New Jersey Nets (17-18) - The Nets will have a good shot at getting back above .500 this week when they play Memphis, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. After that, I wish them good luck in a pair of meetings with Boston sandwiched around a visit from the Blazers.

17. Milwaukee Bucks (17-19) - Milwaukee only has to play five of their remaining 15 January games against teams with winning records, but every week includes a Friday-Saturday back-to-back with at least one of those coming on the road.

18. Toronto Raptors (14-21) - Toronto has to be happy that their brutal December in which they went 4-12 is finally over. Aside from the loss in Milwaukee last night, the Raptors have started off '09 on the right foot with wins over Houston and Orlando.

19. New York Knicks (13-19) - Could the 12-point win over the Celtics get the Knicks going again after a poor finish to '08? Only if they can improve on their 5-11 road record with games at Dallas, New Orleans and Houston coming up.

20. Chicago Bulls (14-20) - The struggling Bulls have a great chance to turn things around and make a nice run back into the East playoff picture with three straight games at home coming against teams with a combined record of 19-82.

21. Charlotte Bobcats (12-22) - The Bobcats have been a little more competitive over the last couple of weeks, but regardless, Charlotte's back-to-back beginning tonight at home against Boston and concluding in Cleveland isn't going to be easy.

22. Indiana Pacers (12-22) - It's nice to see the Pacers finally win a couple of close games for a change, but unfortunately they followed that up by allowing 135 in a 20-point blowout to the Nuggets. Their tough five-game roadie continues with stops in Phoenix and L.A.

23. Philadelphia 76ers (13-20) - The Sixers will finally receive a much needed break from playing on the road, as eight of their next 13 are at home, but nearly half of their January games are against winning teams from the West.

24. Memphis Grizzlies (11-23) - Memphis had to have been ecstatic to finally end their 13-game losing streak to their bully, the Mavericks. O.J. Mayo is my leading candidate for Rookie of the Year after he picked apart Josh Howard and the Mavs' defense.

25. Golden State Warriors (10-26) - The road-weary Warriors get a much needed break with eight of their next nine games at home, but they might continue to struggle if Stephen Jackson's hamstring injury is more serious than just a day-to-day thing.

26. Minnesota Timberwolves (8-25) - The Wolves are undefeated in 2009, and if they would have held on to that 29-point lead last week against Dallas, they'd be 5-1 since Christmas. With three of their next four at home, bet on their luck to continue as their confidence grows.

27. Washington Wizards (7-25) - If they can pull out a win tonight in Orlando, the Wizards will have beaten both of Boston's two main contenders for the East crown in consecutive games. If not, they'd be happy to settle with being the first losing team to beat the Cavs.

28. Los Angeles Clippers (8-25) - Expect the Clippers' longest losing streak of the season (seven games) to continue as they visit Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans, possibly without Baron Davis, Zach Randolph and/or Chris Kaman.

29. Sacramento Kings (8-27) - Kevin Martin is back and is playing as well as anyone could ask for, but it still hasn't been enough for the struggling Kings, who will look to avoid going 0-4 on their Eastern road trip tonight in Chicago.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-30) - You have to hand it to Kevin Durant, the kid is leaving it all on the floor every night. He nearly gave the Thunder their first winning streak of the season until Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets took it away at the buzzer.