The San Antonio Spurs are not impressed with a No. 2 ranking. 

Tony Parker has a valid argument as the best point guard in the league. He has continued to catapult this team to new heights in the power rankings.

However, it still wasn’t enough to overtake the Miami Heat, who are enjoying their own recent run of success.

As always, the Commission is made up of Brandon Alisoglu, Jeremy Larson, Chris Tripodi, Sam Cooper, Ross Bentley and Javier Herrerra. Also, congratulations are in order for Commissioner Herrerra on the recent birth of a child!

Enjoy the rankings!

1.      Miami Heat: The Heat have really been hitting their stride as of late, and look like the most dominant team in the NBA.  Miami has won six straight games, and has opened up a five-game lead in the division. The Heat are surprisingly flying under the radar, as all of the attention as of late has been focused on Jeremy Lin and the Knicks. Bentley.

2.      San Antonio: No team is playing better than the Spurs.  They have now won 10 straight and Tony Parker has eclipsed the 30-point mark in four of his last seven games.  Coach Pop is easing Ginobili back from injury, playing him 20 minutes per game, thereby insuring he is geared up for another title run. Larson.

3.      Chicago Bulls: Chicago was able to overcome the absence of Derrick Rose to grab two victories in three games. However, their lone loss snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Nets. The Bulls have shown grit in dealing with their injury woes while still cruising to victories. Alisoglu.

4.      Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Martin exploded for 32 points to help the Rockets beat the Thunder on Wednesday and, without Thabo Sefolosha, opposing shooting guards are becoming a problem. In their last four losses, all without Sefolosha, opposing shooting guards have averaged almost 20 points per game against Oklahoma City. This includes the previously slumping Martin and rookie Kawhi Leonard. Tripodi.

5.      Dallas Mavericks: The Mavs are one of the hottest teams in the league, winning their last six games.  Dirk is proving he is worthy of another All-Star berth, averaging 22 points and seven rebounds this month, while shooting nearly 47% from the field.  As hot as he and the Mavs have been, they have not gained any ground on the scorching Spurs, remaining two games off the lead in the Southwest. Larson.

6.      Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers are 4-3 since the loss of Chauncey Billups, and frankly, they aren't playing that bad. They had two tough losses to the Spurs and Mavericks in that seven-game span, and would have loved to add J.R. Smith. However Smith passed and choose to join the Linsanity in New York. Herrerra.

7.      Philadelphia 76ers: My doubts with the 76ers continue to be against elite teams, despite their defensive prowess. They’ve lost their last four games against teams ranked fourth through seventh in these rankings, and three of those games were at home. They get a reprieve from the top ten this week, but they also hit the road for a West Coast trip. Tripodi.

8.      Orlando Magic: Orlando is sitting at a crossroads with the trade deadlines just weeks away. If they trade Dwight Howard, they will be giving up hope on the season in which they sit at 20-12, unless they can score a super trade package. If they keep him, they’re hoping they can run through the East with their current core group of players surrounding him, which also seems unlikely. Either way, it feels like a lose-lose for Otis Smith. Bentley.

9.      Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have lost four of their last five games, but all have been against top teams in the Lakers, Heat, Blazers, and Bulls. Only the Heat game was at home, and Atlanta still is in a good position to get a top-four seed in the East. If Atlanta can find consistency on offense, they can start moving forward. They'll need a healthy and motivated Joe Johnson to do it though. Bentley.

10.  Los Angeles Lakers: This team can't win on the road, closing out their recent six-game road trip by going 3-3. This is a team that needs someone to inject some life into the roster. Trade for Howard, sign Gilbert Arenas, fire a coach, remove a son from the front office. Someone in Lakerland needs to bust a grape. Herrerra.

11.  Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies have started to heat up, winning four straight and six of their last seven.  Outside of a 10-point win against Houston, their average margin of victory in those six wins was 3.6ppg.  It is comforting when a young team proves it can win close games, but unluckily, the Grizz play in the same division as the two hottest teams in the league. Larson.

12.  Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets have lost their last few games, and have now sunk all the way to the 8^th seed in the West. They need to start winning soon, because Portland, Utah and Minnesota are all less than two games out of the playoff picture and could easily catch up. The Nuggets have games against the T-Wolves, Thunder, Spurs, Clippers and Blazers coming up. They will need to win some of those key games, but they are 6-12 against .500+ teams and 8-14 against Western conference teams. Thus, the upcoming games may be extremely challenging. Cooper.

13.  Indiana Pacers: It was a tough week for Indiana. They played three straight games and lost two of them. The Pacers have taken a step back in recent weeks, but the schedule is forgiving heading into the All-Star break. Alisoglu.

14.   New York Knicks: Only one loss this week as Linsanity continues. The kid has to watch his turnovers, but I’m convinced he is legit after a 28-point and 14-assist performance against the Mavs that led the Knicks to victory. We still have to wait for Carmelo Anthony to get back, but J.R Smith made a nice debut. When Baron Davis and Josh Harrellson return to health, the Knicks will have one of the strongest benches in the league. Cooper.

15.  Boston Celtics: The Celtics dodged Derrick Rose in both matchups with the Bulls last week but still came away with only a split, winning at home and losing on the road. With a home loss to the lowly Pistons sandwiched in between, this wasn’t a very good week for the Celtics. Tripodi.

16.  Houston Rockets: The Houston Rockets are such a mixed bag of basketball. In late January, they ran off a streak of nine wins in 10 games. Now, they are in the middle of a slump, losing to the likes of the Grizzlies, Wolves and Warriors, teams that they should be able to beat. Their inconsistent play is holding them back. Herrerra.

17.  Portland Trailblazers: With a couple more wins, the Blazers are now 17-15 and just a half-game out of 8^th place. The only problem is that the upcoming games will be tough. Their next five games are against the Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Heat and T-Wolves. They can win a couple, but with so many teams competing for the 8^th seed in the West, don’t be surprised if Portland pulls the trigger and makes a move or two before the deadline to make a playoff push. Cooper.

18.  Minnesota Timberwolves: The T-wolves are now on a three-game winning streak and are quickly catching up to other teams in the standings. After a close 1-point victory over Philadelphia, Minnesota fans have a reason to get excited. The team is young and exciting to watch. Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, and Derrick Williams all get to represent the team during All-Star weekend. If they can win their next two games against Denver and Utah, they may be able to rise up to the 8^th or 9^th seed. Cooper.

19.  Utah Jazz: The Jazz are a team full of talent, but they are still trailing a couple of teams for a playoff spot, and have Minnesota right on their tail. They may seem like they are still in it, but they are slowly drifting away. The team is 3-10 on the road this year, which is a worse road record than the last-place Hornets. Considering seven of their next 10 games are on the road, we may see Utah slip down another spot or two in the upcoming weeks. Cooper.

20.  Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks briefly flirted with the playoffs, but have struggled to keep pace without Andrew Bogut. The play of Ersan Ilyasova has been a beacon of hope. The Turkish power forward has averaged 15 points and 10 boards in his last 10 games. Alisoglu.

21.  Golden State Warriors: The Golden State Warriors are a bad team, but they are a bad team who scores a lot of points and play an up-tempo style of game. Once you get past the losses, they actually are a fun team to watch. So long as you are a fan of 100-point basketball games. Ain't no D in North Cali basketball. Herrerra.

22.  Cleveland Cavaliers: The rookie-led squad grabbed a couple wins last week over the Pacers and Kings. Yet they also received a Heat-sanctioned throttling. The Cavs are building something in Cleveland. Alisoglu.  

23.  Phoenix Suns: Just when the Suns started to show signs of life (again), they quickly dropped four straight.  They played three games in three nights for the first time this year, and came away winless.  They have reverted to their usual defensive struggles, allowing 106 points per game during this streak, and are suddenly eight games back in the Pacific.  Their big three of Nash, Dudley and Gortat is not going to cut it in this league. Larson.

24.  Detroit Pistons: Detroit, and most notably Rodney Stuckey, has risen from the dead in the past few weeks. The Pistons have continued to gain ground on the last playoff spot in the East. Unfortunately, the goal should be the lottery. Joe Dumars should capitalize on Stuckey’s recent surge by flipping him for the best offer. Alisoglu.

25.  Sacramento Kings: The Kings are stuck in the cellar in a top-heavy Pacific Division. The Kings are averaging a league--low 16.9 assists per game, as well as allowing 101.6 points per game. This team is far from being respectable. The sad part is there is no clear cut way to fix them. Herrerra.

26.  Toronto Raptors: The Raptors lost four times this week, all at home, including a 98-91 loss to the four-win Bobcats on Friday. This team is lost without Andrea Bargnani, and Jerryd Bayless’ injury hasn’t helped either. Even a bounce-back season from Jose Calderon hasn’t been enough to help this team to double-digit wins so far this season. Tripodi.

27.  New Orleans Saints: The Hornets have won three straight games.  Read that again.  The New Orleans Hornets have won three straight games.  Chris Kaman got the streak started with a 27-point, 13-rebound outburst against the Jazz, leading the Hornets to their longest winning streak since last April.  Unfortunately, Eric Gordon had to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and will be out at least another six weeks.  The dreadful season continues in the Big Easy. Larson.

28.  New Jersey Nets: Brook Lopez is back but it’s probably too little, too late for the Nets thanks to the Knicks’ recent resurgence. New Jersey was less than two games out of a playoff spot two weeks ago, but that difference has since ballooned to 6.5 games. This team may need to make a serious push not only to try and make the playoffs, but to convince Deron Williams they can win in the future. Tripodi.

29.  Washington Wizards: The Wizards notched their first winning streak of the season by following up their win over Detroit with an upset of Portland. Since then, they have lost to the Clippers and Utah. At the end of the season, the question that will be asked in Washington is can they contend with John Wall as their best player? The answer right now appears to be no. Bentley.

Charlotte Bobcats: Finally, Charlotte ended their epic losing streak by beating Toronto on Friday. Given that it is a shortened season, the Bobcats catch a break in that it won't be fair to compare them to the worst teams ever in terms of win-loss record. However, this team might be just as bad as all of them. Bentley.

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