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Tuesday, March 26
Updated: March 29, 2:05 PM ET
 
There's a new sheriff town

ESPN.com

Let's review what the Spurs accomplished the past six days: Beat up on the defending champs, sneaked out of Dallas with a three-point win, helped derail the Heat's ride to the playoffs and outlasted an energetic Clippers club. For that, San Antonio deserves some major props and warrants the top spot in this week's Power Rankings.


Team/Record Prev rank/
Last week
Skinny
THE TEAM TO BEAT
1. Spurs 49-21 5/4-0
Bruce Bowen

The real secret to the Spurs' success: Bruce Bowen. They're 38-9 when the defensive stopper starts at small forward. Without him, they're just 11-12.

TITLE CONTENDERS
2. Lakers 49-20 2t/2-1 Back-to-back thumpings by Dallas and San Antonio may have been the wake-up call the defending champs needed.
3. Kings 49-19 1/1-1 Webber sure didn't look like a money player against the Lakers, missing a game-winning, baseline jumper on his home floor.
4. Mavericks 48-21 2t/1-1 Currently sitting where the West's Big Four don't want to be -- as the fourth seed, facing a first-round matchup with Portland.
5. Blazers 43-27 4/2-2 Rasheed wasn't playing, but still, they should be ashamed for letting a 25-point lead slip away against the Grizzlies.
ENTITLED SOME RESPECT
6. Nets 45-25 7/3-0 Undefeated week refueled the fire in Kidd-for-MVP and Scott-for-Coach-of-the-Year campaigns.
7. Pistons 41-28 9/2-1 A national TV audience saw why Detroit is atop the Central and Ben Wallace is the Defensive Player of the Year.
8. Celtics 40-31 6/2-2 Erick Strickland has the keys to the offense while Kenny Anderson recovers from a sprained ankle.
9. T-Wolves 42-27 8/1-1 Going into Tuesday, Marc Jackson had averaged just 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in his past eight games.
10. 76ers 37-32 10/2-1 Iverson should take the time to heal for the postseason -- as long as the Sixers' playoff hopes aren't in danger.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT US
11. Sonics 40-31 11/2-1 Beat Jazz for the first time in two years Monday. Face brutal back-to-back this week against Spurs and Blazers.
12. Hornets 36-33 17/3-0 Winners of six straight, the Hornets are now the East team no one wants to play in the playoffs.
13. Jazz 38-32 14/2-1 Even at age 40, John Stockton still runs circles around guys half his age. Amazing.
14. Magic 37-32 12/0-2 Push for first-round home court advantage resumes now that McGrady is back in action.
15. Bucks 37-31 15/1-1 Beat McGrady-less Magic on Sunday to end four-game losing streak and temporarily end second-half slide.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
16. Pacers 35-34 16/1-2 Isiah should be happy Hoosiers have stolen the spotlight until he and his young pups can figure things out.
17. Heat 31-38 13/1-3 Not much left in Miami's gas tank for playoff drive after scrambling back from 2-14 start.
18. Clippers 36-35 18/1-2 Can make up ground on the Jazz and the West's eighth playoff spot in Saturday's showdown at Staples.
JORDAN WATCH
19. Wizards 32-38 19/1-2 Will that painful miss against Toronto be the shot we remember most about Jordan's comeback?
ONE WORD: LOTTERY
20. Suns 31-38 20/1-1 Back-to-back double-digit assists for Marbury. Back-to-back victories. Coincidence? Probably not.
21. Raptors 32-38 22/2-0 They lose Vince Carter but win two straight to stay in the hunt for the playoffs. Go figure.
22. Hawks 28-41 25/2-1 Quietly, Atlanta won six of seven before losing at New Jersey on Sunday.
23. Knicks 26-43 21/0-3 N.Y. media is up in arms about all the leads the Knicks have blown this season. But doesn't every NBA team do that?
24. Cavaliers 25-45 23/0-3 John Lucas is mad at Tyrone Hill for blowing off team's road trip. Who can blame him?
25. Rockets 26-43 24/1-1 The repeated BBQ telegrams were the final straw: David Stern told team to "back off" with its All-Star Game lobbying (seriously).
TOUGH TO WATCH
26. Nuggets 21-47 26/2-2 Antonio McDyess came out of his hole and saw his shadow, meaning six more weeks of bad basketball.
27. Grizzlies 18-52 28/1-2 Posted largest comeback in the NBA this season and largest in franchise history in erasing 25-point deficit at Portland.
28. Bulls 17-53 27/0-2 They're back to being terri-Bull, going 2-13 since the three-game win streak shortly after blockbuster trade.
29. Warriors 17-52 29/0-3 This season's reason why the Warriors stink: They need a point guard to direct the offense.






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