Updated: March 18, 2013, 6:46 PM ET

Power Rankings: The Heat goes on

Week:
 
Team:
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Monday, March 18

There's only one Sunday every spring that we'll give in and concede that maybe, just maybe, there's a basketball committee out there with a trickier job than ESPN.com's trusty NBA Power Rankings committee (of one).

And let's face it: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat are making it pretty easy on us these days.

While the NCAA tournament's selection panel was putting together the bracket that brought the American workplace to a grinding halt Monday morning, all we could do in our committee dungeon is comb through the Heat's schedule, looking for clues on when they might finally lose a game. (The prediction here, for what it's worth, is that Miami still will be riding this winning streak when we publish the Week 21 rankings next Monday, because I struggle to see the Celtics or Cavs beating the Heat if the ailing Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Kyrie Irving are all not playing.

The other big question on our mind: Can the Nuggets, heading into Monday's game at Chicago and Tuesday's mega visit to OKC, keep their double-digit winning streak going and finally break into the top three? They are parked at No. 4 for the second successsive week.

It was otherwise a week of modest movement in our top 10, with the Lakers -- capitalizing on their Friday night upset at Indiana and the Pacers' subsequent loss at struggling Philly -- rising to No. 7 for the first time since Week 3, bumping Indiana down to No. 8.

The rankings, as always, were compiled with rampant assisting form ESPN Stats & Information and the Elias Sports Bureau. Click here to rank the teams yourself ... and click here in case you missed our latest Weekend Dime.

Also, check out John Hollinger's daily Power Rankings.

2012-13 Power Rankings: Week 20
RANKTEAM / RECORD TRENDINGCOMMENTS
1
Miami
51-14
--

Last Week: 1		The Heat have gone from scoffing at the question to legitimately wondering if they can get to 25 (or beyond) and prove this is a pretty special group orbiting their otherworldly superstar. Ten straight road wins now after Miami failed to win more than two in a row on the road before the streak.
2
1
Last Week: 3		In a surprise to probably no one, after the Spurs were the season's first team to reach 30 and 40 wins, they were the first to reach 50 as well -- even without the injured Tony Parker -- and thus became the first to get to 50 first in three straight seasons since Boston in 1983-84, '84-85 and '85-86.
3
1
Last Week: 2		See? Miami isn't leading in everything. Sunday night's Thunder victory in Dallas marked the league-leading seventh time this season that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook each crossed the 30-point barrier ... compared to a mere four such instances for LeBron and D-Wade. Score!
4
Denver
45-22
--

Last Week: 4		How hot are the Nuggets now? They're unbeaten in March, like Miami (8-0), and are threatening to not just pass the Clippers in the standings but steal their Lob City title. Entering Monday's play, Denver has completed 121 alley-oops, just four oops behind the league-leading Clips.
5
Memphis
44-21
1
Last Week: 6		Marc Gasol and Mike Conley have surged since Rudy Gay's departure, suggesting that the trade had plenty of addition-by-subtraction potential on top of the well-chronicled financial benefits. But the Grizz have lost 27 of their past 29 games in Denver, so holding onto the No. 4 seed is not optional.
6
1
Last Week: 5		As much as I'd love to talk about the forthcoming division title that'll end a wait of more than 40 years when you add in the Clips' eight seasons in my beloved Buffalo ... it's hard to talk about anything else after yet another top-five West team (Memphis) just came in and won on the Clips' floor.
7
1
Last Week: 8		Have the Lakers caught their first injury break of the season? Pau has missed 32 games, Nash 24 and Dwight six ... but Kobe might be able to steal a full week of recovery for that ankle if L.A. holds him out of their only two cushy games in the next seven days: Suns away and Wizards at home.
8
Indiana
40-26
1
Last Week: 7		The Knicks' favorite team right now? The same team that last beat Miami. The same Pacers who, tabbed by so many know-it-alls like me to be Miami's most legit threat in the East, just suffered their two worst L's of the season to keep New York from losing serious ground.
9
Boston
36-29
--

Last Week: 9		Monday, amazingly, marks exactly five years to the day that the Celtics, on the road, snapped Houston's 22-game winning streak. And Miami, eerily, hasn't won a regular-season game in Boston since April 6, 2007. But the Celtics' chances presumably hinge on whether KG (leg) plays.
10
Houston
36-31
--

Last Week: 10		All the justified props Houston got for stealing Thomas Robinson did overshadow the fact that its short-term prospects were impacted by the exits of Patrick Patterson and Marcus Morris. The Rockets, suddenly clinging to No. 7 in the West, haven't won more than two in a row since January.
11
4
Last Week: 15		The Warriors, I'd say, had their revenge for Houston's hailstorm of 3s on Feb. 5 with the 30-point rout they just inflicted on the Rockets. They also still have that home-heavy closing schedule that, even after this 8-13 slump, makes it hard to see 'em slipping all the way out of the top eight.
12
Atlanta
37-29
4
Last Week: 16		It's a lot easier to pull off in the East than the West, true, but Atlanta has proven that you can stay competitive even with a team filled with guys on expiring contracts while you're planning ahead for free agency. The Mavs, who happen to be visiting town Monday night, are surely envious.
13
Chicago
36-29
--

Last Week: 13		The Bulls no longer have the East's best road mark, thanks to the Heat's scalding play since Feb. 1. But the Knicks' struggles and the Nets' looming eight-game trip would suggest that it won't be long before the Bulls are alone with Miami when it comes to East teams with winning road records.
14
3
Last Week: 11		No space here to list all of the injuries. Not when we have to list how the Knicks' 3-point percentage has declined for five months straight: .416 in November; .371 in December; .360 in January; .335 in February and .328 in March. It got so bad recently that my man Steve Novak missed 12 in a row.
15
1
Last Week: 14		The injury-fueled nosedive by the hated Knicks has given the Nets new life in terms of winning the Atlantic Division. The problem: After costly losses last week to Philly and Atlanta, D-Will & Co. won't see Brooklyn again until (whoa) April 4 with its next eight (count 'em, eight) games on the road.
16
Utah
34-32
3
Last Week: 19		On Feb. 19, Utah was seventh in the West and had a 5 1/2-game cushion on the Lakers. One month later, Utah has slumped to ninth, trails the Lakers by a game and is still waiting for its first road win since the All-Star break, having lost six in a row for the first time since (gulp) 1980-81.
17
5
Last Week: 12		How do the Bucks pull out a much-needed victory in only the third game all season that Larry Sanders fails to register a single blocked shot? Simple: Monta Ellis rumbles for 25 points in a 45-point fourth quarter to help Milwaukee escape with a home win over the playing-out-the-string Magic.
18
Dallas
31-35
--

Last Week: 18		After the Mavericks had inched within three games of .500 for the first time since Dec. 21, San Antonio and Oklahoma City completed 4-0 season sweeps of Dallas, making the locals wonder what they really have to look forward to even if the Mavs somehow found a way to sneak into the top eight.
19
1
Last Week: 20		Saturday night's rout of lowly Phoenix was as notable as a March laugher can be, because it enabled the Wiz -- with John Wall in a serious groove lately -- to make it five straight wins at home. And with Martell Webster, in his 458th regular-season game, uncorking his very first 30-point game.
20
3
Last Week: 17		One more long road trip and three more national TV dates (March 27 vs. Brooklyn and April 5 vs. Houston on ESPN; April 16 at the Clips) for the Damian Lillard Show. J.J. Hickson, meanwhile, is up to 10 games with at least 15 points and 15 rebounds, tied with Zach Randolph for second overall.
21
1
Last Week: 22		The Cavs continue to be more dangerous than you think and had legit shots to win during the weekend in both Dallas and San Antonio. The problem? Without Mr. Fourth Quarter, they couldn't close. And the reality is we might have seen the last of Kyrie Irving (shoulder) for the season. Sadly.
22
4
Last Week: 26		Derrick Williams is up to nearly 19 PPG in the past 12 games in the best stretch of his pro career. But as Grantland's Zach Lowe keeps reminding me, 'Sota could really stand to see at least a little of K-Love, Pek and AK-47 back on the floor together before facing some tough contract decisions.
23
Toronto
26-41
2
Last Week: 21		The Raps on Sunday became the 11th opponent, believe it or not, to be tied with or leading Miami in the fourth quarter during the Heat's 22-game winning streak. But that's how far we have to reach, sadly, to find something nice to say about the fading Raps, apart from Amir Johnson's board work.
24
5
Last Week: 29		It's not exactly the sort of identity they were hoping for when they landed Andrew Bynum, but the Sixers are getting better at the whole playoff spoiler thing. Their past three wins (Warriors, Nets and Pacers) all came against playoff teams. And don't forget the scare they just gave Miami.
25
--

Last Week: 25		The Kings interrupted the ongoing panic about the future of the franchise with a historic humiliation of Chicago. Elias says it's only the third time EVER (and first since New Jersey over Washington in March 1987) that a team at least 15 games under .500 beat a team with a winning record by 40 or more.
26
New Orleans
22-45
2
Last Week: 24		A season-high-tying six straight losses on the road have conspired to take the Hornets to the bottom of the West. After a seven-game homestand to close out this month, six more roadies await in an eight-game April, including away dates at fellow West stragglers Phoenix and Sacramento.
27
Phoenix
22-45
4
Last Week: 23		Can't believe we forgot to mention this before but the Suns were one of only three teams -- along with playoff-chasing Dallas and playoff-bound Milwaukee -- not to send a single participant to the All-Star Game, All-Star Saturday Night or the Rising Stars game on Friday of All-Star Weekend.
28
Detroit
23-45
--

Last Week: 28		The Pistons started out 0-8. They're 0-8 in March as well. And they're 0-14 on the road against Western Conference teams, with only one more chance to steal a win when they go to Minnesota on April 6. It's a lot of zeroes that add up to our usual plea: Come back soon, Andre Drummond!
29
Orlando
18-49
2
Last Week: 27		Check back next Monday. If Miami can get through this week unscathed -- road games in Boston and Cleveland, followed by home dates with lowly Detroit and Charlotte -- Orlando hosts the Heat on March 25, after having nearly beaten them in Miami on March 6. The streak would be at 26 by then.
30
--

Last Week: 30		They've notched home wins over Boston this month and last, but the first was highly affected by the schedule, and Paul Pierce sat out the second. Throw out those anomalies and the Bobcats, drifting farther and farther from that 7-5 start, are 3-34 against .500-or-better teams.
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