Center-less Cavs reclaim No. 1 spot

By John Schuhmann, usa-jordans.com

Posted Mar 1 2010 11:35AM

February is the shortest month of the year and includes a four-day break for All-Star, but there was still enough basketball played last month for the Bucks to go from ninth place in the East (three games out of a playoff spot) to seventh, with a 1 1/2-game cushion over the Heat.

The Thunder made a similar push to put themselves in the top six in the West. At 9-2, Oklahoma City had the league's best record in February. Meanwhile, the Jazz (10-3) and Bucks (10-4) had the most wins.

Miami was both the best defensive team (allowing just 97.4 points per 100 possessions) and worst offensive team (scoring just 98.4) of the month. The best offensive team was Cleveland (113.6).

The Magic ranked fifth both offensively and defensively, but they were the best team overall, with a differential of +9.5 points per 100 possessions. The worst team overall? No, it wasn't New Jersey.

The Cavs take back the top spot in the rankings this week, but they have bigger issues to deal with.And they will have to play at least another nine games without Zydrunas Ilgauskas. cheap clothes for sale Shaquille O'Neal will have surgery on his right thumb on Monday and will likely miss the rest of the regular season.

The Clippers picked up as many wins (four) as the Nets (two) and Knicks (two) combined, but they were outscored by 8.2 points per 100 possessions over the course of the month.

That stretch could be critical as they try to hold off the Lakers for the best record in the league and home-court advantage in a potential Finals matchup. Remember that the team that starts the Finals at home has won 19 of the 25 series since the league went to the 2-3-2 format.

Cleveland currently has a one-game lead over L.A. and holds the tiebreaker. And while the Cavs have to go center-less for at least another 2 1/2 weeks, the Lakers have their own challenge: 11 of their 15 games in March are on the road.

Hero Team of the Week: Dallas (4-0) - The Mavs beat the Air Jordan Lakers for the second time this season, and then won in Atlanta two nights later. Their seven-game winning streak is their longest in more than two years.

Zero Team of the Week: Boston (1-2) - The Celtics barely beat the Knicks before getting smoked by the Cavs in the second half and then losing to the Nets for the first time in three years.

High jumps of the week: Dallas (+5), Milwaukee (+3), Six teams (+2)

Free falls of the week: Toronto (-5), Utah (-4), Boston (-3)

East vs. West: The West is 194-152 (0.561) in inter-conference games and was 16-9 this week.

Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)

Off: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)

Def: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)

The league averages through Sunday are 95.2 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 104.2 points scored per 100 possessions.

NBA.com's Power Rankings are just one man's opinion and are released every Monday during the season. If you've got an issue with the rankings, or have a question or comment for John Schuhmann, You can also

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