By InsideHoops.com

Our power rankings rate the entire league from top to bottom. A very opinionated feature, obviously. InsideHoops.com power rankings are updated every now and then during the summer, and usually every week during the season.

NBA POWER RANKINGS
Updated Feb. 1, 2010

Records are regular season wins-losses

1) LA Lakers (37-11) - Only long-term worry is Kobe's hand health.

2) Cleveland Cavaliers (38-11) - Winners of 8 straight. Story remains the same, it's LeBron, scoring of Mo Williams, and supporting cast.

3) Denver Nuggets (32-15) - Will Chauncey Billups make All-Star team to replace Chris Paul? Over last two weeks, Billups is 24.1 ppg.

4) Dallas Mavericks (30-17) - Dropping games lately, and gave up 52 points to Andre Miller a few days ago. Still waiting for Josh Howard to look good again.

5) Boston Celtics (29-16) - Looking terrible lately. Alarming, but big picture matters more than short bad streak. Kevin Garnett isn't the player he was before the injuries.

6) Orlando Magic (32-16) - Not as good as last year, yet still one of the league's best records. They miss the multi-dimensional play of Hedo Turkoglu.

7) Atlanta Hawks (30-16) - Not saying they will, but Hawks actually could reach Eastern conference finals. Maybe the Finals. Does that frighten you?

8) Utah Jazz (28-18) - Terrific team ever since Jerry Sloan remembered Andrei Kirilenko is good when used as a basketball player.

9) San Antonio Spurs (27-19) - Tony Parker is hurt, team looks above average but rarely great. Manu Ginobili needs to shoot better than 39%, and Richard Jefferson should be scoring a bit more than 12.4 ppg.

10 Phoenix Suns (28-21) - Getting worse as season progresses. Tough to say why, exactly. Jason Richardson should be scoring more than 14.6 ppg. And injured Leandro Barbosa needs to get hot in second half of season.

11 Memphis Grizzlies (25-21) - One of league's hottest teams for the last month or two. Congrats to Zach Randolph for his All-Star spot.

12 Portland Trail Blazers (28-21) - Trading wins and losses lately. Brandon Roy has been hurt. Even with injuries, a solid mix of players.

13 Oklahoma City Thunder (26-21) - Kevin Durant has emerged as an all-NBA star, and Russell Westbrook is a fantastic player.

14 New Orleans Hornets (26-21) - Just when they looked a bit better, Chris Paul may miss 1-2 months.

15 Toronto Raptors (26-22) - They look better when Hedo Turkoglu gets to touch the basketball and do things with it.

16 Charlotte Bobcats (24-22) - Very solid team ever since adding Stephen Jackson.

17 Chicago Bulls (23-22) - Hot squad lately who started to put it all together a few weeks back.

18 Houston Rockets (25-22) - After a terrific start, Rockets have steadily returned to Earth.

19 Miami Heat (24-23) - Same story, it's Dwyane Wade and a supporting cast that needs improvement.

20 Milwaukee Bucks (20-25) - Bright spots, as expected, remain Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut.

21 LA Clippers (20-27) - Steadily falling back to Earth as season progresses. Chris Kaman is rocking.

22 New York Knicks (18-29) - Struggling lately after overachieving early on. PG Chris Duhon shoots worse than you do.

23 Washington Wizards (16-30) - There was something in the news about Gilbert Arenas but I didn't quite catch it.

24 Sacramento Kings (16-30) - Overachieved early on, now lose constantly. It isn't all Kevin Martin's fault, though. Tyreke Evans remains the top Rookie of the Year candidate.

25 Philadelphia 76ers (16-31) - Lately are almost trading wins with losses, which for the Sixers is a huge accomplishment. Elton Brand is looking a bit better.

26 Indiana Pacers (16-32) - Team isn't going anywhere, ever, it seems. I'm trying to come up with a bright spot but it's a struggle.

27 Detroit Pistons (15-31) - Current mix of players isn't complimentary. Tough to say where to go from here. I want to praise Rodney Stucky but his shooting has been lousy. Richard Hamilton is also putting up bricks.

28 Golden State Warriors (13-33) - Corey Maggette is on a huge scoring tear, averaging 25.6 ppg over the last two weeks.

29 Minnesota Timberwolves (11-38) - Rebuilding phase. Al Jefferson is as good as hoped. Kevin Love is legit. Jonny Flynn and Corey Brewer are decent. Everything else is filler.

30 New Jersey Nets (4-42) - Super duper rebuilding phase. Devin Harris has been more disappointing than his stats suggest.