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The All-Star break has come and gone, which means the NBA is about two-thirds the way through the season, making it a great time to update our power rankings.

TOP FIVE:

1. Dallas Mavericks (44-9)
Since our last update in January, the Mavs have gone 19-2. Remember, they started the season 0-4, which means they’ve posted an amazing 44-5 record since.

2. Phoenix Suns (39-13)
They’ve struggled a bit lately, going 1-3 without Steve Nash in the lineup. But the Suns are still solidly in the #2 spot.

3. Utah Jazz (35-17)
Without Carlos Boozer, the Jazz won six straight heading into the break, which puts them a half game ahead of the Spurs in the West.

4. San Antonio Spurs (35-18)
The Spurs have gone 5-5 in their last ten even though they’re pretty healthy. Are the Spurs starting to slip?

5. Detroit Pistons (32-19)
The Rockets probably deserve this spot, and they’ll get it once Yao returns to the lineup. For now, the newly acquired Chris Webber has the Pistons on a roll.

BOTTOM FIVE:

26. Milwaukee Bucks (19-34)
41 wins might get you a playoff spot in the East, which means the Bucks need to go 22-7 down the stretch. Even with Michael Redd coming back, that’s a long shot. As a Bucks fan, I’d actually like to see them pack it in.

27. Charlotte Hornets (19-33)
The Hornets look poised for yet another top five pick. Do you think they’re regretting taking Adam Morrison (13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 38% shooting) over Brandon Roy (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 43% shooting) last summer? With Raymond Felton, Roy and Gerald Wallace, the Bobcats would have something going.

28. Philadelphia 76ers (17-36)
With Greg Oden and Kevin Durant on the horizon, are Sixers fans rooting against their team? On the bright side, Andre Iguodala is averaging 22 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in February.

29. Boston Celtics (13-38)
Paul Pierce’s return means this team is going to win 40% of their games, making it much more difficult to land a top three pick.

30. Memphis Grizzlies (14-40)
The Grizzlies are trying to transition from a plodding attack to an up-tempo, Suns-like offense. Good luck with that. Oh, and Pau Gasol wants to be traded. Things are bad in Memphis.

Well, the 2007 All-Star Game has come and gone, so here are a few random observations from the weekend:

Do you think David Lee’s stellar play in the Rookie Challenge (30 points on 14-14 shooting with 11 rebounds and four assists) will earn him any more minutes for the Knicks? Not if Isiah continues to divvy up the minutes…The league should really get rid of the Shooting Stars competition. Who wants to see Bill Laimbeer hoisting up half court shots? They could use the time to expand one of the other contests, or add a one-on-one tournament. Now that could be interesting…What’s with the lackadaisical pace in the Skills Challenge? LeBron headlined a great lineup (Kobe, D-Wade, Chris Paul) but went at about half speed in the first round and was eliminated. Wade beat Bryant in the final round. What’s the point of having these superstars compete if they’re not even going to compete? LeBron’s lack of competitiveness says a lot about his game…Congratulations to Jason Kapono for winning the Three-Point Shootout. He tied a Shootout record in the final round with 24 points, outlasting Gilbert Arenas and defending champ Dirk Nowitzki. Most importantly, he did it all without wearing that ugly-ass headband…The league needs to tweak the Slam Dunk competition. Watching Nate Robinson miss his dunk in the final round over and over got pretty tedious. Gerald Green deserved the win – his first round dunk where he caught the ball off the side of the backboard and slammed it home was awesome – but Dwight Howard had the dunk of the night. It looked to be a simple alley-oop, but Howard placed a sticker near the top of the backboard with his other hand. The dunk was much more impressive in instant replay, but the judges (specifically Michael Jordan and Julius Erving) only gave Howard an 8 out of 10 and Howard was eliminated…Charles Barkley beat Dick Bavetta in a race and then the two shared a smooch on the lips afterward. I’m still not sure what that was all about…The All-Star Game itself was kind of a snoozer (the West won, 153-132). Shaq proved he didn’t deserve to be there (10 points on 5-13 shooting), while Dwight Howard (20 points, 12 rebounds) proved that he should have started for the East. It was clear that Amare Stoudemire was on a mission to be the game’s MVP, hoisting 22 shots in just 21 minutes (scoring 29 points), but that honor went to Bryant, who scored 31 points and dished out six assists.