West's one-sided story

The theme of the NBA season has been the dominance of the Western Conference, and as the New Year approaches, change isn't on the horizon.

The top five teams in this week's rankings all come from the West, led by the boringly consistent Spurs. Gregg Popovich's team isn't overwhelmingly talented or intimidating, but it simply gets the job done every night with depth, defense and the stellar play of Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

San Antonio capped a perfect 4-0 week with a methodical victory over the hapless Sixers and now have the best record in the league at 19-6. The Spurs had better not let up, though, because the red-hot Suns, Jazz, Mavericks and Lakers are all hot on the Spurs' heels.

Here's look at this week's rankings (records and statistics are through Dec. 17):

1.San Antonio Spurs (19-6, Last ranking: 2) – The Spurs lead the NBA in three-point percentage, thanks in large part to Brent Barry, who's making 52 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

2.Utah Jazz (18-6, Last ranking: 4) – Andrei Kirilenko is filling up the stat sheet again. In his last five games, he's averaging 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

3.Phoenix Suns (17-6, Last ranking: 5) – Fourteen wins in a row and counting for the Suns, and the offense is cooking. Phoenix is the only team in the league that boasts five players who have scored 30 or more points at least once this season.

4.Dallas Mavericks (17-7, Last ranking: 3) – The Mavs' new bench corps is struggling to find the range. Anthony Johnson, Devean George and Austin Croshere are all shooting below 40 percent.

5.Los Angeles Lakers (16-8, Last ranking: 1) – Lamar Odom's injury opens up some time for Vladimir Radmanovic. He'll have to deliver; L.A. is just 4-19 without Odom the last few years. And oh, by the way, Kobe has 98 points in his last two games.

6.Detroit Pistons (15-8, Last ranking: 6) – Jason Maxiell had an enjoyable Sunday. He posted career highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds and hit the game-winning jumper against Seattle.

7.Chicago Bulls (14-10, Last ranking: 13) – Ben Wallace finally broke loose. He had 15 points, 20 boards and five blocks in a win over the Sonics, then followed up with a 27-rebound night against Milwaukee.

8.Houston Rockets (15-9, Last ranking: 7) – They blew a 21-point lead against the Lakers and lost but bounced back to beat the Clippers at Staples on Sunday. Tracy McGrady is out again with back spasms, so Yao Ming will have to carry the scoring load.

9.Orlando Magic (16-10, Last ranking: 9) – J.J. Redick finally got some action. He nailed a four-point play in the Magic's win over Cleveland on Saturday.

10.Cleveland Cavaliers (14-9, Last ranking: 8) – Larry Hughes is back. He scored 25 points in a win over Seattle, but the Cavs still are struggling to find any consistency.

11.Denver Nuggets (13-9, Last ranking: 10) – Carmelo Anthony's sucker punch of Mardy Collins cost him a major suspension. Will his absence from the lineup now come back to haunt Denver later in the season? The West is deep, and every game counts.

12.Washington Wizards (12-11, Last ranking: 15) – Undefeated week is capped by Gilbert Arenas' ridiculous 60-point outburst at Staples. He joins Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in league history to score that many against the Lakers.

13.Indiana Pacers (13-13, Last ranking: 14) – Jermaine O'Neal came back from his hamstring injury to average 23 points and 11 rebounds as the Pacers won two of three games.

14.Minnesota Timberwolves (10-11, Last ranking: 12) – The Allen Iverson trade rumors continue, and so does the Wolves' roller coaster season. They lost two in a row last week. Second-rounder Craig Smith has been a pleasant surprise, though.

15.New Orleans Hornets (10-12, Last ranking: 16) – Injuries are ruining what looked like a promising season. Both Peja Stojakovic and David West had surgery last week and are out indefinitely.

16.Miami Heat (10-13, Last ranking: 17) – Pat Riley tells his team that he's trying to trade for Iverson. Truth or motivation?

17.Golden State Warriors (12-13, Last ranking: 19) – The Warriors are hanging in there without Jason Richardson, but they face four games on the road this week.

18.Sacramento Kings (10-12, Last ranking: 20) – Encouraging signs for the Kings. They held three of four opponents to fewer than 100 points before the Suns cracked the century mark against them on Saturday.

19.Portland Trail Blazers (11-14, Last ranking: 23) – Good week for the Blazers: Three wins, including two on the road. Zach Randolph is the only player in the NBA who averages at least 25 points and 10 boards.

20.Boston Celtics (10-13, Last ranking: 27) – Finally, an Atlantic team that's on a roll. The Celtics have won five in a row, getting great performances from Tony Allen and Al Jefferson during a 4-0 week.

21.Los Angeles Clippers (10-13, Last ranking: 11) – What's wrong with the Clippers? You can start with the defense. Their opponents are shooting 46.4 percent, as opposed to just 43.5 percent last season. They're on the verge of losing all the momentum they built a year ago.

22.Milwaukee Bucks (10-14, Last ranking: 22) – Just when Charlie Villanueva comes back, he gets hurt. He missed Saturday night's game with tendinitis in his right shoulder.

23.Seattle SuperSonics (10-15, Last ranking: 18) – Four straight losses on the road for the Sonics, but they hope to get Ray Allen back this week.

24.Toronto Raptors (10-14, Last ranking: 26) – Andrea Bargnani breaks out: The No. 1 pick went for 23 against Orlando on 8-for-16 shooting, including 5 threes, and had 18 and 10 against Golden State.

25.New Jersey Nets (9-14, Last ranking: 24) – How's this for a stat line: Vince Carter goes for 37 points against Memphis and shoots 20 threes but doesn't attempt a single free throw.

26.Atlanta Hawks (9-14, Last ranking: 21) – The Hawks are better than they were last year, but they still don't know how to close out games. Last Saturday, they let a late 10-point lead slip away in a loss to Chicago.

27.New York Knicks (9-17, Last ranking: 25) – Not that it's helping the Knicks win very often, but Eddy Curry is coming on. He had consecutive 30-point outings for the first time in his career last week.

28.Charlotte Bobcats (6-17, Last ranking: 28) – After averaging 24 and 10 in his previous three games, Sean May sprained his ankle against Boston. He's day-to-day. (But "aren't we all?" as Vin Scully once said).

29.Memphis Grizzlies (5-19, Last ranking: 29) – Pau Gasol returned, but he's rusty. In two games, he had just 15 points and five rebounds, as the Grizzlies suffered two more losses.

30.Philadelphia 76ers (5-18, Last ranking: 30) – The Sixers have lost 11 in a row, but until the A.I. trade happens, there's no help in sight. Philly has eight of its next 10 on the road.