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Malone has Jazz burning up the charts

CNNSI.com's Marty Burns ranks the NBA teams for the week of Dec. 11-18. Check back every Tuesday to read Marty's latest Power Rankings.

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This week's high risers: Jazz (No. 16 from No. 22)
This week's big drop-off: Sonics (No. 20 from No. 13)

CNNSI.com Power Rankings
Rank	LW	Team
1	1		Los Angeles Lakers
			Kobe Bryant says 73 wins aren't out of the question.
2	2		Sacramento Kings
			Glad to have C-Webb back, but will he interrupt their flow?
3	3		San Antonio Spurs
			Raptors, Suns, Jazz provide them first tough stretch of season.
4	4		Minnesota Timberwolves
			Kevin Garnett & Co. have Kings in their Target on Friday.
5	5		Milwaukee Bucks
			Beginning Tuesday, they play 14 of their next 18 games on the road.
6	7		Detroit Pistons
			Balanced scoring has been key with Stackhouse (groin) ailing.
7	8		Toronto Raptors
			Vince Carter drops 42 back-to-back vs. Nuggets, Suns.
8	6		Dallas Mavericks
			Off to 12-8 start, same as last year's Cinderella squad.
9	9		New Jersey Nets
			New Princeton offense has earned passing grade so far.
10	10		Phoenix Suns
			Led the NBA in field-goal percentage (47.2 percent) at week's end.
11	14		Boston Celtics
			Had six-game win streak snapped in dreadful loss at Chicago.
12	17		New York Knicks
			Don Chaney Era begins with narrow victory over Pacers.
13	16		Orlando Magic
			Grant Hill to learn this week whether he needs surgery on his ankle.
14	15		Indiana Pacers
			Al Harrington is quietly becoming a key contributor off the bench.
15	11		Philadelphia 76ers
			Eric Snow returns to join this cast of walking wounded.
16	22		Utah Jazz
			The Mailman is putting up big numbers during the team's four-game win streak.
17	12		Portland Trail Blazers
			Inconsistency and lack of energy have been problems.
18	21		Los Angeles Clippers
			Elton Brand contributed 22 points, 18 rebounds in L.A.'s victory over Charlotte.
19	18		Charlotte Hornets
			Hoping to end six-game road trip with a win Tuesday at Denver.
20	13		Seattle SuperSonics
			Brent Barry leads the league in points per shot (1.51) through Monday.
21	24		Cleveland Cavaliers
			Zydrunas Ilgauskas has been impressive in limited minutes.
22	20		Denver Nuggets
			Van Exel joins Van Gundy in seeking to Van-ish from his team.
23	23		Golden State Warriors
			Turnovers have been as big a problem as their poor shooting.
24	27		Washington Wizards
			Jordan comes back from knee woes to slay Rockets, Mavs.
25	19		Houston Rockets
			Ten-game losing skid longest since 1982-83 season.
26	25		Atlanta Hawks
			After a horrid start, Jacque Vaughn is now shooting 48.5 percent from the floor.
27	26		Memphis Grizzlies
			Bigger than Elvis? Memphis gets its first look at Jordan.
28	28		Chicago Bulls
			Wins over Rockets, Celtics have Floyd in the Pink -- for now.
29	29		Miami Heat
			Snapped a 12-game losing skid with an OT win Friday at Seattle.

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