This edition of the RealGM Team Rankings will speak to this past week?s deadline deals that were made and that weren?t made.  We have a new fiery-hot team at the top of the list and an old familiar face breaking its way back into the top 5.  The biggest rise in the rankings this week goes to the money-pick again for this year?s champion, the San Antonio Spurs (up from No. 8 to No. 3) while the biggest drop belongs to the sagging Atlanta Hawks (No. 19 to No. 13).

The format is simple.  The rankings reflect each team?s current ranking, along with their ranking from the last week (LW), and their current win-loss record.  

1. (2) Los Angeles Lakers 39-17

The Lakers have been absurdly hot since the Pau Gasol trade.  Imagine how sick they are going to be when Andrew Bynum returns.

2. (1) Detroit Pistons 41-15

Detroit made minor tweaks at the deadline and virtually swapped Juan Dixon for Flip Murray and added beef to the front line with Dale Davis.

3. (8) San Antonio Spurs 38-17

The Spurs stormed their way back to the top of the West with a 6-game winning streak and 10 wins in their past 11.  The Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire pickups were at no cost and will pay huge dividends in the playoffs.

4. (3) Utah Jazz 36-20

As much as you've heard about the Jazz turnaround after the acquisition of Kyle Korver (20-4 since), he may very well challenge Gasol as the top addition of the season.

5. (4) New Orleans Hornets 37-18

A 3-game losing streak gives the Hornets their first bump in the road since the start of the year.  Mike James and Bonzi Wells should step in to provide some scoring and pop off the bench.

- Click 'Read' to see where the other 25 teams are ranked.

There still is no timetable for Andrew Bynum's return, but he could return later in March.

"There's no pressure on me to come back," Bynum told the Press Enterprise. "I definitely want to get back 100 percent. That's what I plan to do, however long it takes. I still that I could make the eight-week deadline, but I'm not going to force it."

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers defeated the Clippers 113-95 to win their seventh straight game.

After the game, RealGM's Graham Flashner asked Bryant if he could have ever envisioned the Lakers being where they were at this point in time, and he shook his head.

?I think they had me buying [Michael Jordan?s] house in Chicago,? Bryant said, only half-jokingly.

Turning serious, Bryant said, ?It worked out for the best. I didn?t want to leave here. Circumstances being what they were, it was very difficult to see myself still being here, but I?m very thankful that it did work out. Everything happens for a reason.?

Kobe Bryant was ejected from the Lakers' game against the Sonics after picking up two technical fouls for arguing with referee Brian Forte in the third quarter, the Associated Press is reporting.

"I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to comment on the official," Bryant said. "I don't want to get fined anymore."

Kobe Bryant thinks that Jazz point guard Deron Williams should have made the Western Conference All-Star team this season, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Maybe believed that Williams would replace Bryant if the NBA had allowed him to sit out the game.

"I think it was a really dumb rule," Bryant said. "I would have loved to see [Williams] in there playing and doing his thing. He's a deserving All-Star, without question. It's a stupid rule."

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers held off Shaquille O?Neal and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night as the two former teammates met for the first time as Western Conference rivals. Read about the Lakers? close win and more in the RealGM Daily Rundown for February 20th?s games!

Side note: In all of Wednesday night?s games the winner scored 100 or more points. Has that ever happened before?

- CLE 106, IND 97

LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night with 31 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists ? his second-straight triple-double. Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 14 points and 17 boards for Cleveland, who shot 48% from the field and outrebounded Indiana by six. Danny Granger starred for the Pacers with 30 points and 8 rebounds, and Jeff Foster added 9 points and 15 boards in the loss, Indiana?s tenth in their last twelve games.

Game FIC Scores
LeBron James, CLE ? 31.5
Jeff Foster, IND ? 17.5
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, CLE ? 17.1
Danny Granger, IND ? 16.3

- PHI 124, NYK 84

The Philadelphia 76ers crushed the New York Knicks by forty at home on Wednesday night. Willie Green scored 21 points, and Thaddeus Young added 20 points and 8 rebounds for Philadelphia, who shot 56% from the field and outrebounded New York by twelve. Jamal Crawford led the Knicks with 14 points and 5 assists, and Zach Randolph contributed 12 points and 6 boards in the loss. The 76ers scored 30 points off twenty-three Knick turnovers.

Game FIC Scores
Andre Miller, PHI ? 18.3
Thaddeus Young, PHI ? 18.3
Andre Iguodala, PHI ? 15.3
David Lee, NYK ? 11.5

- TOR 127, ORL 110

The Toronto Raptors shot their way to a big win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, shooting 58% from the field at the Air Canada Centre. Chris Bosh scored 40 points, and Jose Calderon added 19 points and 13 assists for the Raptors, who shot 87% from the foul line. Dwight Howard tallied 37 points and 15 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu added 16 points and 9 assists for the Magic, who shot 45% for the night and outrebounded the Raptors by six. Orlando had 28 second chance points, but Toronto got 17 points and 12 rebounds from Jamario Moon and great bench play from Carlos Delfino, who posted 23 points and 5 assists in the win.

Game FIC Scores
Chris Bosh, TOR ? 32.9
Dwight Howard, ORL ? 30.1
Jose Calderon, TOR ? 23.4
Jamario Moon, TOR ? 18.3

- NJN 110, CHI 102 (OT)

Marcus Williams filled in nicely for the New Jersey Nets in their first game of the post-Jason Kidd Era. Williams posted 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in the team?s win over the visiting Chicago Bulls last night. Vince Carter, who had 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, made a free throw with 33 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. The Nets, who took over in the extra period, held the Bulls to just 38% shooting from the floor. Joe Smith led Chicago with 17 points and 9 rebounds, and Andres Nocioni added 11 points and 9 boards of his own in the loss.

Game FIC Scores
Vince Carter, NJN ? 25.4
Tyrus Thomas, CHI ? 14.8
Richard Jefferson, NJN ? 14.8
Josh Boone, NJN ? 14.5

- NOH 104, DAL 93

The New Orleans Hornets spoiled Jason Kidd?s debut on Wednesday night with a big win over the Dallas Mavericks. Chris Paul ran circles around Kidd on his way to 31 points, 11 assists, and 5 rebounds for the Hornets, who shot 52% from behind the three-point line. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 31 points and 8 rebounds, and Erick Dampier added 11 points and 7 boards in the disappointing loss. In 37 minutes of play, Kidd posted 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers for Dallas, who assisted on just 13 of their 33 made field goals.

Game FIC Scores
Chris Paul, NOH ? 35.6
Dirk Nowitzki, DAL ? 16.9
Bobby Jackson, NOH ? 13.3
Josh Howard, DAL ? (1.5)

- MIL 103, DET 98

Michael Redd led the Milwaukee Bucks to a big win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, Detroit?s second loss in as many games. Redd scored 27 points, and Andrew Bogut added 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Bucks, who outrebounded the Pistons by six and held Detroit to just 38% shooting. Chauncey Billups led the Pistons with 34 points and 6 assists, and Rasheed Wallace added 24 points and 5 rebounds, but the rest of Detroit?s roster struggled. The Pistons outscored the Bucks 34-20 in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late for Billups and company.

Game FIC Scores
Chauncey Billups, DET ? 20.0
Michael Redd, MIL ? 16.5
Desmond Mason, MIL ? 15.0
Andrew Bogut, MIL ? 13.4

- LAL 130, PHX 124

Kobe Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers past Shaquille O?Neal and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night with 41 points and 6 rebounds. Pau Gasol added 29 points, and Lamar Odom posted 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 56% from the field and turned the ball over just nine times. Amare Stoudemire notched 37 points and 15 rebounds, and Steve Nash added 26 points and 8 assists for the Suns, who shot 51% for the game and outrebounded the Lakers by thirteen. Shaquille O?Neal, making his debut in Phoenix, posted 15 points and 9 rebounds in 29 minutes against his former team.

Game FIC Scores
Amare Stoudemire, PHX ? 29.6
Kobe Bryant, LAL ? 23.0
Steve Nash, PHX ? 20.0
Lamar Odom, LAL ? 16.6

- SAC 119, ATL 107

With trade rumors swirling, Ron Artest led the Sacramento Kings to a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night. Artest posted 29 points and 7 rebounds, and Brad Miller added 12 points and 12 boards of his own for the Kings, who outrebounded the Hawks by three and hit 55% of their three-point attempts. Josh Childress had 18 points for the Hawks, who also got 12 points and 12 rebounds from rookie Al Horford. Despite injury, Mike Bibby played against his former team, posting 17 points and 2 assists in thirty minutes of play.

Game FIC Scores
Ron Artest, SAC ? 23.8
Beno Udrih, SAC ? 17.4
Al Horford, ATL ? 15.8
Mike Bibby, ATL ? 9.1

- GSW 119, BOS 117

Monta Ellis starred for the Golden State Warriors as they handed the Boston Celtics their second consecutive loss on Wednesday night. Ellis scored 27 points and dished 6 assists, and Al Harrington added 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who shot 51% for the game and outrebounded the Celtics by eight. Ray Allen scored 33 points, and Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 14 boards for Boston, who before Tuesday?s loss to the Nuggets were undefeated against the Western Conference. Baron Davis, who won the game for Golden State with a jumper in the final seconds, had 28 points and 6 rebounds.

Game FIC Scores
Ray Allen, BOS ? 26.3
Al Harrington, GSW ? 19.0
Andris Biedrins, GSW ? 18.9
Kevin Garnett, BOS ? 18.5

- LAL 100, MEM 86

Corey Maggette led the Los Angeles Clippers past the Memphis Grizzlies last night with 31 points and 9 rebounds. Tim Thomas posted 17 points and 7 boards, and rookie Al Thornton added 13 points for the Clippers, who outrebounded the Grizzlies by nine and held them to just 35% shooting for the game. Hakim Warrick starred for Memphis with 22 points and 9 rebounds while Rudy Gay added 19 points in defeat. The Grizzlies have now lost eleven games in a row.

Game FIC Scores
Corey Maggette, LAC ? 19.5
Tim Thomas, LAC ? 18.4
Hakim Warrick, MEM ? 11.0
Juan Carlos Navarro, MEM ? 10.8

? RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks - .75 Field Goal Attempts - .375 Free Throw Attempts - Turnovers - .5 Personal Fouls)

( )'s indicate a negative FIC score.

It is also used to rank players and to determine their `Reina Value.'
Click here to view the player rankings with the Reina Value for the current season

The Los Angeles Lakers have recalled guard Coby Karl from the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today.

Karl, who became the 11th NBA player assigned to a D-League affiliate earlier this season on November 28, was re-assigned to the D-Fenders February 14.

During his first assignment, Karl played in 10 games with the D-Fenders from November 29 - December 22, averaging 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 38.4 minutes while shooting .435 from three-point range and .492 from the field.

In three games during his second stint with the D-Fenders from February 14 - February 19, Karl averaged 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 37.2 minutes.

In 13 total games with the D-Fenders this season, Karl is averaging 17.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 38.1 minutes.

We received a cool phone call today from the guys at LiveVideo.

After tonight's game against the Lakers, Steve Nash will be live on LiveVideo.com answering questions.

These questions are submitted by fans during the game which is hosted by a Live Hostess who will moderate (and be on camera) the whole time.

This is a very unique look into the life and mind of one of basketball's best players on the night when Shaquille O'Neal makes his debut for the Suns.

He will even answer questions live on his drive home following the game.

Shaquille O'Neal will make his debut for the Phoenix Suns against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, according to the Associated Press.

"I'm going to be looking to get out like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens," he told the AP on Tuesday.

The game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN.

The NBA denied a request by the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, insisting that Kobe Bryant participate in this Sunday night's All-Star Game in New Orleans, according to the Los Angeles Times.

If a player plays in his team's final game before the All-Star break he must play in the game, per NBA policy.

"It doesn't seem to me to make sense," Lakers' General Manager Mitch Kupchak told the Times. "I understand it's the biggest showcase of the year for the NBA and that's all of us."

"But from a general manager's point of view, looking out for the interests of our club, to me it doesn't make sense," Kupchak added.

"The doctor examining [Bryant] said, 'If you're not going to have surgery, give it time to heal.'"