It’s been a good week for Nets fans, as New Jersey has ripped off five straight wins to suddenly move above .500 and take over fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They’ve been rewarded for it in this week’s power rankings, finally ejecting themselves from the bottom 10 and pulling even with the other playoff contenders in the East.

New Jersey isn’t the only team moving up, as Cleveland, Portland, and Chicago also have put together some solid play of late. And of course, we’d move up the Pistons and Celtics if we could, but alas neither of them has anywhere to go. Boston’s comeback win in Detroit on Saturday cements the Celts’ status in the top spot, while a slew of Western contenders vie for the no. 3 position behind them:

1 BOSTON CELTICS (29–3) (LW:1): You gotta wonder about Boston’s James Posey talking smack to the fans at the end of Boston’s win. Dude, it’s January. Dude, it’s one game. And dude, you’re about the eighth-best player on the team. Zip it.

2 DETROIT PISTONS (26–8) (2): Boston wasn’t their only test to start the New Year; Pistons now face the dreaded Texas trip against Dallas and San Antonio before consuming lighter fare (Bobcats and Knicks) over the weekend.

3 PHOENIX SUNS (23–10) (3): Chemistry whispers continue after Amare Stoudemire skipped practice Sunday. The team swears it was a family issue, and maybe it was … but we’re starting to see a lot of smoke for a nonfire, if you get my drift.

4 SAN ANTONIO SPURS (23–9) (4): Manu Ginobili finally returned to spark a win over the Clippers, but Tim Duncan checked out with a nick to his knee. Presuming it’s not serious, the Spurs should start their annual second-half surge any day now.

5 LOS ANGELES LAKERS (21–11) (5): It’s official: Their bench is deeper than the Marianas Trench. With Sasha Vujacic sidelined, little-used first-round pick Javaris Crittenton stepped up with 19 points in a blowout win over Sixers.

6 NEW ORLEANS HORNETS (23–11) (7): Chris Paul continues to amaze, outplaying Baron Davis and Steve Nash as the Hornets scooted past the Warriors and Suns. Don’t look now, but they’re tied for fourth out West despite a road-heavy early schedule.

7 DALLAS MAVERICKS (23–11) (6): Dirk is looking more like the MVP Nowitzki of old, but the Mavs can’t move up unless the teams ahead of them start losing … something that hasn’t happened in a while.

8 DENVER NUGGETS (21–12) (11): Another team that put together an undefeated week, and they’ll need to keep doing it with the scorching hot Blazers on their heels. Improved play from ‘Melo would help, as his numbers are down from a year ago.

9 PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (21–13) (12): With 16 wins in 17 games, including a win at Utah in which Martell Webster inexplicably exploded for 24 third-quarter points, it’s time to take these guys seriously.

10 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (19–15) (10): Starting Friday, a -game stretch in which only one opponent — the Nets — has a winning record. And a tenuous one at that, I might add.

11 UTAH JAZZ (18–17) (8): I can’t decide whether to call them the Romneys or the Clintons. All I know is, they’re sinking fast after a wave of early momentum, and they can’t figure out how to turn it around.

12 ORLANDO MAGIC (22–13) (9): Another team in a mysterious funk after a hot start. It isn’t injuries, either. The Magic have been perfectly healthy — they’re just plain playing bad.

13 HOUSTON ROCKETS (17–17) (14): Quietly making strides while T-Mac’s knee recovers, and the schedule turns pretty soft for the rest of this month. Yes, that means they play the Knicks again.

14 CLEVELAND (17–17) (15): LeBron James’s 24-point explosion in Toronto Sunday got all the attention, but how about the defense? Sunday marked six straight games holding teams to 94 points or less five of them wins.

15 TORONTO RAPTORS (17–17) (13): With T.J. Ford on indefinite hiatus and Andrea Bargnani in a definite funk, the Raps have basically become a two-man team of Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon.

16 WASHINGTON WIZARDS (17–15) (17): I keep waiting for them to falter without Gilbert Arenas, but they won by 24 and 22 this weekend. Does that sound like a club that’s running out of steam?

17 NETS (17–16) (21): Hey, welcome to the good side of .500 guys. With Charlotte and Seattle coming up, they might even stick around for a while.

18 ATLANTA HAWKS (15–16) (16): They punted four straight after a five-game win streak had them above .500 for first time since Pilgrims landed, partly because Joe Johnson (40.8% from the floor) can’t find his stroke.

19 CHICAGO BULLS (13–19) (19): With Knicks in the Windy City tonight, Eddy Curry is finally going back to the Chicagoarea home where he was robbed at gunpoint over the summer. Whatever you think of his play, let’s wish him the best sorting this out.

20 PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (14–20) (20): They got hammered out West to give their playoff aspirations a harsh reality check, fueling more trade rumors. If you’re Andre Miller, even a month-to-month lease would be ambitious.

21 SACRAMENTO KINGS (12–20) (22): Guards Kevin Martin and Mike Bibby are slated to return from injury this week, though in Bibby’s case, it may just be to showcase him for an oft-rumored trade to Cleveland.

22 INDIANA PACERS (16–19) (18): With six losses in seven tries and eight of their next 10 games on the road, it looks as if they might be falling off the pace of the Eastern playoff contenders.

23 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (10–23) (25): Rookie Mike Conley is finally in the lineup, and they’ve won two of three with him running the show. Baby steps, people.

24 MILWAUKEE BUCKS (13–20) (27): Sunday’s fourth-quarter rally to win in Charlotte without Michael Redd may be a huge non-event … or it may be the type of win that helps them get back in the playoff race.

25 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (10–21) (23): The Clippers are in midst of a 17-day homestand … in which they only play five games. Not a bad place to be stuck for two weeks in January, eh?

26 MIAMI HEAT (8–26) (26): If the Jazz are sinking like Clinton and Romney, then the Heat are more like Dennis Kucinich. If Shaq’s hip injury is serious, that’s the final nail in the coffin. Actually, that would be more like hermetically sealing the coffin, but let’s not quibble over metaphors today.

27 SEATTLE SONICS (9–24) (28): Kevin Durant makes his only trip to the Meadowlands on Wednesday night, as does former Seton Hall boss P.J. Carlesimo. Be sure to don your Terry Dehere throwback jersey for the occasion.

28 CHARLOTTE BOBCATS (11–21) (24): A while back I asked why Nets castoff Jeff McInnis was still in the league. Now he’s starting. Ladies and gentleman, your 2008 Charlotte Bobcats!

29 KNICKS (8–24) (30): Give them a small dab of credit for actually playing hard and well in a close loss to San Antonio on Friday. By my count, that’s the fourth time in the past 15 games we could say that.

30 MINNESOTA TIMBER – WOLVES (4–29) (29): How do you fall behind the Knicks? By losing eight straight, six by double digits, that’s how. Sad but true stat of the week: Did you know that if the Wolves doubled their win total, they’d still trail the Knicks by two and a half games?

jhollinger@nysun.com