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Updated: December 29, 2008, 2:48 PM ET

PER Diem: Dec. 29, 2008

The Celtics and Cavaliers flip-flop again at the top of the Power Rankings.

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By John Hollinger
ESPN.com
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David Liam Kyle/NBAE/Getty ImagesLeBron and the Cavs might not be No. 1 in the Power Rankings, but they could get back quickly.

And now, we can go back to discussing this rationally.

Daily Gems

Here are John Hollinger's top six NBA observations for Monday. Insider • Trail Blazers' surprising offense • Why Joel Przybilla deserves to start • Are the Bucks better than the Spurs? • Top rookie in PER: Marreese Speights • Pau Gasol on Christmas Day • All-Star snubs in Cleveland, Boston

After weeks of bewildered queries from Celtics fans -- including one from a guy who works here -- Boston's two-game losing streak brought a sudden end to the torrent of questions as to how the C's could be No. 2 in the Power Rankings.

It leaves the Celtics even with Cleveland at four losses -- but ironically the Celtics regained the top spot in the Power Rankings on Sunday, as their 45-point win over Sacramento, combined with a second straight underwhelming performance from Cleveland, put Boston 0.3 points ahead.

I expect it won't be the last time the two teams trade the top spot in the Power Rankings, not to mention in the real standings. As of this morning, the Playoff Odds project Boston to win 66 games and Cleveland to win 65, and those two have fluctuated between 65 and 67 wins for most of the past month. Boston's narrow lead at the moment hinges on its superior record during its past 10 games, but the Cavs still have a major lead in scoring margin for the season as a whole -- meaning the Celtics have to maintain their recent advantage for a while in order to stay on top.

I also should remind everyone, yet again, that both Boston and Cleveland are playing so well that in almost any other season they'd easily be first by themselves. Boston is a 66-win world champion that's playing at least as well as it did last season; Cleveland is threatening to break the record for the largest scoring margin in league history and still hasn't lost at home. Considering those impressive facts, it's hard to stick a No. 2 next to either name.

Instead, keep an eye on the "Rating" number next to each team. Anything above 110.0 is just sick. Right now, Cleveland is at 110.805 and Boston is at 111.038; the Cavs were as high as 113 before their recent stumbles. Using the Rating, you can clearly see the divide between these two and the Lakers and Orlando (108.0 and 107.9 respectively), and between those four and the rest of the league (No. 5 Houston is at just 104.6).

Or consider that the scale is set so that an average team's rating will be 100.0 -- meaning that on a neutral court against an average team, both Boston and Cleveland would be double-digit favorites.

All of which makes Jan. 9 a date to circle on your calendars -- in the odd event you haven't done so already. Boston visits Cleveland that night, and there's a decent chance we'll be seeing a 33-4 Celtics team against a 30-4 Cavs squad. Until then, we have two more weeks to debate who should be on top of the Power Rankings.

John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. To e-mail him, click here.