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2012 NBA power rankings: Cavaliers jump up one spot

A one-win week moves the Cavs up to No. 27 in this week's rankings.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Cleveland Cavaliers bumped up one spot in the SB Nation NBA power rankings released Monday.

The Cavaliers are now the No. 27 team after spending last week at No. 28. The Cavs are coming off a 1-2 week, with a win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Their losses came against the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat.

Here's what SB Nation's Seth Rosenthal had to say about the Cavs, who are 3-10 this season:

Not only did the Cavs manage to break their losing streak (and very nearly vanquish the Heat) sans Kyrie Irving, but their bench has looked moderately un-terrible over the last few games. C.J. Miles and Omri Casspi have finally had some moments and Jeremy Pargo -- the hero of that win over the Sixers -- should be a genuinely solid back-up once Irving returns. Does anybody know if there are more Pargo brothers? There ought to be. I really hope there's a Jamiroquai Pargo coming up the pipeline.

Second-year guard Kyrie Irving is leading the charge for Cleveland this season. He's averaging 22.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. He's one of the few bright spots on a team that is in fourth place in the Central.

Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao are helping out the offense. Waiters is averaging 14.9 points per game and is shooting 40 percent from behind the 3-point line. Varejao, meanwhile, is averaging a double-double with 14 points and 14.1 rebounds per game.

The Cavs finish November with three games this week. They travel to play the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and then wrap up with a road game against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Photographs by spatulated, Triple Tri, and chrischappelear used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.