The All-Star Break has concluded and the NBA is headed into the second half of its season.  The Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat are separated by just one point in the NBA Power Rankings point system at The Wife Hates Sports.

Meanwhile, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have a comfortable hold on third place, while the San Antonio Spurs have a stranglehold on fourth place.

As the NBA launches its second half, here is how each team sits in the latest edition of power rankings at The Wife Hates Sports, meshed with a series of leaders and stat lines from the season’s first half.

derrick-rose-versus-lebron-james

Derrick Rose and LeBron James are fighting for first in this week’s NBA Power Rankings

KP’s NBA Power Rankings: February 27, 2012

* Games, statistics and rankings include results up to Sunday February 27, 2012

1. Chicago Bulls – 27-8 (113 points) – Last Week: #2

The Bulls lead the league in point differential, defeating opponents by 9.45 points per game on average during the first half.

2. Miami Heat – 27-7 (112 points) – Last Week: #1

Miami leads the league in points per game, averaging nearly 104 per contest during the first half.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder – 27-7 (99 points) – Last Week: #4

kevin-durant-oklahoma-city-thunder

Kevin Durant leads the NBA in points per game during the month of February

Kevin Durant averaged 29.5 points per game during the month of February, more than any other player in the NBA.

4. San Antonio Spurs – 24-10 (89 points) – Last Week: #3

Tony Parker averaged 24.6 points per game in the month of February, a figure that was better than LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki.

5. Los Angeles Clippers – 20-11 (69 points) – Last Week: #4

During the first half, the Clippers were an impressive 9-2 versus the Eastern Conference, but only 11-9 versus the West.

6. Dallas Mavericks – 21-13 (68 points) – Last Week: #8

Dirk Nowitzki’s points per game average has jumped to 19.6 per contest after posting a 23.9 average during the month of February.

7. Indiana Pacers – 21-12 (65 points) – Last Week: #10

The Pacers posted a 6-3 record versus the Western Conference during the first half, with a winning record against each of the three divisions.

8. Orlando Magic – 22-13 (63 points) – Last Week: #7

Dwight Howard is averaging 10.8 free throw attempts per game, which is two more than any other player during the first half.

9. Philadelphia 76ers – 20-14 (58 points) – Last Week: #5

No team in the Atlantic division has a winning road record, and the Sixers have the best, posting a 7-8 mark away from home to date.

10. Houston Rockets – 20-14 (51 points) – Last Week: #12

The Rockets posted a 7-2 record versus the Eastern Conference in the first half.

11. Atlanta Hawks – 20-14 (47 points) – Last Week: #9

In 34 games this season, Josh Smith is averaging 16.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.

12. Memphis Grizzlies – 19-15 (47 points) – Last Week: #15

In 34 first half games, center Marc Gasol has averaged 15.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

13. Portland Trail Blazers – 18-16 (46 points) – Last Week: #13

In 32 games during the first half, LaMarcus Aldridge averaged 22.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

14. New York Knicks – 17-18 (45 points) – Last Week: #11

jeremy-lin-drives-to-hoop

“Linsanity” is cooling off a bit, but still remains a hot NBA topic this season.

Despite cooling off recently, Jeremy Lin has still managed to average 21.0 points per game in the month of February.

15. Los Angeles Lakers – 20-14 (44 points) – Last Week: #14

Kobe Bryant is the NBA’s leading scorer during the first half, averaging 28.4 points per game.

16. Minnesota Timberwolves – 17-17 (36 points) – Last Week: #16

Kevin Love posted 30 double-doubles in the first half, the most in the NBA.

17. Denver Nuggets – 18-17 (28 points) – Last Week: #18

The Nuggets are 9-17 against the Western conference this season, which means they finished the first half undefeated versus the East (9-0).

18. Boston Celtics – 15-17 (23 points) – Last Week: #17

The Celtics managed a 6-1 record versus the Southeast division during the first half.  Boston is also just 1-7 versus the Western conference.

19. Golden State Warriors – 13-17 (19 points) – Last Week: #19

The Warriors have two players averaging more than 20 points per game in February, Monta Ellis (25.1 ppg) and David Lee (20.5).

20. Phoenix Suns – 14-20 (8 points) – Last Week: #22

Marcin Gortat had 154 rebounds in February, which was the fourth most in the NBA this month.

21. Cleveland Cavaliers – 13-18 (6 points) – Last Week: #23

Ramon Sessions has only started 3 of 31 games this season, yet leads the team in assists per game, averaging 5.5 per contest.

22. Utah Jazz – 15-17 (4 points) – Last Week: #20

The Jazz managed just two players to average in double figures during the first half, Al Jefferson (19.1 ppg) and Paul Millsap (16.1 ppg).

23. Milwaukee Bucks – 13-20 (1 point) – Last Week: #21

Ersan Ilyasova leads the team in rebounds per game, averaging 8.6 per contest.

24. Toronto Raptors – 10-23 (-16 points) – Last Week: #26

Jose Calderon averaged 9.9 assists per game in the month of February, which is the most per game in the Eastern conference this month.

25. Detroit Pistons – 11-24 (-17 points) – Last Week: #24

Brandon Knight leads all rookies in three pointers made, averaging 1.6 per game.

26. New Orleans Hornets – 8-25 (-17 points) – Last Week: #25

Chris Kaman has started in just 12 games, but has managed to average 11.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the Hornets this year.

27. Sacramento Kings – 11-22 (-28 points) – Last Week: #27

The Kings are 7-5 at home this season, despite posting a .333 winning percentage this season.

28. New Jersey Nets – 10-25 (-28 points) – Last Week: #28

The Nets finished the first half with an abysmal 3-13 record at home.

29. Washington Wizards – 7-26 (-42 points) – Last Week: #29

Shooting guard Nick Young leads the team in points per game, averaging 17.2 per contest.

30. Charlotte Bobcats – 4-28 (-68 points) – Last Week: #30

Bismack Biyombo led all rookies with 52 blocks in the first half.

* All stats per NBA.com

Note: RED = Falling 3+ spots from last week, GREEN = Rising 3+ spots from last week

The Wife Hates Sports NBA Power Rankings system has a method to its madness, attempting to be different and not just rank by popularity and record.  It mixes a secret formula of six completely different categories, meshed into a points system.  The categories don’t just include team results regarding record, but how each team has performed recently, as well as incorporating some statistics on both a team’s offense and defense, too.