1. San Antonio Spurs (26-4): I’m not going to penalize this team for losing a single game; you can’t win em’ all. Even though, the Spurs have nearly done just that so far. I’m especially not going to penalize them for losing to a reloaded Magic team that really needed a statement win.
2. Dallas Mavericks (24-5): Finally Dallas is doing it with defense. They rank sixth league-wide in points allowed. In addition, they have as much depth and talent offensively as they’ve ever had. My only concern right now with this team (and with the Spurs) is that this is a veteran bunch that may be peaking early.
3. Boston Celtics (23-5): They got routed by Orlando on Christmas but had won fourteen in a row heading into that game. Rajon Rondo has been in an out of the lineup, yet this team just keeps winning.
4. Miami Heat (23-9): The win over the Lakers really doesn’t mean a thing in terms of how this season will shake out, but it’s a definite confidence builder that sends a message to the rest of the league.
5. Orlando Magic (19-12): There are plenty of teams with better records that could go here, but I’m judging this team on their recent results since their roster is brand new. Wins over the Spurs and Celtics will sky rocket any team up the rankings.
6. Los Angeles Lakers (21-9): Laker fans are just going to have to get used to inconsistency. This team has sprinkled in a lot of lethargic games over the past three regular seasons, and they’ve never been able to remedy that issue. It makes them frustrating to watch, but at this point you just have to trust that this group knows what it’s doing.
7. Chicago Bulls (19-10): The Bulls have gone 8-2 over their last ten games with wins over the Thunder and Lakers in that stretch. Carlos Boozer is averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds over his last five games, and if he keeps up that production, they won’t miss Joakim Noah quite as much.
8. Utah Jazz (21-10): This team strikes me as the type that will routinely win two out of three and three out of four in stretches, but won’t go on long winning streaks. They are solid, smart, and well coached but don’t have the talent to get on extended rolls.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder (21-11): Kevin Durant leads the league in scoring by more than two points per game. That’s a hard deficit for anyone to make up especially with over a third of the season gone. Two NBA scoring titles at age 22? Not bad at all.
10. New York Knicks (18-12): They stay in the rankings because they gave Boston all they could handle, played with the Heat for 3 ½ quarters, and then beat the Bulls on Christmas. Winning one of those three games and playing well in all of them keeps them in my good graces for now.
--from Adam
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