1. Boston celtics: the returning championship team, these guys now acknowledge what it takes to get to the finals and come out victorious. Their record so far is just as impressive, they’re 20-2. They could break the chicago bulls record of 72-10 whether or not they keep up that pace. Kevin garnett, rondo, paul pierce, cassell, allen, so much talent it’s unbelievable.

2. Cleveland cavaliers: lebron james is hungry for a championship ring. Whether he does it with cleveland, or finally new york, he will finally get one. He has that essence that jordan had where you knew he would accomplish his goals. He has more talent around him this year and is doing very well. He is averaging 26. 7 points a game right now. Lebron deserves his basic mvp this year as his team would be 4-16 without him in all probability at this point.

3. L. A. Lakers: what better rival to boston than l. A. ? It carries on the legacy of guys like larry bird and magic johnson amid others. These guys are looking just as hard to beat as last year whether or not not more. Kobe bryant and andrew bynum are playing stellar this year. Their record is 17-3 and they’re on a good pace to possible break the 72-10 mark in addition. Kobe is averaging 24. 9 points and may get mvp again.

4. Denver nuggets: now that they have chauncey billups they seem more revitalized. They play transition offense and defense much better and get the key plays. Clutch shooting is no problem now that billups is here to save them. They could make one of their deepest playoff runs ever this year.

5. Portland trailblazers: talk about young talent. They have brandon roy, greg oden, lamarcus aldrige, steve blake, and channing frye. That is probably the youngest team i’ve seen in a while. While it will take time for oden to develop and harness his skills, this team is an all out threat. Brandon roy is having one of his best seasons averaging 20 points a game.

7. New orleans hornets: now that they have a great deal of playoff experience, watch out! With a deadly guard in chris paul and a wondrous finisher in tyson chandler the hornets will injure you everyplace. They likewise have peja stojakovic for when they have a definite need of a clutch three. They’re missing out ahead court depth and don’t have the best back up for chris paul. Other than that they look to do a little more damage this year in the post season.

8. Houston rockets: talk about great depth, tracy mcgrady is injure again, yet that doesn’t stop the rockets. They’re 14-8 so far. They’re unquestionably a sleeper team that could shock a great deal of people. I acknowledge it sounds cliche but once yao ming and t-mac are back in strength, it will be on for the race in the southwest division.

9. Dallas mavericks: a really rocky commence for the mavericks, but they’re starting to turn it around. They’re beating the teams that they should so far. But they must show they may beat the cavs, lakers, and celtics of the nba world. Cause whether or not they don’t, making the playoffs genuinely won’t matter whether or not you lose in round one again.

10. San antonio spurs: losing tony parker was a big blow to the team earlier in the season. They’re fighting back now that they have him, and have a 12-8 record so far which is on par for the upper ten percent of teams. Parker is still not his old self just yet as his statistics are way beneath his norm.