1- Los Angeles Lakers (45-19)

The two-time defending NBA champions are back in the mix once again as they were able to defy the odds and beat arguably the best team in the league in the San Antonio Spurs in convincing fashion. There are still about 18 games left in the NBA regular season for Kobe Bryant and company, but they are playing as good as anyone in the league right now being winners of seven straight.

2- Chicago Bulls (43-18)

Coming into this NBA regular season, many people didn’t know what to expect from the Chicago Bulls as they were only able to land free agent Carlos Boozer during the summer instead of LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Even though the consensus was that the summer wasn’t as successful as this team would have liked, they have played brilliantly this season with Derrick Rose looking like the NBA MVP as of right now.

3- San Antonio Spurs (51-12)

There is no question that the San Antonio Spurs have been the best all around team in the NBA this season, but they are coming off their biggest loss of the season against the defending NBA champion Los Angeles who were able to dominate the Spurs at home.

The Spurs look like they still have the number one seed in the West locked up, but if they start to struggle, the Mavs or Lakers could jump up to the top spot.

4- Dallas Mavericks (45-17)

The Dallas Mavericks are always a tough team throughout the NBA regular season and this year is no different, but with an opportunity to be a high seed once again they will need to stay tough to beat from here on out.

This week they will take on the Los Angeles Lakers at home which will perhaps be their toughest game of the season.

5- Boston Celtics (46-15)

In my opinion, the Boston Celtics are still the best team in the NBA as they possess the ability to play team basketball on any given night at any given moment. They may have made a controversial trade which could affect their ability to compete with the bigger teams in the league, but they are still tough to beat and will almost certainly head into the playoffs as the number one seed in the East.

6-10 Orlando Magic (40-23), Oklahoma City Thunder (39-22), Memphis Grizzlies (35-29), Miami Heat (43-20), Denver Nuggets (37-27)

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