10. Chicago Bulls (30-22, Last Week: 9): The Bulls lost consecutive games to the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics last week.
9. Boston Celtics (28-24, Last Week: 10): The Celtics have won eight of nine games since Rajon Rondo’s season-ending injury.
8. Indiana Pacers (32-21, Last Week: 8): The Pacers have won six of their last eight games. Despite it being just an All Star game, Paul George established himself as a star in this league by putting up 17 points in the exhibition.
7. Denver Nuggets (33-21, Last Week: 5): The Nuggets continue to struggle on the road, as they’ve lost three games in a row while going 1-3 on their latest road trip.
6. New York Knicks (32-18, Last Week: 6): The Knicks have lost three of their last four. While Carmelo Anthony is playing well, Amar’e Stoudemire’s return has come with mixed results so far.
5. Memphis Grizzlies (33-18, Last Week: 7): Despite trading away Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies have played relatively well; winning three games in a row before the All Star break.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder (39-14, Last Week: 3): Thunder have lost two consecutive games, but more importantly, lost their most recent game to the Miami Heat. The fact that the Heat won quite decidedly in Oklahoma City raises doubt as to whether the Thunder have what it takes to dethrone the Heat should the two teams meet in the NBA Finals once again.
3. Los Angeles Clippers (39-17, Last Week: 4): The Clippers have won four in a row, and Chris Paul looked as good as ever as he went on to win the All Star MVP trophy, yet he made it look so easy. He’s established himself as the best point guard in the league, and one of the best closers as well.
2. Miami Heat (36-14, Last Week: 2): The Heat have won seven games in a row, and LeBron James is playing some of the best basketball this league has seen.
1. San Antonio Spurs (42-12, Last Week: 1): The Spurs have won 14 of their last 15 games, which is simply remarkable.
