1. L.A. LAKERS (15-2) - Kobe & company look head and shoulders above everyone else. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are twin-towering nicely together, Vlad Radmanovic and Derek Fisher are deadly enough from outside, and the second unit remains an energy booster with Jordan Farmar and Trevor Ariza. I can't help but think Lamar Odom will be trade-bait in February, but do you even want to make a move with things running so smoothly as is?
2. DENVER (13-7) - Yes, Denver. Allen Iverson for Chauncey Billups may have been the mutually beneficial trade in the past three years. Billups is that good steady point guard that makes everyone better while still getting his own. The West's elite point guard pool had been shrinking with the declining of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Tony Parker now have to worry about Chauncey being in their Conference.
3. PORTLAND (14-6) - Greg Oden may not win Rookie of the Year (Rose and Mayo can duke that one out), but the team, the young promising team, is living up to its potential right on schedule. They're dangerous in the regular season.
4. NEW ORLEANS (10-6) - I read an article recently on the relationship Coach Byron Scott has with his players. Jason Kidd helped run him out of town after two trips to the Finals, and Scott this year doesn't seem to have the ear of his players. It doesn't mean Scott's going to get run out this year - his track proves he's a good coach - but CP3 and Scott don't seem to have the sympatico enjoyed by, say, Duncan and Popovich.
5. SAN ANTONIO (10-8) - The Spurs aren't about the regular season, but they lost more than they normally would if Parker & Ginobili hadn't been hurt. But they're ba-a-a-ack!
6. UTAH (12-8) - They are 20 games in. Their Big Four are Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko, and they've missed 30 games among them, not to mention crucial DNPs due to injury by roleplayers like Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring and Brevin Knight. D-Will still isn't 100%. But if they can get everyone back healthy, they're suddenly one of the deepest teams in the league, with all the extra time Paul Millsap, Ronnie Brewer, CJ Miles and Ronnie Price are getting. But home-court advantage will be important to this team come play-off time, and this looks like it'll be 2007 redux, with nine winning teams and only eight spots.
7. DALLAS (10-8) - Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry are doing their parts, and Jason Kidd, while slower, is still a triple-double threat. The rest of the team, however, needs to step up. Stackhouse & Dampier are looking old, and Gerald Green hasn't been the most consistant player. And all of east Texas can just weep at what Devin Harris is doing in Jersey.
8. HOUSTON (12-7) - T-Mac's out for three weeks, but Luther Head's been pretty good taking the minutes.
9. PHOENIX (11-9) - Ah, Shaq. The other tragic trade of the West. The run-and-gunning offense is gone, as is D'Antoni. Amare's still got it, Nash hasn't slipped much, and yet, they don't have a prayer to get out of the first round as presently constituted.
and the rest...
10. GOLDEN STATE (5-13) - Their record is terrible, but the Jamal Crawford trade should make it better. Otherwise Nellie, who recently had a contract extension, should be moved.
11. SACRAMENTO (5-15) - Kevin Martin and Spencer Hawes and... yeah. They're going nowhere.
12. MINNESOTA (4-13) - Al Jefferson and Mike Miller are great on my fantasy team, but their record suggests that's about all this team has.
13. MEMPHIS (4-14) - Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol... they need to overpay a starter free agent to get anywhere.
14. L.A. CLIPPERS (3-15) - Same old Clippers.
15. OKLAHOMA CITY (2-17) - They're averaging a win a month.
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