1. Miami Heat  (E. Brown)
The surprising home loss to Atlanta was quickly forgotten on Thursday night as the Heat defeated Atlanta on the road without LeBron and Wade. As good as the Heat were last season, they are much improved because of the addition of rookie Norris Cole at backup PG. Cole represents a massive upgrade from the corpse of Mike Bibby, who continues to be the largest defensive liability in the NBA. In last year’s playoffs the Heat were outscored by 40 points when Bibby was on the floor. When he was off the floor, the Heat outscored their opponents by 96 points. Plus/Minus can be a flawed stat, but with Bibby having the same effect on the Knicks this season its more than a coincidence.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (JDK)
James Harden aka “The Bearded One” is at the start of what’s sure to be his breakout season into NBA Stardom. This team is a match-up nightmare for almost every team in the league and is loaded with smart, young, athletic talent. The key word is young however and the Thunder, Westbrook especially, have showed that they have a little more growing up to do before they can establish themselves as perennial contenders. I know it’s early, but I think this is the season that they make the leap into the Finals, representing the West.

3. Chicago Bulls (E. Brown)
The Bulls are emerging as an absolute defensive force. Tom Thibodeau, always noted for his defensive prowess, has the Bulls giving up a league best 86.6 points a game. Perhaps this was highlighted best by their 104-64 win over the Grizzlies on Sunday. Whether this defense can hold up against the high powered Heat offense remains to be seen, but I think we’d all be surprised to see an East finals that doesn’t include both squads.

4. Portland Trail Blazers (JDK)
The Blazers played poorly in a loss to the Clippers on New Years Day, but Jamal Crawford, the definition of a volume scorer, showed why he was worth the $10 million it took to sign him as a free agent this off-season and pairing him with a dominant Lamarcus Aldridge down low spells trouble for the rest of the league. Barring the seemingly annual tradition that sees coach Nate McMillan lose his best players to injury, the Blazers look like they can finish near the top of the West.

5. Orlando Magic (E. Brown)
Dwight Howard is still on the roster and the likelihood of a trade appears to be fading (at least for the moment). With the Magic now focused on the task at hand, they appear to have the look of a contender in the East.  The emergence of PF Ryan Anderson has been as impressive as it is unlikely. The third year forward is leading the team in scoring (19.7 ppg), averaging over seven boards, and shooting 45% from behind the arc. If he can keep this up, along with the improved play of Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic’s frontcourt will be one of the scariest in the NBA.

6. Denver Nuggets (JDK)
The Blazers played poorly in a loss to the Clippers on New Years Day, but Jamal Crawford, the definition of a volume scorer, showed why he was worth the $10 million it took to sign him as a free agent this off-season and pairing him with a dominant Lamarcus Aldridge down low spells trouble for the rest of the league. Barring the seemingly annual tradition that sees coach Nate McMillan lose his best players to injury, the Blazers look like they can finish near the top of the West.

7. San Antonio Spurs (Ratke)
This ranking will change by next week. The next three games are against Dallas, Denver and Oklahoma City? That sounds disgusting, especially after losing Manu Ginobili with a broken hand. I’m sure the Spurs don’t regret trading George Hill at all right now…

If San Antonio wants to make one more run with this line-up, it will have to survive without Ginobili. I don’t think they can do it without another shooter, but what assets do the Spurs have to trade for one? DeJuan Blair? A first round pick? Mmm.

8. Boston Celtics (Carsi)
The last stand for the original big 3. They set the tone for how this league is developing and wouldn’t it be fitting for them to see the new big 3 in the eastern conference finals? Paul Pierce is back and although he leads the league in complaints and whines on every call, kind of like sir Sydney Crosby, the guy is a winner and no one gives more effort. The only obstacle for the Celtics is health, even though Rajon Rondo is a tad overrated. 

9. Atlanta Hawks (E. Brown)
The Hawk’s got the league’s attention this week with Monday’s win over the Heat. Sitting at 4-3, with two of those losses coming to Miami and Chicago, the Hawks appear to have taken a step forward from last season. Their play depends a little too much on their defense however with Joe Johnson’s scoring down and nobody else averaging even 13 ppg. Tracy McGrady is having a surprisingly productive season, and more importantly at an extremely low cost (under 1 million this season). With Joe Johnson due 100 million over the next five seasons, the Hawks will be relying on bargains like McGrady for quite some time.

10. Los Angeles Lakers (Brown)
Good game. Bad game. Great game. Okay game. Bad game. Good game. Are the Lakers really going to be as consistent as Kobe is? That’s not a good sign for the way the schedule is set up this year. Give Andrew Bynum the ball.

11. Los Angeles Clippers (Brown)
They’ve lost to San Antonio on the road and Chicago, I’ll give them a pass. They’re very good. 11th guys? Below Lakers? Why?

12. Indiana Pacers (Carsi)
Soft schedule has them up this far, and a blowout loss to Miami may have them coming back down this time next week. I am a believer and I don’t think pushing da Bulls to 7 games last year was a fluke. Danny Granger pours it in every night so they have their scorer. Roy Hibbert provides the size needed to win in the paint. Tyler Hansbrough is a ball of energy and David West is starting to come around. Darren Collision is the key to this teams success, just like the 76ers there is no reason this team shouldn’t find playoff basketball.

13. Philadelphia 76ers (Carsi)
Quietly playing well, Jrue Holliday is the catalyst for this team, he is becoming a good point guard in this league. Lou Williams is getting early love for comeback player of the year, and Andre Iguodala has not been phased by trade rumors. This team went A.I. on us during the lock out and practiced. No reason they can’t get into the playoffs.

14. New York Knickerbockers (Carsi)
Yikes, this team has by far been my biggest disappointment. Where has the secondary scoring gone? A’mare has been banged up but still that’s no excuse for getting beat by the Bobcats @ home. They need a point guard and they need one fast. Steve Nash should be in a Knick uniform this year unless Baron Davis has something left in the tank. Davis doesn’t get back for awhile and by then they could be looking at a 6-7-8 seed and an early round exit. The seat could not be any warmer under Mike D’Antoni.

15. Dallas Mavericks (Ratke)
Wait, you’re the defending champs and two of your key players are Delonte West and the dead body of Vince Carter? This might not end well. Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are your best players? This would work if it were 2002. Wait, they won the title last season with those three? Mmm. Maybe they’ve got a chance…

16. Memphis Grizzlies (Ratke)
With teams like San Antonio, Dallas and Los Angeles (Lakers) aging, the Grizzlies have a chance to become a top-team in the West. With the nucleus of Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, this could be a very, very dangerous team.

The only problem I have with Memphis is the “O.J. Mayo Situation.” Mayo hasn’t panned out the way the Grizzlies wanted him to, that’s evident. I do believe Mayo could be a very good sixth man, and he occasionally has been for Memphis, but how many times can a guy be “traded” and still enjoy playing for a team? The Grizzlies either need to commit 100 percent to Mayo or trade him if they have any doubts.  We’ve seen it before. A disgruntled athlete isn’t a great locker room guy. It would be shame if the Grizzlies self-destruct due to the “Mayo Situation.”

17. Minnesota Timberwolves (JDK)
This team is not bad. This team, in fact, reminds me a lot of a couple of Clippers team in years past: loaded with talent and potential, but missing something. They have the coach in Adelman, they have the budding superstar in Love and they have the potential franchise cornerstones in rookie forward Derrick Williams and point guard Ricky Rubio. What are they missing then? Would Love benefit from playing with an athletic center? Will the front office trade Michael Beasley? If so, what value could they get for him? Would more of a veteran presence help this team?

18. Golden State Warriors (Brown)
We are about to find out a lot about the Warriors in the next seven days: Heat, Lakers, and Magic on the near horizon.

19. Houston Rockets (Ratke)
Two things I love about Houston: 1.) Kevin McHale is a very underrated head coach. 2.) I really enjoy Kyle Lowry. I think he’s a good kid and works hard. And he always seems to have 15 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. This is a good guy for a young team.

What’s that you say? Lowry just got arrested in Las Vegas? WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?!

20. Milwaukee Bucks (Brown)
The Bucks are their extremely painfully long west coast trip right now and it is not going well and it still has a ways to go. Rough start.

21. Toronto Raptors (Carsi)
Defense? Defense? I think Toronto is the only team in the league that follows the worn out stadium crowd jack up technique. This team has been swarming the ball and has helped them not only start off well, but get some respect in the league. Not to mention Andrea Bargnani is averaging 24 points a game, yes you read that right. DeMar DeRozan is quickly becoming a household name for NBA fans, now we just have to get them out of Toronto (the NHL and the NBA have the same amount of teams in this city, RE-DONK-U-LESS), change the team name (no one cares about Jurrasic Park anymore) and burn easily the worst pro uniforms in the history of sport. THEN we will have a legit basketball team.

22. Utah Jazz (JDK)
Al Jefferson is leading this team in scoring at 18.4 ppg and is third in the league behind Kobe Bryant and Blake Griffin in shot attempts. On a team struggling to find a go to scorer, this is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when he stays closer to the basket instead of drifting out near the free throw line. Paul Millsap continues to rebound well and Utah is playing better basketball. Of course, just about anything is better than what they showed at the beginning of the year.

23. New Orleans Hornetts (Ratke)
Here’s the question for the Hornets: Can you win if your best player is Eric Gordon? I have them ranked at No. 22, so obviously I don’t think so. I also think Trevor Ariza might be the most overrated player in the league. I’ve had him on my fantasy basketball team for three seasons now. Why do I keep drafting him you ask? I really need to stop drinking during my drafts.

24. Cleveland Cavaliers (Brown)
This is a surprise. I’m just hours away from watching you in person, I’m interested in seeing what kind of confidence your squad is playing with right now. This is a weirdly important game for two teams. Lord, the Wolves better win by 15+ tonight.

25. Sacramento Kings (Brown)
Your move DeMarcus Cousins, your move. One thing is for sure, you’re just making David Kahn look smarter and smarter every day; crazy how so many things are starting to make Kahn look smart. Jonny Flynn pretty soon will just be a joke of his own.

26. Charlotte Bobcats (E. Brown)
The surprising 118-110 win over New York this week was likely more a sign of the Knicks dysfunction than anything else.  Their previous two games included a 39 point blowout in Miami and a depressing 15 point loss in Cleveland. Bismack Biyombo looks out of place and it remains to be seen if Kemba Walker can find a way to fit into an offense not designed primarily around him. Corey Maggette is having a terrible season (even under Corey Maggette standards) as he continues to be the answer to the question “Who’s the last player I’d want on my team?”

27. Phoenix Suns (Brown)
When will they trade Steve Nash? Why not the Knicks? Maybe the Knicks have enough to rebuild Phoenix the way they did in Denver…

28. New Jersey Nets (Carsi)
This is my favorite team in the league, I am a die-hard, I have watched every single game this year despite getting blown out every night by 20 points. I am going to be honest with myself and the readers. This team sucks.

29. Detroit Pistons (Ratke)
This is the third straight week I’ve had to write about the Pistons. They stink. I don’t know what else I can stay about them.

30. Washington Wizards (E. Brown)
The fact that the Wizards are 0-6 and the NBA’s lone winless team is not all that surprising. What’s surprising is that six games into the season a player’s only meeting was called by veteran Mo Evans for what he called “a sense of entitlement I’ve never seen before.” How a winless team of underachieving youngsters gains any sense of entitlement, I have no idea, but it’s certainly not a good sign and casts a terrible light on fellow University of Minnesota alum Flip Saunders.