From Dennis Velasco,
Your Guide to Basketball.
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NOTE: Overall record and record over the last ten games in parentheses)

1. Dallas Mavericks (24-7; 10-0): Is anyone, besides Suns fans, going to complain about putting the Mavs here at the top? Josh Howard has been playing like he's "the man" lately and not Dirk Nowitzki.

2. Phoenix Suns (21-8; 8-2): See above, but replace Howard with Amare Stoudemire and Nowitzki with Steve Nash.

3. San Antonio Spurs (23-8; 8-2): By the time the playoffs roll around, they could end up at the top of the heap.

4. Utah Jazz (22-9; 6-4): The Jazz have been a nice surprise and will have some tough Western Conference matchups coming up. They should beat the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, but then off to Houston to face the Rockets and then to play Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets.

5. Washington Wizards (17-13; 8-2): Tell me if this is obvious - Gilbert Arenas is playing like an MVP candidate.

6. Chicago Bulls (19-12; 8-2): Had a couple of big wins last week against the Miami Heat and the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have a chance to win three big ones this coming week against the Suns on Tuesday, the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, and the Rockets next Monday.

7. Houston Rockets (19-12; 5-5): With Yao Ming out of the lineup, the Rockets went 3-1 last week, but did get the wins over some weak teams including the Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, and New Jersey Nets. Still, you have to like the fact that Tracy McGrady went off for back-to-back 30 point games in the last two. The Rockets will need McGrady to carry them on his achy back until Yao comes back in five to seven weeks.

8. Detroit Pistons (18-11; 6-4): The Pistons have lost three in a row and will be without Chaucey Billups for about the next two weeks thanks to a calf injury. Luckily they only have one difficult matchup against the Bulls in their next five games.

9. Los Angeles Lakers (20-11; 5-5): The Denver Nuggets and the Mavs are on the upcoming menu. The Lakers will need Kobe Bryant to put in more 58 point performances as he had against the Charlotte Bobcats last week in order to beat the Mavs, but the 35 points dropped on the Sixers last week may be enough to beat the Nuggets. That Bryant sure can score.

10. Indiana Pacers (17-15; 6-4): They beat the Rockets and Pistons this past week, but lost to the "giant killers," the Charlotte Bobcats. They get to play the Mavs next to redeem that loss. Good luck.

11. Milwaukee Bucks (16-15; 7-3): For the most part, Charlie Bell has filled in just fine for the injured Brian Skinner who is out for the season. However, can't they just start Charlie Villanueva to get back into the flow? Why else trade T.J. Ford?

12. Cleveland Cavaliers (17-12; 5-5): The team is doing okay, but just "okay." They need a point guard pretty badly, relieving LeBron James from doing absolutely everything, but it seems that the team is going to stand pat.

13. Golden State Warriors (16-16; 5-5): Losing Jason Richardson for about two months will hurt, but Matt Barnes who has shown to be pretty good and a recovering Monta Ellis who should return to the starting lineup before you know will make up for the loss of J-Rich.

14. Denver Nuggets (16-12; 5-5): Allen Iverson has been the bee's knees since arriving in Denver. And so has Earl Boykins, who coincidentally is as tall as Iverson's knee.

15. Orlando Magic (18-14; 3-7): At the beginning of the season, the Magic were looking like the Beast in the East, but have floundered of late. Before their "big" win against a Dwyane Wade-less Miami Heat in the Battle of Florida, the Magic lost four in a row. They three games in the next week and all of them are at home and winnable - Los Angeles Clippers, Bobcats, and Boston Celtics.