NBA Power Rankings: No Clear No. 1

1. Los Angeles Lakers (30-9) – A number of top NBA teams are dealing with injuries right now. As a result, no team is asserting itself as the team to beat in the league. The Lakers have stumbled without Pau Gasol in the lineup losing three of their last five, but Gasol is expected to be back for tonight’s game with the Clippers. The Lakers play Orlando and Cleveland to start next week so we’ll see if they still hold onto the top spot after those two games.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers (30-11) – I know the Cavs went down by 1 point last night in Utah, but they are showing that LeBron James and Shaq can co-exist. The Cavs have won 10 of their last 13 and I’m still holding a Christmas day win over the Lakers and a back-to-back sweep over the Hawks to close out 2009 in high esteem.

3. San Antonio Spurs (24-13) – The Spurs aren’t even leading the NBA Southwest Division, but this team is finally healthy and it shows. San Antonio has won 15 of its last 19 games and it looks like a team which could once again give the Lakers trouble in the West come playoff time.

4. Atlanta Hawks (25-13) - The Hawks have won four of their last five games with two of those wins coming over the Boston Celtics. The Hawks have really been strong at home, going 15-5 straight up and 14-5 against the spread. We’ll see what they’re really made of toward the end of this month when they play Houston, San Antonio, Boston, and Orlando in consecutive games.

5. Orlando Magic (26-13) – The Magic have lost five of their last seven, but I still feel the defending Eastern Conference champs are a force to be reckoned with. They could be on the way back up with a big win over Atlanta at the end of last week. We’ll get a better gauge when they take on the Lakers Monday. NBA odds makers have listed the Orlando Magic as a 4.5-point favorite against the Blazers tonight and Jimmy Boyd has a big play on the game!

6. Boston Celtics (27-11) – I don’t expect the Celtics to be down this low on our rankings for long. Kevin Garnett’s absence has really taken its toll on the C’s as they have lost six of their last 10, but they are expected to get both he and Rasheed Wallace back soon.

7. Denver Nuggets (25-14) – The Nuggets are still leading the NBA Northwest Division because the Blazers have actually been hit by the injury bug worse. The good news is Denver is getting healthy again and has won four of its last five with two of those wins coming over Cleveland and Orlando.

8. Dallas Mavericks (25-13) – The Mavericks are still leading the NBA Southwest Division by a half game, but that won’t be the case for much longer if the Spurs stay red hot and the Mavs drop their third straight against the Thunder tonight. Dallas has a nice team with Dirk Nowitzky having another MVP-caliber season, and it has given the Spurs one of their only losses here recently, but two losses to a banged up Lakers team this month tells me the Mavs still aren’t ready to challenge for an NBA title.

9. Portland Trail Blazers (24-16) - The Blazers are severely banged up, and have lost three of their last five, but they are still deserving of the top 10 in my book when you consider they have wins over the Mavs, Spurs, Nuggets, and Lakers the past few weeks.

10. Phoenix Suns (24-15) – If these ranking were based on how well teams play the first half of a game, the Suns might even be No. 1. Phoenix has been jumping out to some big leads recently, but then it has been giving them up. This team is either going to have to figure out a way to blow the barn door off its opponents when it has them down or learn how to play some defense. We’ll see if the Suns can get back in gear when they take on the Hawks tonight.

Make this your best NBA betting season ever by playing Jimmy Boyd’s NBA expert picks!