5 Teams atop the NBA

1) Los Angeles Lakers.
They are holding onto the best record in the NBA with 41 wins and 9 losses. There may have been some questions about the team since Bynam went down, but with Lamar Odom picking up the slack, they still look dangerous headed by Kobe Bryant. The Lakers just got off a six game road trip where they won all six, including a very impressive/controversial overtime win in Boston, and another impressive win in Cleveland, beating the Cavs where they haven't been beat yet.

2) Cleveland Cavaliers
Yes, they just lost for the first time at home, yes, they continue to be riddled with injuries, but yes they still have LeBron James. The Cavs have a 39-10 record, and while some may believe that the Celtics are better, the Cavs have a better winning percentage, which is why they are my number 2. In the last 12 games, they have lost three times, twice to the Lakers, and once to the Magic, not bad. They are right now without a key member of the starting five, Delonte West. Ilgauskas just came back from a significant amount of time gone, and Szczerbiak, Wallace, and Pavlovic has missed time with the flu, but when this team gets healthy, watch out.

3) Boston Celtics
The Celtics right now are 42-11, and supposedly the second best defensive team in the league behind Cleveland. In the last 5 games the Celtics have given up 101, 99, 110, 100, and 105. However the Celtics are the most dangerous team in the league, and as long as you can get the big three to click, and get Rondo running the floor instead of trying to become a shooter, then there is no better team than the Celtics. For the sake of Boston, they better show that defensive minded team that showed up all of this year, and that won them a title last year.

4) Orlando Magic
Orlando is a team that is still flying under the radar. They have 38 wins and 12 losses. Orlando's biggest problem is the injury to Jameer Nelson. If they can overcome that injury, the Magic should be good to go. He's a big part of that team, without Nelson, you are losing almost 17 points per game and they'll need someone to pick up that slack. Dwight Howard is the self proclaimed Superman, but he can only do so much.

5) San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs currently have a record of 34-15, but that is a bit deceiving. The Spurs have played a significant amount of time early on without Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. With those two back the Spurs are starting to look like the Spurs of old. With recent wins over Utah, Phoenix, New Orleans, and Boston, the Spurs may have figured it all out just about at the midway part of the season. Watch out for the Spurs in the second half of the season, they could be very dangerous, especially if they can land another big guy through a trade.