Golden State More

1. Golden State Warriors (Record: 29-5; last week's rank: 1): Here's how deep the Warriors are: Before Andrew Bogut recently returned as a reserve, one NBA assistant thought it was unfair Golden State had two max players (Andre Iguodala and David Lee) coming off the bench.









Atlanta More

2. Atlanta Hawks (Record: 29-8; last week's rank: 3): Atlanta converted non-believers by winning at Portland and at the Clippers, beating Memphis and routing Washington in recent days.









Portland More

3. Portland Trail Blazers (Record: 30-8; last week's rank: 2): Damian Lillard has forced himself into the argument of the NBA's best point guard with his elite play since December.









Chicago More

4. Chicago Bulls (Record: 26-12; last week's rank: 4): The Lakers should be kicking themselves for not being able to re-sign Pau Gasol, who should make the East All-Star team for the Bulls.









Houston More

5. Houston Rockets (Record: 26-11; last week's rank: 7): James Harden's scoring gets all the attention, but his defense has improved considerably. The NBA's leading scorer is seventh in steals per game.









Dallas More

6. Dallas Mavericks (Record: 26-12; last week's rank: 5): Franchise saddened by the death of Roy Tarpley, who had the skills to be a Hall of Fame big man before drugs and alcohol destroyed his career.









Memphis More

7. Memphis Grizzlies (Record: 26-11; last week's rank: 8): Memphis was already talented and became even tougher to beat with the addition of versatile forward Jeff Green.









Toronto More

8. Toronto Raptors (Record: 25-11; last week's rank: 6): DeMar DeRozan planned to return from his groin injury last week, but opted for more practice time. He isn't expected play Monday against Detroit.









Los Angeles More

9. Los Angeles Clippers (Record: 25-13; last week's rank: 9) The Clippers have had talks about acquiring Doc Rivers' son Austin. If they do trade for him, it will be interesting to see if he's able to get minutes.









San Antonio More

10. San Antonio Spurs (Record: 23-15; last week's rank: 12) Health is the reigning champ's biggest opponent. Because of injuries, San Antonio has used 21 starting lineups this season.









Washington More

11. Washington Wizards (Record: 25-12; last week's rank: 10) The Wizards are loaded with talent, but with a 9-8 record on the road, it's hard to consider them true championship contenders.









Phoenix More

12. Phoenix Suns (Record: 22-18; last week's rank: 11): Trading for Brandan Wright, who had seven points in 15 minutes in his debut Sunday at Memphis, improves the Suns' frontcourt depth.









New Orleans More

13. New Orleans Pelicans (Record: 18-18; last week's rank: 14) New Orleans has been hovering around .500 all season, but could make a run with Boston, Philadelphia and New York up next.









Oklahoma City More

14. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record: 18-19; last week's rank: 15): Could the Thunder trade guard Reggie Jackson, who is in the last year of his contract? Jackson recently described himself as a "nomad" in regards to trade rumors.









Denver More

15. Denver Nuggets (Record: 17-20; last week's rank: 18) With Timofey Mozgov traded to Cleveland and JaVale McGee often hurt, rookie Jusuf Nurkic is Denver's center of the future.









Milwaukee More

16. Milwaukee Bucks (Record: 20-19; last week's rank: 16) With only one game this week, new forward Kenyon Martin will get plenty of practice time during his 10-day contract to try to impress Milwaukee.









Sacramento More

17. Sacramento Kings (Record: 16-21; last week's rank: 17): The Kings' blowout win over Cleveland on Sunday was a much-needed confidence boost after they had struggled since opening 9-5.









Cleveland More

Story continues