Golden State More

1. Golden State Warriors (Record: 56-13; last week: 1): The Warriors will celebrate their 1975 NBA championship on Monday against Washington while hoping for another title run.









Cleveland More

2. Cleveland Cavaliers (Record: 46-26; last week: 3): The Cavaliers have won seven of their past eight games and have solidified control of the East’s second playoff seed.









Atlanta More

3. Atlanta Hawks (Record: 53-17; last week: 2): Is it time to worry about the Hawks, who are 10-6 since the All-Star break, including blowout losses to Golden State and San Antonio?









Memphis More

4. Memphis Grizzlies (Record: 49-21; last week: 6) Just how good is Memphis? We’ll get an idea when it plays the Cavaliers, Warriors and Spurs over the next seven days.









Los Angeles More

5. Los Angeles Clippers (Record: 46-25; last week: 9): Don’t be surprised if the Clippers, winners of four straight, move up to third in the West soon. Houston and Portland are doing their part to help L.A.









San Antonio More

6. San Antonio Spurs (Record: 44-25; last week: 7): Fun fact. The Spurs passed the Lakers this season as the all-time winningest franchise in NBA history, winning at a 61.4 percent clip.









Houston More

7. Houston Rockets (Record: 46-23; last week: 5): Keep an eye on injured center Dwight Howard (knee swelling), who recently returned to practice and said he was close to playing again.









Portland More

8. Portland Trail Blazers (Record: 44-24; last week: 4): Struggling of late, Portland got some good news as LaMarcus Aldridge told Yahoo Sports he believes his latest hand injury is of the day-to-day variety.









Oklahoma City More

9. Oklahoma City Thunder (Record: 40-30; last week: 10): Move over Stephen Curry and James Harden, Russell Westbrook has forced his way into the NBA MVP race.









Dallas More

10. Dallas Mavericks (Record: 44-27; last week: 8): All-Star Dirk Nowitzi’s scoring average is down more than four points from the 18.3 points per game he averaged before the All-Star break.









Toronto More

11. Toronto Raptors (Record: 42-28; last week: 13): Kyle Lowry has regressed since playing in the All-Star Game, averaging 15.6 points and 5.8 assists in the second half of the season, down from 18.6 and 7.2 in the first.









Chicago More

12. Chicago Bulls (Record: 42-29; last week: 11): The backcourt could be back soon as Jimmy Butler (elbow) is nearing a return and a source told Yahoo Sports that Derrick Rose (knee) is progressing well.









Washington More

13. Washington Wizards (Record: 40-30; last week: 12): The Wizards are 6-4 in their last 10 games, including a 23-point loss at lowly Sacramento on Sunday.









Phoenix More

14. Phoenix Suns (Record: 38-33; last week: 17): It’s only a matter of time before the Suns, now ahead of New Orleans for ninth in the West standings, retire Steve Nash’s No. 13 jersey.









New Orleans More

15. New Orleans Pelicans (Record: 37-33; last week: 12): The Pelicans are in desperate need of some late-season heroics from All-Star Anthony Davis to revive their fading playoff hopes.









Utah More

16. Utah Jazz (Record: 31-38; last week: 19): The Jazz have a talented, young nucleus with playoff potential for next season, but they need a solid veteran point guard.









Miami More

17. Miami Heat (Record: 32-37; last week: 21): It is possible LeBron James and the Cavs could face Miami in the first round of the playoffs. The Heat beat the Cavaliers in Miami last week.









Charlotte More

18. Charlotte Hornets (Record: 30-38; last week: 16): Kemba Walker appears to have worked off the rust after returning from his knee injury, averaging 16.3 points in his past three games.









Boston More

Story continues