The NBA regular season a little more than halfway through and there is a pretty clear sight of who are the front runners with the chance for a few more teams to make a surprise down the stretch. The Eastern Conference appears to be the strength of the league with the powerhouses of Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando. Out West we still await a contender to emerge to be able to challenge the L.A Lakers and the most likely team to take that role is the San Antonio Spurs. At this time in the season is when all the predictions start coming out and the betting lines are changing every day with new future odds. We break down the top 3 teams in each conference and provide some insight on some teams to keep an eye on that could surprise down the stretch.

Eastern Conference

Boston Celtics (36-9)

The defending NBA Champions had the best start in NBA history at 27-2. However, the Celtics rang in the New Year poorly losing 4 out of their first 5 games and even 7 out of 9 at one point. The tough weeks of basketball exposed the first sign of troubles from Boston that we have seen in some time. Despite the tough stretch that featured 3 of 4 of their last losses on the road, Boston has bounced back with a vengeance. The Celtics have now knocked off 7 straight wins including a big win over what many call the best team in the league the Orland Magic last Thursday night 90-80. The difference in the wins and losses is how the Celtics play defense. In the Celtics last 4 defeats, the opponents were averaging 100.2 points per game. However, in the last 7 victories the Celtics have held opposing teams to only 88 points. The Celtics are 2^nd behind Cleveland in scoring defense this season and that has always been a big attribute to their success. With the troubles seemingly out of the way, Boston appears to be right back where they left last off last year.

Orlando Magic (33-9)

The Magic that is Orlando comes in the form of 6’11 Dwight Howard. Howard has been superb this year and so has the rest of the Orlando lineup. Howard leads the league in rebounds (14rpg), blocked shots (3.2bpg), and also supports with 20 points every game. However, it has not been all the achievement of one man. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jameer Nelson are all averaging at least 17 points while the Magic are averaging 101 points per contest. Orlando had won 8 straight games before their loss to Boston on Thursday night and they own a 7 ½ game over Atlanta in the Southeast. Orlando is the only team out of the top 3 in the Eastern Conference to have captured a victory over the L.A Lakers this season which is clearly the best team right now in the West. The Magic are actually 2-0 over the Lakers and many think they are the most complete team at this point in the season.

Cleveland Cavaliers (32-8)

Cleveland appeared to be the best team out of the East only a matter of a few short weeks ago. However, the Cavaliers have gone 2-2 in their last 4 games with losses over the Lakers and Trailblazers. Not to mention Cleveland is facing some key injuries over the last few days. Starting shooting guard Delonte West has a broken wrist and will miss 4-6 weeks. Also starting center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has a fractured ankle and will miss 3-4 weeks. Despite the small dark cloud that has recently developed over the team, Cleveland is still among the best in the NBA. Lebron James is 2^nd in the NBA in scoring with 27.8 points and the team seems to be playing better behind him than they have in past seasons. The Cavs also are a perfect 20-0 at home meaning that they could be very tough to beat at playoff time.

Team to watch…

Philadelphia 76ers (20-21)

The 76ers have risen from the dead after they were nearly written off with a 13-20 start. However, they have now put together 7 straight wins before a tough loss to Dallas on Monday night. Considering how inconsistent the rest of the East is behind the top 3, the 76ers have a chance to really make things interesting if they can put together another similar streak.

Western Conference

Los Angeles Lakers (34-8)

The Lakers clearly look to be favorites again out of the Western Conference as they have a 5 game advantage over any other team from the West and a huge 10 ½ game lead in the Pacific division. Kobe Bryant’s 26.4 points per game is good for 3^rd best in the league and the Lakers lead the NBA with 108 points per contest as a team. A few short weeks ago the Lakers appeared that they would be unchallenged this year in the conference, but they are realizing that the San Antonio Spurs are playing very well and will attempt to give them a challenge for frontrunner in the West. Los Angeles has won 13 of their past 16 games including big wins over Boston and Cleveland in the process. If nothing else drastically changes, the Lakers will likely make another run towards the NBA Finals.

San Antonio Spurs (29-13)

A lot of questions arose after the Spurs got off to a slow start losing 5 of their first 7 games. However, San Antonio bounced back winning 7 of their next 8 and the momentum has not slowed down much since. The Spurs have now won their last 4 games and 8 of their last 10 including a huge battle where they took down the Lakers 112-111. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker continue to lead the way both averaging 20.4 points per contest. The Spurs win over the Lakers proved that they are back on the right track and not ready to hand over the season quite yet to the Lakers considering Los Angeles is everybody’s pick to win the West. San Antonio gets another big match-up with the Lakers this Sunday and it will be interesting to see how things shake up this time inside the Staples Center. Look for the Spurs to be playing their best basketball as they usually do around post season time.

Denver Nuggets (28-15)

Giving up Allen Iverson may not been a big of mistake as people first thought. Chauncey Billups is averaging nearly 20 points and the Nuggets seem to be in better shape than the Pistons. Carmelo Anthony leads the team with 21 points, but has missed some valuable playing time recently due to a broken hand. Despite their star player missing time on the court, the Nuggets have still managed to win 8 of their last 11 games. Anthony participated in some workouts on Thursday and it should not be long before he rejoins the lineup. Denver will desperately need him back considering they are bout to embark on an 8 game road adventure at the start of February. The Nuggets are only 11-9 on the road this year and how they perform in the next few weeks away from home will definitely make an impact on their ability to maintain their 2 ½ game lead over Portland in the Northwest.

Team to watch…

New Orleans Hornets (26-14)

The Hornets proved last year that they could really come alive during the playoffs. Chris Paul has played like Chris Paul with 21.2ppg and an NBA leading 11 assist per game. New Orleans may have been expected to be in better position at this point in the season, but they are still only a mere 2 games back to the Spurs and definitely in striking range.