The Better Half: Brandon's Power Rankings

The world couldn't be large enough for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, as it has been resting on their shoulders since Andrew Bynum's injury.  With the young center missing another month, Bryant and new teammate Pau Gasol have no choice but to dominate at their positions.  The Lakers are a contender in the West, but with Kobe's torn pinky finger, their current standing may be short-lived.

5) Phoenix Suns (37-16)

Notes: Phoenix shoots slightly over 49 percent from the field this season, a league-high.

Adding a slow, large Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix's run-and-gun offense doesn't seem like the best plan for a team one suspension away from the NBA Finals.  However, there's no reason to remove the Suns from their top five spot yet.  For a team that's more focused on their virtual seven-second shot clock than their defense, it remains to be seen how O'Neal plays with the former MVP and the manchild, Amare Stoudemire.

6) Dallas Mavericks (35-18)

Notes: Mark Cuban's Mavericks are 25th in the league in assists per game.

Jason Kidd will be a Maverick, and it won't involve Jerry Stackhouse.  Adding the triple double machine might help their assist totals, but the bigger question is still resting on the table: how do the Mavericks contend with the larger teams in the West?  The Kidd trade will more than likely secure any wins against a sleeper in the playoffs, but Dirk Nowitzki will need to play his best basketball yet for Dallas to reach the Finals once again.

7) San Antonio Spurs (34-17)

Notes: Tim Duncan and the Spurs have won four titles in the last decade, but neverback-to-back championships.

Tony Parker's MVP performance in the 2007 NBA Finals was just a small piece of evidence proving Parker's value to the Spurs.  If you want more proof, take a look at the Spurs with an injured Parker.  In November, the Spurs racked up a 14-3 record.  Where we don't know when exactly Parker started suffering from his heel injury, his turnovers increased soon after, and the Spurs are 20-14 since, actually going 6-1 in their last seven with Damon Stoudamire.

8) Utah Jazz (34-19)

Notes: The Jazz have won 17 of their last 20 games, including big wins over the Suns, Spurs, Hornets and Rockets.

It took some time for the Jazz to swing their way back into the top seed in the Northwest, but it has been a dogfight between Utah, the Nuggets and the Blazers.  Quite frankly, many were surprised to see Utah in the conference finals last season, almost as much as they were to see them third in the division after Portland's surge in 2007.  Fortunately, Deron Williams is playing excellent basketball, and Andrei Kirilenko is no longer the emotionally unstable player we perceived him to be in November.

9) Houston Rockets (32-20)

Notes: Houston is on an eight-game winning streak, winning 17 of their last 21 games.

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