The Better Half: Brandon's Power Rankings

After a poor performance in the months of November and December, including a six-game losing streak in mid-November, the Rockets are on a tear.  Finally, Houston fans can make an argument as to who the face of the franchise is, as Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady are both battling it out (in a positive way, of course) and leading their squad to a nice record in the tough Southwest Division.  The schedule may favor Houston a bit, but it's the case with every team at some point of the season.

10) Denver Nuggets (32-20)

Notes: Denver is first in the league in blocks and steals per game, and second in the NBA in rebounds.

By looking at statistics, you have to believe that the Denver Nuggets are a fairly good defensive team.  In addition to the blocks, steals and boards, the Nuggets hold their opponents to under 45 percent shooting, which is sixth in the league.  When you add two of the top scorers in the NBA to their roster, it makes you wonder why this team isn't a top five, at the very least.

11) Orlando Magic (33-21)

Notes: Orlando is fifth in field goal percentage, but in the bottom half of the league in opponents' shooting numbers.

Who would've known that Stan Van Gundy had planned on calling out Dwight Howard in public?  It's now apparent that Howard used the criticism as a motivational tool, but the Magic are too good on paper to not be mentioned in the elite group of the East, which currently contains Boston, Detroit and LeBron James (don't ask me, ask the media).

12) Golden State Warriors (32-20)

Notes: Golden State is allowing over 47 rebounds per game, the worst in the NBA.

Don Nelson's Warriors are the highest scoring team in the league as of the break, also snagging the top spot in points allowed, and the bottom spot in rebounding by opponents.  It's very clear what Golden State needs to work on, but unclear where to begin, which is why all the star power in Oakland couldn't turn Nelson's group into a contender out west.  A start would be to turn them into a mock of the old Bucks team Nelson coached in the 80's, but it may be too late to rebuild.

13) Cleveland Cavaliers (29-23)

Notes: Cleveland is one of two teams above .500 (Portland is the other) that have been outscored by their opponents so far this season.

The Cavaliers are second in the NBA in rebounding differential, which is not hard to understand considering the fact that they have four players grabbing nearly eight or more rebounds per game.  The Cavs started off the new year 10-2 before Anderson Varejao went down with an injury, and since then, they have managed a 5-4 record, although the schedule did seem to get tougher.

14) Toronto Raptors (28-23)

Notes: Toronto is the best three-point shooting team in the NBA, and the second best from the charity stripe.

Turnovers, anyone?  You won't find them being committed by the Raptors.  Toronto sits behind Boston as second best in least amount of turnovers per game, and it may be the extra bit of rope that keeps them hanging in the East.  With Jose Calderon's assists-to-turnover ratio higher than that of Chris Paul or Chauncey Billups, it's not difficult to realize that the Raptors are playing smart basketball to cement their spot in the playoffs.

15) Portland Trailblazers (28-24)

Notes: The Blazers have lost their last four games, all being on the road.  They scored over 85 points in just one of those games.

After winning 13 consecutive games with nine of them at home, against teams with a combined win percentage of .467 (as of today), the Blazers are 6-11 in their last 17 games.  That's right, folks: 13-0 to 6-11.  When you play Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Cleveland, New Orleans, Orlando and Boston, you're going to lose a few games (and that's seven of their 11 total losses).

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