NBA Power Rankings: All-Star Break Top 10

The All-Star break is upon us, and yet we can not wait for the break to end and the basketball to begin again.

While the meaningless activities take place over the weekend, teams are resting up for the second half of the shortened season.  We have already seen some great games, but the jockeying for playoff position is only beginning.

Let's take a look at who lands in the Top 10 in this week's edition of NBA power rankings.

No. 10 Philadelphia 76ers

After a great start to the season, the Philadelphia 76ers have gone 3-7 over their last 10 games.

Two of those three wins came against Charlotte and Cleveland, and the 76ers are currently riding a five-game losing streak.  The All-Star break came at the perfect time.

And 76ers' forward, Thaddeus Young, agrees.

“We've played a lot of games with so little rest and guys are a little tired. The good thing is we have a break around the corner," he said.

Despite the recent struggles, 20-14 is still the best start for the 76ers since the 2000-2001 season when they won the Eastern Conference.

Record: (20-14)

No. 9 Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic have had a season that is a flipped image of the Philadelphia 76ers. 

While the 76ers got off to a fast start, the Magic plodded through demoralizing letdowns and inexplicable defeats.  The Magic live and die by the trey, and for much of the first month it appeared as though "Death" had the upper hand.

Orlando has since gotten off the life support and found their groove.  At the All-Star break they sit at fifth in the East and only five-and-a-half games behind the leading Miami Heat. 

The Magic finished the first half of the season winning seven of their last 10, but with Dwight Howard's future in doubt, the remainder of the season is a big question mark.

Record: (22-13)

No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers

After all the controversy with the Lamar Odom trade had finally settled down, the Lakers started getting back to business.  Then along came Gasol.

Kobe has been very vocal that the trade talk surrounding Pau Gasol needs to end, whether that means Gasol leaving or staying.

The Lakers trail the in-town rival Clippers by a game and a half in the Pacific Division, and trail the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder by seven games.  

The Pau Gasol trade talks should be coming to a close with the March 15th trade deadline looming and the Lakers can once again get back to business and move up the ladder before playoff time.

Record: (20-14)

No. 7 Indiana Pacers

After a quick start, the up-and-coming Pacers managed to hold on to their third-place seat in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star break.

The Pacers trail the Bulls by five games in their own division but avoiding the Bulls and Heat are of more concern.  It is quite obvious the Pacers would match up much better with the Hawks, 76ers or Celtics than the Heat or Bulls.

Going forward, Indiana has a much tougher second half to the season. 

Veteran David West will need to help the young players continue to develop for what could be the first playoff run in several years for the Indiana Pacers.

Record: (21-12)

No. 6 Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles will always be "Lob City" as long as Blake Griffin calls the Staples Arena home, but the Clippers haven't been flying quite as high since Chauncey Billups went down with a torn Achilles.

The Clippers have gone 5-4 since Billups was sidelined, which includes two key losses to San Antonio and Dallas.

Billups' injury by no means ends the playoff aspirations of this team, but it certainly turns a great team into a good team.

For the Clippers to push the Spurs and Thunder while fending off the Mavericks and Lakers, the void left by Chauncey Billups must be filled.

Record: (20-11)

No. 5 Dallas Mavericks

Much like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Mavericks struggled early after the Lamar Odom trade. 

Things have since settled down and the Mavericks have quietly climbed all the way to the fourth seed in the West.  With a quick post All-Star break start, the Mavericks will set themselves up nicely heading into key matchups with the Spurs and Thunder.

Early on, it looked as though the Mavericks were suffering from a championship hangover but they have since composed themselves and become a solid contender in the Western Conference.

Record: (21-13)

No. 4 San Antonio Spurs

Despite an injury-plagued first half of the season, the San Antonio Spurs find themselves with the second-best record in the Western Conference.

In the past, an injury to Manu Ginobili has almost been a death sentence for the Spurs, especially come playoff time. 

This year has proved to be an anomaly.

Spurs fans have not seen much of Ginobili this year.  First he was out with a broken finger and now he is riding the bench with a strained oblique.  He has only played in nine of the Spurs 34 games and is only averaging 12.1 points. 

Unlike other years, the Spurs have found plenty of production in other places.  The explosion of Tony Parker and the emergence of Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard are the main sources.

The Spurs are dangerous simply because the contributions come from different players every night.  It will be interesting to see whether Greg Popovich can continue succeeding using this strategy come playoff time.

So far, so good.

Record: (24-10)

No. 3 Chicago Bulls

Chicago is once again the Derrick Rose Show and that is often the criticism directed at the Bulls.  Too much Rose and not enough elsewhere.

The Bulls are once again playing some of the best defense in the Association and are sitting a half game behind the Miami Heat for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. 

It is playing out to be much like last year, where the Bulls and Heat both achieved the top two seeds and faced each other in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Bulls were a piece away from beating the Heat then, but Chicago fans are hoping Rip Hamilton will be the addition to take enough of the scoring burden from Rose's shoulders.

Record: (27-8)

No. 2 Oklahoma City Thunder

So far all signs point to this year being Oklahoma City's.  The Lakers and Mavericks have had their struggles and the Spurs and Clippers are dealing with injuries.  Meanwhile, the Thunder are cruising along in the top seed.

Westbrook and Durant are both averaging over 20 points per game, and they are taking fewer than 20 shots a game to get there.  James Hardin and Serge Ibaka provide the rest of the production.

Defensively, the Thunder are still giving up over 96 points per game which puts them in the bottom half of the NBA but the real problem still lies with turning the ball over.

Oklahoma City leads the Association in turnovers and Durant and Westbrook happen to be two of the worst offenders.

The Thunder should have no problem entering the playoffs with a high seed, but the turnover issue may prove fatal when they find themselves in a tough series.

Record: (27-7)

No. 1 Miami Heat

Right now the Miami Heat are easily the hottest team in basketball.  It appears as though only the Chicago Bulls stand in their way of getting to another NBA Finals.

The Heat lead the Association in points per game with 103.7, much due to the fact that they also lead in field-goal and three-point percentage. 

If you're going to beat the Heat, you have to start defensively. 

The Heat only have a half-game lead over the defensive-minded Bulls.  The two teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the Eastern Conference and are looking to be setting themselves up for another epic Eastern Conference Finals.

Record: (27-7)