This look back at the week that was will undoubtedly help pro basketball betting enthusiasts with their upcoming selections throughout the course of what promises to be an exciting seventh week of pro hoops action.<\/p>\n
1. Los Angeles Lakers 16-3 (same)<\/strong><\/p>\n The red-hot Lakers remain entrenched in the top spot and can\u2019t seem to lose these days. To make matters even better for L.A. backers, many of the team\u2019s younger players (Bynum, Farmar, Brown) seem to be getting even better.<\/p>\n 2. Boston Celtics 16-4 (up 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n The C\u2019s are clearly on a mission to get back to the NBA Finals and their play as of late shows they have the capability of doing it. Simply put, the Celtics, winners of six straight, have the best defense in the game today.<\/p>\n 3. Orlando Magic 16-4 (same)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Magic have gone a solid 3-1 over their last four games and haven\u2019t shown me anything that makes me believe they won\u2019t reach the Eastern Conference Finals opposite of Boston.<\/p>\n 4. Cleveland Cavaliers 15-5 (same)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Cavaliers keep on winning, but it should be painfully obvious to Cleveland fans that the LeBron James \u2018one-man-gang thing\u2019 isn\u2019t going to cut it against the elite teams in East, namely Boston and Orlando.<\/p>\n 5. Denver Nuggets 15-5 (up 1)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Nuggets won all three of their games last week and look like they are going to seriously challenge the Lakers in the Western Conference this postseason.<\/p>\n 6. Dallas Mavericks 14-7<\/p>\n The Mavericks have gone 2-2 over its last four, but still have the look of a legitimate threat in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n 7. Phoenix Suns 15-6 (down 6)<\/p>\n The Suns haven\u2019t been playing their best basketball, going 2-3 over its last five to come back to earth in a big way over the last week or so.<\/p>\n 8. Atlanta Hawks 14-6 (down 1)<\/p>\n Atlanta has gone 3-3 over its last six games while lapsing back into the selfish one-on-one style of play that often gets the athletic ballclub losses.<\/p>\n 9. Houston Rockets 11-9 (up 4)<\/p>\n The Rockets may be the biggest bunch of overachievers in the league this season!<\/p>\n 10. Oklahoma City 10-9 (same)<\/p>\n I love this young team! The Thunder has gone 1-1 over their last two games, but have recorded a slew of surprising quality wins just about one-fourth of the way into the regular season.<\/p>\n 11. Portland Trail Blazers 13-8 (down 3)<\/p>\n The Blazers could be in some serious trouble right now with Greg Oden lost for the season and head coach Nate McMillan still playing head games with veteran point guard Andre Miller.<\/p>\n 12. Utah Jazz 11-8 (down 3)<\/p>\n The Jazz have gone 2-1 over their last three games, but Saturday\u2019s loss at Minnesota put a serious damper on the Jazz and snapped a four-game winning streak.<\/p>\n 13. Miami Heat 11-9 (down 1)<\/p>\n The Heat have gone 2-2 over its last four to keep their heads above water, but Miami is still basically a one-man team. As Charles Barkley put it, Dwyane Wade is Michael Jackson playing with a bunch of Titos. Ouch!<\/p>\n 14. San Antonio Spurs 9-8 (down 3)<\/p>\n The Spurs are a mess, but I know why. San Antonio is still trying to find its new personality after making several offseason additions while head coach Gregg Popovich continues tinkering with his lineups.<\/p>\n 15. Charlotte Bobcats 9-11 (down 1)<\/p>\n
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