6. Chicago Bulls – They have only won three of their last five, but the Bulls look ready to bust out at any moment. Derrick Rose is arising as an early candidate for the MVP award, and Carlos Boozer is playing some of the best basketball of his career. This team proved that they were capable of picking up wins while Boozer was out to start the season, and the story appears to be no different even with Joakim Noah out of action for awhile. They don’t play a team above .500 until January 8 when the play host to the Celtics, so they should be able to collect a nice string of victories leading up to the rivalrous game.
7. Utah Jazz – December has not been very kind to Deron Williams and the Jazz, as they were only able to muster a 1-4 record against legitimate playoff teams. However, the return of Mehmet Okur will surely bolster Utah’s bench as they prepare for a season-long battle with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Northwest Division crown.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder – Their defense is struggling and they have no resemblance of an offensive presence on the block. At the same time, it’s hard not to love the tremendous trio of Kevin Durant (who became the second youngest player to score 40+ on Christmas Day), Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green. The Thunder could extend that trio to four if they started James Harden, who put up 21 points on 6-11 shooting in OKC’s win over Denver on X-Mas. They have a tough string of games coming up, and eight of their next 14 contests will be away from Thunder U.
9. Orlando Magic – After losing the first two games of the post-trade segment of the season, the Magic rebounded, and picked up huge wins over San Antonio and Boston. Don’t expect the Magic to be done dealing yet either. Brandon Bass is good, but they will need a better option at the power forward spot if they want to contend for a title. Regardless, with the additions of Arenas, Turkoglu and Richardson, the Magic offer one of the toughest offenses in the league.
10. New York Knicks – The Knicks came up big on Christmas, knocking off the Bulls in spectacular fashion. Led by Amaré Stoudemire and Raymond Felton, the Knicks are going to remind everyone of D’Antoni’s late 2000’s Phoenix Suns – as their game plan consists of scoring, scoring and more scoring.
Next: 11-15