Eastern Conference

The top teams of the conference have regained their composure and returned to their winning ways after a shaky couple of weeks. The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently the most in-form team boosted by their four-game winning streak.

The Los Angeles Lakers are again among their list of causalities, with the Cavs getting the better of them in all meetings this far. Rebounding from a four-game skid, the Orlando Magic is showing the mettle that got them to the NBA Finals. An 11-point win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday helped extend their winning streak to three.

The Atlanta Hawks are holding them off for third place in the conference as a result of claiming seven wins from their recent 10 games played.

Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls are putting in performances of late that have been attracting a lot of attention. Not only did they go to Phoenix and embarrass Steve Nash and the Suns, but followed it up a night after with a 104-97 win over the Houston Rockets. The Miami Heat is also building on good starts, recovering from a poor start to the week to end with a 29-point win over the Sacramento Kings.

The Bobcats seem to have run out of steam, losing their two most recent games after going on an impressive six-game winning streak. Despite having fallen from fifth to seventh in the conference, they are still comfortably poised to claim a spot in the play-offs.

Personifying that things are truly back to normal, the New Jersey Nets lost their 11 consecutive game to go 3-40 for the season.

Six on the trot with healthy Melo

Western Conference

The most in-form team at the moment, the Denver Nuggets appear to be firing on all cylinders propelled by the return of league-leading scorer Carmelo Anthony. They closed out last week with a hard-fought 116-110 overtime win against the visiting New Orleans Hornets.

The Dallas Mavericks sounded the trumpet for things to come after recording a superb 128-78 win over the New York Knicks. The 50-point differential created avenues for new records for both teams, as it was the largest win margin for the Mavericks in franchise history and for the Knicks it was their biggest loss at the Madison Square Garden.

The injury-riddled Portland Trailblazers have silently crept up the standings to lie in fourth position with a 27-18 record.

The defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers — though winning their most recent game — are nowhere close to dominance exerted in last season’s route to victory. Still they are leading the league in win-loss percentage so the race is wide open.

The Utah Jazz are moving from strength to strength, with their two-game winning streak helping them to claim seven wins from their last 10. Only the Nuggets, who have eight wins from their last 10 and the Memphis Grizzlies can compare on current form. The youthful Grizzlies are just one place below play-off contention and have at least three teams within striking distance.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the decline after losing 100-99 to the Cavs. Thunder’s top scorer Kevin Durant hit a three at the death but it was not enough. The Sacramento Kings are going through a dry patch at the moment, losing seven consecutive games.