1. Boston Celtics
The Celtics are riding a ten-game winning streak and they are beating teams by about ten points per game on the season. Dominant.

2. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers lost on Saturday night and Kobe Bryant is dealing with a broken finger. That said, they are still the championship favorites.

3. Orlando Magic
The NBA Finals appearance last year wasn’t a fluke. But the Magic are going through growing pains while living with the expectations.

4. Atlanta Hawks
No one really takes the Atlanta Hawks seriously but they are doing all they can to prove they are elite.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers
Is it me or does this look like LeBron James’ swan song in Cleveland?

6. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets are inconsistent. However, when they are playing well, Denver can be scary good.

7. Dallas Mavericks
Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavs are playing very well but are they really championship caliber? I don’t think so.

8. Phoenix Suns
The Suns started the season as one of the best teams in the NBA. Lately, they’ve slumped and I think the slump will continue.

9. Houston Rockets
The Rockets are playing better than anyone could imagine. It’ll be interesting to see if TMac helps or hurts the team.

10. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are having a tough time putting it all together. If they don’t turn it around, the team may blow it up.

Doc Rivers has to be happy with what he's seen from his team (Image: Zuma Press)

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NBA Power Rankings – December Edition

Beasley finished the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Wade, per usual, led the way with 24 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Magic, on the other hand, suffered a disappointing home loss. Jason Williams, starting in place of the injured Jameer Nelson, had 25 points and eight assists in 39 minutes. Dwight Howard had 12 points and 16 rebounds but only attempted five shots from the field.

Orlando had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but that evaporated due to Miami’s aggressive play on both ends. The win improves the Heat to 9-5, while the Magic dropped to 11-4 with the loss.

Here’s a look at Michael Beasley’s dunk that won the game:

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Michael Beasley Wins Game with Dunk – Video

Nelson is to undergo surgery for torn left knee cartilage on Wednesday and is expected to be out as long as six weeks. In other words, it could be 2010 before the Magic have Nelson running their offense again.

An All-Star last season, Nelson is averaging 13.7 points, 5.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds, while shooting 44.4% from the field and 42.1% from beyond the three-point arc.

Without Nelson, the Magic will likely turn to Jason Williams to start at point guard. Williams, who was out of the NBA last year, is averaging 5.4 points and 4.0 assists in 18.4 minutes per game. Williams will have to play well if the Magic are going to be able to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

Jameer Nelson Injury Info (Image: Zuma Press)

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Jameer Nelson Injury Update – Torn Cartilage

As is always the case, LeBron James led the way for Cleveland. He had 36 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes. He hit 13-of-23 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws. Mo Williams, who joined James in the All-Star Game last season, had 28 points and six assists.

Vince Carter was the lone bright spot for the Magic. He had 29 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes. Howard, who dominated the Cavs last year in the playoffs, was limited to just three field goal attempts on his way to 11 points and seven rebounds.

With the win, the Cavs improve to 5-3. The loss dropped the Magic to 6-3. The two teams play again on Feb. 11 in Cleveland.

LeBron James and the Cavs got revenge (Image: Zuma Press)

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Cavs Smash Magic in ECF Rematch

Howard had 25 points and six rebounds in only 23 minutes as he battled foul trouble. Anderson, who is starting at power forward while Rashard Lewis serves a suspension, had 20 points and ten rebounds. The second-year bigman was acquired in the trade during the offseason that sent Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets to the Magic.

The Suns, who were outscored 64-48 in the second half, were led by Amare Stoudemire’s 25 points and 15 rebounds. Steve Nash, who has been playing very well early in the 2009-10 NBA season, was held to 12 points and four assists.

The Suns next take on the Boston Celtics on Friday night, while the Magic play the Detroit Pistons on the same day.

Dwight Howard and the Magic and very good once again (Image: Zuma Press)

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Magic Hand Suns First Defeat

After the game, Carter was confident that he could bounce back quickly. In fact, he’s aiming to return on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors — another of his former teams.

In the first one and a half games of the 2009-10 NBA season, Carter has been very good. He’s shooting 55% from the field and has hit 5-of-8 three-pointers. The only players averaging more points than Carter are Dwight Howard (20.5 points) and Ryan Anderson (16 points).

The 2-0 Magic were also undefeated in the preseason. Even though they made the NBA Finals last year, they brought in Carter in an attempt to improve their roster. With a healthy Carter, the Magic should be able to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics for supremecy in the Eastern Conference.

Vince Carter - Orlando Magic (Image: Zuma Press)

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Vince Carter Injury Info – Sprained Ankle

5. San Antonio Spurs
In their first game of the season, the Spurs looked dominant against the Hornets. They tripped up in their second game but San Antonio should be good this season.

4. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets won both of their games in impressive fashion. First they beat the Jazz at home and then went on the road and defeated the Blazers. The Nuggets look like they are for real.

3. Orlando Magic
After going undefeated in the preseason, the Magic extended their good play by winning the first game of the 2009-10 NBA season. Orlando has a real chance to win more than 60 games this season.

2. Boston Celtics
The season couldn’t have started much better for Boston. After going on the road to beat the Cavs, the Celtics then obliterated the Bobcats.

1. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers got their championship rings from their work last year and then won their season opener. That’s enough to keep the Lakers on top of the heap.

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are still the best of the best (Image: Zuma Press)

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NBA Power Rankings – October Edition

Against the Hawks, Vince Carter led the way with 26 points in 27 minutes. He was 9-for-10 from the field, 5-for-5 on three-pointers and 3-for-4 at the line. Dwight Howard had 25 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Ryan Anderson chipped in with 18 points, while Brandon Bass had 14.

The Hawks didn’t exactly end their preseason play in style. Jamal Crawford came off the bench to lead the Hawks in scoring with 14, while Randolph Morris, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith were also in double figures.

Orlando will try to continue their hot play when their regular season schedule starts on Monday versus the Philadelphia 76ers. While the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics deserve respect, the Magic are quickly proving to the world that they should be the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic (Image: Zuma Press)

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Orlando Magic Go Undefeated in Preseason

In preseason action, the Magic smashed the Hornets by a final score of 121-86. Orlando was led by Ryan Anderson and Vince Carter — two players they acquired via a trade with the New Jersey Nets. Anderson had 22 points in 19 minutes, while Carter had 18 points in 33 minutes. Combined, the two players hit 9-of-14 three-pointers.

For the Hornets, David West and Chris Paul led the way. West had 14 points, while Paul had 13 points and six assists. Julian Wright, Devin Brown and Marcus Thornton were the other players in double figures for New Orleans.

The Magic, led by superstar Dwight Howard, have a stacked roster and look very capable of winning the Eastern Conference once again. The Hornets also improved in the offseason and should see more wins this year — but they’ll have to do much better than they did on Tuesday.

Dwight Howard has even more help this season (Image: Zuma Press)

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Magic Smash Hornets in Preseason Action

Last year, Bogans played for both the Orlando Magic and the Milwaukee Bucks. With Orlando, Bogans started 15 of 36 games and averaged 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game. With Milwaukee, Bogans averaged 6.0 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game.

While he’s not much of an offensively, as evident by his 39.4% lifetime field goal percentage, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Bogans is known as a strong, rugged defender who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

Bogans reportedly signed a fully guaranteed one-year contract worth a little more than $1 million. With the Spurs, Bogans will likely backup Richard Jefferson at small forward. He’ll compete for minutes with other swingmen including Manu Ginobili, Roger Mason, Jr. and Michael Finley.

Keith Bogans - San Antonio Spurs (Image: Zuma Press)

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Keith Bogans Signs with the Spurs