Eastern Conference

WITH the Cleveland Cavaliers having secured a place in the play-offs, the Orlanda Magic followed suit by registering back to back wins to become the second team to claim a play-off spot. They are also close to clinching their division which would give them home-court advantage for the first round.

Though not as sound defensively, the Boston Celtics are not too far away from joining the Cavs and the Magic in the play-off round. After a slow start, the recently acquired players seem to be making themselves at home as they propelled the Celtics to four consecutive wins at the end of the week.

The Cavs, at present, seem to just be cruising and waiting for the play-offs to begin though their six-game winning streak at the close of last week shows that even with their foot off the pedal they are still a force to be reckoned with.

The battle at the lower end is intensifying with every passing week as the Miami Heat, Charlottle Bobcats, Toronto Raptors and the Chicago Bulls are fighting for the last three play-off spots. Despite the early win for new owner Michael Jordan, the Bobcats faltered towards the end of the week to close with a two-game losing streak.

The Chicago Bulls, who were on an embarassing 10-game losing streak found their footing against the Philadelphia 76ers to end the week on a winning. Note not their nearest rival the Toronto Raptors also managed to secure a win restoring their slender 2.5 game lead. Though being the most in-form team of the lot, the Miami Heat could find themselves out of the top eight if they fail to maintain a healthy winning streak.

The Milwaukee Bucks continue to be the talk of the post-trade window as they have propelled to 14 wins out of their last 16. The Denver Nuggets and the Celtics are amongst the teams they have defeated in recent times.

Better than the rest

Western Conference

THE Los Angeles Lakers, though not as dominant as in the past two seasons, are still the team to beat in the West. The Nuggets, the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz (the teams closest to the Lakers)all went on superb runs in recent times, but based on what the records say, this has affected the Lakers in no way as their consistent performances made them the first team in the conference to claim a play-off spot. They, like the Magic are just a few games away from clinching their division.

As a team the Lakers are the hallmark, still, the Northwest Division seems to be the best in the league as four of the five teams of said division are virtually certain of their play-off spot. The Nuggets, the Jazz, the Portland Trailblazers and the Ohklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder continue to put in a good shift and led by Kevin Durant are certain to create havoc when the play-offs begin.

Based on evidence from the last 10 games played the Thunder are arguably the best in the conference but the Trailblazers who closed the week with five straight wins under their belt are in a fine position to challenge that claim.

The Phoenix Suns continue to show that on their day they are the best offensive team as they put together an amazing 152-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Suns managed 79 points in the first half alone with captain Steve Nash recording 10 plus yet again.