Eastern Conference

THE Boston Celtics continued their immaculate form over the past month extending their winning streak to 13 consecutive games. They entered this week with a 99-88 win over the Indiana Pacers, veteran Paul Pierce contributing with an 18 point-10 rebound-12 assist triple double. They are comfortably leading the East with a 22-4 record.

The Miami Heat are continuing to show the potential they threatened to during the preseason, putting together a 12-game winning streak of their own. Recent victims included a 95-94 win over the Washington Wizards and a 113-91 whipping of the previously high-flying New York Knicks to take their season tally to 21-8.

The valiant run of the Knicks came to an end midweek and since then have endured a run of unfortunate results. On Wednesday they faced the conference leaders and after holding the advantage for much of the game lost 118-116. Up next was the second best team in the lead and they did hand them a sound trashing before the Knicks failed to overcome the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers in a 109-102.

The Orlando Magic are still struggling and are back on the decline after managing to break their four-game losing streak. They lost to the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers on their trip to the West. Notably, the poor run of form has prompted a lot of roster change with Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis being among the top names leaving the franchise with Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson being the big names to join.

The exit of Arenas may further allow NBA top draft pick John Wall to show his mettle but with his team on a current seven-game losing streak he certainly has a lot of work to do.

Experience doing the job

Western Conference

THE veteran group at the San Antonio Spurs seems to be turning back the hands of time each week powering to another impressive streak at the top of the West. Entering last week on a four-game run the Spurs have since added another four wins to their tally through the sustained efforts of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobli to take their season record to a league best 23-3. Their most recent win was a 112-106 overtime win against the defiant Memphis Grizzlies.

The return of Andrew Bynum has provided a needed boost in Los Angeles, helping the Lakers to boast a record of five games undefeated. He contributed 16 points and seven rebounds to the Lakers’ 120-110 beating of the Toronto Raptors ensuring their strong presence in the defensive and offensive paint.

The Oklahoma City Thunder has an impressive five-game winning streak coming into the week but had their streak snapped by the Phoenix Suns who are still trying to find their own. Kevin Durant is still a scoring machine and continues to lead the league in scoring, averaging 27.4 points per game for OKC, who now have a record of 19-9. Grant Hill scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, claiming his first 30-point game in almost five years and becoming the second oldest player (at age 38) behind Michael Jordan (at age 40) to record a 30-10 (points-rebounds/assists) game in NBA history. The Suns are breaking even with a 13-13 record as ar Sunday.

While not much to brag about overall, the Los Angeles Clippers have managed a two-game winning streak with wins thanks to the dominant efforts of Blake Griffin. Griffin scored 24 points and had 17 rebounds as the Clippers brushed aside the Detroit Pistons 109-88 last Friday before claiming 29 points and 12 rebounds the following night to give his team a hard-fought 100-99 win over the Chicago Bulls.