Eastern Conference – The Chicago Bulls have been without reigning league MVP Derrick Rose for the last week and a half, but that has done little to deter their exploits this season as they have exended their record to a league-best 15-3, backed by a three-game winning streak.

Admittedly their offence has not been as fluid as it was with their captain and leading point-getter, but their defence which has allowed a meagre average of 85.3 points continues to prove vital.

The Miami Heat have recovered from a dismal run of form to climb back to third place in the East with a record of 11-4. Dwayne Wade continues to watch his team toil from the bench, but LeBron James has began more focused in his absence and led the franchise to important wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and most recently the efficient Philadelphia 76ers.

Notably, prior to the loss to the Heat on the weekend, the 76ers were on a league-best six-game winning streak being particularly dominant at home; winning seven of the eight games played there.

The Heat were not the only team in the East that enjoyed success over the Lakers last week as the Orlando Magic climbed to second place with a 11-4 record, with a comfortable win over Kobe Bryant and company.

Sitting dangerously in the last play-off spot are the New York Knicks who did nothing positive over the course of the past week as their losing streak stretched to six consecutive games. Just above them are the Cleveland Cavaliers who have lost three games on the trot to now hold a record of 6-9. Top-draft pick Kyrie Irving continues to be one of the most impressive of the current rookie class, but that may not be enough to relax the hearts of the fans who are still aching after LeBron’s departure.

A satisfying injury?

Western Conference – The Memphis Grizzlies lost the services of influential forward Zach Randolph four games into the current season, but they seem to be doing just fine without him, holding an impressive record of six straight wins.

Their record now stands at 9-6 for the season and while they have not played as much games as some of the other franchises, their performances thus far have placed them in good standings for a favourable play-off spot.

Another team that has been somewhat pardoned from a hectic workload is the Los Angeles Clippers that occupy third place behind the Grizzlies with a 8-5 record. Though their performances without the services of multiple All-Star Chris Paul have been satisfactory of late, they allowed complacency to creep in against the Minnesota Timberlwolves as they surrounded a 13-point lead midway the final quarter before being put to the sword by a buzzer-beating three-pointer from double-double machine Kevin Love.

The Houston Rockets had a really poor start to their season, but that has been all but forgotten considering that as at Saturday they were on a six-game winning streak, propelling them to a respectable record of 9-7.

With the Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks occupying the final three play-off spots with a shared 10-7 record, a slip up by any of the three would see the Rockets in a play-off position that two weeks ago seemed far out of reach.

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to sit pretty atop the West with a 13-3 record while the Denver Nuggets are second with a record of 12-5. The Nuggets are backed by a four-game winning streak as at Sunday, with the last being a morale-boosting win over Melo and the Knicks.