WITH some franchises having as little as 10 games left in the regular season, the ‘top dogs’ are now strutting their way into the NBA play-offs. Between both conferences, as many as eight teams have already secured their places with the remaining eight not too far behind.

HE Miami Heat continue to steal the major headlines as they managed to extend their win streak to 25 on Saturday, but with play-offs fast approaching they have to be content with sharing the spotlight with the other play-off contenders.

The New York Knicks, The Indiana Pacers and the Brooklyn Nets have all secured their places in the conference alongside the Heat.

Though not officially, the Atlanta Hawks, the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks are all expected to join the quartet in the post-season. At present, the Philadelphia 76ers are the best-placed team to challenge the current top contenders, but they are eight games behind the eighth-placed Bucks.

Only four teams in the conference managed to close the week with a winning record, three of them being play-off contenders.

Battle in the pit heats up – WESTERN CONFERENCE

AT the bottom end of the play-off picture, four teams still consider themselves a contender for the final spot in the top eight. The Los Angeles, Lakers with a 36-34 record, continue to occupy that position, but the Utah Jazz, the Dallas Mavericks and the Portland Trailblazers are all within three games of the Lakers, meaning that a momentum shift could have any of these teams replace Kobe Bryant and company.

The Lakers were in a position to further increase their chances of securing the final play-off spot, but they lost back-to-back games to close the week. With 12 games left to go, they will have to return to winning ways to stave off any advances.

The San Antonio Spurs with a 53-16 record continue to lead the conference pack in the West while the Oklahoma City Thunder are three games behind with 51-19. Storming into the top of the conference are the Denver Nuggets who, on the back of their 15-game win streak, have become an unstoppable force. They have been significantly dominant on home turf, with a record of 32-3, good enough for best in the league ahead of the Heat’s 31-3. The Nuggets, along with the Los Angeles Clippers, are the only other teams in the conference to secure a place in the 2013 NBA play-offs.

The Phoenix Suns became the first team in the West to officially fall out of play-off contention, but without a doubt they will have a lot of company by this time next week.