Often dismissed and having not won a title since 2007, the San Antonio Spurs seem to find a way to win.

That's been the case again this season as the Spurs have won 10 in a row to take over the lead in the Western Conference.

The Spurs have depth and good health -- two things that are a must for teams trying to win a championship.

New additions Stephen Jackson, Boris Diaw and Patrick Mills all recently joined the team but figure to play big parts in the playoff push for the Spurs.

If nothing else, the "old" Spurs have made the race in the West interesting instead of allowing Oklahoma City to runaway with the best record in the West.

The Chicago Bulls have already clinched a playoff berth and still have the best record in the NBA.

The Bulls also had the best record in the NBA last season, but didn't have enough to beat the Miami Heat in the playoffs.

Derrick Rose is expected to miss his 10th consecutive game with a groin injury tomorrow, but the Bulls continue to win games.

That leads us to the Charlotte Bobcats, who continue to lose games. A lot of games.

The Bobcats have already been eliminated from playoff contention, but that could have been said back in January.

I wonder what Anthony Davis is thinking about the possibility of being a Bobcat.

It's been a little more than a week since the NBA trade deadline. And buyouts for the likes of Boris Diaw have created an opportunity for teams like San Antonio to add players at a discount.

Ronny Turiaf might help Miami's front court and Derek Fisher should be a positive
influence in Oklahoma City.

The trade that might have the most impact on the playoff race might be the Los Angeles Lakers landing Ramon Sessions, giving the Lakers the creative point guard they've been missing for years.

Even with all the moves, the Chicago Bulls continue to win while their lineup has hurt by injuries.

The Bulls have the NBA's best record and the top spot in the rankings, again.

The Chicago Bulls won't beat the Miami Heat in a playoff series without Derrick Rose.

Beating the Heat will require Rose at his best.

But during the regular season the Bulls have shown they can win without key players on a regular basis and have the best record in the NBA.

Chicago lost Friday night to Portland, but did manage to beat Miami without Rose this week. So for now, with or without Rose, there isn't a team better than the Bulls.

The Miami Heat didn't look like the favorite to win the NBA title after consecutive losses with All Star Chris Bosh out for personal reasons.

Perhaps Bosh will get a little more respect as the oft-dissed member of Miami's Big Three. Without Bosh, the Heat's lack of depth in the post was painfully obvious.

Joel Anthony is a nice guy. Juwan Howard was cool to watch when I was in middle school and he played at Michigan. But relying on them for offense isn't enough for Miami.

With Bosh back, the Heat look like the favorite again. So perhaps he's the MVP of the team?

(Just kidding....)

The Miami Heat are probably still the best team in the NBA. But they fall back a couple of spots thanks to a loss in Utah and the hot play of Oklahoma City and Chicago.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are playing at a superb level for Oklahoma City. The Bulls continue to win at a solid rate, too.

But one thing Miami's loss at Utah did was give LeBron James' critics more reason (fair or unfair) to question his late-game mettle after he passed up a potential game winning shot.

James will have plenty of chances to prove his doubters wrong. Until he does, the questions will persist.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- With three All-Stars here, it shouldn't be a surprise the Miami Heat have been the NBA's best team and look to be the favorites to win the NBA Championship.

LeBron James is playing at an MVP level, and the same could be said for Dwyane Wade. The Heat are aggressive on defense and James appears to have taken his game to another level -- scary for a two-time MVP.

What the second half holds is anyone's guess, but for now, I expect James to bring a championship along to South Beach.

LeBron James just had to talk about the idea of playing in Cleveland this week, didn't he?

Anything James says is scrutinized and takes away from (for his many naysayers) from the stellar season he is having.

James is averaging 28 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists while shooting a career-high 54.2 percent from the field.

James will be judged by the postseason, but for now, we can enjoy how James has the Miami Heat playing at a high level.

I could go either way at the top of this list. The Miami Heat did lose to Orlando this week and the Chicago Bulls have won five in a row.

But based on overall health, I'll keep the Heat on top this week.

Let's just hope this is settled in the Eastern Conference Finals.

For years the talk has been about how deep the Western Conference is and the lack of depth in the Eastern Conference.

But this season we've seen Philadelphia and Indiana make strides and possibly start to change that since Miami, Chicago, Boston, Orlando and Atlanta have remained competitive.

It's fun to debate now, but there are a lot of games to be played before we know which conference is best.

Here is Week 5 of my very unofficial NBA rankings. I still believe the Knicks and Celtics will turn things around at some point. Same goes for the Mavericks.

When that will happen? I have no idea.

The Miami Heat are in the midst of their annual losing streak with LeBron James' mental toughness being questioned (again). The Heat will be fine in the long run, but right now no one is playing better than the Chicago Bulls.

Derrick Rose is still playing like an MVP and it looks as if he's not conceding the East to the Heat.

The Miami Heat have been impressive. Of course, no one will care unless the Heat can win a championship. But for now, they're dominating the regular season, as expected.

1. Miami Heat (4-0, Last week, 2) - Three road wins, including a blowout of Dallas has the Heat looking good.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (5-0, LW, 3)- Kevin Durant beats Dallas at the buzzer in an exciting early-season game.
3. Chicago Bulls (3-1, LW 4)- Bulls beat Lakers and Clippers in L.A. in the same week.
4. San Antonio Spurs (3-1, LW 8) - Will back-to-backs be too much on this veteran-laden team.
5. Los Angeles Lakers (3-2, LW 5) - Winners of three in a row got a big boost from the return of center Andrew Bynum (29 points, 13 rebounds) after his four-game suspension
6. Portland Trail Blazers (3-0, LW 11) - Frontcourt of Gerald Wallace, Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge is among the best in the league..
7. Dallas Mavericks (1-3, LW 1)- Mavs finally picked up a win after an 0-3 start, that included losing to OKC at the buzzer.
8. Memphis Grizzles (1-2, LW 8) - No shame in losing to San Antonio and OKC to start the season.
9. Boston Celtics (1-3, LW 8) - Paul Pierce is back. The wins should follow.
10. Los Angeles Clippers (1-2, LW 9) - Spurs and Bulls reminded Clippers last week they have a way to go before being contenders.
11. New York Knicks (2-2, LW 10) - The road wasn't kind to the Knicks until their stop in Sacramento
12. Orlando Magic (3-1, LW 15) - Oak Ridge High School and Cal product Ryan Anderson has played well.
13. Houston (2-2, LW 12) - Ended the week beating the Spurs and Hawks.
14. Atlanta Hawks (3-1, LW 13) - Joe Johnson rumored to be included in trade offer for Dwight Howard. But would anyone deal for Johnson's big contract?
15. Indiana Pacers (3-1, LW 16) - Big week for Pacers with games at Miami and Boston.
16. Denver Nuggets (2-2, LW 14) - Oh, if Danilo Gallinari makes that lay up, Denver might be 3-1 with a win over the Lakers.
17. Milwaukee Bucks (2-1, LW 17) - Haven't allowed 100 points to start the season.
18. Philadelphia 76ers (2-2, LW 18) - Former King Spencer Hawes has shown some good things on the court this season.
19. Golden State Warriors (2-2, LW 21) - Wins over Chicago and New York that featured good defense have fans in the Bay Area excited.
20. New Orleans Hornets (2-1, LW 26) - Carl Landry has stepped up with Eric Gordon out with a knee injury.
21. Phoenix Suns (1-3, LW 19) - Suns haven't scored 100 points yet this season.
22. Charlotte Bobcats (1-2, LW 24) - Gerald Henderson nearly dealt the Heat their first loss of the season.
23. Utah Jazz (1-3, LW 20) - Took a beating against some of the West's elite teams.
24. Toronto Raptors (1-3, LW 29) -Andrea Bargani played well even though the Raptors lost at Dallas.
25. Detroit Pistons (1-3, LW 28) - Ended week with their first win of the season.
26. Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2, LW 30) - Played Indiana tough before losing in overtime.
27. Sacramento Kings (1-3, LW 22) - Three double-digit losses in a row has team in a funk.
28. New Jersey Nets (1-3, LW 27) -It won't be pretty as long as Brook Lopez is out.
29. Minnesota Timberwolves (0-3, LW 25) - Gave the Heat a good game, and Kevin Love is still very good.
30. Washington Wizards (0-3, LW 23) - Nick Young's new haircut hasn't led to any wins yet.

The NBA has given us the NBA regular season for Christmas.

The quality of basketball might not be up to par with what we're accustomed to, but it beats the lockout, right?

With that I give you the first of my weekly NBA Power Rankings. This is all in fun and debate. And I'm sure many of you will tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about.

This should be fun. Let the 66-game season begin.