13. Oklahoma City Thunder (Up 1)

(18-15) Last week: 3-1

Coach Billy Donovan's switch to a 3 point guard look continues to reap rewards for his Thunder, who have taken 7 of their last 8 games. Dennis Schroder was the perceived odd man out at the beginning of the season. December has been arguably the best month of his career. The 26 year old put up 22.3 points per night with red hot 40% shooting from deep.

It's important that the Thunder's point guard troika continues their strong play as there just isn't a lot at the forward position behind Danilo Gallinari. With Gallo out, the Thunder started Terrance Ferguson and Darius Bazley – they averaged less than 8 points per game between them including twin goose eggs in an overtime contest with Charlotte.

 

12. Indiana Pacers (Down 2)

(21-10) Last week: 2-1

Despite Aaron Holiday stepping up to the tune of 20 points and 7 assists a night, Malcolm Brogdon's injury has hurt the Pacers to no end. With him out (and Oladipo yet to make his return), there just isn't enough creativity on this roster. Once healthy though, this is a seriously good basketball team. Coach Nate McMillan has to take a lot of the credit for that. He's found ways to keep his team in the mix despite not playing with the full deck all season. He has a particular knack for making pieces that don't seem to fit together work well. On this team, that's Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis – both centres, but dovetailing beautifully at both ends of the floor.

 

11. Dallas Mavericks (Steady)

(21-12) Last week: 2-2

Luka is back and all is well with the Mavericks universe.

Sure, they lost to the Lakers and Thunder to close out the year, but the Mavs are surely thrilled with their season thus far. Whilst it's unlikely that they'll finish top 4 in the Conference, a 6th place finish and a solid 1st round effort would – despite what the team might say publicly – be what they would have wanted at the seasons outset.

Tim Hardaway Jr, out with a hamstring, might be a bigger loss than you might expect. He compliments Doncic perfectly, as evidenced by the team's +16.9 net rating when they share the court.

 

10. Utah Jazz (Up 2)

(21-12) Last week: 3-0

The Jazz have finally awoken from their now traditional early season slumber. Utah's only loss in their past 8 games was a narrow reverse in Miami.

The idea behind the Jazz's off season changes was to upgrade the team with the ball, and hope that the defense would only slip a shade – if at all – without Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors.

The defense hasn't been where the club would like it, with the Jazz sitting 7th conceding 105.8 points a night. The offense, however, has been electric of late, dropping 115.5 points through their last 8. That's good for 5th in the NBA over a full season.

So, to the elephant in the room. The Jazz are doing this without the injured Mike Conley. What to do once he's back? A possibly unpopular opinion: Play him off the bench, letting him run the 2nd unit.