Gregg Popovich thinks winning is boring? He wasn’t saying that when the Spurs won four titles between 1999-2007. The Spurs continue to play another level above the rest of the league, and hopefully will have a chance to prove themselves as the best team in basketball come May/June. With how successful the season has been, I would hate to see a 2010 Cavs-type situation with a Conference Semis exit.

Danny Ainge has not had this many doubters in Boston since before assembling the Big Three in 2007. Jeff Green provides defense, and is a solid basketball player, but can Boston replace Perkins with Troy Murphy. It seems like the Celtics are counting on Shaq being healthy and effective come playoff time. Luckily, that is a position that the Big Leprechaun is quite used to filling.

The Mavericks greatest strength is not the superstars, it has been the consistent play of their bench. Dallas has won 18 of their last 19 games and have the NBA’s longest winning streak at 7 games. Tyson Chandler’s ankle should cause some concern, but when the roster is healthy this team could take down anyone in a seven game series.

Mike Bibby has arrived in Miami, and supposedly the ball will be in his hands. Will the Heat be able to put Bibby into the mix and mesh in time for the Eastern Conference playoffs? At some point the Heat have to start thinking about seeds too. Falling to the 3 spot means facing the Knicks, the one opponent no one wants to see in the first round.

Sure, Kobe’s scoring has dropped off significantly this season. But we have seen more and more in recent how comfortable Bryant is in his new role as a closer. After spending three quarters helping distribute and facilitate the offense, Mamba turns into a cold blooded killer in the fourth. It’s the thing that the Lakers will need most in the coming months to defense their title.

Last season the magic finished their 19-3 in their final 22 games. If they can do it again, they will improve their seed (and chances) of advancing back to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Magic are struggling with injury, but if they can get healthy and hot again it should make for a strong competition at the top coming down the stretch of the NBA regular season.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder have been able to build a team around Kevin Durant. He is not the only option, but he is the heartbeat of the franchise. So seeing Durant twist his ankle while driving on Tyler Hansbrough has to be the worst possible image for Thunder fans in March. We (NBA fans everywhere) wish nothing other than a full and fast recovery to the scoring leader.

You never like to finish a road trip 3-4, but considering the opponents and the roster shuffle that has ensued the Hawks will take it. Now with Hinrich on the squad, the Hawks kick off a four game home stand that will include rematches against the Knicks and Lakers. They got a good start with a big upset win over the Bulls thanks to Al Horford’s late game heroics.

Ty Lawson has one the best opportunities of his young career after the Melo trade, being named the new starting point guard. The Nuggets are still in a position to make the playoffs, and if Denver can finish strong it would be a great resume-builder for the speedy playmaker.

Gerald Wallace is slowly finding his minutes in the Trail Blazer’s rotation, and once he carves out his spot Portland will only be more suited to play the roll of giant killer to one of the unsuspecting Western Conference leaders.

The new day has finally arrived in the Big Apple. With Carmelo suiting up in the Orange and Blue alongside Stoudamire, the real key for this Knicks team is their new point guard. Chauncey Billups has two years left on his contract and will be the most important piece of the picture when the playoffs come rolling around. The key will be to win as many games as possible to avoid the 7 or 8 seed and have to face Boston or Miami in the first round.

With Rudy Gay out, Memphis has been forced to call on players like Tony Allen and Sam Young for help in his absence. Thankfully, the players have stepped up and the Grizzlies are holding onto the 8th spot in the Western Conference even without their best player.

The 76ers finally had their winning streak halted by the hotter team in the NBA (Dallas). Philadelphia still looks dangerous, and certainly not a team you would want to face in the playoffs. But there are too many pieces of that team that have very little postseason experience to make me believe they are an actual threat.

When did Channing Frye become so clutch? Two game-winners in a row and now the Suns look like they might be back in contention for a Western Conference playoff spot.

The Hornets have been held under 100 points in 12 of last 13 games. They have been sliding down the standings and now are in jeopardy of losing their playoff position if they don’t turn things around. The Hornets don’t get to the rack very often, and thus don’t shoot very many free throws. When the jump shots are falling, everything is fine. But that should not be the primary function of your offense.

Houston Rockets

Luis Scola, Chase Buddinger, and handful of other Rockets are now healthy, and Houston is cruising. With Aaron Brooks off in Phoenix, this is Kyle Lowry’s team now. Houston’s next challenge will be fighting their way into playoff picture. Currently 3.5-4 games out of the 6-7-8 spots, they will need to string together several wins in order to sneak in late.

Utah quickly realized that Deron Williams was not going to sign any extensions with the Jazz and got what they could while the market was hot. Now the Jazz have signed Ty Corbin to a multi-year deal and Utah fans have moved on from the Jerry Sloan era officially.

One of the things that interim coach Frank Vogel has done since taking over the Indiana Pacers has been utilizing a deep bench of young talent. Vogel has been spreading the minutes around, and it has been to the advantage of young talent like Lance Stephenson and Paul George. It seems to be working too, with the Pacers climbing into the 8th spot in the East since firing Jim O’Brien in late January.

The Bucks have been decimated by injuries all season. Until now, it has been one of the main reasons they have struggled to get wins. They still have a loaded injury report, the only difference now is Brandon Jennings is on the floor. The window of opportunity is closing to make the playoffs, but with Jennings on the floor Milwaukee always has a chance.

Michael Jordan made quite a statement by shipping off the Bobcats inaugural player to Portland. The cap space and draft picks acquired will give the Bobcats an opportunity to build for the future. The only downside might be alienating a fan base that was just starting to buy into the organization. If the Bobcats want to make the postseason for the second year in a row, they will need top-level performance from Stephen Jackson down the stretch.

Golden State enjoyed one of the longest home stands in the NBA earlier in 2011, and now they are paying for it with a brutal road schedule. The wins will be hard to come by, so they have to take advantage of the easier opponents when they can. Hard to find fight in a team well out of the playoff race, but that is why head coach Keith Smart gets paychecks.

With Detroit completely combusting in the locker room, I struggle to find hope in Detroit. The only upside to the players’ boycott of head coach John Kuester has been the extra minutes for players that aren’t winding up their careers.

Los Angeles Clippers

Mo Williams is the happiest man in the NBA, moving from Cleveland to Los Angeles. Throwing alley-oops from J.J. Hickson, now tossing them to Blake Griffin. Still the Clippers, who displayed so much promise earlier in the season, are in a familiar position near the bottom of the Western Conference.

Calderon’s explosion against New Orleans finally gave the Raptors something to cheer about in Toronto. The losing streak is over, but unfortunately it is a little too late for the Raptors to avoid the lottery. Even in the weaker Eastern Conference, it’s back to the ping pong balls for Toronto.

Deron Williams has arrived, but the Nets have not turned around their losing ways quite yet. Williams won’t even talk extension until he thinks he is with a winner, and New Jersey is not doing a good job of proving that to him early.

With Tyreke Evans on the bench, Marcus Thornton has been thrust into the role of leading scorer quickly in Sacramento. Luckily Thornton appears ready for that role. Not sure if the former SEC Player of the Year is ready for the kind of losing that happens in Sacramento. For however long they remain in Sacramento…

John Wall is already frustrated with his teammates and lashing out. That kind of frustration should not be bubbling over this publicly this early. You are only 50-some games in to your career John, there are PLENTY of games left for you in Washington.

One advantage of Corey Brewer’s departure in the Carmelo deal is going to be the increased minutes for Wesley Johnson. The 4th in the 2010 draft, Johnson will see more minutes and perhaps gain some confidence in his game. Oh yeah, and Kevin Love’s double-double count is at 48. No big deal.

Ship out one disgruntled point guard, receive an older one. Baron Davis and Byron Scott have supposedly buried the hatchet from their New Orleans days, but I’ll believe it when I see it.