Undefeated. Still the champs until proven otherwise.  Gasol playing absolutely phenomenal ball and no one has to stress about playing too many minutes.  Need I say more?

After the Heat’s collapse to the Jazz, I feel comfortable deeming the Magic as the best team in the state of Florida.  This one-loss Orlando squad is back to being dominant on the defensive end and crashing the boards.

The surprise run of the season has continued, and the Hornets are 1/12 of the way to their historic 82-0 season!  Okay, so this run will end eventually, but in the Western Conference each of these wins puts them that much closer to a favorable playoff spot.  Remember how close last year’s playoff race was?  Yeah, the Hornets will be thankful for this run in April.

The Celtics may be stirring up controversy, but when healthy they continue to be one of the best teams in the game.  The Celtics will get bitten by the injury bug at some point, but as long as they continue to stack wins and enforce the dominant hand they will be among the NBA’s elite.

Blowing a 22-point lead to the Jazz at home is no way to establish dominance early in the season.  For a team that was said to have a shot at breaking the Bulls’ 72-win record, it is going to be a lot harder with three losses just three weeks into the season.

The streak had to end at some point, but the Hawks have still jumped on opponents early thanks to the cohesion of returning their entire core.  Should make Atlanta fans nervous that the Hawks could be shopping Jamal Crawford.  While this core has proven to be proficient to a point during the regular season, a change might need to be made in order to get over the hump in the East.

Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers got served one of the toughest weeks of the early season, but handled it as well as they could.  Some concern has arisen this week for Roy’s long-term health.  Not a good sign for a team that already has a 95 year-old First Overall Pick sitting on the bench in street clothes.

Man, it’s a shame that Dirk had to shave those golden locks.  But nothing changed in his game, and his ability to create his own shot has not faded one bit.  The Mavs are fresh off a great win against Boston that featured 13 boards from Tyson Chandler’s healthcare bill.

Denver’s lack of commitment on the defensive end against Indiana on Tuesday night was despicable.  It was uncharacteristic for the way they have played thus far this season, but will get a chance to prove their worth on Thursday against the Lakers in the Pepsi Center.

The Cavs have given Cleveland a rag-tag group of ballers to rally behind in King James’ absence.  J.J. Hickson is building on his break-out last season, and now is the leading scorer on a division-leading team in the NBA.  Yeah, that’s right – J.J. Hickson.

While Zach Randolph’s scoring has gone down since the 2009-2010 season, he continues to be an absolute monster on the glass.  Rudy Gay continues to lead the way offensively, and Grizzles fans continue their “This is the year” motif.

The Thunder’s performance would not be seem so disappointing if we didn’t build them up as the next team to challenge the Lakers in the West.  Right now they are an extremely talented 5 or 6 seed with chances of making a second round series interesting for a favorite.

The Suns have continued to reward Goran Dragic with playing time, and he has delivered with performance.  At some point they are going to figure out how much faith they have in the talented Slovenian.

What a terrific exposure of the Miami Heat the Jazz provided for us on Tuesday night.  Without them, what in the world would we have been talking about all day on Wednesday.  I bet you next time Millsap takes a three he misses.  No way he stays that hot.

Monta Ellis scared the Warriors going down with a back strain, but he is already back with the team and looks ready to continue Golden State’s fast start in 2010.  Ellis and Curry make up one of the most entertaining backcourts in the league.  It is worth the hours of sleep lost to catch these late Warriors games.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls do look incredibly average without Boozer in that lineup.  Rumors are that Chicago is leaving roster spots open with plans of making some moves.  What those moves are will go a longway to determine how good this team can be when Boozer does return.

At the beginning of the season I was looking forward to seeing former Bobcats guard Raymond Felton in Mike D’Antoni’s lineup.  But three weeks into the season, it doesn’t seem to look like the right fit at all.  Randolph will at least provide another option running the floor.  As his minutes increase coming back from injury, look for the win count to increase as well.

Too much talent to be losing silly games.  It may take a awhile for the Bucks to get back into Scott Skiles’ rhythm, but they will be back in the top 15 or so soon enough.

After their can’t-miss quarter against the Nuggets, I am tempted more and more to hop on board with this Pacers team.  The way that Collison is running the offense and Hibbert looks more comfortable facing the basket, the Pacers are only going to improve as the season progresses.

The young and talented Kings will be ready to compete in the Western Conference in 2012-2013.  The only challenge for the organization is to keep the team together (and in Sacramento) until then.

Never in my time following the NBA did I think that Elton Brand would be a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year.  I realize the third week is too soon to anoint”candidates,” but Brand has shown quite the turnaround in Philadelphia.

The Rockets, already with obvious health concerns, got another does of bad news with their point guard and facilitator Aaron Brooks going down for 4-6 weeks.  Kevin Martin is going to have to get used to much more attention and creating his own shot for a month or so.

New Jersey Nets

Despite a happy beginning, the Nets were faced with some harsh schedule reality and have fallen back into Nets-culture.  Currently in a five-game losing streak, the Nets will try to turn it around on Wednesday against the Cavaliers.

First it’s Rip, now it’s Tayshaun.  It is obvious the Pistons are looking to move someone.  Who gets moved and how they react will dictate whether the team becomes a playoff contender, or slips deeper in the Eastern abyss.

This year’s Bobcats squad lacks the fight and fast-break game frustrate opponents the way they did in their playoff run of 2009-2010.  D.J. Augustin may be the answer at point guard, but he will need some more help creating and facilitating the offense in Charlotte.

Sure, Wall is good.  But with so few weapons to work with in Washington, it is hard to imagine this team being a contender anytime in 2010-2011.  They simply do not appear prepared to compete night in and night out.

The Raptors are able to keep it close, but until they start demonstrating the ability to close out a game, it will be hard to pull them out of the NBA’s dungeon.

Minnesota has at least given good teams a run for their money.  Of course, they also gave their money to Darko.  Just saying.

Bench Baron Davis? Check.  The “Blake Griffin Era” does not need to begin with an aging veteran like Davis running the show.  Allow the Clippers to develop their youth together, and at least things will get competitive.