With impressive wins against Dallas and Boston, the Heat have cemented their status as early favorites in this lockout shortened season. While other elite teams are trying to work out the chemistry in the rotation, the Heat have picked up right where they left off as the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference. LeBron’s post game looks scary good, and if they avoid turnovers the Heat are close to unstoppable in transition.

The Thunder’s youth and athleticism has made them early favorites in an aging Western Conference landscape, and that advantage was obvious as they hustled their way to a hard-fought 104-100 win at Minnesota just a day after beating Orlando at home. James Harden’s contributions off the beach and the new-look Kendrick Perkins will be X-factors in the Thunder’s success this season. Both have delivered impressive performances in the 2-0 start.

Bulls’ fans can rest with the knowledge that Derrick Rose is still that guy. The reigning MVP gave Chicago the best Christmas present possible with the clutch game-winning floater over Gasol in the win over the Lakers. But the early road trip was not all highlight reels and game-winners, particularly after looking sluggish against the Warriors in the Bay. Nothing alarming about the loss though, Chicago is still one of the two best teams in the East.

The Knicks have a lot to work out, particularly developing some consistency with their depth and rotations, but the Melo/Amar’e/Chandler front court appears like it could be one of the best in the conference. With Melo’s ability to take over in 4th quarters, the key for the Knicks will be avoiding the lapses they suffered in the narrow victory over Boston on Sunday. Consistency will be an issue, but relevance is far more important for the franchise when you play in Madison Square Garden.

The high-flying, high-scoring Denver Nuggets will be a particularly dangerous team to face in this lockout-shortened schedule. Older teams struggling on the tail end of back-to-back games will dread a date with the fast-paced Nuggets, poised to run Western Conference opponents out of the gym. Ty Lawson and Andre Miller make the perfect duo at point guard for this upbeat team, and George Karl should feel good about his team’s chances to cause some trouble in the revamped Western Conference landscape.

Jamal Crawford has looked good in his limited Portland career, and the former Sixth Man of the Year will likely be a crucial piece of the Blazers rotation. But it’s going to be the play of Portland’s frontline, led by Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Marcus Camby, that will determine the ceiling for the upcoming season. The way things have looked in the 2-0 start, the Blazers could be a team that will cause some trouble in the West.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks still have most of the core unit that has led them to four straight playoff appearances, with the major difference being Jeff Teague’s promotion to the starting point guard position. After an impressive debut against Deron Williams and the Nets, it is safe to say the team is in good hands with the speedy Demon Deacon at the helm. Atlanta also appears to have an upgraded bench, with players like Pargo and Tracy McGrady stepping up to fill in the hole left by Jamal Crawford.

Richard Jefferson made San Antonio fans happy he was not moved before the season as the vet delivered solid shooting and hard defense in the season opening win over Memphis. The Spurs played tough D as a team all night, and if they can stay healthy over the schedule will give plenty of teams trouble with their experience.

The Warriors will string together some impressive wins this season, but the ceiling for this team unfortunately relies on the strength of Stephen Curry’s right ankle. The surgically repaired ankle has been tweaked twice already this season, and should be a major concern for first-year head coach Mark Jackson. Monta Ellis and David Lee look to be in usual form, but the situation is still very fluid in the Bay.

It’s hard to get an accurate feel for this Boston team until Paul Pierce is on the floor, but then again how many games can you expect the C’s to play with a full roster. Age is a common argument for why the Celtics won’t be successful, but I’d argue that their experience will help them overcome the unusual challenges of the lockout shortened season.

The first team to tackle the dreaded back-to-back-to-back in the lockout shortened season was also the one team that carries a target on their back for the rest of the NBA. The Lakers were able to scratch and claw their way to a win and avoid an 0-3 start thanks to 27-8 point run in the third quarter to blowout Utah and pick up their first win of the season on Tuesday night. Kobe and Pau contest that it is just a matter of time until they get on the same page with the newcomers, and you can never count out a unit with this many combined rings.

Head coach Frank Vogel has to be happy with Indiana overcoming a poor performance to escape with a comfortable win against the Pacers on the road in the season opener. The Pacers were good when shots were going down last season, but dreadful when they hit cold streaks as a team. The new-look Pacers appear to have tightened things up on the defensive end, with second-year guard Paul George leading the new defense-minded, smash-mouth brand of Pacer basketball.

Eric Gordon’s upside to the move from Los Angeles to New Orleans was the opportunity he would have to lead this young team. Gordon stepped into those shoes early, delivering a game-winning jump shot with 4.2 seconds left in the win over Phoenix. The Hornets struggled from long range, but an aggressive rebounding effort from that front line of Ariza/Landry/Okafor helped the Hornets hang with the Suns and give Gordon a chance to win the game.

The Grizzlies struggled to get out and run in their season opener, but the “hot & cold” feel to the game gives every indication Memphis still has enough firepower to do some damage. Once they get back to running the half-court offense through Zach Randolph and forcing turnovers to create transition baskets things will begin working out for the Grizz.

The Magic find themselves in a similar position to the Denver Nuggets in 2010: aimlessly moving forward into the season with your star player eyeing the exit door. But the important thing for Orlando is to stack as many wins as they can while Dwight is still on the roster. One good sign from the opening games was seeing 53 percent team field goal percentage on the tail end of a back-to-back to finish the season. If Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick can play the sharpshooting role with no rest, the Magic will have an advantage in the lockout-shortened season.

Dallas Mavericks

It’s not quite panic time in the Big D, but the time is ticking for the Mavs to shake the Championship hangover and gel with their new additions. With the packed schedule of the lockout-shortened season, 2 weeks of “adjustment” period could be the different in a 4 or 8 seed for the Mavs – if they have plans of returning to the playoffs.

If Spencer Hawes is going to be putting up near-triple doubles on a regular basis, Doug Collins will have all kinds of unique weapons at his disposal in the upcoming season. The Sixers lost their opener to a strong Portland team, but there was enough fight displayed and enough bench production from Lou Williams late in the game to feel good about their chances to compete in the East this season.

The Jimmer Fever has caught on in Sacramento, and the Kings fans can get excited about the potential for lights-out shooting from Fredette and Marcus Thornton. Things won’t go as well for the Kings on cold shooting nights, when they’ll need to rely on DeMarcus Cousins to establish an inside presence to balance the offense.

The Bobcats enter the season with plenty of question marks on the roster, but head coach Paul Silas appears to have a system that worked at least for the season-opening win against Milwaukee. Kemba Walker delivered another productive performance off the bench, and point guard D.J. Augustin looks more aggressive offensively trying to get to the basket. The Bobcats will suffer from mismatches this season, particularly without a physically dominant big man on the block, but it will give Tyrus Thomas the ability to shine defensively when healthy.

The Bucks are one of the many teams that looked a little rusty in their debut, blowing a 13-point lead against the Bobcats on the road before bouncing back at home. New addition Stephen Jackson wasted no time in picking up his first technical foul as a Buck, get T’d up and fouling out with 3:56 to play against Charlotte and then quickly finding himself on the injury report moving forward. But with Andrew Bogut healthy the Bucks are a solid middle-of-the-road Eastern Conference team no matter the status of S-Jax.

The encouraging win in the season-opener at Cleveland demonstrated a few new improvements to Toronto’s game. They moved the ball around the court well, constantly looking for the next pass to the open man . With 35 assists on 42 field goals, head coach Dwayne Casey was pleased with the efficiency of the offense. But good trends against the Cavs are one thing, taking their act on the road against Dallas and Orlando will test this young Raptors squad.

The Rockets will be a work in progress as the season gets underway, as new head coach Kevin McHale figures out exactly how to use the many pieces collected by GM Daryl Morey. Samuel Dalembert looked extremely productive off the bench in the season-opening loss, as did Kyle Lowry and the always-consistent Luis Scola. But if Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger combine on 0-for-9 shooting from three-point range again, it will be hard to collect wins while they figure out the best rotation.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio has finally arrived, and the Timberwolves have shown glimpses of promise despite their 0-2 start. Throw them on your list as “favorite league pass teams,” as the Rubio/J.J. Barea backcourt promises several games worth of highlights. Kevin Love has shown no drop-off from his All-Star ways in 2010-2011, so now it is a matter of Minnesota figuring out how to turn that promise into wins.

The Suns are long and athletic down low, with Marcin Gortat and Robin Lopez looking effective close to the basket in the season opener. The Suns have relied on strong 3-point shooting in recent years, but the new retooled lineup may require Alvin Gentry to rework the offense to fit the personnel.

The Jazz have lots of young and moving pieces, but there is enough talent in Utah to think they can push themselves into the postseason once they figure out their roster. Derrick Favors looks poised for a big season, and rookie big man Enes Kanter has been itching to hit the hardwood for almost 18 months. Things have looked shaky early, but on paper there is certainly potential.

No. 1 overall draft pick Kyrie Irving survived a dreadful shooting performance in the season opener, but was able to add seven assists while only committing one turnover. Fellow rookie Tristan Thompson looked active off the bench, but this Cavs team has a lot of gelling to do before we see their true potential in 2012.

Kris Humphries getting booed in opposing NBA arenas is fine with head coach Avery Johnson as long as he channels that into performances like his 21 point, 16 rebound output in the opener against the Wizards. But if the Nets plan to compete all season with their current roster, Deron Williams will have his hands full trying to make the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets a playoff team in 2012.

Pistons head coach Lawrence Frank will spend of lot of time working with the rotation, as he tries to find a balance between veterans like Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince, and Jason Maxiell, and talented young players like Greg Monroe, Austin Daye, and rookie Brandon Knight. Unfortunately the early results from Piston basketball is being out rebounded and shooting poorly. Not a great start in Motown.

The Wizards are still upbeat, but unfortunately they are still turning the ball over as well. Much is expected this season from John Wall, but the speedy second-year point guard will need to get some help as the Wiz need to improve on rebounding to take advantage of their high-flying transition game.