nba power rankings News

Atlanta - The first month of NBA action has been everything fans could hope for with plenty of great basketball on the court and a number of terrific story lines to follow off the hardwood.

The NBA preseason is in the books and the real games getting started in just a couple of days, great news for the fans and teams looking to take the crown from the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Fans are gearing up for what could be one of the most intriguing NBA seasons in years, especially with the off season moves made by Golden State and LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers looking to win back-to-back championships.

Cleveland - Despite setting the NBA record for regular season wins last season, Golden State couldn't finish the job in the finals, losing to Cleveland. Despite roster changes from both teams, the Cavaliers enter training camp on top of the power rankings.

Toronto - The beginning of the NBA season begins next month when teams open training camp. With some big changes over the summer, including Kevin Durant landing with the Golden State, history could be made yet again.

The NBA regular season is now entering its final four weeks of play and there's still no slowing down the Golden State Warriors.

Heading down the stretch of the 2015-16 NBA season, all eyes are still on the Golden State Warriors as they look to make history with 73 wins on the year. But don't look now — things are getting tight in both conferences.

If any fans doubt the need Golden State has for Stephen Curry, Tuesday night's 23-point loss at Dallas just shows how important last year's MVP is to the Warriors.

Oakland - What looked like an easy win after opening a 63-47 lead at the half, turned into an excellent NBA contest as Golden State held off a second half rally by the Toronto Raptors, escaping with a 115-110 victory and improving to 12-0 on the year.

Minneapolis - Golden State is still perfect after the Warriors defeated Minnesota 129-116 on the road Thursday night. The win kept the team perfect with a 10-0 record to start the 2015-16 NBA season and looking to make history for the most victories in a season.

Toronto - Despite a loss to Orlando on Friday night, the Toronto Raptors are out to prove to the basketball world that they are contenders for an NBA Championship and after the start the franchise is off too, they are making believers all across the globe.

The NBA season tips off in just under two weeks and even the everyday fan knows which teams are expected to challenge for a title this season, but what about the up and coming teams and the future stars of the league?

With the 2014-15 NBA season nearing the halfway point, several teams are making a strong showing of late and moving up in the latest power rankings.

Houston might not have the best record in the NBA, but the Rockets ha a great Christmas with the addition of Josh Smith and Corey Brewer, making this franchise tops in the league in the latest power rankings.

Miami - After just one week of action, NBA experts are now looking at Miami as a force in the Eastern Conference as the Heat have started the season 3-0 and winning in convincing style, despite the loss of LeBron James to Cleveland over the summer.

With summer in the books and training camps set to begin, it's time to take a look at what teams did over the off-season and rank them heading into the 2014-15 NBA season.