Magic, Cavs have earned spots among the NBA's elite teams
NFL-style parity has not yet invaded the NBA. But there is a pretty good race underway among the league's four elite teams.
The season began with a focus on the "Traditional Two" - Lakers and Celtics - with many experts predicting a Finals rematch.
Cleveland joined the party when it quickly became obvious that former Milwaukee guard Moe Williams would be a helpful addition, while LeBron James was determined to turn every NBA basket into his own personal Nerf hoop.
There was room in the luxury-car garage for one more, it turned out. Orlando appeared to be the ultimate pretender last season when it fell meekly in the playoffs to a Detroit team that lost point guard Chauncey Billups to injury early in Game 3.
But the Magic must have stood under some falling pixie dust at some point during the summer. Orlando appears to be a legitimate threat to win the NBA title thanks to some giant strides by an undersized guard.
Before voters concede the most improved player award to New Jersey guard Devin Harris, strong consideration must be given to Orlando's Jameer Nelson, who is averaging 17.1 points and 5.3 assists, while shooting 50.3 percent overall and 44.5 percent from 3-point range.
The Magic was already a strong contender for the league's best front line, featuring all-star center Dwight Howard, sharpshooter Rashard Lewis and deceptively-slippery Hedo Turkoglu. The team weakness was inconsistent guard play. But Nelson has stepped up offensively while cutting down his turnovers, and rookie Courtney Lee from Western Kentucky gave a boost to the bench.
After beating the Lakers at the Staples Center 109-103 on Jan. 16, Orlando made a strong case for ranking No. 1 in the NBA. Nelson matched Kobe Bryant with 28 points that night, but Nelson took 8 fewer shots.
The Magic also knocked off San Antonio and Denver on that trip and swept a home-and-home series with Atlanta just before departing for the West.
But in their first game back home after the road trip, Orlando fell flat against Boston and lost 90-80. Then the Magic lost again at Miami on Saturday to fall to 33-10.
After Sunday's games, the Cavs (34-8), Lakers (35-8) and Celtics (37-9) are all within 1 game of each other.
The Lakers handled Cleveland convincingly 105-88 last Monday in L.A., but the Cavs finished the trip by beating Portland, Golden State and Utah while still missing starters Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Delonte West.
This would all make for an exciting playoff season, except that three of the top four teams are in the East. The overall quality of the West seems to be dropping every year as some of the former elite squads grow older.
San Antonio, which has gone 27-8 after starting 2-6, figures to be the main competition for the Lakers. When those teams met at the Staples Center on Sunday, the Lakers held a double-digit lead for nearly the entire second half.
The greatest source of suspense left in the regular season will be which team can finish No. 1 in the East, because the two runners-up figure to square off in the second round and would most likely have to play all three of the other elites to win the title.
Get well, Red: The New York Post reported that longtime Bulls broadcaster Johnny "Red" Kerr has prostate cancer. Those of us who cover the team knew he was in poor health, but didn't dig for details.
The fact that he hasn't attended a Bulls game in over a month doesn't sound promising, but Kerr will get a well-deserved tribute at halftime of the Feb. 10 game against Detroit.
Kerr is a good guy, a fascinating personality and his presence at the United Center has been missed.