The Los Angeles Lakers, last year’s NBA champions, seem to be a main contender to get back to the Finals this season, but there are certainly more contenders to look at for the 2010 NBA Championship. Let’s look at the top 5.

#5 Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks have been quietly building for this time in their franchise for the past couple of seasons and it is all starting to pay off now. Their record currently sits at 40-21 and it looks like they have a good chance of getting the #2 seed in the East (they were 2 games behind Orlando when this was written). The amount of prime-aged talent that Atlanta has is staggering. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are probably the 2 most underrated players in all of basketball and they are on the same team! Johnson is a great leader of the offense in both scoring and passing, averaging 21.7 points and 4.6 assists per game this season. Smith is a defensive force that can puts up 15 and 6 every single night. Those 2 players along with role players like Mike Bibby, Al Horford, Jamal Crawford and Marvin Wiliams make this team as deep as any in the East. I think that the Hawks have a long playoff run in them because of their talent and the experience they gained in last year’s playoffs.

#4 Denver Nuggets

George Karl’s crew made it to the Western Conference Finals last season and they appear ready to make another appearance there this season. The veteran leadership of Chauncey Billups is there making a positive impact again this season and the insane scoring of Carmelo Anthony (28.6 ppg) makes the Nuggets offense the best in the NBA. Obviously, the experience of making it to the Western Conference Finals last season is a huge plus for this team, but what have they done this season to be more of a threat to the Lakers come playoff time? The Nuggets play very well at home, but in a 7 game series against the Lakers, will they be able to hold serve at home AND win one on the road? That is the challenge for this year’s team.

#3 Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs are the surprise team on this list. Going into the 2009-2010 season, many thought that Dallas was a borderline playoff team, but Dirk Nowitzki and crew have put it all together throughout this year and currently own the 2nd best record in the West. The trade deadline deal that got them both Caron Butler and Brenden Haywood is the reason I have them as the second ranked Western Conference team on my list. Erik Dampier just isn’t going to be a starting center on a championship team, but as a guy coming off the bench, he is valuable. Butler is a great scorer and adds another dimension to the high flying offense that Dallas features. Jason Terry’s recent injury hurts, but he will be back soon and the Mavs will continue to roll. Their current 10-game winning streak is proof of their recent moves working out for the best.

#2 Los Angeles Lakers

The defending champs have struggled as of late (4-4 in last 8), but they still own the West’s best record by 4 games over the Mavs. The injury bug has bitten the team hard this year as they have lost both Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to multiple injuries. Give this team the last fourth of the season get their mojo back and they will cruise to at least the Western Conference Finals. With all the things that have gone “wrong” this season, the Lakers are still the most talented team in the NBA by far and will have to play poorly to not reach the NBA Finals again this season. Kobe will step up his game in the playoffs as he always does and we could see a repeat champion this year in the NBA.

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers

The reason I have the Cavs ahead of the Lakers at this point is not only because they have a better record (by 3 games), but also because of the recent addition of Antawn Jamison down low to give LeBron some scoring help. Shaq was hurt recently, but his 12 points per game will be more than replaced by Jamison in the interim and his addition come playoff time will be a luxury for the Cavs. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will probably re-sign with the Cavs in a couple of weeks and Cleveland will all of the sudden look like a fairly deep team down low. Mo Williams is a great point guard (16 ppg, 5 apg) and LeBron is just the best athlete in the NBA (29.8 ppg, 8.6 apg, 7.1 rpg). This team will have to prove it can win the Eastern Conference before they can dream of an NBA Championship, but they look to be in the best position of any NBA team this season.