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1. Houston Rockets
There's far more to Chris Paul's playmaking than simply pointing toward his assist totals. The Rockets are shooting 61 percent directly off passes from Paul so far this season, according to Second Spectrum. That's the best in the NBA among the more than 125 players that have made at least 100 passes leading directly to a shot. -- Micah Adams
2. Golden State Warriors
The Warriors' 6-0 road trip was the first time in franchise history they swept a road trip of at least six games. They are now home for nine of the next 10 and do not leave the state of California until after the New Year. Can they win out entering the Christmas clash with Cleveland? BPI gives Golden State a 52 percent chance of winning their next six games, which would put the defending champs on a 12-game winning streak entering the NBA Finals rematch. -- Micah Adams
3. Boston Celtics
Al Horford has been worth every penny this season, at least per ESPN's Real Plus-Minus, in which he ranked seventh in the NBA entering Sunday. Horford ranked 14th among power forwards last season. This season he's second, ahead of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis and trailing only Draymond Green. And Horford's passing has been on point: The Celtics are 10-0 when he records at least six assists. -- Mark Simon
4. San Antonio Spurs
While everyone else is busy choosing a side in the "can Houston beat Golden State" discussion, the Spurs are quietly just two games back and on the verge of getting back Kawhi Leonard. At the heart of San Antonio staying in the thick of the race atop the Western Conference is the play of LaMarcus Aldridge, currently sporting a career-high player efficiency rating of 25.3. -- Micah Adams
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James currently leads the NBA in points scored and assisted in the clutch this season, and it's an area he holds a distinct advantage over James Harden as the two have started to build some separation from the rest of the MVP pack. James has scored or assisted on 77 percent of Cleveland's clutch-time points, compared to 50 percent for Harden in Houston. -- Micah Adams
6. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors' two best players have each improved significantly in a specific phase of their games. Kyle Lowry is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game after never averaging five in a season. The Raptors are 15-3 when he grabs five or more boards and 2-4 when he doesn't. DeMar DeRozan is averaging 5.1 assists per game, also a career high. The Raptors are 13-1 when he has five or more assists this season and 4-6 when he doesn't. -- Vincent Johnson
7. Milwaukee Bucks
The Greek Freak's dunk on Rudy Gobert might have been the play of the week and continued what has been a season-long string of posterizations for Giannis Antetokounmpo. According to Second Spectrum, he has more contested dunks than any player in the league this season while an NBA-best 32 different defenders have been victimized. -- Micah Adams
8. Minnesota Timberwolves
Taj Gibson has gotten more minutes this season than he ever has, and for good reason: He leads the team in net rating. The Timberwolves are a far better team at both defending and rebounding when Gibson is on the floor. He's scoring some too. He just came off a three-game stretch in which he averaged 16.7 points. -- Mark Simon
9. Indiana Pacers
The Pacers ended the week in a big way, with a win over the streaking Cavaliers on Friday and an overtime win featuring Victor Oladipo's 47-point performance on Sunday. The Pacers defeated a Cavs team that had won 13 straight, the sixth time in franchise history Indiana had won a game against a team that entered with a winning streak of 13 or more games since they joined the NBA in 1976. -- Sarah Langs
10. Denver Nuggets
Gary Harris ranks third in the NBA in Real Plus-Minus among shooting guards (two spots better than Klay Thompson). Why? The Nuggets are 8.4 points per 100 possessions better with him on the court than off on offense and 5.3 points per 100 possessions better on defense. -- Mark Simon
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