Since last year some NBA teams have fallen from grace, others have risen to fame, and some even stay at the same rank as they had in the 2008-2009 season. While Los Angeles' and Cleveland's topping of their own conferences is hardly a surprise, the rising of other NBA teams has proven something of an eye opener.

In the Eastern Conference, Toronto and Charlotte have risen from the depths to claim spots in the ranks of the top 8 Eastern Conference teams. In the previous year, Toronto respectively claimed 13^th place in the East while Charlotte was 10^th. Toronto has improved greatly by bumping up to 6^th place while Charlotte's improvement was slightly less in their move to 7^th place.

What goes up must come down. Not many teams in the NBA demonstrate that better than the New Orleans Hornets, and Utah Jazz. In the 2007-2008 Season, the New Orleans Hornets and the Utah Jazz were doing swell as they both topped their own division. New Orleans was in 2^nd or 3^rd place* while Utah was 5^th in the West.

Within the last couple years both teams gradually began to slide from their glorious positions. In the 2008-2009 Season, Utah barely held on to a playoff position as they finished in 8^th in the Western Conference while New Orleans' fell to 7^th. This season neither team is in a playoff spot. However, both teams are within reach of a lower playoff position.

            Other notable teams this year are the Atlanta Hawks and the New Jersey Nets. In the acquiring of Jamaal Crawford, Atlanta has maintained its spot as 4^th in the East but clearly has the potential to rise higher.

In this year alone, Atlanta has defeated the Portland Trailblazers (twice), the Denver Nuggets, the Boston Celtics (three times), the Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks. As most NBA followers would know, these are all prestigious teams, especially the Boston Celtics.

The New Jersey Nets, on the other hand, are not notable for their victories or playoff position. Within the last couple years, the New Jersey Net went from bad to worse. While they only dropped a couple ranks in the Eastern Conference standings, they gained notoriety for their record-breaking losing streak which started out their Season this year. Their infamous streak caught the attention of comedians of Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno, who both made jokes about the team. Jimmy Kimmel pushed two NBA teams' buttons as he described the Net as the "Clippers of basketball".

*San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Hornets were tied in the 2007-2008 Season.