Jan 5th 2009 12:35PM by Brett Pollakoff (author feed)
Filed under: Cavaliers, Celtics, Lakers, Trail Blazers, NBA Last Night
Kobe Bryant finished this reverse dunk against the Blazers last night, and in the process helped his team to pass the Boston Celtics in the league-wide standings.

Thanks to a bizarro night in the Association — one where the Celtics fell to the Knicks, and LeBron’s crab dribble couldn’t save the Cavs from losing a close one in Washington — the Lakers now own the NBA’s best record with a 27-5 mark through the team’s first 32 games.

Of course, it’s not like they’re running away with it or anything; the Celtics have actually played three more games, and have won two of them. The Lakers have the advantage by mere percentage points (.844 to .829), and are just a half a game ahead of Cleveland, with the same amount of wins but one fewer loss.

It may be a bit early to start talking about home court advantage throughout the playoffs, but it’s worth noting that the top of the East is shaping up to be tougher than the top of the West. The Celtics lead the Cavs by just a single game in the East, and lead the Magic by just two and a half games (again, percentage points). L.A. has it a bit easier out West at the moment, with a slightly more comfortable five and a half game lead over their closest competition, the Spurs and the Nuggets.