The NBA power rankings for January 29 are out, and with just a little over two weeks to go until the 2018 NBA All-Star game, it is time to start separating the contenders from the pretenders. In an 82 game regular season, the league officially passed the halfway point last week and while a few teams are doing as well as many NBA experts believed they would, there have also been several surprises up to this point -- good and bad.

The Top 10

1. Golden State Warriors: The regular season is just a formality for these guys. At times they have looked out of sync, yet they have the league's best record at 40-10.

2. Houston Rockets: Houston was a top 10 odds favorite to win the NBA crown back in August, and they look even better than that. The Rockets are 4.5 games behind Golden State, yet they would be the No. 1 seed in the East. Don’t overlook this team this May.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder: Is anyone hotter than OKC? The Thunder are on an eight-game win streak and are making waves in the West. For a team that was down and out when KD left just over one year ago, OKC is poised to make a run at the West leaders this postseason.

4. Boston Celtics: They have hit a bit of a skid, but if the Celtics are healthy in May, they will be a dangerous group. So far the Irving trade has been great for Boston.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves: They keep on fighting.

They lost a few tough games without Jimmy Butler in the lineup, but when this team is healthy they are dangerous.

6. Toronto Raptors: Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are once again showing that the Raptors are a great team in the regular season. This team needs to advance in the postseason to get the respect they deserve. Right now they are a top team in the East.

7. San Antonio Spurs: They just keep hanging around, but do they have enough to make a run at the West crown?

8. New Orleans Pelicans: Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins make this team a threat. Now, Davis has to go about it himself as his go-to post-up guy is out with an injury.

9. Indiana Pacers: No Paul George, yet they are a feisty bunch.

How far can this Pacers team go this spring?

10. Portland Trail Blazers: Damian Lillard is an All-Star again after a three-year absence, and the Blazers are keeping pace for a postseason run.

Best of the rest

What happened to the Detroit Pistons? After a 14-6 start, the Pistons have fallen off the NBA map. Now, rumblings of Stan Van Gundy being fired and key players being traded are all the media has to talk about in Motown. The free fall continues for Detroit, who are now at No. 18. The Milwaukee Bucks are picking up steam, the Heat are treading water, and the Hawks are the worst team in the league. One more positive? The Lakers are starting to get it together. This team could be a threat next year in the West, and that hasn't been said in a long time.

Here are the rest of the NBA Power Rankings along with the current odds to win the 2017-18 NBA title:

11. Miami Heat

12. Milwaukee Bucks

13. Philadelphia 76ers

14. Cleveland Cavaliers

15. Denver Nuggets

16. Washington Wizards

17. Los Angeles Clippers

18. Detroit Pistons

19. Charlotte Hornets

20. New York Knicks

21. Los Angeles Lakers

22. Utah Jazz

23. Brooklyn Nets

24. Phoenix Suns

25. Orlando Magic

26. Chicago Bulls

27. Memphis Grizzlies

28. Dallas Mavericks

29. Sacramento Kings

30. Atlanta Hawks

NBA odds

To no one's surprise, the Golden State Warriors are still the team to beat this season. This team is primed for a repeat title run and as of right now, it doesn't look like anyone can stop them.

The latest odds update has the Warriors listed at 2/5, which is leaps and bounds over the second place Cavaliers at 6/1. Right behind Cleveland are the Houston Rockets (7/1), Boston Celtics (15/1) and Toronto Raptors (15/1) rounding out the top five.
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