This National Basketball Association was formed in 1949, and has had 64 champions, the most recent of which being the San Antonio Spurs. While the 2014-15 season is just three weeks deep, certain teams have proven that they are far above the rest in the hunt for the coveted championship; for example, the 10-2 Memphis Grizzlies as opposed to the 3-9 Los Angeles Lakers. One of these teams is performing at a high level night-in and night-out, while one team is performing extremely poorly except for when Nick Young (A.K.A. Swaggy P.) is on the floor. The Lakers are 2-0 when Swaggy P. is playing, but an atrocious 1-9 without said swag. To get off of the subject of how terrible the Lakers are, here are five legitimate playoff contenders thus far through the season:

Cleveland Cavaliers (5-5)

Cleveland is in this discussion because of two words: the first being Lebron, the second being James. Yes, Lebron James is back in Cleveland, and he made a definitive impact, as he boosted Cleveland’s chances from 1-25 to 2-5, the highest in the NBA. James, in tandem with Kyrie Irving Kevin Love, makes Cleveland a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. They are averaging an extremely healthy 105 points per game, but they’re allowing a dreadful 103.1. If Cleveland wants to become THE team in the NBA, they’re going to have to step up on defense quite a deal.

San Antonio Spurs (7-4)

You cannot count out the defending NBA champions in any discussion this early in the season. They have a pretty good points scored-points allowed ratio at 94.7-91.6, but they are 25 in the league in scoring. If there is one thing the Spurs do well, it’s move the ball, which should make scoring easier, but it does not always. In the Spurs’ seven wins, they are averaging almost 26, while they are dropping only 19 dimes per game in their losses. This steep decline in ball movement creates a direct correlation between assists and wins. The Spurs are already a great team, but the one thing they could do better is put the ball in the hoop on offense.

Golden State Warriors (8-2)

While Cleveland has Lebron, Golden State has Stephen Curry. Curry is a phenomenal offensive player, and he does a good job on defense. He, aside from Kevin Durant and Lebron James, is the best all-around player in the league. In addition to this highly ranked status, he is scoring 4.38 percent of his teams’ points this season, while he is only .07 percent of the team. That’s saying a lot, because the Warriors are averaging a second-best 108.6 points per game, and they are making 49.9 percent of their shots. If there is one thing that the high-powered Warriors can improve upon, it is pass the ball around to find more open shooters. Their top five scorers per game are as follows: Curry (24.8), Klay Thompson (23.4), Draymond Green (12.9), Harrison Barnes (11.8), and Marreese Speights (9.8). The assist can never be over-valued.

Toronto Raptors (9-2)

The Toronto Raptors are playing much better than last season, when they lost in the first round of the playoffs, and they’re doing it in a relatively quiet fashion. Not many people may know about their success, but they own one of the best point differentials in the league, as they are scoring 105.1 points per game and allowing only 96. In addition, their leading scorer is DeMar DeRozan with 21.2 points per game, the second-lowest total of any leading scorer on this list. This shows the Raptors’ dedication to a cohesive team game, in which everyone gets the ball. If the Raptors could improve anything, it’s their paltry 18.1 assists per game, the third lowest in the league.

Memphis Grizzlies (10-2)

Lastly, we have the Memphis Grizzlies. I believe that they are the best overall team on this list, even though they are operating under new coach David Joerger after the loss of Lionel Hollins. The lowest point total of any leading scorer on this list belongs to the Spaniard, Marc Gasol with only 18 points per game. Next is Mike Conley with 17.8, then Zach Randolph with 16.6, and Courtney Lee with 14.9. They are also averaging 20.3 assists per game, demonstrating their great ball movement. They also own the league’s stingiest defense, as they only allow 91.8 points per game, and they hold their opponents to sinking just 43.8 percent of their shots. This stout defense and fantastic ball movement may not be fun or interesting to watch, but it gets the job done for teams wishing to win it all.