Which teams came out of the all-star break on fire? Which teams are playing like they are still on a break? It’s time to take our bi-weekly look at the hot and cold teams in the NBA. These trends can be extremely useful when considering your next NBA wager. Please note the statistics used are for games played between Feb. 22 and March 6.

Top Five “Hot” ATS NBA Teams

- Los Angeles Lakers (6-1 ATS) Remember how badly the Lakers finished before the break? That is all a distant memory right now, and the Lakers appear to be playing with a real chip on their shoulder. Those who started counting out the Lakers a few weeks ago were out of their minds. This is still the team to beat in the race for the NBA title.

-Denver Nuggets (6-1 ATS) The Nuggets have been playing great since the trade of Carmelo Anthony. They are getting solid contributions from multiple players, and once Danilo Gallinari is healthy again I expect him to be a major contributor. Arron Afflalo has become a terrific clutch shooter. This isn’t a team that can win it all, but they might make more noise than most expect.

-Chicago Bulls (5-2 ATS) The Bulls took down the Heat twice in this seven-game span. Chicago was on the road for six of the seven games during this period. Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer give the Bulls a terrific frontcourt. Derrick Rose has matured remarkably in the last year or so. Chicago definitely has the potential to go deep into the playoffs.

-Memphis Grizzlies (5-2 ATS) The Grizzlies have covered in five of their last six games. They have done all this without Rudy Gay, who is out with a shoulder injury. Memphis has been one of the biggest surprises in the league over the last month. The schedule in the next week gets pretty tough for the Grizzlies, so it will be interesting to see if they can keep it up.

-Phoenix Suns (5-2 ATS) Right after their trade with Orlando in December; most experts were counting this team out. The Suns have started playing very well as a team in the last few weeks. Channing Frye has become a clutch shooter for the team, but he was injured in Sunday’s game and may miss some time. Can the team find another clutch shooter?

Bottom Five “Cold” ATS NBA Teams

-Miami Heat (1-6 ATS) You can’t get much colder than the Miami Heat are right now. The Heat have failed to cover the number in six straight games. The game where they blew a 24-point third quarter lead against the Magic really was a stunner. This team needs to improve its ability to close out a game or they’ll be going home earlier than expected this year.

-Utah Jazz (1-5 ATS) The Utah Jazz era without Jerry Sloan has started out very poorly. The surprising trade of Deron Williams seems to leave this team in rebuilding mode for the next couple years. The Jazz have been terrible defensively over the last couple weeks. Utah has allowed 100 points or more in seven of their last eight games.

-San Antonio Spurs (2-5 ATS) The injury to Tony Parker certainly didn’t help the Spurs over the last couple weeks, but they don’t appear to have quite as much as energy early on in the second half of the season. Tim Duncan has been playing poorly since the break, and Richard Jefferson has been shooting the ball terribly.

-Indiana Pacers (2-5 ATS) Frank Vogel helped this team heat up right after he was named interim head coach, but the Pacers have been bad since the break. Indiana is shooting just 43.9 percent from the floor this year, which is one of the worst marks in the league.

-Golden State Warriors (2-5 ATS) Golden State has been strangely inconsistent on the offensive end in the second half thus far. The Warriors put up only 79 points in a home loss to Atlanta shortly after break. Golden State needs some increased scoring from their post players to help take some pressure off Ellis and Curry.