Every year one of the most interesting things is looking at how the conferences match up. In the beginning the Eastern Conference surprised with a lot of teams doing well but just as you think the power is going to shift, it's coming right back. Again in the West it's going to be a good 12 teams fighting for 8 playoff spots of which 11 will probably be above .500 by the end of the year. It's really exciting because any team dropping a few games and they're in 11th place and win a few you're in 6-8th place. Lakers are not going to be on the outside looking in for long, Blazers are coming back and Utah can sneak in at any moment. January is going to be tough for the Rockets so really looking forward to where we stand come February. Even if we cannot do much when we're in the playoffs, the race is always exciting and I'm glad we're part of it.
The top 4 should remain the same. Maybe the order changes. T-Wolves will put distance between themselves and the Rockets now that both Love & Rubio are back. Denver will blow past the Rockets in January as both teams' schedules even out. Mavs will too after Dirk returns. Maybe the Rockets can finish ahead of the Warriors, but if Bogut returns and is close to form, forget it. Bottom line: OKC, LAC, MEM, SAS, DEN, DAL, MIN, LAL will be the playoff teams from the West. If Bogut returns, GSW might push their way in. IMO, best the Rockets will likely finish is 9th or 10th. POR will falter and finish below .500 along with NO, UTH, SAC & PHX. NO has zero chance at the playoffs but might be interesting to follow if Eric Gordon returns and plays well. SAC is my pick to end up at the bottom in the West. Reke won't last the season there; Cousins could also go on the block. Keith Smart is a dead coach walking. The silent Geoff Petrie has to be on shaky ground too. Why is he still there? Trades could influence things a lot. There is no need for the Jazz to keep both Big Al and Millsap. Ryan Anderson's 3-point shooting would be a big boost for teams like the Lakers & Nuggets but his contract is so good the Hornets should keep him. I see 8 teams battling for 8 spots with the Warriors possibly a part of the mix. Hopefully January isn't as rough on the Rockets as I think.
It's really too hard to predict. While A_3PO has it right...a injury...a simple injury that puts a guy out for a week or three can set a team back. It'll come down to the end in the west, like it usually does. I think the first 4 teams are a lock. Not sure what happens after that, I think the Rockets get in at 8 though.
I don't think it is a guarantee that the Lakers get in. I do feel that the top 4 are OKC, LAC, Memphis and SAS. Beyond that, it's hard to say. A lot of good teams out there.
I think the Lakers get in too, but I could see them getting as low as a 8th seed because of how tough the West is. The only way they turn it around and get a 1-4 seed is if Dwight goes back to being a MVP caliber player like he was a year or two ago...but I just don't see it, the more I watch Dwight the more I wonder if he's already past his prime because of back issues. Unfortunately for him he was never a player that relied heavily on skill and more on athleticism and some of that may be lost? So many good teams in the West, it's too bad the NBA just doesn't take division winners and then fill out the rest of the playoffs with the teams with the best records. Would make the playoffs a lot more fun.
If the Rockets get in at 8, they better pray OKC doesn't end up #1. Probably the ugliest game of the season when Harden got blocked on half his shots because he only had one move. Exposed....
East vs. West: The West is 88-62 (.587) against the East in inter-conference games and was 13-8 last week. This was at the start of the week.
There have been long, long stretches when the Western Conference has posted winning records against the East. If I recall, one such stretch lasted 11 years, and that was even during the Jordan era.
You can even tell by looking at the bottom of the conferences. Only two teams in the West are below .400, compared to the 5 teams in the East that are below .400.
That be great, but the travel strain would be enormous, unless they changed the format (and more importantly, there'd be less Eastern teams in the playoffs. East coast= money).
