Pacific Division
Warriors (10-6)- The Warriors are starting off great this year and have managed to achieve first place in the Pacific division. They have had very balanced scoring this year and four guys have 14+ points (Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, David Lee, and Carl Landry). David Lee is having a standout year thus far with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. Stephen Curry is shooting 40% from 3-pointers, while Carl Landry is shooting 57% with 14 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. The Warriors are currently 4th in the west this year.
LA Clippers (10-6)- Chris Paul is averaging 9 assists per game this year and Blake Griffin is averaging 17 and 9 this far. However, the leading scorer for the team isn't even starting. That would be sharpshooter Jamal Crawford, who said that he never practiced shooting until this year. Something's working for him, and he has 17.5 points a game while shooting an impeccable 94% from the line to give the Clips a good start this year as they look to make the next step-being a title contender.
LA Lakers (8-9)- The Lakers season has been filled with tons of ups and downs this year, and somehow they find themselves at a pretty even 8-8 so far. They made a controversial decision when they fired head coach Mike Brown after only 4 games this year, and made a crazier decision hiring Mike D'Antoni instead of former coach Phil Jackson. I never thought Brown suited the Lakers position, so you can see the reasons for firing. They did hire Steve Nash's former coach, but Nash is injured. They should be doing better after Nash comes back.
Suns (7-11)- It's been a sub-par beginning for a struggling Suns team trying to find the playoffs. They have some good talent in Luis Scola, Goran Dragic, and Marcin Gortat, and with some increased production from others they may be able to right the ship. They haven't been bad so far, but it just hasn't accumulated into wins so far. This is the first season in a long time where Nash hasn't been running the point, but Goran Dragic is doing job filling the void with 6.6 assists per game to go along with a team leading 15.3 points.
Kings (4-12)- The Kings own the worst record in the Western Conference thus far in the season, and along with the Wizards are only 1 of 2 NBA teams yet to win a game on the road. The Kings are 0-6 away from Sacramento, and are coming off a 35 point beating from the Clippers at the Staples Center. There haven't been very many positives so far, but you can look at young Demarcus Cousins, slowly growing into one of the league's best centers. So far he has 16 points and 9.5 rebounds a game.
Northwest Division
Thunder (14-4)- The defending Western Conference champions have started off hot, and are sitting pretty at a division leading, second place in the west 14-4 record thus far. They've wasted no time making it known they are still a contender for the title, and are on a 5 game win streak currently. They are also averaging a 9.8 point win, which is the greatest differential in the league right now. Kevin Durant is attempting to make a push for MVP this season, and currently is averaging 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists in an attempt to steal the honor from Lebron. Kevin Martin is excellently filling in James Harden's void, and could make a run at 6th man of the year, averaging 16 a game. However, Jamal Crawford and Carl Landry are big competition just in the West.
Jazz (9-9)- Don't let the Jazz's 9-9 record fool you, they can be a contender. They also may be a scary playoffs team, as they haven't lost a home game yet. Granted, they've only played six at home, but it still is impressive. Al Jefferson is having a sub-par year by scoring standards in comparisons to his previous seasons, but has upped the rebounding to average a 16.7 and 10.5 double double. Gordon Hayward from Butler is having a good season as well, and is developing into a very solid starting small forward in this league. They share the minutes quite well as a team, with 8 guys playing 20 plus minutes a game.
Nuggets (8-9)- An interesting season for Denver so far. This can be considered a disappointing start for the fans up a mile above sea level. However, they do have a 4-1 home record, good there as always. This team has made the playoffs and have had a winning record each year since 2003, so you'd figure they'll get back on track for a tenth straight postseason appearance. 6 players are averaging at least 10 points, so they're sharing the wealth well, and Kenneth Faried is quickly becoming a rebound monster like he was at Morehead State. A good note is that all three of their main big men (Faried, Javale McGee, and Kosta Koufos) are all shooting over 54% from the field, excellent shooting. This team loves to score, and they are averaging 99.9 points a game so far.
Timberwolves (7-8)- The main story for the T'Wolves has been injuries. Kevin Love has only played 6 games, 6 for Chase Budinger, 5 for Brandon Roy, and Ricky Rubio hasn't started his season yet. Kevin Love is averaging 21 points and an amazing 15 rebounds every time he plays, though. The team has hit the plague, and it's hard to fight back, especially when only 3 players have been in every game. These are Luke Ridnour, Dante Cunningham, and Alexey Shved. 11 different players have started so far, which says a lot about the injury-plagued team.
Blazers (7-10)- LaMarcus Aldridge is making a great case for a spot on the all star team with 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Damian Lillard (19 points, 6 assists), is a strong candidate for rookie of the year honors this season. That was good. Now to bad. The depth is terrible, as after their starting five no player averages over 5.1 points. They are third worst in the league in assists, and rank 23rd in field goal percentage. Four of their starters play extremely heavy minutes (over 37 a game), and they are the only team to lose to the Washington Wizards. That's enough, I'll back off of Portland.
Southwest Division
Grizzlies (12-3)- Congratulations, Memphis Grizzlies, for having the best record in the NBA thus far (tied with the Miami Heat, actually, but best in the Western Conference nonetheless). This team seems to be a pretty consistent dark horse playoff team with a 5-8 seed for the past few years. This may be the season where they finally make the jump. "Zebo" Zach Randolph is playing like an absolute monster, swallowing rebounds (12.7 to be exact), while also averaging 16.3 points. Rudy Gay is averaging 19 and 6, and Mike Conley has an amazing 2.57 steals per contest. This is a team that shoots an amazing 81.3 percent from the free-throw line, which is second in the league. They have the third largest win margin of any team at close to 8 points per, and if the numbers don't lie it's easy to see why they're great.
Spurs (14-4)- The aging superstars are complemented nicely with some fresh, young talent this year. Tim Duncan is back to double-double form with an impressive 19 and 10 to lead the team in both categories. Tony Parker leads the way for a team who leads the league in assists. Their numbers look very consistent and they have a lot of output from several different players. They have been criticized and fined 250k for not playing four of their best players (Ginobili, Duncan, Parker, and Green), but you have to admit that they were playing four games in five days, their older veterans especially were tired, and no one is supposed to beat the Heat, and they aren't in the same conference, so they loss didn't matter a ton anyway.
Rockets (8-8)- Seeing as they pretty much threw their whole team away over the offseason (all but 3 guys), and were supposed to get killed by everyone this season, you can look at the even .500 record as an accomplishment thus far. James Harden is proving to be worth a whole ton to this team (80 million is always debatable, but look at the numbers this guy and his beard are putting up!), and is currently averaging 24 points a game, good enough for 5th in the league right now. The other main addition, Jeremy Lin, is also playing well as a facilitator, doing a bit of everything. He has 10.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 2 steals a game, pretty good numbers for him. Possibly the biggest surprise of the year has been from Omer Asik. He was Joakim Noah's backup for the Bulls last year, but is showing up as a starter with 11 points and 12.3 rebounds, a rebound total good enough for third in the league. Joakim Noah is tenth in this stat with 9.9 per contest.
Mavericks (8-9)- The Mavericks were without a scoring option once news of Dirk Nowitzki's injury came to light. And then Orange Juice Mayonnaise (oh, it's just O.J. Mayo? Gotcha.) came to the rescue, providing 20 a game to keep the team rolling. Once Dirk get's back, there should be a good pick and roll. These guys are almost as bad as the Timberwolves in terms of definite starters. This team has started ten different men. Wow. The Mavs will look for a rebound once Dirk comes back, and then this team will try to snag a playoff appearance, maybe as a 6-8.
Hornets (4-11) LAST TEAM! - The big story for the Hornets this season was the addition of a single unibrow. Anthony Davis, a national champion at Kentucky and undisputed number one draft selection. The 6'10'' big man was the dream of all teams with a shot at the lottery. The Hornets got him, and he got a concussion. But in his six games, the Brow has shown signs of greatness. It will be fun to see him with Eric Gordon once Gordon gets healthy. Greivis Vasquez out of Maryland has stepped up his game this season, averaging 8.7 assists, placing him 5th in the league to this point. This team will have to take a couple years to develop, but could compete in the future.
THAT WAS A MAMMOTH POST. I CAN'T GIVE A FOR SURE DATE ON THE EASTERN CONFERENCE ONE, ALTHOUGH I CAN SAY IT'LL BE OUT BY WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY. HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT, AND I'LL POST AGAIN REAL SOON. THAT MEANS WHEN I'M BORED.
CONNOR
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