WS Chronicle

Coming into this NBA season, I thought the Western Conference was going to be far and away better than the Eastern Conference. After the first quarter of the season, the East is not as bad as I initially thought.

With all of the movement that happened out west during the offseason, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that the Eastern Conference would only have two or three teams that would be worth watching, but I have been happily surprised so far this season. It was a given that Milwaukee, Philly and the Celtics would be good; however, there have been several teams from the East that have been a surprise.

The Toronto Raptors, Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat have all been better than expected. I am especially surprised that the Heat is currently holding down the fourth seed in the East, at the time this article was written.

All summer all I heard was the Western Conference was so much better than the East. The top of the West has been stellar, but I expected the gap between the 1 and 8 seed to be a lot closer at this point in the season. I especially did not foresee any of the top 8 seeds in the West to be below .500. Currently, there are two teams in the West that are under .500, but only one such team in the East.

As expected, the Lakers and the Clippers are fighting for supremacy of Los Angeles and the Western Conference as a whole. Surprisingly enough, the Dallas Mavericks are sitting in the 3 spot, ahead of the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.  

I still stick by my prediction that whoever wins the West will win the ship, unless one of the top teams in the East makes a move before the trade deadline. As the teams are currently constructed, the Lakers and Clippers will have their way with any team from the East in a 7-game series, so one of these teams will have to make a move to improve their roster.

My pick to come out of the East is the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo has expanded his game to another level this season. He has incorporated a three-point shot into his repertoire of skills that defenders have to respect, which has only made his scoring ability that much stronger.

With the loss of Malcolm Brogdon, I thought it would severely hurt the Bucks come playoff time and I still believe that. Antetokounmpo can’t be their hero every single night. Khris Middleton has played well, but to overcome the Lakers or Clippers in a 7-game series, I believe the Bucks will have to bring in another All-Star-level player. If they are able to do so, then the NBA Finals will be very interesting.

I can’t wait to see which team in the East decided to make a move, because the West is so top heavy. 

Spring can’t get here soon enough.