The NBA has been trending in a very different direction than what many thought heading into the year. The season has been full of surprises and disappointments which can all be seen in the standings.
The Eastern Conference has fewer surprises than the west but still, there are a few upsets. The Orlando Magic finished the 2017-18 season with a record of 25 wins and 57 losses. As of this moment, they can be found in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of ten wins and ten losses.
Some may argue this isn’t impressive as it’s only the Eastern Conference, but considering how poor of a season they previously had, it’s pretty good. It was only yesterday they beat LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, this was the second time they beat them and it’s pretty concerning for the Lakers but amazing for the Magic.
The Western Conference is where you would need to look at the standings twice to believe it. Firstly, the Los Angeles Clippers are at the top of the conference, somehow beating the Warriors with the record of 13-6. This is impressive as they don’t have Chris Paul or Blake Griffin in their starting line-up anymore.
Last season, the Clippers finished tenth in the West with a record of 42-40. Seeing how they are going now, compared to last season, it is pretty hard to believe. Their X-factor is Lou Williams, the two time Sixth Man of the Year who is a very working hard player and consistently delivers for the Clippers.
Secondly, the LA Lakers. They currently sit in seventh in the West which is not bad, although they are underperforming.
(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
This is due to LeBron’s’ arrival in LA in the offseason. The Lakers had all the hype and now the team has very little chemistry with many new players who have never played together.
The Houston Rockets are back in tenth place. This is very disappointing as they are considered to be a championship contender and finished last year with the best record in the NBA with 65 wins and only 17 losses.
They did lose Trevor Ariza in the offseason which may be a contributing factor but is not good enough to justify how poorly the Rockets are performing. It is a mystery to how they have played this bad.
callumgasowski
Roar Rookie
I do agree with what your saying but with this article, I was trying to strict myself to a only 400 word limit and nothing beyond.
Nick
Guest
This is well written and i agree with what you are saying. Well Done
Sam
Guest
There are so many narratives you ain't going near here..... Celtics are 11-10 and Jaylen Brown is seemingly going backwards (plus Gordon Hayward isn't panning out quite as well as people thought he might, granted he's coming back from injury...) Utah have gone from being one of the best defences in the league to getting whipped by DALLAS of all people to the tune of 50 points, and Donovan Mitchell enters brick-city far too often for anyone's liking. Washington are a genuine mess. The Pels are so hot'n'cold it's fantastic, and can drop 145 on anyone. Milwaukee have just about the best paint scorer going around (Giannis) and now have a three-point game. And Toronto will most likely make it to the Championship because there's no LeBron to boot them out of the East. Of course, none of this matters because DeMarcus is back at Christmas, Steph's barely played, and Klay has been awful except for like, 3 games.