Okay, so we’re only 9 games into the NBA season, but after glancing at the NBA.com standings, there’s reason to believe the Western Conference may not be as competitive as it was last season.
Why?
Look no further than the Southwest Division. The Southwest has been the toughest division in the NBA over the past few seasons but sports 3 teams with sub .500 records.
Houston 5-3
New Orleans 4-3
Memphis 3-6
San Antonio 2-5
Dallas 2-6
New Orleans, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas won 50 + games last season. All four teams have started their 08-09 campaigns off slowly. I didn’t pick the Mavs to make the playoffs this season so their struggles are somewhat expected. But I don’t think anyone predicted the Spurs to fall so hard so fast. Granted, San Antonio has been without star guards Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, but the Spurs have played uncharacteristically bad on the defensive end. Tim Duncan has been tasked with trying to keep a D-League caliber roster afloat until at least mid-December. Welcome to pre-Boston Celtic Kevin Garnett’s world Timmy.
The Spurs and Mavs may right their ships before the All-Star break, but it’s hard to imagine either team hitting the 50-win plateau this season.
The Boston Celtics sit atop the East with an 8-1 record thus far. Trailing the Celtics are the Hawks (6-1), Cavs (7-2), and Pistons (6-2). That’s four teams with a 75% or better win percentage. The New York Knicks (5-3) and Indiana Pacers (4-3) have been steady. While the Sixers (3-5) and Raptors (4-4) have failed to live up to expectations.
It’s too early to proclaim the Eastern and Western Conference as equal, but due to age, injury, and offseason moves, the Eastern Conference is beginning to narrow the gap.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
[...] the Western Conference really as strong as most people think? BallerBlogger has a really interesting article looking at the Southwest Division, which shows how the traditional Western powers are struggling [...]