At
the start of the season I debated whether youth or experience would prevail at
the end of the season. As we approach the mid-way point, it seems that a little
bit of both is resulting in success.
In the East we’ve
seen the younger teams in the league, such as the Bobcats, Wizards and Pistons,
struggle to a degree that at times has been unwatchable. But a few other young
teams, including the 76ers and the Pacers, have gelled and are off to their
best starts in a decade. Boston, one of the oldest teams in the East, struggled
to find their legs early and were on pace to finish at the bottom of their
division until Paul Pierce played his way back into shape and Rondo returned
from an injury. The Heat and the Bulls were once again expected to rise to the
top of the conference and thus far they have not disappointed. But the Knicks,
who many predicted to grab a top seed, looked as though they’d wind up being
the leagues biggest disappointment until Jeremy Lin came to their rescue.
Out West 13 of the
15 teams in the conference are separated by 9-1/2 games. And yes, there are
still only eight playoff spots in each conference. The Thunder have been using
their talent and youth to run away with the Conference. Meanwhile, the Clippers
have been battling with the Lakers for the rights to the Staples Center. The
crafty Spurs are still hanging on to a top seed and the defending Champion Mavs
have played their way into shape and currently sit in the middle of the playoff
picture. Then we have Rockets, Nuggets, Jazz, Blazers, Grizzlies, Wolves, Suns
and Warriors fighting for the last three spots. Most people expected the
Nuggets, Blazers and Grizzlies to be in position to make the playoffs, but the
rest of the bunch, especially the Jazz, were assumed to be lottery bound.
If the season were
to end today, here is how the playoff picture would look along with my
predicitons:
