Mid-Season Review Part 1: Where We Stand- A look at the current NBA Standings

Somehow Paul Millsap has the Jazz in the playoff picture.




Note: With teams now approaching the 33-game mark, we will be taking this week to do a mid-season review. Stay tuned for analysis of the standings, MVP, ROY, DPOY, MIP, 6^th Man and more.


Mid-Season Review Part 2: MVP Race
Mid-Season Review Part 3: Rookie of the Year-What will become of this year's class?

            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:

Surprise! The Rebirth of the 76ers

A bit of a disappointment last year, Evan Turner is slowly making his strides in his sophomore campaign.

            Close your eyes for a moment. Except don’t because I want you to keep reading. Let’s start this over.

            I would like to describe to you a team. Not just any team, but a team that was more or less unimpressive throughout most of last season and in all reality has been just a blip on the radar screen since the 2003-‘04 season. A team that managed to squeak into the Eastern Conference Playoffs last year with the seventh seed only to become the first victim of the Miami Heat’s “Big 3.”  Though in all fairness they played the Heat close and even managed to win one game. This is a team that has made no big offseason acquisitions. The last two important moves happened two years ago when they drafted the so far unimpressive Evan Turner with the 2^nd pick and hired Doug Collins as their coach. This is a team that has no MVP candidates, players scoring over 20 points per game and most likely won’t feature any all-stars.   This is a team that is currently leading the Atlantic Division with a 10-win and 4-loss record. This is your 2011-‘12 Philadelphia 76ers.