The NBA is almost 30 games deep into their season. At this point in the season we get a good picture of who these teams are. The Eastern Conference has clearly become a two team race. It’s the Heat and the Pacers and everybody else are just hanging around. The currently third place team in the East is the Atlanta Hawks with a 16-13 record. No other team in the conference has a winning record.
Now in the West things seem to be a lot more competitive. The number 9 team in the West which happens to be the Denver Nuggets at 14-13 would be the 4th seed in the current Eastern Conference. The left coast seems to be up for grabs with few teams who could challenge for a spot in the finals. There a few teams in both conferences that I find interesting and will follow throughout the rest of the season. Of course I am going to share them right here.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks came into this season a different team than they were last season. They have a new coach and star Josh Smith has taken his talents to the Motor City. The team appears to be competitive in a down conference. The NBA doesn’t really reward you for being a middle of the road team. Either you need to be competing for Championships or building with high round draft picks. The Hawks seem like they are far away from a championship. They have a few good pieces but no star. In this current time in the league that is usually not a recipe for success. Now with major injury to Al Horford the Hawks will have to some shuffling. We will see if GM Danny Ferry can make some big moves and take this team to the next level.
Detroit Pistons
After a few years of losing the Pistons might have something going. They are only 14-16 but that’s good enough for 7th in the East right now and only a game or 2 out of 4th place. They could actually host a playoff series in the 1st round if they play their cards right. As the East plays each other more I expect the records to gain some more balance. Their frontcourt of the newly acquired Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond seems to be posing matchup problems for the rest of the league. Brandon Jennings appears to be a positive acquisition but he started off really well in Milwaukee also before he wasn’t that welcome anymore. Right now the team appears to have a few parts that could be moved. Greg Monroe could be attractive to a team that may want a solid big man. With the emergence of Drummond and them having Smith makes him expendable. Maybe pick a good wing player who can defend.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns are 17-10 and seems to play teams tough every night. Behind current coach and former Suns player Jeff Hornacek this team seems to be on the right track. Not a team loaded with mega stars but there is a lot of potential on this roster. Getting Eric Bledsoe from the Clippers has been a nice addition. They are a well balanced team that has 7 players that average double digit points per game. One of my favorite stories of this season comes from the both of the Morris twins being on the team and doing well. I will definitely be watching to see what happens with this team for the rest of the season.
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs appear to be ageless. Here are after a long emotionally draining NBA Finals and the Gregg Popovich still has his team clicking on all cylinders. At 23-7 and 3rd in the West the question is can they hold up? Duncan and company are all getting on in years but they still keep coming back. Pop is of course pulling off one of his great coaching jobs where he is just plugging in people you probably never heard of and making them contributors. Whetehr it is reviving the career of Boris Diaw or finding guys like Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, Popovich keeps plugging them in. Can’t wait to see how they keep moving through this season.
Written By
Keith B. Holt
Follow on Twitter @Kholtjr
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