Christmas has passed, the clock has ticked over into 2015 and all (most) teams are up and running. Whether its going well or not so well doesn’t matter, everyone has settled down. With that, of course, comes the time to take a look at what this season is shaping into and compare it with last year.
Power Has Shifted in the West
As we near the halfway point, there’s one major conclusion to make: the tables have turned in the West. A little “internal” revolution within all the playoff contenders has occurred, where high flyers are seeing lower seeds dominate the glory spots. May you judge for yourself:
2014-15 Standings *last night’s games not included
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB | CGB |
| Golden State | 27 | 5 | 0.844 | 0 | 0 |
| Portland | 27 | 8 | 0.771 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Memphis | 25 | 9 | 0.735 | 0 | 3 |
| Dallas | 26 | 10 | 0.722 | 0 | 3 |
| Houston | 23 | 11 | 0.676 | 2 | 5 |
| LA Clippers | 23 | 12 | 0.657 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| San Antonio | 21 | 14 | 0.6 | 4.5 | 7.5 |
| Phoenix | 20 | 16 | 0.556 | 9 | 9 |
| New Orleans | 17 | 17 | 0.5 | 8 | 11 |
| Oklahoma City | 17 | 18 | 0.486 | 10 | 11.5 |
| Denver | 15 | 20 | 0.429 | 12 | 13.5 |
| Sacramento | 14 | 20 | 0.412 | 14 | 14 |
| Utah | 12 | 23 | 0.343 | 15 | 16.5 |
| LA Lakers | 11 | 24 | 0.314 | 17.5 | 17.5 |
| Minnesota | 5 | 28 | 0.152 | 21 | 22.5 |
2013-14 Final Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | GB |
| 1 xyz-San Antonio | 62 | 20 | 0.756 | – |
| 2 xy-Oklahoma City | 59 | 23 | 0.72 | 3 |
| 3 xy-L.A. Clippers | 57 | 25 | 0.695 | 5 |
| 4 x-Houston | 54 | 28 | 0.659 | 8 |
| 5 x-Portland | 54 | 28 | 0.659 | 8 |
| 6 x-Golden St. | 51 | 31 | 0.622 | 11 |
| 7 x-Memphis | 50 | 32 | 0.61 | 12 |
| 8 x-Dallas | 49 | 33 | 0.598 | 13 |
| o-Phoenix | 48 | 34 | 0.585 | 14 |
| o-Minnesota | 40 | 42 | 0.488 | 22 |
| o-Denver | 36 | 46 | 0.439 | 26 |
| o-New Orleans | 34 | 48 | 0.415 | 28 |
| o-Sacramento | 28 | 54 | 0.341 | 34 |
| o-L.A. Lakers | 27 | 55 | 0.329 | 35 |
| o-Utah | 25 | 57 | 0.305 | 37 |
The interesting thing about this shift in power is the fact that it is hard to see who is responsible for it. Whilst the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers have slowed down considerably, and their seasons have started slowly in proportion to expectations. On the other side, however, credit has to be given to the Warriors, Blazers, Grizzlies and Mavericks, who have all been exceptional so far; all, except possibly Memphis, play a high tempo basketball, based around their offense but without neglecting their defense. To think Golden State ended with a 62% winning percentage last season, and 32 games into this season they are at 84%, shows just how strong these teams have suddenly become.
But this shift has no promise of permanence, and has no reason to last. However impressive the leaders have been, it is essential to remember the Thunder and the Spurs have deeply suffered from injuries – be it Russell Westbrook or (and) Kevin Durant for Oklahoma City, or Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard for San Antonio, the two best teams in the Western Conference during the last five years have seen their starts haltered by not being able to rely on their leaders. For the Spurs, the situation is under control, with a respectable record of 21-14, and being only 7.5 games behind the top spot. But for the Thunder, the situation is starting to become alarming. Not alarming yet. But on the verge of becoming it. They have a record of 17-18 and a form that isn’t getting that much better (5-5 in their last 10 games), despite their stars returning. Phoenix, who occupies the 8th spot, has a 20-16 record. Yes, the situation is still under control, but if the Thunder don’t start racking up some wins, they will find themselves being desperate in the final stretch; there’s no doubt they will make the playoffs, but the 8th seed would see them face very tough opponents very early on.
With the All Star Game in just over a month, this post-Christmas period will be important for the leaders and the chasers. It is inevitable that the Thunder, Spurs and Clippers will make up ground at some point, but for the leading pack it is essential to rack up as many wins as possible now and keep a clear gap. Because whilst the Warriors or the Blazers are a potential top seed in the West, Memphis and Dallas may struggle to keep it going over 82 games.
With the rankings so jumbled, the battle for Western Conference supremacy promises to be very close and interesting. Bloodbath.
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