Jonathan Raymond
As the Dallas Mavericks rise in the West to start the season, it is remarkable how some of the other teams in the conference have fallen so far.
Kevin Durant’s injury issues have the Oklahoma City Thunder off their game. The LA Clippers cannot seem to get in a consistent stretch. The Houston Rockets have not played acceptable defence. The Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz have battled mediocrity and the New Orleans Pelicans have been near the worst team in the league.
Even the San Antonio Spurs managed to lose to those same Pelicans on Friday as Tim Duncan finished his first game without a rebound for the first time in his 19-year career.
All in all things in the West have been more wilting than wild.
[Jonathan Raymond: Dallas Mavericks, a team with plenty to prove, doing exactly that in the Western Conference]
Meanwhile in the East, from the Chicago Bulls to Miami Heat, to the Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons, teams are surging.
Part of that is just relative to expectations. A 7-6 record is not going to light up Thunder or Clippers fans, but counts as a sign of optimism for supporters of the Knicks or Pistons.
Another part of it is just early season noise — the likes of the Clippers, Thunder and Rockets will almost certainly kick into a gear at some point their Eastern counterparts cannot even dream of.
But it might just suggest at least a more exciting time in the East this year, with the Golden State Warriors blowing away all comers in the West.
There are 10 teams with a positive point differential and 12 with at least a .500 record.
It might not be a true shift of power, but there is at least a fun competitiveness to the East right now the West cannot match.
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