Boston, Dallas Making Bid for the Top
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 06 Dec 2024
A quarter into the season, the top echelon of the NBA standings in both the Eastern and Western Conference is shaping up according to what the pundits have projected.
Though Cleveland and Oklahoma are holding fast to their leadership of the East and West respectively, Boston and Dallas have both won nine of their last ten games to move closer to challenge them for the top as the league moves along to the first half of its 82 games schedule.
The Cavaliers are riding high on their record best 15-0 start to lead the East at 19-3 as of today. Nipping at their heels 1.5 games behind are the Celtics at 18-4. The two teams are projected to contest the two top spots for much of the first semester of the competitions as the next closest competitor, the Orlando Magic is 4.5 games behind at 16-8. The Cavaliers and the Celtics are at least nine games clear of the 8th placer, currently at tie between the Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets, both at 10-13.
The position of Oklahoma in the West is much more precarious, leading the pack with a record of 17-5 just 2.5 games ahead of a bunch that includes the resurgent Houston Rockets and the Memphis Grizzlies and the rallying Dallas Mavericks, all at 15-8. One game further back is Golden State which is tinkering with its extended line-up following the departure of Klay Thompson to Dallas. The Thunder is just five games ahead of the current 8th placer which is at tie between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers.
A winning run like that posted by Dallas from among the trailing teams that also include the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns will surely have profound effect on the overall standing in the West making it the wild, wild West as last season.
The advantage of the Celtics and the Mavericks is that both squads basically have the same lineup as last season where they competed for the NBA championship that was won by Boston 4-2 over Dallas. The only difference is that the Mavs now have a multi championships veteran in Klay Thompson who hopefully would complete the team's triangle of fire with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. The Mavs also have a healthy Derrick Lively patrolling the lanes easing the pressure on Daniel Galford and PJ Washington who for most of last season formed the Mavs frontline.
On the other hand, Boston is giving more exposure to its other bigmen as Nehemias Quetta and Xavier Tillman in case of indisposition by its regular center Kristaps Porzinghis or relief slotman Al Horford. The Celtics have also transitioned Payton Pritchard to a dependable sixth man who could accurately hit from the three points land adding another option to Boston's deadly trio of Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown and Derrek White.
The season still has a long way to go but it is reassuring to see the Celts and the Mavs are making their move and strong bids as early as this juncture.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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