Photo Credit: NBA
The first half of the NBA season came and went and as the second half begins we have much to look forward to.
The MVP and ROY races are always a major storyline, but are those awards already wrapped-up? Kevin Durant has run away with the MVP award so far, but some feel Lebron James may be closing the gap in pursuit of his fifth MVP. Meanwhile, Michael Carter-Williams has been far and away the best rookie since the first game of the season. Victor Oladipo and Trey Burke have also been impressive.
Something to keep an eye on will be the dynamic of the Oklahoma City Thunder now that Russell Westbrook has returned. It remains to be seen if Durant will be able to stay on his massive hot streak now that Westbrook is back in the mix and handling the ball.
Another question mark is if the Indiana Pacers have enough to knock off the defending champions Miami Heat. The Pacers have the number one defense, but do Paul George and the rest of the team have enough offensive fire power?
Each conference has two teams that stand above the rest. In the East it’s the Heat and Pacers, in the West it’s the Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. Out of the rest of the teams in the conferences, who has the best chance to challenge those four teams? In the West, watch the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. In the East, keep an eye on the quickly ascending Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets.
In the Eastern Conference, seeds 3-8 are up for grabs with all six of those teams in the slots hovering around .500. In the far superior Western Conference, there are nine teams vying for eight playoff spots with seeds 3-5 being separated by 1.0 game and seeds 6-8 only by 0.5 game. It will be a very interesting stretch run into the playoffs.
