Time to Take Notice of the NBA

With the West wrapping up the All-Star Weekend with a 153-132 win over the East the NBA has officially started the second half of the season. While the NBA is never short on drama or excitement the second half of the season gives us the added excitement of the mad scramble to make the play-offs.

While the top spots in both conferences are still wide open the races you are going to want to watch are at the top of the East and bottom of the West. Here are the teams and races from each conference that you’ll want to take notice of.

Eastern Conference
Detroit Pistons – Current Position: First place in the east. The Pistons are being led by Rip Hamilton’s 21.7 points per game. Trends: Detroit went into the All-Star break winning four of their last five games.

Cleveland Cavilers – Current Position: Second place in the conference, two games behind Detroit, led by LeBron James’ 26.4 points per game. Trends: The Cavs also won four of their last five before the All-Star break.

Washington Wizards – Current Position: Third place in the east, 2.5 games behind the Pistons, led by Gilbert Arenas’ 28.8 points per game. Trends: The Slumping Wizards have lost three of their last five games.

Predicted Outcome: The Wizards will shock the NBA world by winning the top spot in the conference followed by Cleveland and then Detroit.

Western Conference
Denver Nuggets – Current Position: Seventh place in the West. The Nuggets are being led by Carmelo Anthony’s 30.7 points per game. Trends: The Nuggets have won three of their last five games.

Minnesota Timberwolves – Current Position: Eighth place in the conference, 1.5 games behind Denver. Minnesota is led by Kevin Garnett’s 22.4 points per game. Trends: The Timberwolves have won three of the last five games.

LA Clippers – Current Position: Ninth place in the conference, a half a game behind Minnesota. The Clippers are being led by Elton Brands 20.7 points per game. Trends: The Clippers have lost four of their last five games including three in a row.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets – Current Position: Tenth place in the conference, a half a game behind Minnesota, led by Chris Paul’s 17.6 points per game. Trends: The Hornets have won four of their last five games.

Predicted Outcome: The Nuggets will not only hold on to their play-off position but they will advance up the standings. The Hornets will secure the final play-off spot and then get swept in the first round, breaking the hearts of the fans in Oklahoma City before they move back to New Orleans for good.