NBA November Report

There's been some surprises this far in the NBA.  Injuries have plagued some teams, some have grown, and some have not lived up to expectations.  We'll take a look at some of these that have occurred during this young season.

Eastern Conference

The Eastern Conference has had some unexpected records so far this season.  Some teams that stick out the most are the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Charlotte Hornets.

Philadelphia was expected to be bad this year, but not to this extent.  They are currently on pace for the worst start in NBA history and are one game away from tying the record of 0-18.  They'll pick a win up at some point, they will most likely be few and far between.  The 76ers could possibly be in the running for the worst record for a full season in the history of the game.

Cleveland is a much different case than Philly.  The Cavs were highly expected to be the top of the East and an elite force in the league.  That has not happened yet as the team has taken longer to gel and come together.  They currently sit in sixth with a 8-7 record, which is percentage points ahead of Lebron's old team Miami who is 9-8.  Cleveland will turn it around and should be able to reel in some of the teams ahead of them by seasons end.  However they may have to settle for a 3 seed if it takes much longer to come together.

Charlotte has been a big surprise as they were expected to have a good season.  They unveiled new uniforms, went back to the Hornets, and brought in Lance Stephenson to an already solid core featuring Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker.  Expectations were that of a 5-7 seed by the end of the season, but they have come out the gates with a dismal 4-14 record.  They have the talent to right the ship but they may not have the time to get more than an 8 seed.  All three teams could come away with entertaining runs, just some better than others.

Western Conference

The West has also had its share of surprises.  We all know the Western Conference is strong and much deeper than the East so having some top level teams is no surprise.  The unexpectedthing was a whopping seven teams winning over 70% of their games thus far.  As of today the LA Clippers hold that seventh spot with a 12-5 record.  That would put them in second in the East just one game behind Toronto.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a similar spot as the Cleveland Cavs.  The difference is that they have endured multiple injuries to key players rather than learning a new system and developing chemistry.  They were expected to hover around .500 even with injuries to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, and others.  The reserves were not able to hold up the fort in the absence of it's stars and struggled to a 5-12 record.  The good news is that Kevin Durant makes his season debut tonight.  The bad is that it will probably take 50 or more wins to make the playoffs which mean they'll have to win 66-70% of their remaining games to have a shot.

New Orleans was supposed to make a jump this year with young star Anthony Davis leading the way.  They brought in Omer Asik to start along side Davis and also signed Jimmer Fredette to add backcourt depth.  They have put enough talent together to fight for a  middling playoff spot; think in the 5-7 range.  The issue is they are playing sub par ball and has started the year 7-8.  It will be tough to reach the playoffs out West but they certainly have the talent to make a run with a chance to squeak into the seventh or eighth seed.