NBA season winding toward playoffs

Now that the football season in over and the baseball season has yet to begin, the eyes of many sports fans are turning toward the National Basketball Association. Many people say that the first 82 games are largely insignificant in the NBA, and that the “real season” starts when the playoffs begin. There is certainly some truth to that, but there is lot of jockeying for position going on in the meantime, and there are only about twenty regular season games left, so the intensity will be heating up over the next few weeks.

At the very top of the heap, the same logical suspects will enter the playoffs as the favorites with top seeds: the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Lakers have some breathing room between themselves and the next best teams. However, there are some surprises among the next rung. The Magic and the Celtics have just 17 losses a piece, and but they are joined by the Denver Nuggets, the Utah Jazz and the surprising Atlanta Hawks in a tight race for the #3 seed. Also right there are the Suns, the Spurs, and Oklahoma City.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out as the playoffs draw nearer, but you can be certain that the television networks and the league office have their fingers crossed hoping for the NBA Finals match up that would generate the most drama: Lebron and the Cavs versus Kobe and defending champion Los Angeles Lakers.