Normally, people are dismissive about basketball at this early stage of season. But sometimes, there are things that one cannot normally ignore, like what happens where there is a huge roadside accident, where one cannot help but look at the carnage that takes place.
The carnage, in this case, is the Eastern Conference.
There are three teams in the conference that are above .500. You know two of them (they meet for the first time this season later tonight). The third is the Atlanta Hawks at 11-10. All the other teams have been crapshoot.
The Atlantic Division has been especially been criticized for being totally atrocious. Hugging the rear of that division has been the Big Apple franchises, both of which have been total embarrassments for the league that has its headquarters either a 14-minute or 30-minute subway ride away from them. Oddly enough, the teams that everyone has virtually assumed to tank and possibly breach historic ugliness coming into the season, have been sort of doing much better than expected.
The Celtics have the longest winning streak in the league as of the moment (3 games in a row) and just had Jordan Crawford (yeah, that guy) named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week yesterday. They are leading the division with a 10-12 record. That record is worse than the worst team in the Southwest Division (9-10 New Orleans).
Meanwhile, the Sixers are just 3 games back of the Celtics at 7-15 in third place. Smack in the middle of the two are the Raptors, who will welcome their stat sheets back in the locker room shortly.
Because of probably that, NBA Commissioner-in-waiting Adam Silver will have the Competition Committee look into whether there is an actual need for divisions.
In an interview done on the opening day of SiriusXM NBA Radio, Silver shared that one of the things that he learned from outgoing Commish David Stern is that “every day we should wake up and take a fresh look at everything we do.” Having divisions, Silver adds, enables the league to “enhance rivalries.”
So is there really a need for divisions? I still think yes, because it gives teams and fanbases something to strive for, achieve and take pride in. The malaise in the East just so happens to either magnify mismanagement by the teams all at the same time or they are rebuilding.
Besides, everything will work out eventually by March / April. By then, things will fall into place. Not unlike what just took place this past weekend.
The carnage, in this case, is the Eastern Conference.
There are three teams in the conference that are above .500. You know two of them (they meet for the first time this season later tonight). The third is the Atlanta Hawks at 11-10. All the other teams have been crapshoot.
The Atlantic Division has been especially been criticized for being totally atrocious. Hugging the rear of that division has been the Big Apple franchises, both of which have been total embarrassments for the league that has its headquarters either a 14-minute or 30-minute subway ride away from them. Oddly enough, the teams that everyone has virtually assumed to tank and possibly breach historic ugliness coming into the season, have been sort of doing much better than expected.
The Celtics have the longest winning streak in the league as of the moment (3 games in a row) and just had Jordan Crawford (yeah, that guy) named as the Eastern Conference Player of the Week yesterday. They are leading the division with a 10-12 record. That record is worse than the worst team in the Southwest Division (9-10 New Orleans).
Meanwhile, the Sixers are just 3 games back of the Celtics at 7-15 in third place. Smack in the middle of the two are the Raptors, who will welcome their stat sheets back in the locker room shortly.
Because of probably that, NBA Commissioner-in-waiting Adam Silver will have the Competition Committee look into whether there is an actual need for divisions.
In an interview done on the opening day of SiriusXM NBA Radio, Silver shared that one of the things that he learned from outgoing Commish David Stern is that “every day we should wake up and take a fresh look at everything we do.” Having divisions, Silver adds, enables the league to “enhance rivalries.”
So is there really a need for divisions? I still think yes, because it gives teams and fanbases something to strive for, achieve and take pride in. The malaise in the East just so happens to either magnify mismanagement by the teams all at the same time or they are rebuilding.
Besides, everything will work out eventually by March / April. By then, things will fall into place. Not unlike what just took place this past weekend.
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