The Golden State Warriors are the hottest team in the NBA, having won 12 games in a row. At 17-2, they have the best record in the league. The Splash Bros, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry are leading the way, but have received a balanced effort from a deep team. Although their hot streak will cool off eventually, the Warriors are the team to beat and are the top contender in the NBA.
The Memphis Grizzlies, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Phoenix Suns round out the top eight teams in the West. All are strong teams and most represented the Western Conference in the playoffs just one year ago. Those that did have already established that they are adequate contenders. The Phoenix Suns, however, barely missed out on the postseason and, thus, are the weakest in the group. They are an average team and are not true contenders.
While the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans have been right on the bubble, playing solid basketball early in the season, they will eventually fall as pretenders. DeMarcus Cousins leads nearly every stat category for the Kings and Rudy Gay is about the only other player who has offered any help. Darren Collison was a nice offseason acquisition, but has struggled with injuries and turnovers. As for the Pelicans, they do not have enough veterans to support the beasty brow, Anthony Davis. The second-year center has been an MVP candidate thus far, but Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, and Omer Asik have not done much. Davis will not be able to carry this team through a troublesome Western Conference and the Pelicans will not find themselves as contenders at season's end.
The Oklahoma City Thunder struggled without Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but do not rule them out of contention now that the dynamic duo of All-Stars has returned. Westbrook put up 32 points in his first game back against the New York Knicks and Durant scored 27 in his return. The 6-13 Thunder will require a lot from Durant and Westbrook, but are certainly in a better position to move up into contention with them back on the floor.
The Western Conference is, by far, the better conference. Over half of the teams are currently better than .500 and four are just as good or better than the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors will have to fight through an injury to DeMar DeRozan, but have truly jelled this season, establishing themselves as the team to beat in the East. They will, of course, have to fight off the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Washington Wizards for the top seed.
The Cavaliers seem to have figured things out, having won six consecutive games. The Wizards have won four in a row and are another young, strong team that have the talent to contend for a title. Health has been an issue, but, barring any further setbacks, they appear poised to be right there in the end towards the top of the East. The Chicago Bulls' top priority has been managing Derrick Rose, which will remain a priority throughout the season if they want to put their name down as a contender. The Atlanta Hawks have won five consecutive games and may give the Wizards a run for their money in the Southeast Division. A healthy Al Horford should elevate the Hawks from the eighth seed that squeaked them into the playoffs last season.
The Milwaukee Bucks are off to a surprising start to 2014. A young team reliant on the ping pong balls last season will need a gigantic contribution from Jabari Parker if they expect to be contenders. While making the playoffs in the East is certainly doable for the Bucks, they are not ready for a title just yet.
The Charlotte Hornets, a playoff team last season, are currently struggling. Injuries have played a factor, but Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker have carried much of the load. Lance Stephenson was a good offseason addition and has made contributions, but will need to step up his game in order for the Hornets to move into contention. Gary Neal has provided sufficient contributions as a veteran bench player, but a relatively inexperienced Hornets team should be labeled a pretender.
The Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, and Miami Heat have been hovering around the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. All with records under .500, it is a wonder who will be the final playoff team that will present a potential easy first round matchup to the Eastern Conference champion. The Pacers' depleted lineup has a mountain to climb just to reach the playoffs. While the eighth seed was able to make the playoffs with a record under .500 last season, don't expect the Pacers to be that team.
The Miami Heat are likely to make the postseason, but the few remaining pieces from a year ago have just enough experience to make them pretenders. The Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks all represent a weak Atlantic Division. The Celtics might be the biggest pretenders of them all, playing a strong three quarters in nearly every game before surrendering a fourth quarter lead. It is possible that the final three seeds in the East will all have records under .500 at the end of the regular season. Thus, those three teams, along with more than half of the conference can be labeled pretenders.