An Early look at the NBA’s Eastern Conference

It is very early in the NBA season to make any really informed decisions about where teams will end up at the end of the year. However there certainly have been some surprises and of course some teams are doing exactly what we expected. Miami are doing exactly what we would have expected going 6-0 at home and 4-3 on the road for a combined record of 10-3, currently the best in the Eastern Conference.

You certainly expect Miami to be dominant at home and I would expect that they will probably have the best home record in the Conference when everything is said and done. Averaging nearly 105 points per game Miami score the most points per game in the Conference and are a well-oiled offensive machine. However they do allow over 100 points per game on defence; this will mean that teams who can go toe to toe with them on offense might have a chance to win a series against them in the playoffs. However that being said Miami are justifiable favourites for the Eastern Conference and for the Championship itself.

I think everyone has to be surprised by The Brooklyn Nets early record of 9-4 and I have to say that they are deserving of this record. The Nets have no real superstars unlike Miami who have at least 3 however they play a suffocating defence that rallies to the ball making them a really tough win especially at home where they are 7-1. The Nets rank second in the league in total point allowed at just over 91 points per game on average and this will see them win quite a few games if they continue this enthusiasm for defence.

Finally I would like to talk a little bit about Chicago. Obviously the loss of Derrick Rose makes them a much less potent team on offense but Chicago has played well in the past with Rose out and his replacement Nate Robinson is a veteran who has been known to make a lot of steals over the course of a full season. It certainly is a shock to see Chicago with a sub .500 record however it is early in the season and I would certainly expect them to finish above .500 by the end of the year.