Sport-Blog.com

Now that every NBA team has played at least 41 games, we can now probably predict the play off positions for the year end with some sense of certainty.

At the halfway point, there appear to be three legitimate contenders for the NBA title. In the West, the defending champion Spurs are tooling along at 34-10 while in the East, the other of last year's finalists are putting together an outstanding season at 36-5. Also, moving into the title mix for 2006 are the Dallas Mavericks. Mark Cuban's bunch has matched the Spurs at this juncture, 34-10 on the season, and the team is playing superbly at this point in the season.

While most experts feel Detroit might be set to regain the title they won in 2004 but lost last year, others insist that the Spurs are treating the first half of the schedule as an extension of the exhibition season. However, Detroit is simply dominating teams this year as Flip Saunders has built the offense of the Pistons without undermining their ability to play defense.

The Mavericks are also playing extremely well, and in Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas has one of the NBA's elite players. Unfortunately for the NBA, Dallas and San Antonio are in the same division, therefore come playoff time, even if these two continue to lead the Western Conference standings, they would be ranked first and fourth as the other two Division winners will receive the second and third spots in the playoffs. This could lead to the disappointing situation of those two having to meet in the Western semifinals instead of the finals.

The remainder of the NBA East is essentially jockeying for playoff positioning. The Heat, thought to be a possible contender for the East title, continue to be just a solid team, even after Pat Riley has taken over as coach. At the same time New Jersey is a funk, so they have fallen further behind the Heat. Cleveland is having a solid season and should garner the fourth slot though the team has struggled since the injury to Larry Hughes. But he will be back and when he does, Cleveland could end the season with the second best conference record giving the East the same situation as the West when it comes to the playoffs since the Cavaliers are second fiddle in their division to the Pistons.

Slots 5-8 in the East appear to be truly meaningless. The likely teams to fill them include an improving Milwaukee, a sliding Indiana, a no-defense Philadelphia, and then a sub five hundred Washington or Chicago or Orlando in the 8th spot. None of these teams have played with any consistency on the season and they can't win on the road. Any of these will truly be one and done when it comes to any playoff series with only Philadelphia and Indiana potentially pushing the higher seed at all.

As in prior years, the strength of the NBA is clearly in the Western Conference. First of all, there are the two previously exceptional teams in the Spurs and Mavericks. Then, there is Phoenix which is cruising along even as they play without Amare Stoudamire. If and when the big fella' gets back, the West may actually have three true contenders.

Though that may be it for real title hopes, the West also has some other very competitive teams. The revamped Clippers have regained their early season stride after a short lull while the Memphis Grizzlies have been strong all season. The Nuggets look destined to win their division but they will have their hands full with either the Clips or the Grizz in a potential first round match-up.

Then there are the Lakers and scoring machine Kobe Bryant. Phil Jackson appears to have LA ready to return to the playoffs and well if Kobe goes for 81 again, any team other than Dallas or San Antonio could be in trouble. Then again, Kobe would never get 81 against the Spurs defense, not a chance.

However, after the Lakers the West too looks likely to have a sub five hundred team in the final slot. Two surprises in the Jazz and Hornets appear to be fighting for the final berth along with the underachieving T-Wolves. Minnesota is hoping its trade with the Celtics will jar the team from its first half doldrums.

First Half Kudos: To the Bucks who continue to be a tough game for every team in the league and Michael Redd one of the best shooters in the NBA. To Utah who in Jerry Sloan may have one of the most underrated coaches in NBA history; how they manage to win is beyond most people. To the Suns who have lost one of the NBA's premiere players yet still have the fourth best record in the league. And finally to the Pistons who could challenge for the best record in NBA history. This team has three of the best two way players in the game in Billups, Prince, and Rasheed Wallace.

First Half Duds: To the continued struggles of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are now 15-27 on the season including a dismal 4-14 at home. Yes they have had some injuries but no one would have guessed Houston would fall so far. To the Pacers who have had to endure yet another fiasco with Ron Artest. The team picked by Sports Illustrated to win the East is barely at five hundred at the mid-season mark. To the Bulls who were thought to be a playoff lock after last season's strong finish. And to the first half of the year for both the Nets and the Heat, two teams that have enormous talent but just haven't been getting it done consistently. However, in fairness, watch the second half closely as Miami, under Riley, may finally start living up to the preseason hype.