Standings Update (Dec. 10th)

10 days into December, a lot of teams remain in the playoff conversation.

Outside of a few near the bottom (including Phoenix, Chicago, Cleveland), things have felt pretty balanced so far.

Familiar contenders like Golden State & Boston are just now finding their footing, while upstarts like Denver & Milwaukee hover around the top of their conferences heading into the holiday season:

EAST NOTES

The Eastern Conference is up for grabs?

• BOS finally turned the corner? - 5 straight Ws, slowly climbing towards the top?; TOR & MIL continue to lead the pack at 1 & 2, respectively

• Sixers are rolling since Jimmy Butler trade - own East’s top record over last 10 games (8-2)

• 6-8 (DET, CHA, ORL) is pretty static - 11th place Nets (10-18) are just 3 games out of #8!

• Despite returning Lauri Markkanen to the lineup, CHI’s in a free fall: 2-8 over last 10 (including franchise-worst 56-point beatdown by BOS), plummeted to last place (6-21)

Trending Up: PHI, BOS, IND

Trending Down: CHI, NYK, DET

WEST NOTES

The Western Conference is an amazing mess.

• Both LA Teams are in the playoff picture, Memphis & Dallas are currently in, SAC is knocking on the door & still relevant heading into the new year

• Just 3.5 games separate 1st place Dubs from 8th place Mavs

• OKC (2nd), DEN (3rd), LAL (5th) & DAL (8th) have enjoyed 7-3 records over last 10 games

• HOU continues to struggle, has fallen to 14th place; discouraging road (6-9) and conference splits (5-11)

Trending Up: OKC, LAL, DAL

Trending Down: PHX, HOU, POR