The NBA regular season is in full swing, with teams in the league already playing more than 30 rounds and the East and West landscape gradually emerging. This season in the West, due to the frequent upset losses of teams led by old supergiants, and at the same time, more truly powerful dark horse teams have emerged this season than before, and almost only the Nuggets have the confidence to stand in the top 5 in the entire West. The Timberwolves, the No. 1 team in the West, and the No. 3 Thunder team have been Western Conference escort teams in previous seasons. But this season, the Big Three of Edwards, Gobert, and Towns have played the league's No. 1 defensive efficiency, with a 22-6 record and a solid No. 1 record in the West. The Thunder, led by Alexander and Holmgren, are ranked 6th in the league in offensive and defensive efficiency.
On top of that, there are the Kings and the Mavericks, who were eliminated in the first round last season. This season, the team still maintained its original core lineup, and Fox hit a career-high 39% three-point shooting rate, leading the team to a 17-11 record and ranked fourth in the West. The Mavericks, on the other hand, made a comeback this season to finish fifth in the West after Doncic and Irving's run-in in the second half of last season. But these young teams haven't proven themselves in the playoffs after all, especially since the Mavericks' only interior pillar this season is rookie Lively, who may be targeted by opponents in the playoffs. Therefore, as the season deepens, when the Clippers, Lakers, Suns, and Warriors adjust, there may still be large fluctuations in the rankings.
In contrast to the West, the top teams in the East haven't changed much since the start of the season. Especially for the team with star stars in the team, the combination of Bucks and Lillard quickly passed the run-in period, although the team's defense is still a big problem, but relying on the strong offensive threat of Brother Alphabet on the inside, Lillard's ability to shoot outside and break through to create damage has been recovered. The Bucks have a 22-8 record and are in second place in the East. The 76ers behind them also relied on the play of Embiid and Maxey.
The Magic team is a more prominent dark horse team, with Banchero and Wagner Jr. as the core, and the Magic has a mature defensive system. The Magic have a 110.5 defensive efficiency so far this season, ranking fifth in the league. The Heat's roster depth is stronger, and the starting core has been intermittently absent this season, but it is still ranked fifth in the East. But these teams have seen varying degrees of ups and downs so far this season. Refused to reverse by 18 points and won by 37 points! Bombarded 14 consecutive wins to win the first place in the league! The strongest team in the NBA was born! The only team in the league with both offense and defense and no weaknesses is the Celtics, who are ranked No. 1 in the East.
The Celtics made 42 three-pointers against the Lakers and shot just 31 percent from the field. However, the Celtics once stretched the difference to 18 points in the whole game, and finally won the game by 11 points. In the previous game against the Clippers, the Celtics made 53 three-pointers and shot 47 percent from the field. In that game, the Celtics finally won by 37 points, knowing that the Clippers had just ended an eight-game winning streak and were in very hot form. The Celtics have scored 48% of three-pointers so far this season, averaging the league's No. 1 43.2 three-pointers per game. The Celtics have a 23-6 record and sit first in the league.
And Celtic have won 14 consecutive games at home, and have not lost at home so far this season. The Celtics have an offensive efficiency rating of 120.3, which ranks fourth in the league. Of course, the Celtics' inconsistent shooting on the offensive end, as well as poor shot selection, are also a point to criticize. But let's not forget that the Celtics have one of the best defenses in the league to back them up, with the team playing a league-4th best defensive efficiency of 110.3 so far. The Celtics shot 40.1 percent from three-point range from the outside, while only 38.4 percent of the Celtics' scoring came from the paint. Of course, this doesn't mean that when all the shooters are in position on the outside, the team will ignore the extra space on the inside.
The Celtics are adept at putting pressure on the basket with screens, air cuts, and passes. Three-point shooting isn't a Celtics hallmark, but it's a key factor in making the Celtics the best team in the league. New signing Porzingis, the Celtics' No. 3 scorer, has averaged 5.1 three-pointers per game so far this season, shooting 34.3% from the field. And Porzingis averages almost half of his entire outside shots per game. Porzingis was definitely the best trade the Celtics have made this season, or even since the team was built with Tatum and Brown as the core, and he has given this team a dimension that has been missing all along. Porzingis' size around the paint, inside scoring, spacing and passing ability are all key to coach Mazzulla's ability to execute his tactics thoroughly.