We are now halfway through the 2022-23 NBA season and one thing has become clear: the league is incredibly competitive this year.
There have been many changes in both the Western and Eastern Conferences and a slew of teams fighting to take the top spot among their rivals.
Now just a couple of weeks before the All-Star break, there are two teams sitting above all the others.
But their places as number one seeds aren’t guaranteed.
Eastern Conference standings where the Celtics’ lead is 2 1/2 on the Sixers
The Nets are 4, Knicks 7 pic.twitter.com/nmF0xKTv9T
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) January 27, 2023
Take a look at the Eastern Conference and you’ll see just how intense the competition is.
The Boston Celtics are currently the best team with a record of 35-15 but there are multiple teams sneaking up on them.
The Philadelphia 76ers are 31-16, just 2.5 games back from the Celtics.
And the Milwaukee Bucks are breathing down their neck, at 31-17.
Even though the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat are the fourth, fifth, and sixth seeds, their chances aren’t gone.
The Heat are just 7.5 games behind the top seed, meaning they could easily climb a few places higher in the next few weeks.
The bottom half of the standings has a few surprises.
It’s shocking to see the Chicago Bulls struggling in 11th place and the Toronto Raptors in 12th is also a surprise given the talent they have.
Of course, we still have the second half of the season ahead of us.
This means that any of these teams can still change their fate and climb higher – or fall lower.
Most people agree that the Celtics hold the best chance of returning to the NBA Finals right now.
But there are several surging teams who could make their road to the championship very complicated.
Who knows how the Eastern Conference will look in the weeks after the All-Star Game?
