League strength showing signs of shifting
Western Conference has long housed top teams, but East is making gains
The West is used to being loaded at the top.
The East, not so much. But a new year is arriving with a new look in the Eastern Conference. The league was to wake up on Wednesday — the first day of 2020 — with six teams with winning percentages of .600 or better, the first time that’s been the case on New Year’s Day since 1998.
“This is a tough part of the country, a tough part of our league,” Philadelphia coach
Brett Brown said.
He didn’t say “finally,” but he could have.
Just last spring, Brooklyn got the No. 6 seed in the East playoffs at 42-40. This season, it won’t be inconceivable if two teams in the East reach 50 wins and start the playoffs on the road anyway — which would be amazing, considering that every 50win team in the East since 1998 has had a top-four seed.
Has there been a power shift from one conference to another? And can what seems to be happening in the
East race last until April?
“My gut feel is, I think it can,” Brown said. “To your overall question, is there a power shift, I’m biased but I think quite possibly.”
Spurs
There were seven different franchises with at least one NBA championship in the 2010s, Golden State leading the way with three followed by Miami with two.
San Antonio was one of the five clubs with one — but a case could be made for the Spurs being the team of the decade.
The Spurs had the most wins in the 2010s, whether just counting the regular season or adding both the regular season and the playoffs together. Oklahoma City was No. 2 in regular season wins, followed by Golden State, Houston and Miami.
The fewest wins? That would be Sacramento, followed by Minnesota, Brooklyn, Phoenix and New York.
Celtics
There were no video tributes for Kemba Walker on this visit. The Boston Celtics guard returned to Charlotte for a second time without quite the same buzz, and that was OK with him.
“A little less emotional,” he said. “But it was fun.” And productive. Walker had 22 points, Jayson Tatum had 24 and
Gordon Hayward added 21 as Boston beat the Hornets, 109-92, Tuesday. The Celtics have won six of seven and improved to 23-8.
Walker, the Hornets franchise leader in scoring, was making his second appearance in Charlotte since he was sent to Boston in a sign-and-trade deal last July. After tearing up during a pregame tribute in his first visit Nov. 7, Walker kept cool this time, adding four rebounds and seven assists.
“It’s just always fun to see my old friends, my old teammates, the people that work around the building that take care of this place, just a lot of old faces,” he said.