As the NBA Regular Season gets into the wind of things, the pecking order in both conferences is starting to take shape. According to polls from readers conducted by SB Nation, the Western Conference is still
overwhelmingly dominated by the Oklahoma City Thunder — with good reason. They are the defending champions retaining their championship roster, with a young core set to play with each other for several years. Not to mention, they have the reigning MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who continues to put up MVP-caliber numbers.
The Denver Nuggets are a distant second, although they are the Western team widely thought to be the Thunder’s biggest challenge in their path toward a repeat title. Rounding up the top six in the poll are the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Golden State Warriors (who are set to face the Thunder tomorrow in what could be considered a litmus test for Steph Curry and co.), and the San Antonio Spurs (who the Warriors are facing the night after their game against the Thunder).
Meanwhile, readers are a bit more divided when it comes the Eastern Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a slight edge as favorites over the New York Knicks, while the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, Philadelphia 76ers, and Detroit Pistons round up the top six.
The East is certainly more of a revolving door than the West. It’ll be interesting to see how things change as the season progresses.
