With the current 2019-2020 NBA season having started on October 22nd, it’s now just over a month in. From the Lakers making a great come back from a terrible last season to the Golden State Warriors dropping into to dead last in the league, there has been a lot of things happening for the NBA, as of late. 

Let’s start with the standings. The Lakers, who finished in 10th place in the Westen Conference, are now in first place and holding strong. The Lakers have to credit their strong off-season signings. They traded three young players, including stars Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, to the New Orleans Pelicans for All-Star center, Anthony Davis. They also resigned Dwight Howard from the Memphis Grizzlies. They are currently in the top five rankings for their field goal percentage and place for points allowed. They are also in first place for blocks and point differential.

Unlike the Lakers, other teams across the league are having rough regular seasons. The Warriors, who have been in the finals for five straight years, have dropped to dead last in the league. Most of their starting players have either left or been injured. They are now relying on young inexperienced players to try and keep them from playing at a G-League level. The Portland Trailblazers, who made it to the Western Finals, have also been having some bad luck for the start of the season. They have been at the bottom half of the bracket for most of the season. In an attempt to help themselves, they signed Carmelo Anthony. Anthony, who hadn’t played a full season in two years, is attempting to prove his relevance once again in professional basketball.

On the east side, Ben Simmons recently scored his 1st 3-pointer. It took him 172 games and more than two professional seasons to do it. It’s about time, isn’t it? The 76ers defense is proving to not need a sharpshooting point guard to get the job done. Their defense lead by Joel Embid has been holding opponents to low scores and is in the top 5 ranks for points allowed.

The Dallas Mavericks number one player, Luka Dončić, is making his case for the MVP. He is in third place of points per game, and second in assists per game. He already won the Rookie of the Year and is up for MVP against Stars like Giannis Anktetokounmpo, James Harden, Lebron James and Anthony Davis. 

There is still more than half the season left and many teams are looking to regroup to prepare for postseason play including our state’s very own, Utah Jazz. They rely on a strong backcourt with Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley in addition to the presence of returning defensive play of the year, Rudy Gobert.