The NBA season is heading into the December schedule and so far this year, the eastern conference has been terrible, with just two teams over the even mark in their records and on Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks will battle for the bottom of the Atlantic division, while the Miami Heat will be in action as they try to catch the best team in the east in Indiana Pacers.
The Pacers started off the season on a tear and they now have a 17-2 record to rank as the best team in the NBA and they have a 2.5 game edge over the Heat in the conference standings. Miami still has a chance to overtake the Pacers as the number one seed, but Indiana knows how crucial home court advantage can be and that is one reason why they have continued to press on despite having a nearly 10 game lead over their division opponents in the Central, with the Chicago Bulls the third in the standings behind the Detroit Pistons, who are a half a game ahead. The bottom of the division has the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Miami Heat are tops in the Southeast division and once again that one doesn't look like it will be close.
The Atlantic Division is the weakest in the NBA and both the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets have struggled this season and they are at the bottom of the standings as they try and work their way back to respectability. The two teams face off on Thursday night in a game on TNT and the matchup gives the chance for the clubs to battle for the "worst team in NY" for the time being. Both Jason Kidd and Mike Woodson are on the hot seat with the way their teams have been playing and a loss on Thursday could mean the end for one of them.
The Atlantic division is terrible this season and the Boston Celtics of all teams are in the lead over the Sixers and the Raptors, while the Knicks and Nets are at the bottom. The western conference has every playoff team over .500, while the East has everyone under that mark and now the season will shake out as it does and chances are some teams will be left home in the west.
