With the NBA season coming to a close and the playoffs right around the corner, now is a good time to look at how the teams did this season, with many surprising NBA franchises stepping up this year. We can also see how teams have done with the many injuries occurring this season and how it affected their team’s play.

This was a very interesting season, with only 72 games being played instead of the standard 82. We had Christmas games to start the season, which is always a fun time and there were many surprises to start the year off. The Heat was not doing so hot, along with the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, but they are temporarily playing in Tampa Bay. These two teams were some of the best in the previous season.

Some very interesting teams to come up were the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns in the West and the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, and Charlotte Hornets in the East. On the other hand, The Indiana Pacers and the Washington Wizards have been less than exceptional on the East compared to last season, and the Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and New Orleans Pelicans were some teams from the West that were very good the season before.

This season was filled with many injuries from many star players. Lebron James, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, James Harden, Jamal Murray, and many others have been out for many games this season, drastically changing their team’s standings in the NBA. An injury is something you never want to see in sports and it has happened so much already.

On a better note, there have been many high-scoring games and many accomplishments. Stephen Curry made 96 three-pointers in the month of April, Tony Snell potentially being the first player in NBA history to be in the 50-50-100 club, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid fighting for MVP, and many other great things happening in our league today. Russell Westbrook has become first in career triple-doubles, surpassing Oscar Robertson.

With the Lakers currently at seventh place in the west, their playoff chances are looking slimmer, including their chances of repeating championships. The Suns, Jazz, Clippers, and Nuggets have all clinched a playoff spot in the West and the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, and New York Knicks have clinched a playoff spot in the East.

No one knows how the season will end but many are optimistic about their championship picks, with most of them being in favor of the Nets. With playoffs right around the corner, it will be very interesting to see who makes them and who doesn’t, along with which two teams are going to the NBA Finals.