NBA: Three Western Conference Teams Trending Up And Down This Season

The NBA season is already a few weeks old and we have a good idea of what every team is. Here are three teams that are trending up and down so far this year

With the NBA season a few weeks into the 2015-16 campaign, there are already a few trends that we didn’t expect to see prior to the new year. Some teams have performed better than expected, while others have performed worse.

Here’s a look at three Western Conference teams that are trending up and down. We looked at the Eastern Conference earlier, here.

(Note: the teams selected for trending up are performing better than expectations and the teams down are performing below expectations)

Three Teams On The Upswing:

Minnesota Timberwolves: (5-6) OffRtg: 102.0 DefRtg: 101.5

There are few teams that are as entertaining as the Timberwolves. They have solid, young roster led by Andrew Wiggins. Minnesota was supposed to be a team that was one of the worst in the Western Conference, but so far this season they are proving to be a tough out. They are 7th in PPG and have a net rating of 8.8 on the road. Oddly enough though, they have a net rating of -10.0 at home. If they can play better in front of their fans the Timberwolves could be one of the last teams eliminated from playoff contention.

Dallas Mavericks: (7-4) OffRtg: 100.6 DefRtg: 98.4

The Mavericks were supposed to be a team that was going to fall apart after failing to land DeAndre Jordan this summer, but Rick Carlisle had different plans. Dallas is playing great defense as they rank 12th in OPPG and they are 15th in PPG. Dallas not only looks like a playoff team but somehow superstar Dirk Nowitzki is continuing to put up numbers. The Mavericks look to be a serious playoff contender.

Golden State Warriors: (12-0) OffRtg: 110.7 DefRtg: 95.1

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We all knew the Warriors were good, but so far this season they have found a level not seen since MJ was wearing a Bulls jersey. They are 1st in PPG, 1st in APG and 10th in OPPG. The Warriors look like a team that could win 70 and should be the favorite to win the championship come playoff time. Stephen Curry somehow is a better shooter than last season so it’s not crazy to think he could win back to back titles and MVPs.

Three Teams On The Downswing:

Houston Rockets: (4-7) OffRtg: 98.5 DefRtg: 106.5

Some people predicted the Rockets would make the NBA Finals and even win it, however, that was before we saw them play. The Rockets look atrocious on defense as they rank 29th in OPPG but their offense also looks rough as they go through stretches each game where they seem to not care. They recently had a players-only meeting meaning if things don’t change the GM might look to shake things up as it’s obvious this team is not a title contender at the moment. Houston did decide to fire Head Coach Kevin McHale to see if that jump starts things.

Memphis Grizzlies: (6-6) OffRtg: 99.3 DefRtg: 106.0

The Grizzlies look old this season and we have seen their defense suffer. The offense hasn’t fared much better as they rank 27th in PPG, 27th in RPG and 19th in APG. The Grizzlies recently made a trade for Mario Chalmers from Miami so they could see the offensive number start to rise but the question remains, will the defense improve?

Next: Eastern Conference Teams Trending Up And Down This Season

Utah Jazz: (5-5) OffRtg: 99.8 DefRtg: 96.6

The Jazz, like the Wizards, are a team that was supposed to be improved as this was their year to crack into the Western Conference playoffs but they haven’t seemed much better yet. Gordon Hayward has had a slow start and as a result of it the Jazz rank 28th in PPG, 21st in RPG and 29th in APG. Utah does have one of the leagues best defenses as they rank 3rd in OPPG. Utah needs Hayward to play better as they don’t have great guard play to help get the offense going.