NBA Power Rankings: Roaring Grizzlies

While the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors have done their best to prove that they deserve mention among the Eastern Conference’s contenders, the Cleveland Cavaliers have shown us that they haven’t necessarily figured out all of their issues.

And while the Milwaukee Bucks have surprisingly found themselves with a real opportunity to sneak into the playoffs out East, their journey must now continue without their star rookie Jabari Parker.

Meanwhile, out West, the league’s onlookers routinely find themselves in awe of how competitive the conference is. If you’re hovering around 10 games over the .500 mark, maybe, just maybe, you will have an opportunity at a fourth seed.

Maybe!

Indeed, the Western Conference has given us a dogfight unlike one we have seen in quite some time, and the way it’s looking is that it would take a bear to come out on top. Kudos to the Memphis Grizzlies for emerging from the pack.

As December 15 has come and gone, the trade winds are beginning to swirl and it seems only a matter of time before Rajon Rondo and Greg Monroe are dealt and one other thing is certain: the wannabe contenders out West should try their best to secure some additional talent, because if there is one thing we have learned over the course of the first seven weeks of the NBA season, it’s this: it’s a Grizzly Warrior world, and it seems the rest of us are just living in (or observing) it.