It is more than one third way through the season, but it is still early for NBA teams to make a decision whether they should give up and trade their players for the next year.

There have been some pleasant surprises. The Utah Jazz have enjoyed seven game winning streak and is the first seed in the Western Conference. The teams that they have beaten include Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, and Charlotte Hornets, which are top 6 teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Jazz will face the Philadelphia 76ers, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, on the Feb. 15, so that is the matchup between the top seed in each conference. I expect the Jazz to extend their winning streak.

What about Phoenix Suns? They are enjoying a six game wining streak and are now in fourth place in the Western Conference. Remember, the Suns were undefeated (8-0) in the regular season after a long break from COVID-19 pandemic? Yeah, its the same team that added veteran guard Chris Paul. Not many people expected them to perform this well, and I honestly do not know if they can keep it up, but this team has looked promising so far.

What about New York Knicks? Every year, the Knicks are included as a possible destination of free agents. If an NBA player is a free agent, there will be someone talking about them possibly going to the Knicks. However, they have been disappointing for years. Now they are on the seventh seed (technically tied to the 6th place with the Hornets, 13-15 record) in the Eastern conference. The Eastern conference is wide-open except for the top five teams, so the Knicks may sneak into the playoffs if they can keep this up.

However, teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to go back down to where they belong. They were showing some spark in the beginning of the season, but now they have a seven game losing streak that could continue to grow until Feb. 21 against Oklahoma City.