Want to know where the East meets the West in the NBA? In the losers’ column.
Something strange is underway in the NBA this season. Teams from the Eastern Conference are having a losing contest. They cannot all be rushing to get a lottery draft pick, but it seems that way.
Of the East’s 15 teams, only the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat have winning records. That should not be mathematically impossible, but the West has only three teams with losing records.
It is a crazy imbalance that cannot possibly last, but then, who imagined it could ever get to this point? The New York Knicks (3-13) and Brooklyn Nets (5-12) have been major disappointments. The Chicago Bulls (7-8) are stumbling after the loss of Derrick Rose, and the Milwaukee Bucks (3-13), Cleveland Cavaliers (5-12), Philadelphia 76ers (6-12) and Boston Celtics (7-12) are pretty much as bad as most expected.
If the play-offs were to start today, five of the teams from the East would have losing records.
All the while, the Western Conference teams are rolling. In addition to elite teams such as the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers all playing at their expected level, the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockers and Denver Nuggets look like teams on the rise. The Los Angeles Lakers are 9-9 while awaiting the return of Kobe Bryant.
That does not mean the champions will come from the West. The Heat and Pacers are as good as anyone; they just play in a conference of mediocrity, and worse.
sports@thenational.ae
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The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
WHAT%20ARE%20THE%20PRODUCTS%20WITHIN%20THE%20THREE%20MAJOR%20CATEGORIES%3F
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,200 metres
Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Younis Kalbani (trainer)
5.30pm: UAE Arabian Derby (PA) | Prestige | Dh150,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Octave, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round 3 (PA) | Group 3 Dh300,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Harrab, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Ali
6.30pm: Emirates Championship (PA) | Group 1 | Dh1million | 2,200m
Winner: BF Mughader, Szczepan Mazur, Younis Al Kalbani
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (TB) | Group 3 | Dh380,000 | 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) | Conditions | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF La’Asae, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
