Can anyone help me understand how the NBA league table works? In the UK, in the soccer league teams win points for gaining wins and then it's a simple case of the team with the most points at the end of the season wins the league. The bottom three teams, with the least amount of points, get relegated to a lower league. In the NBA wins don't seem to equal points so how are the league positions decided. It seems to be about winning streaks and percentages. Can someone explain exactly how this works. For instance, LA Clippers seem at the top of the league as it stands today but why are they there? How does it work?

Thanks

The team with the best win/loss record in the league is in first place. That's the bottom line. Within the league there are two conferences. Conference standings are also determined by overall record. Within the two conferencs their are 3 divisions each (six total) The Eastern conference is made up of the Atlantic, Central, and Southeast divisions. The Western conference is made up of the Southwest, Northwest, and Pacific divisions. All of the teams play the same number of games. The best eight teams from each conference (western and eastern) make the playoffs, again determined by record (the three division champions automatically make the playoffs, the rest are filled in by who has the best records). The finals pits the eastern conference champion against the western conference champion.

Hope that helps
Ted