We have now reached the All-Star break in the 2018 NBA season which means that the season is more than halfway over.

This year has gone pretty much as we expected: Golden State is still a contender although James Harden and the Rockets are seeming to be a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference, and the Rockets just took first place in the NBA.

Recently, the Cleveland Cavaliers carried out a mega-trade which included giving up Isiah Thomas and Jae Crowder.

The Cavs struggled for about a month and it seemed like there was a crisis going on in Cleveland about what to do about it. They immediately came out with the newly acquired Rodney Hood and Jordan Clarkson and blew out the Boston Celtics on the road.

In the Eastern conference, DeMar Derozan and the Raptors are the best team in the East.

I feel that it is still too far away to predict what will happen in the playoffs, but you can almost guarantee that we will be in for some good match ups.

If the Rockets can keep everybody healthy, they have all the pieces lined up to be the first team to keep the Warriors out of the Finals in almost four years, and they are undefeated against them so far this season.

I feel like it is time to have some different teams in the NBA Finals, and this year may be the year for it to happen.

The playoffs will be stacked full of good teams this year, in my opinion, and the East is up for grabs for several teams since Raptors, Celtics, Cavs, and Wizards are all having good years so far.

The All-Star break will include several competitions including the slam dunk contest and the actual game itself that was won by the West last year.

We will have to keep an eye on some of these hot teams, and then re-evaluate the season when it gets closer to the playoffs.