What’s trending in the NBA

A look at some of the big news around the NBA:

East tops West

About one-third of the way through the 2015-16 season, the Eastern Conference continues to outpace the West, with 10 East teams boasting winning records going into this weekend’s play. Last season, the 38-win Brooklyn Nets made the playoffs in the East, while the Oklahoma City Thunder missed the West postseason with 45 wins.

The tide has turned. Miami, Indiana, Charlotte, Orlando, Detroit and Boston have all climbed above .500, after losing records last season. The West has two of the top teams in the league, the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio, but only five West teams were above .500 going into Saturday’s games.

Wrong direction

While many teams in the East are flourishing, two teams thatmade the playoffs last season are not. The Washington Wizards not only have a losing record, but their defense is giving up roughly 106 points a game, slightly worse than the last-place Philadelphia 76ers. Washington’s outlook hasn’t improved, with talented shooting guard Bradley Beal out for a few weeks with a leg injury.

The Milwaukee Bucks are also struggling. On Tuesday, the Bucks lost forward/center Greg Monroe to a sprained knee. While the injury isn’t expected to keep him out long, Monroe’s 16.2 points and 9.8 rebounds a game will be hard to replace and Milwaukee already has a lot of ground to make up in the East.

One-on-five

Sunday marks the 10-year anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 62-point game against the Dallas Mavericks. In a 112-90 victory, Bryant outscored the entire Mavericks roster, 62-61, through three periods. With the Lakers ahead by 34 points to start the fourth quarter, Coach Phil Jackson chose not to put Bryant back in the game — despite pleas from the Staples Center crowd.

A month later, Bryant scored his career high of 81 points against the Toronto Raptors.

Markieff DNPs

Both the Phoenix Suns and power forward Markieff Morris tried to put aside their differences at the start of the season, despite Morris’ lambasting the team for trading his twin brother Marcus Morris to Detroit. The detente did not last. Markieff Morris has only played in one game for the Suns since Dec. 7, despite being healthy. Other teams have said privately the Suns have the 6-foot-10 Morris on the trade block.

Long ball

Karl-Anthony Towns, No. 1 pick in the draft, has already shown Timberwolves fans he came into the league NBA-ready. Towns posted 11 double-doubles in his first 25 games. He told reporters that Kentucky Coach John Calipari forbid him from taking three-pointers. But Towns kept working on his shot in practice and in a 10-game stretch, starting Thanksgiving weekend, he hit eight-of-15 three-pointers, giving defenders one more thing to worry about.

Rondo apology

Sacramento Kings guard Rajon Rondo was suspended Dec. 11 for a using a derogatory and offensive term toward an NBA official. The details of the incident became clear when Bill Kennedy told Yahoo Sports, “I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man.” Rondo later released a statement to apologize for using a homosexual slur toward Kennedy: “There is no place on or off the court for language that disrespects anyone’s sexual orientation.” The veteran point guard’s one-game suspension cost him roughly $86,000 in salary.

LOOKING AHEAD

Cleveland at Golden State

Friday at 2 p.m. TV: ABC.

The NBA serves up five Christmas games, including the first meeting between the Cavaliers and Warriors since they played in the Finals last season. Last season, the Warriors won five of eight games, including the playoffs, against the Cavaliers. LeBron James of the Cavaliers averaged 36.7 points, 13.0 rebounds and 8.3 assists in the eight games and Stephen Curry of the Warriors averaged 24.6, 4.4 and 6.8.

—Barry Stavro