The Rap Up: Toronto takes a tumble in an improved Eastern Conference (Eh Game)

Oh, how things change in the NBA. If you had said the Eastern Conference would have only three teams with a losing record a month into the season, chances are I would have called you a bozo. In recent years, the NBA West has dominated in terms of talent and performance, while the East took a backseat in competitiveness. Coming into the season, many prognosticators pegged six NBA title contenders: Golden State, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Houston, the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland. Notice just one of the teams resides in the Eastern Conference. Less than a month into the real games, though, and the Rockets, one of those contenders, have fired the coach who took them all the way to the conference finals last spring. And after starting the week in a nice spot in the East, the Raptors lost three straight and dropped to a 7-6 record - and all the way down to ninth place in a conference in which a whopping 12 teams are at .500 or above. While a five-point loss to the undefeated Warriors was encouraging, all three Raptors' losses this past week came down to two possessions, as did earlier losses to the Knicks and Magic. The Raptors are struggling to close out games, and in an...