The 2019-2020 NBA regular season has started, and we are all happy campers again in the universe of professional basketball.

Still, even with most teams already having played three to four games, so many questions remain up in the air.

Will the dynamic duo of Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam be enough to carry Toronto back to the NBA Finals?

Which Los Angeles team will rule the city, the conference, or the entire Association?

Will the reigning Most Valuable Player continue his rise and push the Bucks deep into the Playoffs?

Will the James Harden-Russell Westbrook pairing work in Houston?

I started to look at all 30 teams in my own attempt at power rankings last week by focusing on the Eastern Conference.

Now, let’s take a peak just at how wild the Wild Wild West is shaping up this season.

1. LA Clippers — Kawhi Leonard and Paul George made the Clippers the show in town, and don’t be surprised if they end up owning the best record in the West by the time we hit April 2020.

They also still have perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Lou Williams along with high quality pieces Motrezl Harrell, Maurice Harkless and Patrick Beverley.

2. Denver Nuggets — Yes, I’m not slotting the other LA team at No. 2 because I saw first-hand how dangerous the Nikola Jokic can be at the World Cup, and I am sure he would be deadly as hell this season for Mile High City.

Also, I’m excited to see what kind of impact Michael Porter Jr. will finally have along with other top-level talents Paul Millsap, Will Barton, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris.

3. LA Lakers — Okay, you Lakers fanboys, here’s your favorite team.

As of this writing, the Lakers have gone 1-1 to start the season, looking shaky in a loss to the Clippers, but impressive in a win over the Utah Jazz.

The duel between Lebron James and Father Time continues, too. Although the smart bet is on undefeated Time, James won’t need to be the top dog in Tinseltown with the arrival of Anthony Davis.

Also, throw in Danny Green, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo, JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard.

4. Houston Rockets — The James Harden-Russell Westbrook tandem is going to make for a helluva fun season in Houston.

But fun doesn’t always commensurate to wins.

Will this team make the postseason? No doubt.

Will they make it as far as the Western Conference Finals? Probably not, though having two of the most explosive offensive forces on the planet creates so many possibilities.

5. Utah Jazz — Donovan Mitchell is in fine early season form, and his teaming up with Mike Conley along with Rudy Gobert makes for a potentially titanic, if a little under-appreciated, combo in the West.

Also, having two elite international wingmen in Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic was low-key awesome for a team that may not make a lot of noise yet but may potentially turn a lot of heads in the Playoffs.

6. Portland Trail Blazers — I’m still high on the Damian Lillard-CJ McCollum combo, but there is also the creeping feeling that maybe this iteration of the Blazers has plateaued.

That’s why they mixed and matched in the offseason with the likes of Kent Bazemore, Mario Hezonja, Hassan Whiteside and Pau Gasol.

This is still not a bona fide title favorite, but if Lillard and McCollum both play at superstar levels, anything can happen.

7. Golden State Warriors — It feels almost sacrilegious to place the Dubs this low in these rankings, but the world has kept on turning with the Warriors seemingly standing still.

They lost Kevin Durant and won’t have Klay Thompson for maybe the entire season. They’ve started 0-2 this season, and people are no longer talking about this team with any sort of reverence.

Still, with Steph Curry and Draymond Green as well as D’Angelo Russell, things can’t be too bad, right?

8. San Antonio Spurs — Man, this really is no longer the Spurs that we have all come to adore.

But they should find ways to stay relevant, and I still expect they will make the Playoffs.

Having Dejounte Murray back is terrific news and his tandem with DeMar DeRozan is solid if not explosive. Much of their fortunes, though, rest on just how elite LaMarcus Aldridge will be this season.

9. Oklahoma City Thunder — So the Thunder are out on Paul George and Westbrook but added Chris Paul.

Not the best trade-off, and likely not good enough to make this club a Playoff squad. Building around the aging star with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Steven Adams, Terrance Ferguson, and Danilo Gallinari seems intriguing, but again, this team has just fallen so far down.

10. Sacramento Kings — Sac-Town is Excite-Town once more, and though I don’t see them making the Playoffs, they should make a lot of highlights.

Like most people, I’m high on De’Aaron Fox, who should be the centerpiece of a backcourt that also features Buddy Hield and Cory Joseph.

Also, Bogdan Bogdanovic is my man and, I’m hoping Luke Walton, can find a way to maximize his absolutely deadly shooting.

11. New Orleans Pelicans — Zion Williamson’s knee situation looks worse than what everyone thought, and that also means the Pelicans may have just bet their foreseeable future on damaged goods. Still, this is an opportunity for other guys like Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram to show the entire league what they couldn’t do in Los Angeles.

12. Dallas Mavericks — So many are sleeping on the Mavericks, but they have won their first two games of the young season.

Also, Luka Doncic looks like an All-Star and Kristaps Porzingis is also flashing his old form anew.

There is a ton of potential here, but how far can two young — but fragile — Euro guys really take an NBA team in their remaining 80 games?

13. Minnesota Timberwolves — Karl-Anthony Towns was hands down the top pick in all fantasy NBA drafts I was part of, but that doesn’t mean the Timberwolves are going to be Playoff-bound.

It will take huge jumps from Andrew Wiggins, Josh Okogie, and even Shabazz Napier for this squad to make any headway this season.

14. Memphis Grizzlies — Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, Jr. are the reasons to have a sliver of hope for the Grizzlies, but they won’t make this a Playoff team.

Jonas Valanciunas is an interesting pick-up, but he’s no game-changer, too.

15. Phoenix Suns — Hey, the Suns just beat the Clippers, and that may be the highlight of their season.

Still, there is some potential here with Ricky Rubio coming over and hopefully making life more bearable for Devin Booker, though that probably won’t be enough to stem the red tide brought about by DeAndre Ayton’s freakish suspension.