NBA Western Conference’s advantage over East is bigger than ever

THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: Was the stat crew for Tuesday’s Atlanta-Washington game at the Verizon Center even watching? The league announced there were numerous errors in the final stats, including individual turnovers for Wizards guards John Wall and Bradley Beal, Washington’s total turnovers (off by five!), and shot totals for forwards Kyle Korver of the Hawks and Paul Pierce of the Wizards. Nice job.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, on why he played supersub Marreese Speights limited minutes early in the season:

“Because I’m an idiot.”

TANKS A LOT!: The writing is on the wall for the Lakers, who now have three projected rotation players out for the season – Steve Nash, Julius Randle and Xavier Henry, who tore his Achilles tendon in a practice last week. Of course, Kobe Bryant continues to dismiss that as a strategy. But here’s something for Bryant, Mitch Kupchak and the Buss family to consider: If the Lakers aren’t among the five worst teams in the league, their 2015 first-round pick goes to Phoenix. They are currently fifth-worst.

LINE OF THE WEEK: Stephen Curry, Golden State at Miami, Nov. 25: 37 minutes, 12-19 FGs, 8-11 3-pointers, 8-9 FTs, six rebounds, seven assists, three steals, one block, two turnovers, 40 points in a 114-97 win. Curry scored 32 points from the midway point of the second quarter, helping Golden State climb out of a 15-point hole. He also was on the floor as the Warriors held the Heat without a bucket over the final nine minutes.

LINE OF THE WEAK: Utah Jazz reserves at Oklahoma City, Nov. 26: combined 70 minutes, 1-10 FGs, 0-4 3-pointers, 1-4 FTs, 12 rebounds, zero assists, zero steals, one block, seven turnovers, four fouls, three points in a 97-82 loss. The quartet of Trevor Booker, Joe Ingles, Rudy Gobert and Dante Exum also were a collective minus-49. Among individuals, Pelicans guard Austin Rivers was 0-of-8 in 21 minutes in his first start of the season Friday at Atlanta.

TRILLION WATCH: Philadelphia’s Robert Covington, Orlando’s Andrew Nicholson and Milwaukee’s Kendall Marshall all posted 2 trillions. But the week’s winner was Golden State center Festus Ezeli, who had a 4 trillion Wednesday at Orlando. The overall leader remains Lakers guard Xavier Henry, who had a 9 trillion at Golden State on Nov. 1 and is truly the leader in the clubhouse.

GAME OF THE WEEK: San Antonio at Memphis, Dec. 5. The best division in sports – sorry, AFC North and SEC West – gives us the defending champion Spurs, who have won seven in a row, visiting the league-leading Grizzlies, who are unbeaten at home and against the West.

GAME OF THE WEAK: Philadelphia at Minnesota, Dec. 3. Just a hunch, but the Target Center probably won’t be showing video tributes for returning heroes Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Alexei Shved. A loss here to the injury-riddled Timberwolves would drop the 76ers to 0-18, which would tie the 2009-10 Nets for the worst start in NBA history.

TWO MINUTES: With apologies to the Thunder, no 2014 playoff team had a rougher first month than the Hornets, who were supposed to be upwardly mobile after the offseason additions of Lance Stephenson and Marvin Williams but instead are reeling with nine straight losses and buried in the East, 10 games under .500. To be fair, Charlotte has had a rough schedule, with more than half its games against the West. But the bigger issue remains the incorporation of Stephenson, who is not on the same page with coach Steve Clifford. Stephenson sat out the fourth quarter of losses Monday and Wednesday, with Clifford noting a lack of ball movement. “To be fair, one of the things that’s made it more difficult for him is that he came here and people proclaimed him as this next superstar,” Clifford said. “He’s not a star. He’s a guy that has talent to become a star. To be a star in this league, you have to do it over years.” In Saturday’s loss at Atlanta, however, the Hornets looked like they were in a fog and trailed 64-28 at halftime, a performance Clifford called “unacceptable.” When asked about changes, he said, “It doesn’t matter what you tweak if you don’t show up to play. They have an obligation to each other, to the franchise, to the fans, to put forth a professional effort. I’m in charge of that.” Stephenson certainly has to play better – he’s averaging 9.6 points and shooting below 37 percent – and find some compatibility with his coach, but the Hornets should not panic by firing Clifford. They were eight games under .500 in the second half of last season with a lesser roster and put together a 24-12 closing surge. It would help if Kemba Walker (.364 shooting) and Gerald Henderson (6.8 ppg) picked it up a little, too. … The Magic are 5-7 on the road. They were 4-37 on the road last season. … Reggie Jackson was back on the bench Friday when Russell Westbrook did his usual Tasmanian Devil impersonation in his return to the Thunder’s lineup. While Westbrook and Kevin Durant were sidelined, Jackson averaged 20.2 points and 7.8 assists as a starter, numbers agent Aaron Mintz of CAA is definitely committing to memory for next summer, when his client hits restricted free agency in search of a starting job. … San Antonio’s Danny Green leads all guards in blocks with 1.38 per game. The only other true guard averaging more than one block per game is Houston’s James Harden, believe it or not. … If the Kings are serious about hanging around in the West playoff race, the next three weeks are crucial. Sunday’s home loss to Memphis began a stretch in which Sacramento plays 10 of its next 11 games at home, getting the Lakers twice and the Jazz, Pistons, Magic and weakened Pacers once each. … Damien Wilkins, who turns 35 in January, was named D-League Performer of the Week. … Stan Van Gundy lost his first seven games as an NBA coach and never again lost that many in a row – until now. Detroit has lost eight straight games and at 3-14 would be in last place in the East if not for the winless Sixers. In seven previous full seasons, Van Gundy has never finished below .500 or missed the playoffs. Even in the weak East, both those streaks appear to be in serious jeopardy. … Celtics guard Rajon Rondo is 9-of-30 from the line this season. That’s worse than Ian Mahinmi (9-of-27), Nerlens Noel (13-of-32), DeAndre Jordan (12-of-28), Ed Davis (13-of-33), Dwight Howard (42-of-91) and Josh Smith (29-of-68). … Spurs guard Tony Parker is the early leader in 3-point percentage, making two of every three shots from the arc. While Parker will never be accused of hoisting – his 24 attempts are by far the fewest of any qualified player – his accuracy is no accident as he has been urged by coach Gregg Popovich to improve his long-distance shooting. “As I am getting older, Pop was like, ‘The last two years, you need to start working on your three in the corner because as you get older you are going to need to make threes, a little bit like Jason Kidd,'” the 32-year-old Parker said. “I started making the three in the corner pretty well, shooting 40 percent from the corner the last two or three years. Right now he just basically told me I can do whatever, just be smart with it, and I am trying to be smart.” Parker hasn’t taken more than 70 threes in a season since the 2004-05 campaign. For his career, he is at 32 percent, although he did shoot 37 percent last season. “I know that if I want to stay longer in this league, I am going to have to make that shot,” he said. … Nets guard Deron Williams notched his first double-double of the season Wednesday. That’s one less than Alex Len, Mario Chalmers, Gorgui Dieng, and Lavoy Allen and the same number as Donald Sloan, Jeremy Lamb, Solomon Hill, Aron Baynes, Austin Daye and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. … Remember last season, when the Plumlee brothers took the NBA by surprise? After playing just 55 minutes as a rookie with Indiana, Miles Plumlee was traded to Phoenix, started 79 games and averaged 8.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. As a rookie with the Nets, Mason Plumlee stepped into the void created by Brook Lopez’s injury and averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds, making the All-Rookie Team. This season, the Plumlees have fallen off the map. Miles is still starting for Phoenix but averaging just 5.6 points and 5.9 rebounds. He has scored two points or less five times in his last seven games. Mason, meanwhile, is averaging 5.0 points, making less than half his free throws and has scored three points or less in six of his last seven games.