What we learned in the NBA in 2014

The NBA is very, very healthy

In early October, the league announced a nine-year, $24-billion extension to its media rights deal with Disney (ESPN, ABC) and Turner (TNT), one that now runs through the 2024-25 season and stands to have a profound impact on the NBA's financial health.

Put simply, the league is very, very healthy. The dollar figure is astounding and speaks to the good place the league finds itself in, but it won't come without issue. Some are worried about an enormous one-time jump in the salary cap for the 2016-17 season, while others have used the big number as an impetus to dig in on collective bargaining issues ahead of potential 2017 labor beef.

The good thing is that the pie the league and players need to split up in a few summers is now substantially larger.

There are still areas to improve on

When your commissioner is seemingly asked every damn day whether or not teams are even trying to win, and when franchises are being openly questioned on why they're not tanking, the league has a bit of an image issue. Even if intentionally losing games isn't what's happening, there's a very clear, systemic issue incentivizing teams to put something other than their best foot forward.

Last season's Philadelphia 76ers ranked among the league's all-time worst teams by point differential, and this year's squad is threatening to be even worse, being outscored by nearly 12 points a game.

Lottery reform will eventually come, but immediate changes were voted down in October. In the interim, teams can play young players plenty, shrug at losses and keep an eye on the Jahlil Okafors and Karl-Anthony Townses of the world.

The hype ain't real

It was supposed to be one of the best draft classes ever, boasting nine players who would have been the No. 1 pick a year prior. There's still plenty of time for the group to deliver on that promise, but the early returns for the 2014 class are disappointing.

Jabari Parker and Julius Randle are out for the season, Joel Embiid likely is as well, Aaron Gordon has hit the shelf, Dario Saric stayed in Europe, Noah Vonleh is glued to the bench and everyone else has been slow to make an impact.

As a result, the Rookie of the Year race, once thought to be a hotly contested affair, will probably come down to No. 1 pick Andrew Wiggins, second-round selection K.J. McDaniels, unlikely point guard Zach LaVine, or rookies from another draft class like Nerlens Noel, Nikola Mirotic or Bojan Bogdanovic.

3-point shots a necessary focus on both ends

As much as San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich may hate the reality, the 3-point shot continues to become more and more important to teams on both ends of the floor.

Offensively, teams need to hit threes to maintain an efficient offense. Each of the league's top-five offenses take an above-average portion of their shots from long range, and just two of the league's top 10 3-point heavy teams have a below-average offense.

Defensively, simply limiting the portion of shots an opponent takes from long range can explain nearly 15 percent of the variance in a team's defensive efficiency.

The message is clear with the use of the 3-point shot on the rise: adapt or perish.

Your Leastern Conference puns, while awful, remain relevant

On the morning of Dec. 23, the Western Conference owned a record of 101-57 against the Eastern Conference. The West was also home to seven of the league's best 11 teams by record and six of its top eight by adjusted net rating. The ninth seed in the West would rank sixth in the East. And so on.

The West remains the dominant conference, something that's been the case steadily since 2002. There are few obvious solutions beyond realignment, and that brings its own bundle of issues. There's nothing immediate to be done, save for enjoying what should be a ridiculous Western Conference playoff bracket with as many as eight legitimate contenders battling within.

And hey, with contenders Cleveland and Chicago, plus Toronto, Atlanta and Washington out East, the conference imbalance won't make for a weak NBA Finals.