This is a new feature that I'm going to try to update weekly during the NBA season, and I'll try to tweak it for the Playoffs and maybe for MMA cards to show who's on the rise, treading water, and slumping. I would like to note that this was written yesterday, before the Heat got beat by the Thunder, the Celtics showed some signs of life again, and the Mavericks beat the Warriors.
Three Up
Chicago Bulls: Winners of nine of their past ten, the Bulls have surged into first in the Eastern Conference for the first time since the Jordan Era. Notable in that span are two wins over the Heat and wins over Atlanta, Orlando, and New Orleans. ESPN has them currently rated as the team most likely to win the NBA title and are number one in ESPN's future power rankings, measuring who should be the best over the next three years. Derrick Rose is the leading candidate for MVP and Tom Thibodeau is amongst the leading candidates for Coach of the Year. All in all, not a bad time to be a Bulls fan.
Denver Nuggets: Denver is surging post-Carmelo Anthony with a 9-2 record after the trade, which is quite a bit better than the Knicks' mark during that span. George Karl has the team playing an exciting brand of basketball and it is obvious that a weight has been lifted off the team's shoulders. They actually look like they enjoy playing basketball again. They are currently a five seed in the West, and could potentially play spoiler to the Thunder in the playoffs.
Los Angeles Lakers: Also winners of nine of the past ten, the Lakers are finally starting to round into playoff form. Following the close loss to Miami, they beat the Mavericks and Magic, and prior to the Heat game they thrashed the Spurs. Of the top four seeds out West they are probably the most dangerous, although they should hope they don't have to play the Grizzlies, TrailBlazers, or Nuggets in the first round as they struggle against them.
Three in the Middle
Boston Celtics: It seems that Boston is content to let everybody heal up before the postseason, hence the struggle over the past five or six games. They obliterated the Bucks over the weekend, but those losses to the Clippers and Nets are brutal and losing to potential first round opponent Philadelphia hurts. The 76ers have matched up well with Boston all season and would make it a tough series for the Celtics. That being said, Boston still holds tiebreakers over Chicago and Miami and they don't really care about beating a team on the road, so seeding for the playoffs isn't that important. What is important is that Rondo has been playing poorly and when he doesn't go, neither do the Celtics.
Miami Heat: Recovered from that losing skid to beat the Lakers in a close game, then blow out the Grizzlies and Spurs by thirty each. I still don't think they can beat Boston or Chicago in a seven game series due to their lack of cohesiveness and effectiveness in the halfcourt game. Wade and LeBron still don't really know how to play together unless it's on the fast break. With a few tweaks and a healthy Haslem, the Heat could still make some noise in the playoffs.
Philadelphia 76ers: Beat Boston last week and played the Thunder close, but lost to Utah and got thrashed by the Bucks. Still, they have recovered from a poor start and are now above .500 and have the second best record in the East since the All-Star break behind Chicago. They have the potential to make the first round of the playoffs very interesting. Doug Collins has done a great job coaching a young team that has no one scoring more than 17 a game.
Three Down
San Antonio Spurs: Have bookend blowout losses to the Lakers and Heat, with wins over bad teams in the middle. They should finish with homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, but their play against good teams has been troubling as of late. Their defense has been sub-par this season and it has shown against the better teams. They need a win over Dallas at the end of the month to reassert themselves as the favorite in the Western Conference.
New York Knicks: After the excitement of trading for Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks have gone 6-6. Knicks fans are shocked to see that 'Melo doesn't play defense or pass the ball very much/well. They also can't defend. Anyone. At all. It doesn't matter how great a clutch shooter 'Melo is if you can't stop anyone in a close game. The two straight losses to the Pacers put them in the seventh seed, where they would have a difficult time competing against the Celtics. If the Knicks want to make any noise, they need to get to the sixth seed and a more favorable matchup with the Heat.
Dallas Mavericks: Their losses to the Lakers and potential first round opponent Portland have dropped the Mavericks into the third seed out West. They could still conceivably win the conference, but they could also conceivably lose to the TrailBlazers in the first round. The seventh seed Hornets are a much easier matchup. They play the Hornets and the Spurs before the month is out and wins there would help their caue a great deal.
That's it for this week's installment. Feel free to comment if you agree, disagree, or think I missed something.
No comments:
Post a Comment