The Miami Heat will finish up their pre-All-Star break schedule late tonight, with a road game against the Golden State Warriors (10:30 PM ET, NBA-TV). The Heat are sitting on a 36-14 record, 3 ½ games back of the Indiana Pacers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and a game and a half behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, a potential NBA Finals opponent. TheSportsNotebook takes a closer look at how the Heat’s bid for a third straight NBA title is faring.
The Indiana Pacers play their final game before the All-Star break tonight when the host the Dallas Mavericks. The Pacers come into the game riding high at 40-11, 3 ½ games ahead of the Miami Heat for the #1 seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference, and percentage points of the Oklahoma City Thunder for the league’s best record overall. TheSportsNotebook takes a closer look at how the Pacers are doing it as we get set for the weekend festivities in New Orlean
The Toronto Raptors have gotten on a nice run, winning 10 of their last 13 games and moving up to third place in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. We’ll take a closer look at the Raptors and ask a question with a double meaning—can this team reach the second round of the playoffs, and what’s more can they be a legitimate second round team?—i.e., not just one tat cashes in because the rules require that two teams join the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals of the awful Eastern Conference
We’re at about the quarter-pole in the long haul that is the NBA regular season, which paves the way for what can seem like an even longer playoff run. All of which is to say we can’t get too excited about an early results, but the first returns do suggest the NBA Eastern Conference is headed for a historically bad season.
We can’t completely lose sight of the NBA. By the time the sports world comes up for air when the NCAAs conclude on April 8, the NBA season will have just nine days left and all the races that are compelling right now might be mostly settled. As such, today’s daily sports look will double as NBA commentary, and we’ll summarize the key races within each conference and look ahead at the entire week of pro basketball.
The New York Knicks enter into the biggest week of the regular season starting tonight. The Knicks are 38-22, and a half-game up on the Indiana Pacers for the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. New York also starts a tough five-game road swing out west, most of which will be on national television. So for today’s NBA commentary, let’s break down the Knicks and see if this is a team that can fulfill the promise of its fast start to the regular season and at least reach the conference finals and a showdown with Miami.
The playoff race in the NBA’s Eastern Conference is nothing if not fluid, and once you concede the obvious top spot to the Miami Heat, it seems almost everything else is up for grabs. In that light, escaping the #8 playoff seed would be of paramount importance. It surely has to be considered a surprise that the Milwaukee Bucks have gotten on a four-game win streak against a good schedule and given themselves a puncher’s chance to do just that. The Bucks are still currently in eighth, but moving into striking distance of the seven-spot. TheSportsNotebook’s NBA commentary will focus on whether Milwaukee can actually get to #7—or higher—and if so, if they can pull off the supreme shocker and win their first playoff series since 2001.
The big surprise at last week’s NBA trade deadline was that Atlanta Hawks power forward Josh Smith stayed put. Smith is in the final year of a contract worth $13.2 million and he’s looking for a max deal for next season. Either Atlanta thinks they can re-sign him or the team thinks it can make an extended playoff run and is shoving its chips on the table for this year. It’s the latter question that will be the focus of our NBA commentary today—can these Atlanta Hawks make a good showing in the postseason?
What’s most noteworthy about these teams though, is the success the Pacers and Bulls have each had without their stars, especially given the emphasis the culture of the NBA places on the star system. Indiana is in third in the Eastern Conference at 32-21, while Chicago is fifth with a record of 30-22. Both are squarely in the mix of teams that are tightly packed from 2 thru 6 and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals is eminently realistic even if Granger or Rose never saw the court this year. Both teams are built on tough defense, each hits the boards hard to close out those defensive possessions and both control the pace with a slow tempo. Beyond these core similarities, TheSportsNotebook’s NBA coverage will break down each team a little further.
We’re not yet halfway through the regular season, but to look at the standings in the NBA Eastern Conference playoff race, one might conclude it’s already over. Oh, there are battles for seedings to fight over and in the homecourt-friendly NBA that can never be overlooked. But when it comes to the eight teams that qualify for the postseason, there’s a sharp line drawn between the haves and have-nots. Milwaukee is 19-18 and the only teams in shouting distance are Philadelphia, Detroit, Toronto and Orlando. Let’s run through those latter four teams and see if any of them can make the race for the final spot(s) interesting over the next couple months.
The NBA Eastern Conference is muddled by injuries right now, as the middle class tries to sort itself out. Three teams—Chicago, Philadelphia and Indiana—have hopes of eventually emerging as the pre-eminent challenger to the Miami Heat by springtime, but all three have their signature player on the bench. TheSportsNotebook will take a brief look at each team so far this season, who’s stepping up, and what the prospects are for their injured stars.
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers were supposed to be too old to contend for an NBA title, not to mention too thin on the bench. They may still be, but each team looks every bit the contender—maybe not favorite, but contender—as the opening of the playoffs looms next Saturday. TheSportsNotebook takes a look at the NBA’s two traditional powers…