There is precious little time remaining for teams to jockey for playoff positioning. Things are tight from top to bottom in the West, and the East is getting far more competitive through the middle of the standings, making every remaining game especially important.
The teams that really plan to make a run have begun to show their teeth in the stretch following the All-Star break. Now the intensity level is about to get ramped up another couple of notches with the playoffs right around the corner.
The teams are set to enter the stretch run following the All-Star break. With races heating up and postseason positioning on the line, don’t expect to see any team hold anything back the rest of the way.
The races in the NBA’s Eastern and Western conferences are heating up as the playoffs inch ever closer. With teams looking to solidify home court or just back their way into postseason contention we are seeing their true colors.
The NBA season is in full swing and some interesting contenders are already emerging – some new and some totally unforeseen.
Step right up, folks, if you think you have what it takes to take down the Heat this coming season. Lebron James predicted, what, seven titles in Miami before the show closes down?
Game 5 of the NBA Finals produced one of the most entertaining basketball games of the season. Each side’s Big Three came to play, and they didn’t disappoint. San Antonio’s win leaves Miami in the precarious position of needing to win consecutive games to claim their second consecutive NBA title. Here are five reasons why you can expect them to do just that:
The Heat regained home court advantage in this series with their Game 3 blowout win in Indiana where they almost played a perfect first half scoring 70 points.
The Spurs are up 3-0 in this series and after the Game 1 blowout the last 2 games have gone to overtime. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series, but in an interesting fact the Grizzlies are the only team in NBA history to be down 0-2 in a series and win the next 4 games by double-digits.
The Pacers shocked the Heat in Miami in Game 2 with a win and now heading back to Indiana the Pacers now have home court advantage in this series. LeBron James had 2 late turnovers that killed the Heat in Game 2 and Miami did not play good D in the game allowing the Pacers to shoot 50% from the floor.
The Pacers and Heat meet in the playoffs for the second straight season and last season Miami prevailed in 6 games. The Heat are 3-0 in conference finals appearances since the Big 3 joined the team.
The Spurs have a 1-0 lead in this Western Conference semifinals series after thrashing the Grizzlies in Game 1. This season Memphis had the best defense in the league in terms of opponents’ points allowed, but in the Game 1 loss they gave up over 100 points and allowed the Spurs to shoot over 52% from the floor.
We are down to the final four for this year’s playoffs as the march towards the NBA Finals wears on.
The Spurs crushed the Warriors in Game 5 in San Antonio and now back at Golden State they can close out this series if they win.
The Warriors won Game 4 at home in the last game in this series and with each team winning 1 on the road the Spurs have the home court advantage.
The Spurs beat the Warriors in Game 3 on the road and with the win they took back home court advantage in this series. The Warriors did not shoot the rock well in Game 3 and the big concern for them is the injury that Stephen Curry sustained in the game.
