The Thunder and Spurs each have 18 games left after’s tonight’s battle in San Antonio, so this one hardly means curtains for the loser as the teams maneuver for the best record in the Western Conference and the right to home-court advantage in any upcoming playoff series.
Here’s what we know about the Eastern Conference playoffs, which don’t get under way until the middle of April:
1. The Heat will be the top seed.
Chicago Bulls (34-26) at San Antonio Spurs (47-14)
Wednesday, March 6
AT&T Center, San Antonio
9 p.m. EST
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O/U – 191.5
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2. The Pacers and Knicks will be 2-3, or 3-2.
3. The other five teams in the mix will be Brooklyn, Atlanta, Boston, Milwaukee and Chicago, in some order that probably won’t be determined until the last musket is fired.
Everyone wants to avoid the 8th seed and a first-round elimination date with the Heat, a thought which until recently never crossed the minds of fans in Chicago.
But the way the Bulls have been playing recently, a free fall to the bottom of the playoff heap looks entirely possible.
Chicago’s started innocently enough with a head-scratching loss to the Wizards in late January, a defeat which kicked off an 8-10 stretch which has removed the Bulls from the conference elite and raised two key questions: When is Derrick Rose coming back, and is Tom Thibodeau wearing out his starters?
Rose has finally been sighted on the Bulls’ bench, albeit in street clothes. “It’s just the next step,” said Thibodeau of Rose’s presence during games. “He may not even be out there all the time.
If he wants to come out, great. If he doesn’t, that’s fine, too. Again, his focus has to be on the rehab.
The team has to focus on our improvement and our next game. So at some point he’ll be ready to go.” [ad-6571516]
Rose has made it clear that he’s not coming back until he feels he’s 100 percent good to go, and since the league’s best offensive PG isn’t talking much, no one knows when that will be.
Until that question is answered, focus in Chicago is on the team’s recent struggles.
The bump in the road has included a 71-69 loss in Boston which may have been one of the worst games in the history of the NBA and a defeat at home to the Cavaliers.
Thibodeau, considered on the league’s top coaches, is starting to take a little heat for keeping his bigs on the floor for huge minutes. Luol Deng played 44 minutes in a recent game against Brooklyn, and Joakim Noah played more than 40 four times in the last 10 games, including 45 against the 76ers.
Would have been an interesting late-season PG battle between Rose and Tony Parker. Parker’s absence was hardly noticed in SA’s 114-75 victory over the Pistons, who appear to have officially started playing out the string.
Tonight will be a bigger test as Chicago’s pressure defense and tightened rotation is tested by the Spurs’ deep bench.
Expecting same-old, same-old here with the Spurs getting it done sans Parker.
Totals players should be aware that the Bulls have scored in triple digits only once in the last month, and the Spurs might take a few quarters to figure things out in their first decent test without Parker.
The Lakers have finally found some balance – in the NBA standings anyway. For the first time since December (15-15), they find themselves with as many wins (30) as losses.
Miami’s incredible late-season run is an obvious message to the rest of the Eastern Conference that there is not much that can be done to prevent the Heat from heading to the NBA Finals again.
Two of the most bipolar teams in the league go at it tonight in the Big Apple when the Golden State Warriors take on the New York Knicks.
With a six-game lead over their nearest rivals and only 28 games left, about the only thing that could stop the Miami Heat from finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference is an inopportune (wince here) ACL injury.
The Lakers will be in the playoffs when the blanks are replaced by real bullets come the middle of April. At least that what Kobe Bryant says.
For the last decade or so the Toronto Raptors have served one useful purpose – they prevent the really good teams from getting bored by having to play only each other all the time.
Four games under .500, 3½ games out of a playoff spot. Twenty-eight games to go in the regular season.
Should we call this one the Usain Bolt Invitational?
Coming off the All-Star break rested and ready to make a serious run for a high seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Denver Nuggets have played 16 consecutive games in which one team (and most often both) has scored in triple digits.
Oh what a last game before the All Star break, as this is a match up of last season’s final and there is a good chance these 2 teams will meet in the finals this season.
Things just keep getting worse for the Celtics, as they are not only coming off a shocking loss to the weak Charlotte Hornets, but they lost another guard in Leandro Barbosa, who was recently lost for the season with a knee injury.
The Blazers have lost 3 straight and they are on the outside looking in being 2 games back of the Houston Rockets for the 8th spot in the Western Conference. However, while they are big double-digit underdogs in this game they did beat the Heat at home earlier this season.
The Nets have had a few days off and they needed it since they have lost 2 straight and 6 of their last 10 games. Tonight they face a Pacers’ team that is coming off a loss, but has won 6 straight home games against Brooklyn.
Houston’s offense has simply been en fuego and they have won 2 straight and scored 140 points in their last win.
The Warriors have been one of the surprises this season and they are in the 5th spot in the Western Conference, they have won 4 straight, and they are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
