NBA Eastern Conference playoff update
The Philadelphia 76ers (38-37) are living up to their playoff expectations finally. Allen Iverson has carried this team for his entire career, but this season is more of an achievement. The Answer has been working with less and less talent each year and they still put on a great show. The other AI, Andre Igoudala is a great defender and their team defense under coach Jim O'Brien has been slowly improving all season. The 76ers have seven games left, and four of those are against playoff teams. They still face the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, Miami Heat, and the Indiana Pacers. They also face playoff hopeful New Jersey. Since F Chris Webber's shoulder injury the 76ers are 3-1. I think they play better with Webber out of the line up. Webber is having a hard time fitting into the offense, and his being out of sync makes it hard for the 76ers to score.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (38-37) are in meltdown mode. All season the Cavs have been in playoff contention, but the last month coinciding with the ownership change has made the team self destruct. The Cavs have lost 10 of their last 14 games and they are 4-7 under Coach Brendan Malone. GM Jim Paxson is reported to be on the hot seat, and their freefall out of playoff contention is imminent. Last night's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers put them in the #8 seed. The New Jersey Nets are only 1.5 games behind the Cavs now. The Cavs have seven games left, three of those games are against playoff teams. They will face the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and Boston Celtics. They also face playoff spoiler the Orlando Magic.
The New Jersey Nets (38-39) are playing well recently. They are 12-4 in their last 16 games and they might be peaking at the right time. Their win today against the Boston Celtics was a convincing one. SG Vince Carter scored 45, and PG Jason Kidd had 17 assists. The rumor is that SF Richard Jefferson is around 80% recovered from his wrist injury, and he is trying to make it back for the late season run at the playoffs. Their good play coupled with the late season meltdown of the Cavaliers could open a spot for the Nets in the playoffs. The Nets were in the NBA Finals 2 or the last 3 years. The Nets still face four playoff teams in their last 5 games. The have to win against the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, and Philadelphia 76ers to have any chance at the #8 seed in the East.
The Orlando Magic (35-41) had a great run this year. The Magic are 3.5 games back with 6 games left, and that is on the verge of insurmountable odds. They can be a thorn in the Cleveland Cavaliers side since they play one more game against eachother. The comeback of All Star SF Grant Hill is one of the best stories in the NBA this season. Hill was given up on by a lot of people, and he came back with a great season. Unfortunately he didn't get to finish out the season because of a left shin injury. Another costly loss was G/F Hedo Turkoglu to a broken left wrist. The only mistake the Magic made this year was trading SG Cuttino Mobley to the Sacramento Kings for SG Doug Christie. Christie didn't contribute much before he was placed on the injured list with bone spurs in his left ankle. The loss of a scoring option with Mobley has proven very costly. The Magic have enjoyed a great rookie season from PF Dwight Howard. Next year, provided the team is in good health, will establish the Magic as a playoff team.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (38-37) are in meltdown mode. All season the Cavs have been in playoff contention, but the last month coinciding with the ownership change has made the team self destruct. The Cavs have lost 10 of their last 14 games and they are 4-7 under Coach Brendan Malone. GM Jim Paxson is reported to be on the hot seat, and their freefall out of playoff contention is imminent. Last night's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers put them in the #8 seed. The New Jersey Nets are only 1.5 games behind the Cavs now. The Cavs have seven games left, three of those games are against playoff teams. They will face the Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons, and Boston Celtics. They also face playoff spoiler the Orlando Magic.
The New Jersey Nets (38-39) are playing well recently. They are 12-4 in their last 16 games and they might be peaking at the right time. Their win today against the Boston Celtics was a convincing one. SG Vince Carter scored 45, and PG Jason Kidd had 17 assists. The rumor is that SF Richard Jefferson is around 80% recovered from his wrist injury, and he is trying to make it back for the late season run at the playoffs. Their good play coupled with the late season meltdown of the Cavaliers could open a spot for the Nets in the playoffs. The Nets were in the NBA Finals 2 or the last 3 years. The Nets still face four playoff teams in their last 5 games. The have to win against the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, and Philadelphia 76ers to have any chance at the #8 seed in the East.
The Orlando Magic (35-41) had a great run this year. The Magic are 3.5 games back with 6 games left, and that is on the verge of insurmountable odds. They can be a thorn in the Cleveland Cavaliers side since they play one more game against eachother. The comeback of All Star SF Grant Hill is one of the best stories in the NBA this season. Hill was given up on by a lot of people, and he came back with a great season. Unfortunately he didn't get to finish out the season because of a left shin injury. Another costly loss was G/F Hedo Turkoglu to a broken left wrist. The only mistake the Magic made this year was trading SG Cuttino Mobley to the Sacramento Kings for SG Doug Christie. Christie didn't contribute much before he was placed on the injured list with bone spurs in his left ankle. The loss of a scoring option with Mobley has proven very costly. The Magic have enjoyed a great rookie season from PF Dwight Howard. Next year, provided the team is in good health, will establish the Magic as a playoff team.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home