PISTONS, HEAT, SPURS, MAVS IN PLAYOFFS
(Images taken from NBA.com)
Over the past week or so, four NBA teams have secured themselves a spot in the playoffs, as in they're garunteed, whatever happens to finish in the top 8 of their Conference.
First up in the East is the Pistons. Despite their solid defense possibly starting to crack they're still leading the Conference with a 53-13 record and wins in Toronto(105-98) and Charlotte(108-103) before returning home to bust the Hawks 91-84. The main player standing out for them right now is Ben Wallace and that's mainly for his rebounding!
Second in the East is still the Heat, and they're the second team in that Conference to secure a playoff spot with a 45-21 record. Shaq and crew are on a five game winning streak with Dwayne Wade leading the way in points with a blowout at home to the Jazz(121-83), a tighter win at home to the Celtics(107-104) before further wins in Chicago(85-84) and New York(111-100).
So the playoffs first round picture in the East looks like this right now. The Pistons(number 1) will face the Sixers(8). The Heat(2) will face the Bucks(7). The Nets(3) will face the Pacers(6) and the Cavs(4) will face the Wizards(5).
The chasing pack in the East is losing ground fast however. Philly's nearest challenge in theory comes from Boston but they're on a three game losing streak. Go down further and the Raptors did beat the Bucks 97-96 at home in their last match but they've got a way to go to get into the mixer. The East looks settled already.
In the West, the Spurs have wrapped up their own playoff berth with a 52-14 record. The defending champions are on a four game winning streak that includes recent wins at home to the Hornets(96-81) and the Suns(108-102) before getting a 92-77 win out of Houston. Nazr Mohamed's been the man on form in San Antonio. The Suns stay in second(thanks to them leading the Pacific division) and the Nuggets in third(thanks to them leading the Northwest division)
Despite being in fourth position in the Conference standings though, at 52-15 the Mavs do have the second best record in the West and so have secured a playoff spot before two of the Western division leaders. Despite losing their last match(thus allowing the Spurs some breathing space) a Dirk Nowitski led Dalls still picked up wins at home to the Cavs(91-87) and in Houston(95-81) and Washington(104-94) recently.
So the playoffs first round picture in the West looks like this: As things stand, the Spurs(1) will face the Kings(8). The Suns(2) will face the Lakers(7). The Nuggets(3) will face the Grizzlies(6) and the Mavs(4) willface the Clippers(5).
The nearest challengers to the top eight in the West are in theory the Hornets but they're going nowhere but down right now on an eight game losing streak. The Warriors have won their last two though but in the West, as with the East, the playoff berth's are the current top 8's to lose.
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