While everyone is excited for the NCAA Tournament to get underway in earnest tomorrow, myself included, the guys who get paid to hoop still occupy this space. Let’s take our weekly trip around them NBA.
Historical dominance for the Spurs and Warriors
Golden State is outscoring its opponents by an astronomical 11 points per game and that figure is actually second to San Antonio’s 12.4. The Spurs, at 57-10, are on pace for 70 wins and they’re 3.5 back in the West because Golden State is 60-6 and appears to be a lock to break the 1996 Chicago Bulls record of 72 wins. They are a combined 64-0 at home!!! Two teams at this level of dominance in the same season is unprecedented and should have people flipping over from TruTV & CBS Saturday night to ABC. The first time they met, January 25th in the Bay Area, Golden State embarrassed the Spurs 120-90 and it wasn’t even that close. San Antonio will insist it’s just a regular season game, but you can bet they’ll be looking for a much better showing this time around. It’ll be a back-to-back for Golden State as they’ll play in Dallas the night before and will also be without Andre Iguodala. Should the two teams meet in the Western Conference Finals, I still have the Warriors as a comfortable favorite, but this Saturday night in San Antonio, the Spurs will probably get them. Should be fun.
Playoff Positioning Update
In the Wes,t one through five seems pretty locked in. Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, Clippers andGrizzlies. Now six through nine is a different story. The Blazers, Rockets, Mavs and Jazz are separated by just 2.5 games. Utah got a big win Monday night versus the Cavs but they still have work to do being two back in the loss column and on the outside looking in at the moment.
In the East, the Cavs continue to hold a two game lead over Toronto and while the Raptors probably won’t catch them, they do hold the tie-breaker, so we’re not ready to call that one just yet. After those two team,s the East is a cluttered mess. Three through six is separated by just a 1.5 games. Boston and Miami both sit at 39-28, the Hawks are right behind them at 38-29 and then Charlotte is 37-29. Indiana, Chicago and Detroit are battling for seven and eight with the Pacers currently in the best shape, but only two games separate the three teams in the loss column. I personally am not ready to pull the plug on the Wizards just yet, but at 31-35 it’s not looking good for them. (Shame too because John Wall has had an all-NBA type season).
Some big games tonight in the playoff chase include Bulls at Wizards, Hawks at Pistons and Thunder at Celtics 7pm ESPN.
Lakers, Knicks and Phil Jackson
If you haven’t read ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne’s column on the Lakers and Knicks you should check it out. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14973195/phil-jackson-feels-sense-urgency-knicks
Shelburne writes on Jackson:
“As always, as ever, he remains a key figure as the clock ticks down on the front offices of two of the NBA’s marquee franchises.”
Fascinating stuff. I think the Lakers have some nice young pieces and obviously they’ll add to that in this year’s draft. Byron Scott has to go though and I’d be shocked if he’s back. The rumors will always be there that Jackson is going to return to the Lakers in some capacity. After all, he’s engaged to the owner, but I think he’s committed to getting things right in New York. If tomorrow he decides I don’t need either of these gigs and steps away, his legendary legacy remains intact. It would be foolish to suggest otherwise and the opinion here remains he’ll fix the Knicks. Both teams figure to make strong pushes to Luke Walton this summer but as Shelburne points out there are no guarantees that Walton would leave the cushy job he has in Golden State when he could probably hand pick a team who’s closer to winning in other off seasons to follow. Carmelo recently scoffed at the notion of Jackson coaching only home games next season and I don’t disagree with him, but will Carmelo even be on the team by the time training camp rolls around? Whatever happens, it figures to be an eventful off season on both coasts for two of the league’s highest profile franchises.
