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San Antonio Spurs only team in the West to clinch playoff berth

March 18th, 2011

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San Antonio Spurs (54-13, clinched playoff berth)

Throughout the entire NBA regular season the San Antonio Spurs have been the best team in the league as they have just dominated the competition and have become the first team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spots with a remarkable record of 54-13. The main goal for the San Antonio Spurs moving forward will be getting the best of the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs, but in the meantime they will try and hold on to the top seed in the West.

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Even though the Spurs are favored to win every single time they step foot on the basketball floor, they have struggled as of late with two big losses to the Lakers and the Miami Heat in San Antonio. Obviously, with just 13 losses all season long there is no reason to panic just yet, but hopefully they aren’t losing that flair for winning heading into the postseason.

SAN ANTONIO - JANUARY 14: Roger Mason Jr. #8 ...

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One of the biggest concerns for this team moving forward will be the health of their key players like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. As long as the Spurs big three can hold up through the rest of the NBA regular season and into the playoffs, I believe this team has a legitimate shot to go the distance and make it back to the NBA Finals.

Obviously, with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and of course the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs will have a have a tough road ahead of them in the playoffs has any one of these three teams could potentially knock them out and crush their hopes for yet another NBA title in the Tim Duncan era.

There is no question at this point in time that the San Antonio Spurs are going to clinch the number one seed in the Western Conference. The defending champion Lakers made been hot on their trail and after beating them in San Antonio are confident that they can take the Spurs in a seven-game series, but catching up to this team seems out of the question with only a handful of games left in the NBA regular season.

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Unfortunately, even though it was inevitable, the San Antonio Spurs have become the first team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spot. With a record of 54-13 that is no real surprise, but at least it is a bit of a weight off the shoulders as they can now concentrate on staying healthy and clinching that top spot in the West.

If the playoffs were to start today, the San Antonio Spurs would be going head-to-head against the Memphis Grizzlies. Even though many people believe that the Grizzlies are nothing but a perennial bottom feeder in the Western Conference, they have flown relatively under the radar this season and could be dangerous for the Spurs if they do end up being matchup in the first round.

Four teams in the Eastern Division clinch playoff spots

March 17th, 2011 admin

The NBA regular season is in its final stretch and playoff spots in both conferences are starting to get clenched. Even though the San Antonio Spurs are the only team in the Western Conference to clinch playoff spot as of right now, the Eastern conference is completely different as three teams have already locked up their spots punched their tickets to the playoffs.

Chicago Bulls (48-18, Clinched Central Division)

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Coming into this NBA regular season, the Chicago Bulls had made a pretty big upgrade in the paint by signing free agent forward Carlos boozer. Even though they were able to add a former All-Star to their roster, they still have a predicting home at the shooting guard position and it was uncertain whether or not they failed to compete with the best of the best in the Eastern conference.

Despite a lot of people doubting this team all year long, Derrick Rose and company have surpassed their expectations of to this point and look like they could be the best team in the Eastern conference moving forward. Recently, they were able to pass up the Boston Celtics in the Eastern conference standings for the top spot, but Boston was able to retake that.

Even though Boston is back on top, I believe Chicago might deal knock them out once more as they are playing as good as any team in the league right now.

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Boston Celtics (47-18)

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Ever since the Boston Celtics made the deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder in which they traded away arguably their best defender in the paint and Kendrick Perkins, this championship caliber team just hasn’t been the same as they have seemed to have lost that flare and heart but they been known for the past couple years.

There’s no question that the Boston Celtics are as resilient as any team in the NBA with their veteran leadership and talented players at multiple positions, but whether or not they can hold up against some of the best teams in the East or compete with the likes of the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals remains to be seen.

Miami Heat (46-21)

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No team in the NBA this season has been followed more vigorously than the Miami Heat. It’s no surprise that the Heat have gotten the attention and following they have with fans and NBA analysts as they did make the boldest move the league has seen in a long time by signing three of the best free agents last summer.

Obviously, with the added attention in South Beach the Heat were bound to struggle at least once or twice throughout the NBA regular season, but now the NBA playoffs are right around the corner and whether or not this team can compete with the best of the best in the Eastern conference in a seven-game series will be seen.

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Orlando Magic (43-26)

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As arguably the worst team on this list of playoff bound teams in the Eastern conference, the Orlando Magic could be in for a big reality check in the first round of the playoffs as they might not be able to contend with the best of the best in the East.

If the playoffs good start today they would be going head-to-head against the division rival Atlanta Hawks and that would be bad news for the Orlando Magic as they might not feel the compete inside and outside of the paint the talented young team like Atlanta.

All-Star center Dwight Howard might be getting a lot of talk recently about being an MVP candidate, but his plan alone is not revealed to lead his team against the best in the league during the playoffs.

Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time this season

March 14th, 2011 admin

Coming into Thursday night’s South Beach showdown with the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat had lost five straight games all to playoff bound teams like the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers and the Chicago Bulls.

Obviously, whenever a team like the Miami Heat starts losing games to teams like these with the playoffs just around the corner, this can be a major reason for concern. There is no doubt that the Heat have arguably one of the most talented starting lineups in the NBA today, but that doesn’t mean they will instantly be competing for an NBA title or will even be able to compete with the best of the best in the league.

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Fortunately, despite their recent struggles, the Miami Heat were able to get back on track in a big way this past Thursday night against the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. Even though the Lakers were arguably the hottest team in the league coming into this matchup as they had recently destroyed the league leading San Antonio Spurs in the process of winning eight straight games, Kobe Bryant and company had their work cut out for them against a desperate Heat squad.

With five straight losses coming into this South Beach showdown with the defending champs, the Heat were in desperate need of a win and that is just what they got as they outplayed the Lakers in every which way. This was a close contest from start to finish as the Lakers and the Heat battled back and forth both sharing the lead at one point or another.

At times the Lakers seemed to have the game in hand with Kobe Bryant starting to get hot and Andrew Bynum getting going in the paint, but came close to the end in the fourth quarter, the Heat capitalized on big mistakes by the Lakers. It could be argued that the refs missed some pretty big calls that could have changed the game for Phil Jackson’s squad, but in the end the Miami Heat were just the better all around team on Thursday night at American Airlines Arena.

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Dwyane Wade led the way in the scoring column for the Miami Heat with a team-high 20 points. LeBron James stole the show for Miami though as he finished with 19 points, nine assists and eight boards. As for the Lakers, Kobe Bryant led the way as usually with a game-high 24 points, but I believe it was Andrew Bynum that had the best performance for the defending champs as he finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Unfortunately, even though Kobe and Bynum had impressive performances, it wasn’t enough to put the Lakers over the top to get their ninth win in a row. With this win, the Miami Heat snapped their 5-game losing streak and were finally able to get back on track, but whether or not they can maintain this kind of momentum remains to be seen.

NBA Matchup: New York Knicks @ Dallas Mavericks

March 10th, 2011 admin

New York Knicks at Dallas Mavericks Thurs. March 10, 2011 9:30 p.m. EST

The NBA regular season is in the final stretch now and every game from here on out is huge for every playoff bound team in the league. With that being said, the New York Knicks and the Dallas Mavericks will be playing for playoff position on Thursday night as they try to clinch the highest seed possible in the Eastern and Western conferences.

Ever since the blockbuster trade between the Denver Nuggets and the New York Knicks went down before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 24, Melo and company have played well in the Big Apple with some fairly big wins against playoff bound teams like the Miami Heat, but they will definitely have their work cut out for them on Thursday night when they head to Dallas to take on the second seeded Mavs.

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The New York Knicks have been red hot as of late as they have won seven of their last ten games and two straight coming into this matchup. With Carmelo Anthony getting more and more comfortable with this team, the Knicks

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could be very dangerous coming down the stretch as we get closer and closer to playoff time.

As of right now, the New York Knicks are the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, but they will have an opportunity to move up in the final stretch of the NBA regular season with the Atlanta Hawks (fifth seed, lost three straight), Orlando Magic (fourth seed, lost two straight) and the Miami Heat (third seed, lost five straight) all struggling right now.

With Melo and company still be three games behind the Hawks for the fifth seed, they will need to continue to capitalize on Atlanta recent slump by winning as many basketball games as possible from here on out.

The Dallas Mavericks on the other hand could be in desperation mode sooner rather than later. Dirk Nowitzki and company may have won nine of their last ten games, but the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers are arguably the hottest team in the league right now and are just one game behind the second seeded Dallas Mavericks.

With the Lakers hot on their trail, the Mavs will need to stay hot with some big wins over the next few weeks. The one thing that the Mavs will be thinking about during this matchup with the revamped Knicks will be their matchup with the defending champs on Saturday, but if they can’t get the best of New York on Thursday, they will be in danger of dropping to third in the Western Conference with the loss to the Lakers this weekend.

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With that being said, this game against the New York Knicks will be huge in terms of keeping their high seed in the Western Conference. The one thing that will be a big concern for the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday will be matching up with Carmelo Anthony on the perimeter and containing Amare Stoudemire in the paint.

The one advantage I see for the Dallas Mavericks coming into this game is that they are a much deeper basketball team. With their depth they might be able to just wear down the Knicks and pull out the win.

Are the Boston Celtics in trouble without Shaq?

March 10th, 2011 admin

There is no question at this point in the NBA regular season that the Boston Celtics are arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference and maybe even in the entire league, but with about 20 games left before the NBA playoffs and the Chicago Bulls hot on their trail, Doc Rivers’ squad could be in danger of losing the top seed in the East.

One of the things that have made the Boston Celtics such a dominant team over the past few years has been their ability to play lockdown defense. Any team in this league that can play defense like the Celtics have been able to do consistently will have a legitimate shot to win an NBA title, but Boston’s defense has suffered a major blow recently with the blockbuster trade sending Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder and their injury problems with their big men.

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Coming into this NBA regular season, the Boston Celtics were thought to have one of the best frontcourts in the league. With Kendrick Perkins still recovering from knee surgery, the Celtics went out and landed to big-name free agent centers in four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal and former All-Star Jermaine O’Neal.

Even though both of the O’Neals are without a doubt on the downside of their careers in the NBA and possibly on the verge of retirement in the next few years, they were thought to be perfect additions to a team that was in desperate need of size to compete with the likes of the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers. With Shaq and Jermaine backing up Perkins, this team was going to be as tough to beat on the block as any in the league, but injuries and the recent trade of Perkins have really changed things for the Celtics.

Throughout his entire career in the NBA, Jermaine O’Neal has been injury prone and unable to stay healthy for the long haul. O’Neal may be a talented big man in this league with the ability to be a game changer at times, but he is by no means a dependable player.

Shaquille O’Neal on the other hand has been very dependable over the years and a solid contributor, even when regulated to a bench role with the Boston Celtics. Unfortunately, the three-time NBA Finals MVP may have finally reached a plateau as he can no longer stay healthy for an extended part of time.

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As of right now, Shaq is suffering from an Achilles’ heel injury that will keep him out of the Boston Celtics lineup until he is 100% healthy. At this point in time, the Celtics are saying that Shaq is about 85% and still has a ways to go before he can get back on the floor.

This couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Boston Celtics as they will almost certainly need everyone healthy to finish out the final stretch of the NBA regular season and make a run in the playoffs. Without Kendrick Perkins, Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq, the Celtics could really struggle on defense and against bigger teams in the league moving forward.

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