When I decided to start this weekly segment last week, I had no idea that we, the fans, would be treated to such a great week of NBA basketball. The week had a little bit of everything, from playoff races, to MVP races, to complete collapse, I have you covered.
It is only right that I begin by talking about that amazing game between the Miami Heat and OKC Thunder, The game was so good that it had analysts salivating over a potential finals match-up between the two teams. What I think got lost in all of this, is the fact that the game was actually very sloppy and poorly played, Durant had nine turnovers by himself! What made this game good was the officiating (let a lot of things go), the competitiveness, and the hard fouls. You truly got a sense that these two teams did not like each other and they were playing like it. What made the game even better was the match-up of Lebron vs. Durant, with Lebron basically telling everyone that was trying to build hype for the Durant MVP campaign last week, that the MVP trophy is his to lose. He completely shut down Durant in the final minutes and was the entire Heat offence in the fourth quarter, it was nice to see him step up and separate himself from everyone else on the court. He rose to the occasion and did not shrink from it, of course this means nothing until the playoffs start so stay tuned.
Last week I also named a few teams who had very important weeks coming up that would likely determine their fate in regards to making the playoffs, those teams were Memphis, the Knicks, and the Celtics. The Grizzlies took care of business in a very impressive 4-1 week (with the one loss being to Dallas in the third game in a back-to-back-to-back set, and they avenged that loss by beating Dallas three days later) that has given them some breathing room in the crowded Western conference. Memphis could get as high as a 3-seed if they keep playing this well, and continue to be a scary match-up for anyone. The Knicks actually managed to climb to the 7-seed in the East (because Philly is self-com-busting at this point) and beat a Rose-led Bulls team in OT. They are also winning enough games to keep the streaking Bucks at bay, while waiting for the health statuses of Stoudemire and Lin, a solid week for the Knicks. Lastly, the Celtics stumbled a bit with losses to the Bulls and Spurs (although not many teams would beat those two teams) but recovered to beat Indiana and Philadelphia. Boston is really playing some good ball and at this point there really is not much more to say about the team. They did not fold this year, (when they had every chance to do so) they stuck together, and now worst of all (for every other team) they are starting to believe.
But enough about the teams that are actually taking care of business, on to the teams that are doing the exact opposite. Firstly, OKC is no longer the West's number one overall seed having lost three games in a row and only snapping that skid with a win against the lowly Raptors. For a young team that has yet to win a title like OKC, home-court advantage is a must and they have let it slip away. Another team that is doing its best NOT to make the playoffs are the 76ers. I have no idea what happened to this team, but within the span of two weeks the race for the East's 8-seed went from a two-team to a three-team race, and you know what? I think New York and Milwaukee both make it and Doug Collins' early season COY bid becomes a thing of comedy. I will conclude this segment with the obvious: the Orlando Magic. I am actually amazed that SVG still has a job coaching this team. While I am on his side in this (he did get screwed over by Shaq in Miami) there is no way you can keep him around at this point right? Could any other coach get away with completely throwing his star player under the bus? Needless to say, Orlando is in the middle of a funk that could drop them even lower than the 6-seed they find themselves in right now, they need to decide (and soon) if they want to try and actually accomplish something in the playoffs, or fade into obscurity.
That will do it for this week, I am keeping things short only because exams are breathing right down my neck this week. Hope you enjoyed anyways!
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