Chicago Bulls (29-19)
The Bulls are oh-so-close to realizing their full potential as a dark-horse contender in the Eastern Conference. Another couple weeks and Derrick Rose should be back in the lineup, D-League stint or no. All Chicago needs to do is keep the rest of its core healthy and...voila! Watch out, Miami and New York!
Trouble is, Joakim Noah, Kirk Hinrich and Carlos Boozer have both been in and out of the lineup of late. Noah and Luol Deng, both All-Stars, have played major minutes already this season.
Tom Thibodeau has done a masterful job of squeezing lemonade out of scrap-heap filler, but can only bleed his biggest contributors so much before they run dry down the stretch of the season.
Playoff Chances: 99.9 Percent
Indiana Pacers (30-19)
It's amazing how closely the Pacers' season has mirrored that of the Bulls. Like their Central Division rivals, the Pacers are anticipating the return of a pivotal player (in this case, Danny Granger), but have hardly waited around to put themselves on a roll.
Both play stout defense, though Indy's is a smidgen stingier. Both are middling offensive squads, at best, but the Pacers have been fortunate enough to find an All-Star scorer in their midst, thanks to the emergence of Paul George.
In other words, expect these two teams to duke it out for the division crown going forward, especially with their respective wounded due back soon.
Playoff Chances: 100.0 Percent
Denver Nuggets (31-18)
Usually, it'd be easy to dismiss the Denver Nuggets. Sure, they're in a virtual tie with the Grizzlies for the fourth seed in the West, but their recent climb through the standings has been almost entirely contingent on a recently home-heavy schedule.
Not to mention that Denver's D is merely middling and that the Nuggets have often struggled to hit the broadside of a barn from three-point range.
Still, there's no ignoring the resuscitation of Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson, the steady defensive improvement across the roster and the seven-game winning streak (Denver's longest in two years) that all of that has precipitated.
So long as the wins keep coming and the Grizzlies and the Clippers continue to crumble, the Nuggets should have an excellent shot at securing home court in the first round of the playoffs.
Which is big, since the Nuggets own a 21-3 record in the thin air of the Pepsi Center.
Playoff Chances: 98.9 Percent
New York Knicks (31-15)
Don't look now, but the Knicks have (somewhat) quietly snuck their way back into striking distance of the Heat atop the Eastern Conference. They've won five games in a row, the last four by double digits.
And they've done it as a team. Carmelo Anthony is still scoring at a career-high clip, Amar'e Stoudemire is settling into his role as a productive bench player and Tyson Chandler has pulled down 20 rebounds in each of his last three games. Chandler's the first Knickerbocker to do that since Willis Reed had a rebounding streak of his own back in December of 1969.
You may recall that the Knicks went on to win the title at the end of the 1969-70 season. Just sayin'...
Playoff Chances: 100.0 Percent
Los Angeles Clippers (34-16)
First Chris Paul, then Blake Griffin and now Jamal Crawford. Injuries have sent the Clippers into a tailspin. They've lost three in a row and seven of nine since moving their record to an eye-popping 32-9 on January 19th.
Looks like the Clipper Curse is as alive and well as ever.
Playoff Chances: 100.0 Percent
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