The NBA season is beginning to wind down and there are four teams that are in a tough rut. Here is a breakdown of which ones can break out of it, and which ones will continue the downward spiral.
Boston Celtics- 49-16- 2nd in Eastern Conference
Boston is two games behind Cleveland in the race for the #1 seed, and only 1 1/2 games ahead of Orlando. All three of these teams have clinched playoff berths, but home court could be the deciding factor for these three teams. Boston advanced to the fin! als last season because of their home court advantage. Their series against Cleveland went to 7 games, with the home team winning each meeting. The Celtics are 5-5 in their last 10, mainly because they have 5 injured players. Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo are the big name injuries, but both should be back well before the playoffs. Big Baby Glen Davis is out as well, but should be back within the next week. Tony Allen is out until the postseason, and should add a great boost off the bench when he returns. Brian Scalabrine is a solid big body, but multiple concussions have kept him out as well. The Celtics have 10 active players, two rookies (Walker and Giddens) who have barely played, two new guys (Marbury and Mikki Moore, and a 2nd year player in Gabe Pruitt. They are shorthanded bad right now. The Celtics will finish in the top two spots. They need to get things together though because home court will likely be the deciding factor between them and Cleveland. Nonetheless, B! oston will be in the Eastern Conference Finals worst case scen! ario.
Atlanta Hawks- 37-28- 4th in Eastern Conference
Atlanta has lost 5 of their last 10 as well. The Hawks just learned they are going to be without F Marvin Williams for quite a while. This is a huge blow. The pressure is now on Al Horford and Josh Smith to pick up the slack. The Hawks are a very young team and learned a lot in their 7 game series with Boston last season. But, this injury could be a deathly blow especially considering how good Miami has been as of late (beat Boston ! last night). Detroit could sneak up and steal either the 4 or 5 slot and bump the Hawks to 6th. This would mean a first round matchup with one of the three heavyweights. The Hawks need to have someone rise up in a big way if they have any plans of advancing into the econd round of the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets- 41-25- 7th in Western Conference
Chauncey Billups turned this Denver Nuggets' team into a contender in the West, but some of that early season pizazz has worn off. Denver has free fallen into! 7th after Utah's recent surge. The Nuggets have lost 6 of the! ir last 10 and Portland has surpassed them as well. The Nuggets need the home court in the first round if they have any hopes of contending. If they remain in 7th or slip to 8th they will have to play Los Angeles or San Antonio, two teams you do not want to matchup with in the first round. Denver needs to get things rolling and take back the third seed in the West. Will they? I think not. Utah is a darkhorse contender for the NBA Title. I think Denver can climb to 4th at best, but the division appears unreachable.
Phoenix Suns- 34-30- 9th in Western Conference
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Phoenix is 3-7 in their last 10 and appear dead in the water without Amare. Steve Nash continues to burn out and the Jason Richardson trade has not improved their team. Shaq has given this franchise his best season in years, but it has not been enough. The Suns are on the outside looking in, and unless Dallas collapses, Phoenix will miss the playoffs. The loss of Mike D'Antoni has affected them. The Terry Porter experiment failed as he got the axe after he tried to make the Suns play defense. Haha I know right? Phoenix and defense? No way. The J-Rich deal killed that attempt. You traded Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, your two best defensive players. That was doomed to fail. Phoenix is toast. Put a fork in them.
