burnzz wrote:
goddam this just keeps getting better! Jazz beat dallas, pull within 1/2 a game of #3.
memphis beats l.a., all-star break coming up . . .
You forgot to mention Kobe hitting the game winner over Ray-Ray and the Celtics on Sunday.
I've been saying this for the last 2 months - Kobe needs to rest. His finger is severely impacting his shooting and he's trying to force too much. But let's take a look at where the league stands according to me after a half a season-
In the East there are 4 teams that have all but broken away from the pack: Atlanta, Orlando, Boston and Cleveland. I think there is no outright favorite to win the East at this point but I think I'm going to pick the Hawks. Cleveland has the easiest schedule left but I don't think the cohesion is there to beat some of the tough East teams in the playoffs. I'm not an NBA coach and don't really pick up on the nuances of coaching but as a die-hard basketball fan and someone who understands the game I don't see how Mike Brown is still a head coach, let alone a coach of the year winner. Cleveland seems to have no consistency in their game, their saving grace being the most athletically gifted player in the game on the court in Maroon and Gold. I honestly don't see them getting out of the Eastern Finals. Boston is crumbling from the brittle knees of Garnett and the penchant of Paul Pierce and Ray Ray to not show up for some games. Rondo is becoming a great play maker but his jump-shot game needs some serious work, and he and Garnett aren't going to be able to carry the team into the Finals again. Orlando is playing streaky at best, definitely not playing capable of the way they are able to. I think they will peak cohesively at the perfect time late in the season to make another run at a Finals appearance, but I still see the Hawks as the hungriest and strongest team out in the East at this point. They've been able to make a few runs in the playoffs these last few years, even taking the Celts to a 7 game series, which gives them a battle-tested air of confidence that's extremely important and impactful down the stretch. They have talent at pretty much every position and the addition of Jamal Crawford was the best gift Joe Johnson could have asked for because it gives him another solid play-maker to take some of the stress and defense away.
In the West the standings/playoff situation is far more complicated. You have 11 teams fighting for 8 playoff spots with the top 4 still up for grabs. The way both teams are playing it's hard to believe that the Jazz and Mavs won't be in the top 4 come April, but there's some serious talent below them battling. San Antonio is notorious for starting slow, building up momentum and making a run deep into the playoffs, but they've been marred by injury and with Tony Parker out with an ankle sprain for the next few weeks it will be interesting to see how they battle the rest of their schedule. That being said, I think the two favorites out of the West are Denver and the Lakers. Denver has been playing great and their toughness could really help them down the stretch. I see them as the main contenders to the Lakers for the Western Conference crown. The Lakers are of course the front-runners, being the defending champs, but there are questions to be raised as far as their game is concerned as well. They are incredibly streaky on defense and have a knack for letting less-than-stellar teams stay close with them. Plus it seems like they are forcing the ball into Kobe too much on offense, and their bigs down low (something consistently mentioned as a strong positive for the Lakers) have been inconsistent at best. At the beginning of the season I thought with the addition of Artest the Lakes would be unstoppable but it looks like they aren't as strong defensively as you'd think. If anything it's Artest's offense that has helped the Lakers more than his defense.
We'll see how the second half of the season progresses but it's looking like it will be another great season for NBA basketball (and hopefully for the Lakers specifically).