Well, the Cavaliers found the win column. The Spurs keep finding it. The Lakers started the week like champions but ended with a pair of head-scratchers. Every team could use the rest this weekend's All-Star break will bring, though the Blazers are playing so well they'd probably like to keep going. Boston, by the way, still owns the Heat. And that's one storyline we'll still be discussing three months from now.
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Forget the ugly loss in Philly. It happens to everybody, even this team. The Spurs' 46-9 record is the league's best, and the best by anybody to this point since 2007. Of course it's all about what happens from April-June, but the Spurs are developing weapons and chemistry to match their experience and look to be a lock to own home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
The Celtics are limping along, but they saved enough in those old legs to hold off the Heat again Sunday in one that was big for their confidence and could loom large in the final playoff standings. Good news ahead? Delonte West is coming back and Paul Pierce (hand) is expected to be fine. Shaq is out until March, probably, but it's all about the late spring for these guys.
LeBron's Twitter tells us he's not much for proper grammar. Not sure how he is with geography, but he has to know the Eastern Conference goes through Boston. And the Heat just have to figure a way to beat the Celtics -- somehow, some way -- between now and May, or all the hype and brilliance the Heat have created this year will go for naught.
Potential MVP Derrick Rose outdid Chris Paul as the Bulls scored another impressive road win over the weekend. They've won eight of 10 overall and are riding Rose towards the top of the standings. Should Miami or Boston falter -- and there's a lot of season left, especially considering Joakim Noah has missed the last 28 games -- the Bulls could grab one of the East's top two seeds.
Gutted out a big win in Houston over the weekend, shaking off any hangover from a tough loss in Denver and keeping their roll of the last three weeks going. Peja Stojakovic scored 22 in that one, adding another dimension for a team that loves to win shootouts. The Mavs are 27-2 when reaching 100 points this season.
Have the Lakers turned the corner and are just tired? Or are they not there yet? They played championship defense in the second half to win at Boston last Thursday, then followed that by going flat in losses at Orlando and Charlotte. They're tired and road weary, sure, but do championship teams give up 16 points to Nazr Mohammed in any environment?
No team has enjoyed Utah's fall more than the Thunder, who were handling their business nicely until they couldn't stop the hot-shooting Warriors Sunday night. The story is the same as the Thunder have top-level talent but might lack the experience to really win this year. For now, they should beware the guys directly below.
Winners of five straight have their next five at home. Is it time to make a serious run? If LaMarcus Aldridge keeps playing like this and Brandon Roy comes back strong, it might be. Aldridge was named Western Conference player of the week on Monday after averaging 38.3 points in the previous three games. Then he outplayed Kevin Love Monday night in one that had to be personal based on his All-Star snub.
Was Sunday's win over the Lakers a season saver? Only time will tell, but it was badly needed in the wake of a strange home loss to a beat-up Hornets team. The Magic need Gilbert Arenas to get his mind right, J.J. Redick to find his groove and for the entire team to be be better at the defensive end. Sounds like a lot to ask.
Last-second loss to Charlotte Saturday night was not only part of a strange night around the league -- eight games, eight wins by the visiting team -- but it doesn't look as bad after the Bobcats followed it by blowing out the Lakers. The Hawks are still playing well, have won eight of 10 on the road and are going to be a playoff team. But they are probably not a team that wins in the playoffs.
The smokin' hot Grizzlies went 8-2 during O.J. Mayo's suspension and are primed to pass Utah and Denver and put themselves into the playoffs. They'll have to keep playing defense and keep the egos in check, not just in getting Mayo worked back in but for the rest of the season. It always seems to be something off the court that holds this team back.
The ugly truth is this team is just 2-9 since Emeka Okafor went down with an oblique strain. He should be back soon after the All-Star break, but the Hornets have lost momentum and have lost their defensive edge in his absence. Chris Paul is still Chris Paul, but he needs all the help he can get.
That certainly qualifies as a tumultuous week. Longtime coach Jerry Sloan is out, Deron Williams may or may not be the primary reason why and this season is all but over. Where do the Jazz go from here? Tyrone Corbin is the right pick for the coaching job, but Williams may not be long for Utah and the roster has more than its share of holes.
Still playing pretty well but not stringing enough wins together. And in the chasing position they're in, that's just not good enough. The Rockets remain one of the most intriguing teams over the next 10 days as we count down to the trade deadline as they have assets and flexibility. Stay tuned.
The Carmelo Saga is bad for the league, bad for the franchise, bad for Carmelo, bad for Carmelo's teammates and -- you guessed it -- very bad for what could otherwise be a promising season for this talented team. We're 10 days away from some sort of resolution, but it's too late for Denver in '10-'11.
They're still a "buzz" team, but they're not yet a good team. Or one capable of beating good teams. And there's extra worry now that Amar'e Stoudemire is questionable for Wednesday's big one vs. Atlanta after spraining his right big toe, the kind of injury that can linger.
The Sixers are officially hot. They toppled the Spurs last week, saved enough energy to follow that by beating the Timberwolves the way most teams do and seem to be a lock for the bottom of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Philly has won nine of its last 12 and has options as the trade deadline approaches.
Consider it a spark. The Pacers are 7-1 since the coaching change put Frank Vogel in charge, and that one loss was in Miami after the Pacers built a big lead. They get a chance at home Tuesday night to gain a measure of revenge and a legitimate victory that would make the league take notice.
Just when Phoenix started to look like one of the league's hottest teams and played its way back into screaming range of the playoff race, the Suns went out and laid an inexplicable stink bomb in losing at home to a tired and shorthanded Sacramento team. It still looks they won't trade Steve Nash 'til summer, and they're almost certainly headed for the lottery.
Shaun Livingston has given the bench -- and the Bobcats as a whole -- an unexpected but welcome lift. Stephen Jackson is playing like he wants to get into the playoffs and the Bobcats are suddenly not only beating good teams, but playing solid basketball and acting like they're enjoying themselves in the process.
The play of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry in Sunday night's upset of Oklahoma City was a thing of beauty, but it's too late for Golden State to make any kind of run this season. What does the future hold? And can Curry and Ellis be an effective "small" backcourt for years to come? We'll be watching with interest.
Same story: No offense, no luck on the injury front, stretches of solid and promising basketball being followed by prolonged droughts and really, really bad offense. The Bucks still have some pieces and aren't as bad as their record indicates, but they're all but toast this season.
They play close ones, they play a fun style and they have a lot of interesting young players. But they lose a lot of close ones, and DeMarcus Cousins' latest incident is proof they really don't know how bright their future might be. Kudos for the big win without Cousins in Phoenix, though.
Cover your eyes. THOSE Clippers are back. Sure, they've been on a long, miserable and pretty unfair road trip. and they've been trying to stay afloat without the injured Eric Gordon. But they allowed the Cavaliers to end their streak and followed that by losing to the Raptors. That's as bad as it gets, no matter how good Blake Griffin may be.
They don't score, they don't rebound, they don't close games and at least half the roster seems unhappy. Other than that, things are OK with the Pistons. A sale of the team that might be getting closer is good news for the long term. In the now, things are miserable as the only win in the last five came over the Cavaliers.
League's second-worst scoring team got absolutely drilled at home by the Spurs Monday night, and now New Jersey faces a trip to Boston before limping into the All-Star break. Then comes a road trip to San Antonio and Houston. It's going to be a while -- March, maybe -- before the Nets win again.
Things are bad -- very bad -- at the bottom. The Raptors have two wins in their last 16, and those two have come at the expense of the T'Wolves and Clippers. Toronto just doesn't get enough stops. Maybe DeMar Derozan can win the dunk contest this weekend. If he does, people might remember the Raptors still have a team.
It's a numbers game. Kevin Love has 41 straight double-doubles; his team has 42 losses one week before the All-Star break. At least last week included a shocking (and rare) road win at Houston. And at least the Wolves aren't the Cavaliers, against whom they're 2-0.
Apparently 25 straight road losses, third most in league history, was enough. The Wizards went to Cleveland and made sure it was never close Sunday night to score their first road victory of the season. That John Wall missed a breakaway dunk in that game kind of summed up the state of both teams.
They made history by losing 26 straight, then gutted out an overtime win over the reeling Clippers to stop the slide and bring temporary joy to an ailing but loyal fanbase. What'd they do for an encore? Get blown out at home by the Wizards. The Cavs last won a game in regulation on Thanksgiving weekend.
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