Playoff Push

This is one year when both conferences are having a great battle for those finial playoff spots. As for the western conference if the Suns end up making the cost cutting moves that it looks like they want to make then we can safely put them in at 9th place and teams 3-8 will just be jockeying for position. As for the eastern conference now that Elton Brand is down for the season the 76ers should just get better, D Wade is gonna keep his team above water, and as bad as Detroit has looked at times there is no way they’re gonna miss the playoffs. So in the whole NBA that just leaves one playoff spot truly up for grabs, the 8th spot in the east.

Lets face it now that the Magic have lost Nelson there is only 4 teams with a real chance of winning it all this year, the Celtics, Cavs, Lakers, and maybe the Spurs. Even though the other 12 teams that make the playoffs are pretty much just playing for fun it’s still the goal of every team to at least get into the playoffs. There are still 7 teams with a real chance of locking down the 8th seed in the east, that’s right 7. With the only team with no shot being Washington (I think they’ll make it next year so they should just enjoy the high lottery pick and give the kids some playing time). So between Milwaukee, New Jersey, Chicago, New York, Charlotte, Indiana, and Toronto who has the best chance of making it? Let’s examine each team’s chances.

Milwaukee (8th)
I can’t say enough about the play of Ramon Sessions, he is almost single handedly keeping the Bucks in the playoffs, there is no way he goes back to the bench even when Luke Ridnour comes back. You can really tell that this is a Scott Skiles coached team, they play hard every game and that gives them a chance to win every game. I just think the lost of Redd and Bogut will be too much for the Bucks to handle in the long run. If any other team had lost their two best players we wouldn’t even give them a chance, that is a testament to just how hard they are playing right now. Chances 40%

New Jersey (1 game behind)
Vince Carter, Devin Harris, and Brook Lopez are all playing better then expected (I’m still having a hard time understanding why the Bobcats didn’t draft Lopez) and as a result the Nets are winning more games then expected. Here’s the catch those are the only good players New Jersey has. They live by them and they die by them, if they don’t all show up then neither do the Nets. Even worse we’re still hearing talks about New Jersey getting out from under VCs contract. This would effectively take the Nets out of the playoff race this season. Also, New Jersey has one of the tougher schedules for the rest of the year. Chances 20%

Chicago (2 games behind)
How unfair was it for the Bulls to get Rose in this year’s draft. Even with the addiction of the best player in the draft the Bulls haven’t seemed to have found themselves this year. Now if you’ve seen a Bulls game lately you’ve seen that they’ve been playing the best basketball of the season and they’re sure are doing it at the right time. It seems as though the players have finally learned how to play together. Here’s the biggest problem for the Bulls their coach sucks. In fact they have the worse coach in the league right now. As good as the Bulls can look can you really trust a team with the worse coach in the league (if you’re still debating it the answer is no you can’t). Chances 50%

New York (3 ½ games behind)
Just think if the Knicks hadn’t traded Zach Randolph for cap relief they would be in the driver’s seat for the 8th seed right now. With Coach Mike D’Antoni running things the Knicks are looking a whole lot better then they have any right to. Let me just say this team is no more talented then last year’s team and it’s not as deep. (What if the Bulls had hired D’Antoni, their GM is as bad as their coach) Who would have ever thought David Lee would be so good, he’s real good. Here’s the problem with then Knicks they’re playing above themselves right now and they’re still 3 ½ games behind and I just can’t see them making up any more ground then that. Chances 10%

Charlotte (3 ½ games behind)
Another team where the coach makes all the difference, could you really see Charlotte making the playoffs under Coach Vincent. No me neither. Coach Brown is working his magic and the Bobcats are getting better and better every game. I can’t overstate how much better I think we would be if we had drafted Brook Lopez, but I’ll just have to try to move on. The trades that Brown has asked for have all worked out great, except for DeSagana Diop who is a younger version of Nazr Mohammed (I know their games are different, but they both are about the same talent wish) stupid big contract and all. It’s clear that this team just isn’t deep enough to play without all their starters healthy. The All Star break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Bobcats this year, they should be completely healthy coming out of the break and poised for a great run. I think this team is playing as good as the Bulls right now plus their coach is a Hall of Famer so I’ll give them a slight edge. Chances 55%

Indiana (4 ½ games behind)
We’ve reached the “if they were gonna do it then why haven’t they done it yet” group. The Pacers are hitting a reasonably easy part of the schedule, but they have been under performing all season long and I don’t see that changing now. Mike Dunleavy can’t stay healthy and you can’t expect T.J. Ford to play the rest of the games this season. Danny Granger good, but he’s not yet carry a team good. Chances 20%

Toronto (5 games behind)
The Raptors are every bit as talented as they were last year if not more. Things aren’t just working out for them. I’ll say that this is not their year. If you have Chris Bosh as your best player you shouldn’t miss the playoff and especially in the east. You can just see Bosh getting unhappier and unhappier with each lost. I know how hard it is to trade Bosh knowing there’s no way to “win” that trade, but of all the good 2010 players I think Bosh is the most likely to leave. Chances 5%