Kobe, Durant could meet in first round
A lot of mystery to the NBA's postseason remains with just three days left on the regular season schedule. All eight teams are known in the Western Conference, but the only seed secured is at the top where Phil Jackson's Lakers are in charge. The Eastern Conference is still deciding its eighth and final playoff entry, with the Cleveland Cavaliers having sewn up home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
It’s an absolute zoo out there in the Western Conference. After Sunday was over and done with, there were three teams tied for third place in the West, and another three teams tied for sixth.
The only thing we know for sure with two games left in the regular season is that the Los Angeles Lakers (56-24 SU, 33-44-3 ATS) have the No. 1 seed.
The Lakers will no doubt claim it doesn’t matter who they play in the opening round this weekend. But it does. If the season ended after 80 games instead of 82, Los Angeles would be facing the Oklahoma City Thunder (49-31 SU, 47-33 ATS) in the Western quarterfinals. Here’s how their season series went:
November 3, 2009: Lakers 101, Thunder 98 (OT, OKC +7)
November 22, 2009: Thunder 85, Lakers 101 (L.A. –10.5)
December 22, 2009: Thunder 108, Lakers 111 (OKC +10)
March 26, 2010: Lakers 75, Thunder 91 (OKC +1)
Oklahoma City lost both its games at Staples Center, but nearly pulled off the upset in the second matchup and finished this series at 3-1 ATS. The Thunder have improved steadily since abandoning Seattle and could give the defending champions some serious trouble in the first round.
The betting odds for the 2010 NBA championship recognize the Lakers are a bit vulnerable, dropping them to second-favorite status at 9-4 behind the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7-4.
Oklahoma City is a longshot at 35-1, but shorter than the 50-1 Portland Trail Blazers, who are coming off Sunday’s 91-88 victory over the Lakers (-2.5) at Staples. Portland won the season series 2-1 SU and ATS, although the Blazers roster has changed considerably over the course of the year, and the Lakers were without Andrew Bynum (20.29 PER) on Sunday. The Blazers are loaded with talent and capable of hanging with L.A. – but a first-round matchup against someone else would improve their chances of advancing to the second round.
Perhaps that someone should be the Dallas Mavericks (53-27 SU, 35-44-1 ATS). The Mavs are in second place in the West, but they also happen to have the smallest point differential of all eight playoff-bound teams at plus-2.4, smaller than Oklahoma City (plus-3.6) and Portland (plus-3.4). The Blazers are 3-1 SU and ATS against Dallas this year; the Thunder are 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS after winning their last two meetings with the Mavs. That doesn’t bode well for Dallas to win the championship at 12-1, even with their improvement since the trade deadline deal that landed Brendan Haywood (16.16 PER).
Playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference are also on the line this week. Either the Atlanta Hawks (51-29 SU, 46-34 ATS) or the Boston Celtics (50-30 SU, 33-45-2 ATS) will take the third seed, and either the Milwaukee Bucks (45-35 SU, 51-27-2 ATS) or the Miami Heat (45-35 SU, 41-38-1 ATS) will take the fifth seed. That means we’ll see some combination of these four teams going at it in the first round.
Here’s the season-series breakdown:
Atlanta vs. Milwaukee 1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS
Atlanta vs. Miami 1-3 SU, 1-3 ATS
Boston vs. Milwaukee 2-1 SU, 1-1-1 ATS
Boston vs. Miami 3-0 SU, 2-1 ATS
These are small sample sizes, but they suggest the Hawks match up better with the Bucks, and the Celtics with the Heat. We also have to account for the apparent season-ending injuries suffered by Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut (20.81 PER) earlier this month; without him in the middle, the Celtics beat the Bucks (-2) 105-90 even while resting Kevin Garnett (19.49 PER) and his tender left ankle. Boston has the muscle inside to handle either the wounded Bucks or the Heat in the first round. Wade lit up Atlanta for 38 points and 10 assists the last time they played.
Given these potential first-round scenarios, the Hawks have fallen to 25-1 on the championship futures market despite having a better record than the Celtics at 12-1. Like they say, always read the label before you buy.
A lot of mystery to the NBA's postseason remains with just three days left on the regular season schedule. All eight teams are known in the Western Conference, but the only seed secured is at the top where Phil Jackson's Lakers are in charge. The Eastern Conference is still deciding its eighth and final playoff entry, with the Cleveland Cavaliers having sewn up home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
It’s an absolute zoo out there in the Western Conference. After Sunday was over and done with, there were three teams tied for third place in the West, and another three teams tied for sixth.
The only thing we know for sure with two games left in the regular season is that the Los Angeles Lakers (56-24 SU, 33-44-3 ATS) have the No. 1 seed.
The Lakers will no doubt claim it doesn’t matter who they play in the opening round this weekend. But it does. If the season ended after 80 games instead of 82, Los Angeles would be facing the Oklahoma City Thunder (49-31 SU, 47-33 ATS) in the Western quarterfinals. Here’s how their season series went:
November 3, 2009: Lakers 101, Thunder 98 (OT, OKC +7)
November 22, 2009: Thunder 85, Lakers 101 (L.A. –10.5)
December 22, 2009: Thunder 108, Lakers 111 (OKC +10)
March 26, 2010: Lakers 75, Thunder 91 (OKC +1)
Oklahoma City lost both its games at Staples Center, but nearly pulled off the upset in the second matchup and finished this series at 3-1 ATS. The Thunder have improved steadily since abandoning Seattle and could give the defending champions some serious trouble in the first round.
The betting odds for the 2010 NBA championship recognize the Lakers are a bit vulnerable, dropping them to second-favorite status at 9-4 behind the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7-4.
Oklahoma City is a longshot at 35-1, but shorter than the 50-1 Portland Trail Blazers, who are coming off Sunday’s 91-88 victory over the Lakers (-2.5) at Staples. Portland won the season series 2-1 SU and ATS, although the Blazers roster has changed considerably over the course of the year, and the Lakers were without Andrew Bynum (20.29 PER) on Sunday. The Blazers are loaded with talent and capable of hanging with L.A. – but a first-round matchup against someone else would improve their chances of advancing to the second round.
Perhaps that someone should be the Dallas Mavericks (53-27 SU, 35-44-1 ATS). The Mavs are in second place in the West, but they also happen to have the smallest point differential of all eight playoff-bound teams at plus-2.4, smaller than Oklahoma City (plus-3.6) and Portland (plus-3.4). The Blazers are 3-1 SU and ATS against Dallas this year; the Thunder are 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS after winning their last two meetings with the Mavs. That doesn’t bode well for Dallas to win the championship at 12-1, even with their improvement since the trade deadline deal that landed Brendan Haywood (16.16 PER).
Playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference are also on the line this week. Either the Atlanta Hawks (51-29 SU, 46-34 ATS) or the Boston Celtics (50-30 SU, 33-45-2 ATS) will take the third seed, and either the Milwaukee Bucks (45-35 SU, 51-27-2 ATS) or the Miami Heat (45-35 SU, 41-38-1 ATS) will take the fifth seed. That means we’ll see some combination of these four teams going at it in the first round.
Here’s the season-series breakdown:
Atlanta vs. Milwaukee 1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS
Atlanta vs. Miami 1-3 SU, 1-3 ATS
Boston vs. Milwaukee 2-1 SU, 1-1-1 ATS
Boston vs. Miami 3-0 SU, 2-1 ATS
These are small sample sizes, but they suggest the Hawks match up better with the Bucks, and the Celtics with the Heat. We also have to account for the apparent season-ending injuries suffered by Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut (20.81 PER) earlier this month; without him in the middle, the Celtics beat the Bucks (-2) 105-90 even while resting Kevin Garnett (19.49 PER) and his tender left ankle. Boston has the muscle inside to handle either the wounded Bucks or the Heat in the first round. Wade lit up Atlanta for 38 points and 10 assists the last time they played.
Given these potential first-round scenarios, the Hawks have fallen to 25-1 on the championship futures market despite having a better record than the Celtics at 12-1. Like they say, always read the label before you buy.