Bucks storming back

Eastern Conference

After a lapse in the concentration and winning results, the Milwaukee Bucks are on the rise, powering back to the ranks of the playoff contenders. Since the closing of the transfer window, a period within which they acquired Jerry Stackhouse and John Salmons the Bucks have gone for six consecutive wins leading up to the end of the week.

The Cleveland Cavaliers after succumbing to their first three-game losing stretch for over two seasons are back in track with three consecutive wins. they closed the week with a 109-88 win over the Boston Celtics (a team who had defeated them during their losing stretch).

The week did not end there for the Celtics as they were surprisingly upstaged by the worst team in the league thus far, the New Jersey Nets. The Celtics had a commanding lead early on but the Nets dug deep and rallied to claim a 104-96 win. Michael Jordan invested in the Charlotte Bobcats and many were surprised but it seems as if his vision is about to overflow into success as they are on the verge of claiming their first playoff spot in franchise history.

The Miami Heat have seemingly lost their way, slipping from fifth to eight place in the East as a result of a three-game losing streak. Their most recent loss was against the Bucks who humiliated them 94-71 in front of their home fans. Jermaine O’Neal top scored for the Heat with 14 points, in a disappointing effort highlighted by their 12 points in the third quarter. As mentioned earlier, the Celtics are on a disappointing stretch losing games by significant margins. The Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic also ended the week on a losing note, failing to continue on the impressive form they began the week with.

The acquisition of Tracy McGrady and Eddie House has not done much thus far to boost the results of the New York Knicks as they have only managed one win since their arrival to the big city.

Kidd relives the Magic… again

Western Conference

The Dallas Mavericks closed out last week with a six-game winning streak and much of their recent success can be traced back to the resurgence of the iconic point-guard Jason Kidd. In an overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks last Friday Kidd recorded 19 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds.

He has now managed to achieve a 15 plus triple-double one two separate occasions and addition to being to only player aside from Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson to do so. After two previous humiliating defeats, the Los Angeles Lakers finally managed to grab a win against their archrivals the Denver Nuggets. In their second meeting at the Staples Center the Lakers defeated the Nuggets 95-89 led by Kobe Bryant’s 14 points and 12 assists.

The Utah Jazz are still hanging around the top making their presence felt, with Deron Williams’ 35-point game handing them a 133-110 win over the Houston Rockets last Saturday. The highlight of the season thus far the Oklahoma City Thunder continue to create problems for teams in the West, closing the week with eight wins from their last 10.

The San Antonio Spurs continue to impress when firing on all cylinders, cruising past the in-form Phoenix Suns 113-110 despite Amare Stoudamaire claiming 41 points for the Suns.

Overall, it was a good week for the West as a total of 10 teams closed out the week with wins.