Eastern Conference

As the business end of the NBA regular season approaches, it seems as though the fanchises of the Easten Conference have come to terms with its current standings… well, at least for the trailing teams.

At the close of the week, the team in eighth place had a six-game gap ahead of the team occupying ninth, and though there are a number of games left to be played, the current form does not suggest that any team will manage to unsettle the current order.

The Miami Heat continued on their explosive form, extending their winning streak to 13 games with reigning league MVP LeBron James still on course for a memorable and historic regular season. The New York Knicks seem to have put an indifferent spell behind them, winning their last three games to take their record from the last 10 to 5-5.

The Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks both closed the week with consecutive wins to maintain their chances of improving on their current seeding of seventh and eighth in the conference respectively.

On a downward spiral are the Philadelphia 76ers, who have won just two of their last 10 games. Though point guard Jrue Holiday seems to be growing from strength to strength, the same cannot be said for his fellow teammates, and as things stand, the team that so much was expected of at the beginning of this season may already be making preparation for the one to come.

Curry heroics not enough

Western Conference

The effeciency of Golden State Warriors sharp shooter Stephen Curry has been nothing short of amazing over the past week, but despite his efforts, the team was staring at a four-game losing streak at the close of the week.

Keen to note, Curry scored over 140 points in the four consecutive games that his team lost, indicating yet again that one man cannot do all the work. Among his exploits was a 54-point performance against the Knicks in a game that ended 109-105, with Carmelo Anthony contributing 35 points for the victors.

A team that would be hoping to capitalise on the recent poor form of the Warriors is the Los Angeles Lakers, whose record over the past two weeks have forced them into the play-off discussions. While there is still some way yet to go, if the Warriors keep losing and the Lakers keep winning, what seemed like a guaranteed play-off spot a month ago may end up being the biggest disappointment in franchise history.

The “noisy neighbours” of the Lakers, the LA Clippers, are now well and truly back on track thanks to a four-game winning streak. They currently occupy third behind the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder but both teams have lost relatively “soft” games in recent times that has allowed the Clippers to put themselves among the challengers for the conference’s top spot.

The Spurs, most notably, lost to the Phoenix Suns in overtime, a team who before the win were the worst-placed team in the conference.

As they look to rebuild, a win of such magnitude would provide a definite morale boost, with the hopes of reviving a franchise who up until a few seasons ago were an automatic to clinch one of the top seeds of the conference and in fact, made it to the conference finals just three seasons ago.