NBA Update – Peaking at the right time
EASTERN CONFERENCE – THE play-offs are pretty close. So close, in fact, that the eight participants from the East have all been deciding, what is left to be decided are the seedings. That being said, the New York Knicks seem to be shifting into top gear at the right time as they ride their outstanding play of late to a 12-game winning streak as at Sunday’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Notably, they have also conquered the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat on this trek, though the Heat line-up was missing the trio of Mario Chambers, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
The Heat, having already secured top spot in the East, have been resting their marquee players of late allowing them to rest and recover as much as possible before the tough play-off run they will need to make if they are to defend their championship title.
Of the play-off contenders, only the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks were unfortunate even to close the week on losing streaks, two and three respectively.
This notion indicates that the top-ranked franchises consider the value of momentum and they want to ensure that they are experiencing a positive one as the 2012-2013 post-season draws nigh.
Clippers clinch a piece of history
WESTERN CONFERENCE – WITH a 109-95 victory over arena-rivals the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers created history by clinching the Pacific Division for the first time in francise history. With the win, they extended their winning streak to two games and simultaneously put a massive dent in the play-off aspirations of the Lakers.
The defeat pushed the Lakers back to a record of 40-37 which was the same of the Utah Jazz at the close of the week, and as teenAGE has mentioned in previous updates, the Jazz hold the tiebreaker between the two, thus they will clinch the final play-off spot of the teams manage to end on similar records.
The Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs are also in a battle, but in this instance its for top spot in the West. The Spurs held the top spot but after losing to the Thunder in the week, they surrended that position, though only temporarily. Following their defeat to the Knicks, OKC has fallen one game behind the Spurs with a record of 56-21 versus San Antonio’s 57-20 record.
The Denver Nuggets lost their multiple-game winning streak but they are looking to make another strong push, closing the week with a winning streak of four.
