This week’s look around the NBA to determine who has been great (tops) and not so great (flops) in the last seven days.
Tops
San Antonio Spurs – Another week of invincibility saw the Spurs continue their impressive winning streak, extending it to 15 straight wins. Great team basketball, ruthless efficiency and a variety of different players providing a boost at the right time sees the Spurs well on track to finishing the regular season with the best record in the West (currently with 55-16).
Houston Rockets – For the Rockets, coming fourth and obtaining home court advantage in their first round match-up could be critical, and with a four-game win streak, James Harden’s side looks set to comfortably finish at the foot of the podium, as they are now four games ahead of fifth.
Indiana Pacers – With an impressive one point win at home against the Heat, the Pacers have given themselves a two game margin at the top of the East, where having four games at home in the final of the Conference will be key. The action packed match-up is a nice appetizer for the probable series we will see in the playoffs.
Flops
Lance Stephenson and Dwayne Wade– The Indiana v Heat game may have been spectacular, but unfortunately sometimes not for the right reasons. The two guards were constantly in a pathetic verbal battle throughout the whole game, resulting in Stephenson being ejected and Wade getting a technical foul.
Atlanta Hawks– With the New York Knicks gaining ground very rapidly (eight wins in their last 10), Atlanta’s four game losing streak sees them reduce their playoff cushion to only three games. Just when they looked comfortably on track to end the season in eighth place, this slide has just given New York hope once more, reigniting the battle for the last playoff spot.
Philadelphia 76ers– You didn’t think I’d forget, did you? The Sixers have continued to extend their historically awful losing streak to 25 consecutive games without a win. It is fairly sad to see Philly play so badly, considering a few years ago they took Boston to game 7 in the Semi Finals of the Eastern Conference. But that feels like centuries ago now.
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Main Photo Credit: Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports
