On April 16, 2014, the NBA regular season will come to an end. With the all-star game over, and the trade deadline complete, the next seven weeks will showcase teams battling for playoff positions, and some teams nose-diving for top lottery spots.
As we head into the home stretch of the regular season, here’s what to watch for in the Eastern Conference.
The East
1. Can Indiana hold onto the #1 seed?
The Indiana Pacers believe that if they had home court advantage last year in the Eastern Conference finals, they would have defeated the Miami Heat. Since then, one of their 2014 goals was to lock up the number one seed for the playoffs. This season Indiana holds the best home record at 26-3 and if they can stay atop the standings at seasons end, they will be a hard to beat come playoff time.
Look for two games down the stretch, to determine where Indiana will finish. On March 26 and April 11, the Pacers play Miami and I would bet that both these games will go a long way in determining who will finish first in the East.
Your NBA Playoff Push Primer – Eastern Conference
2. Does any other East team have a shot?
The six other teams that will likely be rounding out the Eastern Conference this postseason are Toronto, Chicago, Washington, and Brooklyn; with Charlotte & Atlanta currently holding the dreaded final two spots.
Toronto – The Raptors have the easiest strength of schedule to close out the season. Since the all-star break, Toronto has continued to separate themselves from the East bottom feeders as they have beaten Washington, Orlando and Cleveland. If they can continue to beat up on sub-.500 teams, they should ride into the playoffs with home court advantage in the first round.
Chicago – Before losing to Miami this past Sunday, the Bulls were riding a 5 game winning streak. A big reason has been the play of Joakim Noah. Since the trade of Luol Deng on January 7, the bulls have gone 15-8 and Noah is averaging 13.5 PPG and 13.2 RPG during that span. The Bulls appear to be a lock for the postseason, and if they plan on making a run, they will need to continue to ride their former Florida Gator.
Washington – One of the main issues this season for Washington has been the significant drop off between their starting unit and their bench. The likes of Kevin Seraphin, Garrett Temple, and Martell Webster have proven that if Washington is going to make any noise, they probably will have to ride their starting five for a full 48 minutes each night. Noting a five man rotation is unrealistic; the Wizards went out and traded for veteran Andre Miller to back-up John Wall. Although Miller is a solid pick-up for the Wizards, the remaining members of the second unit will need to begin producing if Washington has any shot down the stretch.
To make matters worse, ESPN is now reporting that Nene will be out for the next six weeks with a knee injury. Watch for the Wizards to take a step back with loss of their starting big-man.
Brooklyn – If this was 2008, the Nets would probably be battling for home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Unfortunately, were in the year 2014 and if the likes of Garnett, Pierce, Johnson and Williams want to make any noise, they will need to turn back the clock and ensure they finish in the sixth seed or higher. They have the experience, now let’s see if they have the legs to make a push.
Charlotte – The addition of Al Jefferson has been a nice story this year for the Bobcats. However, the real reason they are in the playoff picture has been their team defense. First year head coach Steve Clifford has guided the Bobcats to sixth in defensive efficiency this season. We all know that defense wins championships, and although Charlotte won’t be contending this year, they may be able to make some noise if they can keep up their defensive effort for the rest of the season.
Atlanta – When Al Horford was lost for the season due to injury, many thought the wheels were going to come off in Atlanta. While the Hawks did a good job of holding their season afloat, it appears they are now starting their descent in the Eastern Conference Standings. Atlanta is 2-8 over their last 10 games, and have dropped to 8th in the standings. Paul Milsap and Jeff Teague will need to continue to play at an all-star level if Atlanta has any hopes of making the playoffs.
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