The NBA's Eastern Conference is terrible. There is no way to sugar coat it. The Hat Trick discussed the number of uninspired, sub-.500 teams in contention for Eastern Conference playoff spots. While the Eastern Conference has been the inferior conference for more than a decade, the contrast has never been more stark in my memory.
The Daily Hat Trick wanted to offer a little humor for your perusal to highlight the fall-off in the East.
Another NBA All-Star Game has come and gone. With a whopping total of over 300 points scored between the East and West All-Stars, fans got to see a showcase of dunks and long distance jumpers as defense was wholly absent from the NBA's annual exhibition.
Still, the West has gotten the better of the East. Much like the balance of power is in the Western Conference, the same has generally applied to the All-Stars in recent years. Today's retweet, from NOTSportsCenter (@NOTSportsCenter) puts a clever spin on this trend:
"BREAKING: Tired of losing all star games, LeBron has opted out with the East and will join the West for the 2nd half #AllStarGame"
Looks like LeBron would rather fight than switch to me.
The 2014 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans went off without a hitch (and without defense). The entertaining offensive spectacle featuring the best players in the league unofficially kicks off the home stretch of the NBA regular season. The playoffs showcase the best of the Eastern Conference and the Best of the Western Conference to decide the participants in the NBA Finals. One side of the equation is all but decided. The other side is up for grabs.
THE FRONT RUNNERS
The Eastern Conference is a two team race and has been for quite some time. Barring a catastrophic and unprecedented rash of injuries, either the Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers will represent the Eastern Conference in the 2014 NBA Finals. The only undecided piece of the puzzle is which team will secure home court throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. As of this morning, the Pacers have a 2-1/2 game lead on the Heat.
The Western Conference is a horse of another color. The Western Conference champions of 2012 and 2013, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, respectively, sit atop the conference but neither team is necessarily assured of the top seed...yet. OKC holds a healthy four game advantage over the Spurs. Just six games back, however, are the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Thunder's division rival, the Portland Trailblazers. The Thunder are in the driver's seat, but a funk by the Thunder combined with a hot streak by their pursuers could put some drama into the Western Conference race come April.
The Pacers took the Heat to the brink without Danny Granger. Could Granger, who has been used sparingly in the regular season, be the X-factor in the playoffs? 1
CANNON FODDER
Of course, there are 16 teams that will reach the NBA Playoffs. Like every season, several teams enter the postseason tournament without a prayer of winning a conference championship. This season, I would say "the majority" of playoff teams don't have a shot.
Can anyone name the Atlantic Division leader right now? No peeking! It is the Toronto Raptors at 28-24. Yet they aren't even the hottest team in their division. That honor would belong to the Brooklyn Nets, who have caught fire since the start of the new year under rookie head coach Jason Kidd after a disastrous start to the season. The red hot Nets have a losing record and would hold the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs if the season ended today.
Chicago Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau deserves a solid gold medal for having the Bulls in second place in the Central Division without former MVP Derrick Rose for a second straight season. They may actually slip out of the first round of the playoffs, depending on how the seeding falls. Finally, to illustrate just how terrible the Eastern Conference is in 2014, if the season ended today, the hapless Charlotte Bobcats would make the playoffs with the eighth seed at 23-30 with the comic-tragic Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers giving chase.
Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, 50, may have to activate himself if his team is to have a prayer of not being swept out of the playoffs. 2
BRIDESMAIDS
The sixth through eighth seeds in the West are longshots to reach the NBA Finals. However, they all have the potential to pull of an upset in the first round. The long-in-the-tooth but quietly dangerous Dallas Mavericks are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference. The back-from-the-dead Phoenix Suns are in seventh place. And the offensive juggernaut Golden State Warriors are currently in eighth place. Any one of these teams are capable of pulling off a first round upset should the stars of the hardwood line up properly. The same applies to the 9th place Memphis Grizzlies, no stranger to playoff upsets. Memphis is only a game-and-a-half back of Golden State.
The Phoenix Suns dancers might earn some extra playoff money...for once. 3
ONE FOR THE MONEY...TWO FOR THE SHOW
There are 25-30 games remaining in the regular season. Much like a NASCAR race, the first 50 games have decided the pole positions. The beginning of the "real" race starts on Tuesday. Drivers, start your engines!
LeBron fired the starter's pistol to the second half race last week at Golden State.
LeBron James shot himself in the foot at the end of game against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In spite of a stellar performance (28 pts, 9 reb. 5 asst., 6 steals) that kept Miami in the game, he bricked three consecutive free throws in the 4th quarter, two of two in final minute.
Since The King shot himself in the foot, I thought this photo of Kate Mara was fitting eye candy for the day.
If I had to watch my foot get shot off, I'd rather see this visual of the shooter than do it myself.
I, personally, was rooting for the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. But I hate to see any contending team get derailed by an injury. That is what happened to the Chicago Bulls toady when reigning MVP and starting point guard Derrick Rose was lost for the season with a torn ACL in his knee.
Adding insult to injury, the tear happened with just over a minute remaining in the game and the outcome all but determined. The Bulls beat the Philadelphia 76ers by double digits.
Earlier today, I said I expected a four game sweep of the Sixers by the Bulls. I am sticking with that. The Bulls are an excellent, well coached team that has won two thirds of its games without Rose in the lineup this season. I expect the dream to end in the conference semifinals at the hands of either the Atlanta Hawks or Boston Celtics, especially if the Celtics advance.
Once is a coincidence. Twice is a pattern. Three times is a trend.
Five times? After five times, expectations begin to form. Jeremy Lin started his fifth career NBA game. For the fifth time in a row, Lin scored 20 or more points. For the fifth time in a row, Lin dished out at least seven assists. For the fifth time in a row, the New York Knicks won, and in doing so have a game and a half lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for eighth place (which would qualify them for the final playoff spot) in the Eastern Conference.
BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!
As if Lin’s rapid rise to media stardom (soon to be legitimate NBA stardom if this continues) were not enough, another element of lore was added to the Jeremy Lin story. The Knicks took their act north of the border to Toronto last night. The struggling Raptors led the Knicks by several possessions in the fourth quarter, only to have the Knicks tie the score in the final minute of the game. Prior to the final possession, Lin had a double-double with 24 points and 11 assists, fueling the Linsanity whether the Knicks won or lost. Then…
Lin BURIES the three point shot! Knicks win! The Linsanity continues! 1
SHORT TERM IMPACT
“You got to have a j-o-b!”
Stepping away from this fascinating story, which continues to grow legs of it own and seems to be running away from every other sports related story, what does this mean for the Lin and the Knicks? For Lin, it means he has a JOB. J-O-B!
Lin has been on three NBA rosters since July of 2010. The Golden State Warriors cut him. The Houston Rockets cut him on Christmas Day, albeit more due to roster and salary cap logistics than performance issues. Multiple outlets in the media and people within the Knicks organization itself speculated that Lin was possibly a week away from being cut by the Knicks. A five game run like that of Lin’s, barring a complete regressing and collapse in performance, assures Lin of some employment for the rest of this season and into next season.
For the Knicks, should Lin simply demonstrate competence and, perhaps, above-average play from the point guard position, they are “back in the game”, so to speak. The Knicks spent the bulk of this season in the lower half of the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks grabbed a spot on the contender’s radar last season when they acquired power forward Amare Stoudemire in free agency and small forward Carmelo Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups in a mid-season trade with the Denver Nuggets. Billups departed New York for the Los Angeles Clippers during this past offseason and the Knicks acquired injured point guard Baron Davis and center Tyson Chandler before this season began.
Now, Jeremy, the word for today is "job". JAY-OH-BEE! 2
Chemistry
The Knicks were loaded in the front court, but with Billups’ departure and the wait for Davis’ recovery, they were bankrupt in the backcourt in a coaching system that revolves around guard play. The prevailing thought among many speculators – fans, media, or otherwise – was that if the Knicks could stay within striking distance of .500 until Davis could return to the lineup, the Knicks could make a push, get into the playoffs, and try to make a postseason run.
Lin’s rapid ascension had changed all of that. The Knicks are competitive now. If Lin plays as he has for the remainder of this season, Baron Davis goes from potential season savior to trade bait (and a seven figure contract to be potentially unloaded). The media has also speculated about the affect that the injured and frequently-shooting, high scoring Anthony’s return to the lineup will affect Lin. Without a doubt, Lin will pass more and score less. I think, however, that adding one of the NBA’s best players to the lineup will help the Knicks more than hurt. Don’t you?
LONG TERM
Will Melo be Mellow? Is There Heat on the Heat?
The Knicks season was on the verge of becoming a footnote prior to the start of Linsanity. Head Coach Mike D’Antoni was in danger of losing his job. Now, with the addition of a highly productive point guard, the Knicks, on the floor, are right back in the mix in the Eastern Conference with the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, and the quietly surprising Philadelphia 76ers.
For all of the speculation about how Carmelo Anthony, a forward who shoots a lot and was forced into the point guard role while Davis recovered from injury, I think the bigger personnel clash will be in the backcourt, not from a star in the frontcourt (Anthony) who will have gone from having to pass the ball to having someone pass to him.
Will the Baron Put The Knicks in the Red?
What happens with Baron Davis (13 PPG, 7 APG in 2011)? Is he moved to shooting guard? Does he become a sixth man? Do you trade him? Do you take a wait-and-see approach, observing Lin’s performance once his hot streak cools down some? Let’s be clear: Lin is taking Davis’ job, a job for which Davis never had a chance to demonstrate his merit in New York.
Being from New Orleans and being a Hornets fan, I can tell you, first hand, that when Davis, the Hornets’ former franchise player, is not happy, the rest of the team will not be happy. Davis outwardly voiced his discontent with the situation in New Orleans, in spite of having recently received a max contract. He forced his way into a trade to the Golden State Warriors.
Three seasons after Davis’ final (full) season with the Hornets, the Warriors reached the playoffs for the first time in 13 years and reached the conference semifinals for the first time since 1991. The Hornets, who had reached the playoffs five straight years, would only win 18 games and have nothing but NBA lottery ping pong balls in their future. The Bees were able to draft Chris Paul with the third pick in the 2005 NBA Draft and rebuild the franchise because of the collapse, but would not return to the playoffs until 2008.
No two situations are the same. The moral of the story is that Baron Davis can be toxic when he is unhappy. Jeremy Lin is taking Davis’ job. Do you think he will be happy?
Kobe Bryant: Game killer (as in your game). Baron Davis: Coach killer.... 3
THE STORY CONTINUES
I am just a blogger, not an NBA insider. I cannot begin to speculate on how Lin will impact the answers to some of the complex questions I posed about the future of the Knicks, the Eastern Conference, and the league. I simply hope this story continues because it is interesting, good for basketball, and good for sports.
To be continued tonight at Madison Square Garden against his point guard counterpart Tyreke Evans (17 PPG, 5 APG, 5 RPG) and the Sacramento Kings…. 4
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