1. Miami (3-1) (48-22) -6.97 (1)
2. LA Lakers (3-0) (50-20) -6.46 (3)
3. San Antonio (2-1) (56-13) -6.43 (2)
4. Chicago (2-1) (49-19) -6.09 (5)
5. Boston (2-2) (49-19) -5.86 (4)
6. Orlando (2-1) (44-26) -5.30 (6)
7. Dallas (2-2) (49-21) -4.62 (8)
8. Denver (2-2) (41-29) -4.46 (7)
9. Oklahoma City (3-1) (45-24) -3.51 (9)
10. Memphis (2-1) (38-32) -2.34 (12)
11. New Orleans (1-2) (40-31) -2.18 (10)
12. Houston (4-0) (37-34) -2.13 (11)
13. Portland (3-1) (40-30) -1.77 (13)
14. Philadelphia (2-2) (36-34) -1.44 (14)
15. New York (1-3) (35-34) -0.76 (15)
16. Phoenix (2-2) (35-33) -0.44 (17)
17. Atlanta (2-2) (40-30) -0.19 (16)
18. Utah (2-1) (36-34) 0.72 (19)
19. Milwaukee (2-2) (28-41) 0.99 (20)
20. Indiana (2-2) (30-40) 1.51 (18)
21. LA Clippers (1-3) (27-44) 2.68 (21)
22. Golden State (0-4) (30-40) 2.96 (22)
23. Charlotte (0-3) (28-41) 3.40 (23)
24. Detroit (2-1) (25-45) 3.79 (24)
25. Sacramento (2-2) (17-51) 4.62 (27)
26. Toronto (2-1) (20-49) 5.26 (28)
27. New Jersey (1-3) (22-46) 5.35 (26)
28. Minnesota (0-3) (17-54) 5.74 (25)
29. Washington (1-3) (17-51) 7.22 (29)
30. Cleveland (1-2) (13-55) 9.55 (30)
Bracketbusters
None of Memphis' last 4 games have been decided by fewer than 20 points, but that hasn't always been a good thing for the Grizzlies. This week it went in their favor twice, with wins over the Clippers and Pacers, but they also lost at New York between those two games. They are still desperately trying to hold off Houston, Utah, and Phoenix for the final playoff spot.
The Suns struggled while Steve Nash was sitting out with a pelvic injury, but as soon as he returned to the lineup they were back to form, beating the Warriors and Clippers by nearly identical scores to keep themselves alive in the playoff race, with a huge game against the Lakers looming tomorrow.
Portland looked like they were going to have a perfect 4-0 week for most of the evening yesterday, then they fell apart at the end and let the Lakers win the game, but losing at the Staples Center to the defending champs doesn't spoil an otherwise strong week from the Blazers. They started the week with a close win over Dallas, then blew out the Cavaliers by 41 two nights later.
Not only did Sacramento win a game by 30 points for the first time in over 3 years, they also won two games in the same week for the first time since January. They may have been eliminated from playoff contention weeks ago, but they can still be scary on some nights for good teams.
Brackets Busted
After going 3-1 last week and being one of the hotter teams in the league, the Golden State Warriors went 0-4 this week, including a loss to the lowly Kings and two losses to Dallas, the latter of which was a 28-point blowout on the road. Whatever slim playoff hopes they had have now disappeared.
The Clippers were also one of the hottest teams last week, when they had won 5 of 6 games over some decent competition, but this week was just the opposite, with just one win in 4 tries, and that win was over Cleveland, which doesn't really count for much.
It's no surprise that the Timberwolves fell short in road games against Utah and the Lakers this week, but when they got to host the Kings yesterday, they should have been ready to take out some frustration, but it turned out that Sacramento was the one doing the pounding, earning their biggest win in years over the Timbercubs.
The Celtics did manage to go 2-2 this week, but considering the fact that they are trying to earn the top spot in the East, they should not have lost in New Jersey or Houston, two teams that would not even be in the playoffs if they started today. It looks like they'll have to face both Chicago and Miami if they want to make the Finals again.
NBA Player of the Day
Kyle Lowry - HOU - 28 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast, 9-14 FG, 3-4 3P, 7-8 FT
Lowry controlled every aspect of Houston's huge win over Utah, a game that propelled them ahead of the Jazz in the playoff race and put them just 1.5 games behind Memphis for the final playoff spot. Lowry's first career triple-double could not have come at a better time for the Rockets, who would have fallen back to 11th place in the West with a loss.
Predictions - 21 Mar
Possible upsets are underlined.
NBA
Magic at Cavaliers - Magic by 12
Pacers at Nets - Pacers by 1
Celtics at Knicks - Celtics by 2
Kings at Bulls - Bulls by 14
Jazz at Grizzlies - Grizzlies by 6
Warriors at Spurs - Spurs by 12
Raptors at Nuggets - Nuggets by 13
Prediction Results - 20 Mar
NBA: 6-3 (.667) 608-252 overall (.707)
NCAA Tournament: 3-5 (.375) 38-14 overall (.731)
Upsets: 3-2 (.600) 161-111 overall (.592)
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