San Antonio has now joined Miami in the playoff berth club, and Oklahoma City is looking to join them this week. Despite the fact that they will be the third team to clinch their berth, they are still the top team in my rankings, holding that spot for the third straight week, even after losing to the Spurs during the week. Here are my full rankings, with teams grouped by similar level of performance and projected final record in parentheses, as well as the change from last week's projection.
TW. (LW) Team (Week) Overall (Projected) Seed (Change)
1. (1) Oklahoma City (2-1) 48-17 (62-20) 1W
2. (2) San Antonio (2-1) 50-16 (61-21) 2W (-1)
3. (3) Miami (3-0) 49-14 (64-18) 1E (+1)
4. (4) LA Clippers (1-1) 45-21 (56-26) 3W (-1)
5. (5) Denver (3-0) 44-22 (54-28) 5W (+1)
6. (8) Memphis (3-0) 44-19 (56-26) 4W (+2)
7. (7) Houston (1-1) 35-30 (46-36) 6W (-1)
8. (6) Indiana (1-1) 40-24 (52-30) 2E
9. (10) LA Lakers (2-1) 34-32 (43-39) 8W
10. (9) New York (1-3) 38-25 (48-34) 3E (-2)
11. (16) Dallas (2-1) 30-34 (39-43) 10W (+1)
12. (15) Brooklyn (2-1) 38-27 (47-35) 4E (+1)
13. (11) Boston (1-2) 35-29 (45-37) 6E
14. (12) Atlanta (1-2) 35-29 (45-37) 5E (-1)
15. (17) Golden State (2-1) 37-29 (45-37) 7W
16. (14) Utah (1-2) 33-32 (41-41) 9W (-1)
17. (13) Chicago (0-2) 35-29 (44-38) 7E (-1)
18. (19) Portland (1-2) 30-34 (38-44) 11W
19. (18) Toronto (1-1) 25-40 (34-48) 9E
20. (20) Milwaukee (2-2) 32-31 (41-41) 8E
21. (22) New Orleans (1-2) 22-43 (29-53) 13W
22. (23) Washington (2-1) 21-42 (29-53) 12E
23. (21) Cleveland (1-1) 22-42 (29-53) 11E
24. (24) Minnesota (1-3) 22-40 (30-52) 12W
25. (27) Sacramento (1-1) 23-43 (28-54) 14W
26. (26) Philadelphia (1-2) 24-40 (30-52) 10E
27. (25) Detroit (0-3) 23-44 (29-53) 13E
28. (28) Phoenix (1-2) 22-43 (27-55) 15W
29. (29) Orlando (1-1) 18-47 (21-61) 14E
30. (30) Charlotte (1-1) 14-50 (18-64) 15E (+1)
Sacramento is once again one of the hottest teams in the league, which is quite strange since they are so far out of playoff contention and haven't won consecutive games in over a month, but they blew out the Chicago Bulls by 42 points the other night, getting them their first win over a playoff-bound team since they beat Houston on February 10th. It may not mean much, but I'm sure the fans in Sacramento appreciate the hot finish.
Dallas has also been hot lately, but in their case it could mean something. The Mavericks still have some hope of making the playoffs, although with how hot the Lakers have been lately, it may be tough to catch up with so few games left. Their only loss this week was by 1 point in San Antonio last night, and a win there would have really helped, but instead they had to settle for a moral victory.
Memphis has also been playing well, and their most recent win was a very important one in the playoff race, because it came against the team they are fighting for the #3 seed, the Los Angeles Clippers. Not only did they win the game, but it came in LA, and it gave them 6 straight wins and 14 in their last 15 games, with the only loss coming to Miami, who is on a historic winning streak at the moment.
Speaking of hot, have you seen the Charlotte Bobcats lately? Probably not, but they pulled a surprise upset on Tuesday against Boston, taking out the Celtics in a 26-point blowout, getting their first win over a potential playoff team since last time the Celtics came to town, one month earlier. Charlotte is still the favorite to end up with the worst record and get the best odds in the draft lottery, but you have to give them credit when they do something well, right?
Predictions
Upset picks are in italics.
LA Lakers at Indiana - Pacers by 6
Charlotte at Toronto - Raptors by 12
New Orleans at Washington - Wizards by 3
Phoenix at Atlanta - Hawks by 9
Minnesota at Houston - Rockets by 11
Orlando at Oklahoma City - Thunder by 21
Miami at Milwaukee - Heat by 6
Cleveland at Dallas - Mavericks by 7
Memphis at Denver - Nuggets by 4
Chicago at Golden State - Warriors by 4
College Basketball
Maryland vs. (2) Duke - Blue Devils by 12
Illinois vs. (3) Indiana - Hoosiers by 12
(24) Notre Dame vs. (4) Louisville - Cardinals by 9
(19) Syracuse vs. (5) Georgetown - Orange by 1
(6) Michigan vs. (22) Wisconsin - Wolverines by 1
Iowa State vs. (7) Kansas - Jayhawks by 5
Iowa vs. (8) Michigan State - Spartans by 5
Boston College vs. (9) Miami - Hurricanes by 9
Nebraska vs. (10) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 14
(14) Oklahoma State vs. (11) Kansas State - Cowboys by 2
LSU vs. (13) Florida - Gators by 18
San Diego State vs. (15) New Mexico - Lobos by 1
Charlotte vs. (16) Saint Louis - Billikens by 12
(18) Arizona vs. (21) UCLA - Wildcats by 4
Tulsa vs. (20) Memphis - Tigers by 10
Saint Joseph's vs. (25) VCU - Rams by 9
Butler vs. LaSalle - Explorers by 2
North Carolina State vs. Virginia - Cavaliers by 1
Tennessee vs. Alabama - Volunteers by 3
Prairie View A&M vs. Jackson State - Tigers by 4
UTEP vs. Southern Miss - Golden Eagles by 6
Bethune Cookman vs. Morgan State - Bears by 4
Southeast Louisiana vs. Stephen F Austin - Lumberjacks by 13
Kent State vs. Akron - Zips by 4
Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky - Wildcats by 6
North Dakota vs. Weber State - Wildcats by 12
North Carolina A&T vs. Delaware State - Aggies by 5
Sam Houston State vs. Northwestern State - Demons by 6
Florida State vs. North Carolina - Tar Heels by 9
Texas State vs. New Mexico State - Aggies by 12
Western Michigan vs. Ohio - Bobcats by 6
Massachusetts vs. Temple - Owls by 4
Alabama A&M vs. Southern - Jaguars by 14
UC-Irvine vs. Long Beach State - Anteaters by 5
Missouri vs. Ole Miss - Tigers by 3
Northern Colorado at Montana - Grizzlies by 10
Texas-San Antonio vs. Texas-Arlington - Mavericks by 4
Utah vs. Oregon - Ducks by 6
Colorado State at UNLV - Rebels by 5
Cal Poly vs. Pacific - Tigers by 1
Prediction Results
NBA: 1-1 (.500) 651-314 overall (.675)
College Basketball: 32-19 (.627) 1108-317 overall (.778)
Upsets: 5-6 (.455) 123-91 overall (.575)
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