TOP NBA GAMES: 3/23 - 3/29
March 23, 2009 by B. C.
I just checked the NBA playoff standings and something immediately caught my eye. The Charlotte Bobcats are only a game behind the Chicago Bulls for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference! Much of their success this season must be attributed to coach Larry Brown, who is working his magic yet again by taking another underdog team and turning them into a playoff contender. This makes me wonder how truly dysfunctional a team the New York Knicks must have been that he was only able to muster up 23 wins despite a roster full of talent. What a waste.
There aren’t a huge number of marquee games this week, so take the time off and enjoy a little college b-ball action.
Wednesday //
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic. The dominant Celtics team that once appeared to have the best record in the Eastern Conference all but locked up by mid-December is now nothing but a distant memory. They’ll need a major collapse by the Cleveland Cavaliers in order to regain the top spot in time for the playoffs, but if they look in their rearview mirror they’ll see that the Magic are just a game behind. The return of Kevin Garnett should help stabilize the Celtics enough to hold off the Magic, but Dwight Howard and company have been one of the biggest surprises of the season. A win here by the Magic would be huge as it would even up the season series between the two teams and give the Magic a two-game winning streak over the Celtics heading into a potential second-round match-up.
Sunday //
San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Hornets. The Spurs’ loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday dropped them from their No. 2 seed for the first time since January. Just three games separate the Spurs from the eighth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the tightly packed Western Conference playoff race. The Hornets are right in the middle of the pack, but a win here and a loss there could easily catapult them ahead of the Spurs. However, I think we’re all familiar by now with coach Popovich’s strategy of cruising through the regular season and coming on strong in time for the playoffs. But it remains to be seen if the aging Spurs are still capable of “turning it on” in the postseason.
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