NBA Pre-Playoffs: Top Five Storylines

Today I present to you the top five storylines of the "Pre-Postseason."

In just six weeks the NBA Playoffs will begin, and all hell shall break loose. You know the deal.

But we still have those six weeks to get through first, and there are many stories and headlines to come.

1. Does Phoenix Make It?

Phoenix has made the Playoffs every year since Steve Nash came back to town, but as it stands right now, that streak is about to come to an end.

The Suns are on a four-game slide and are now four games behind the Dallas Mavericks and the eighth spot. Though the team does seem revitalized under interim coach Alvin Gentry, they are still losing ball games, going 4-6 over their last 10.

Can we really see the Suns getting last seed in the West?

Though they are four games behind Dallas, they are only six behind Denver (who's slipped a good bit recently) and Portland. So it's not like it can't be done.

Dallas appears to have righted the ship after Mark Cuban called his team out, and the only slumping team would be Denver. Teams aren't exactly lining up to give up their holds.

Can we imagine no Steve Nash in the Playoffs? No Shaq after his amazing resurgence and All-Star co-MVP award?

2. Which East Underdog Earns the Right to Be Swept?

In the West, there is only one team with postseason hopes within striking distance.

By contrast, in the East, there are five teams within two games of each other; all are battling the others to earn the right to play Cleveland or Boston in the first round.

Chicago currently holds the eighth seed in the standings, but they have Milwaukee, New Jersey, Charlotte (yes, those Bobcats), and Indiana all breathing down their neck.

Charlotte is especially interesting, coming out of nowhere with a six-game winning streak to put themselves right in the hunt. This would be a great story for the whole franchise if they finally clinched a playoff spot after being written off so early in the season.

If I have to pick someone, though, I'm going with the Nets. This team is talented enough to play in late April and deserve the privilege after overachieving so much this year. I think the combo of Devin Harris and Vince Carter carry this team.

The Bucks have done surprisingly well considering the injuries they've sustained to their main guys, namely Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut. Richard Jefferson and Charlie Villanueva have done well and helped keep the squad afloat, but I don't think they'll make it down the stretch.

The Pacers have Danny Granger and that's about it.

3. Who Wins the Scoring Title?

I'm surprised at how little people are talking about the scoring title race this year, especially considering its closeness and participants.

For most of the season two of the league's main poster boys, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, were within a point of each other. But that's not longer true.

Wade has finally pulled away, upping his average to 29.4, opening up the largest gap all year between James' 28.1.

And very quietly, Kobe Bryant has joined the fray, averaging 28 per game now.

So will Wade ride away with it?

Only a foolish man bets against LBJ and KB24.

There are still plenty of games left, so which of these MVP candidates will be taking the scoring title home?

4. Does Miami Pass Atlanta?

No one will be catching up with Orlando, Cleveland, or Boston in the East. And for almost the whole year, the Atlanta Hawks have had the fourth spot pretty locked, too.

After finally making the Playoffs last year, the Hawks followed that with an even better surprise, taking the eventual champion Celtics to seven games.

Now, they have a chance of finally hosting a spring series (and perhaps even making it to the second round), a huge improvement from two years ago.

Last year, Miami finished last in the NBA, but the renewed Dwyane Wade has taken them further than anyone thought possible this season—right back into postseason contention.

The Heat are now just 2.5 games behind the Hawks. Wade has put up some truly amazing performances of late in order to secure some big wins, whereas the Hawks have lost several games against sub-.500 teams.

The Hawks have cited team chemistry and laziness as the reasons for these underwhelming losses, whereas the Heat have incorporated new arrivals Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon very well.

Can the Heat overtake the Hawks and put the cherry on top of their highly impressive season?

Or can the Hawks right the ship and cling onto their first home-court advantage series of the decade?

5. Does Utah or New Orleans Catch the West's Third Seed?

The Jazz and the Hornets are the owners of the two biggest winning streaks in the league at the moment, at 11 and seven, respectively.

The Western Conference race isn't as close as last year; if you'll remember, a couple late-season matchups in 2008 changed approximately five playoff seeds. However, the Utah and New Orleans streaks have obviously heated things.

Only a few weeks ago the Jazz were in the ninth spot in the West, but they've now climbed all the way to fourth and the top of the Northwest Division.

The Hornets were hovering around the sixth or seventh seed for much of the year, but have now reached the fifth seed and are just four hundredths of a winning percentage point behind the Jazz.

So which team, if either, can catch up to the Rockets and take the third seed?

If I had to put money on it, I'd choose the Jazz. They are just solid at the moment. Carlos Boozer is slowly improving after his long injury and Deron Williams is just off-the-charts right now.

Of course, there is another point guard who is off-the-charts right now, too. And he happens to play for the Hornets.

The Hornets are healthy for the first time all season, and now have the motivation to prove their critics wrong and show they're still among the elite of this league.

There's an awful lot to fit into six weeks, huh?

What are the storylines that interest you?