Saturday NBA Roundup: Eastern Conference Playoff Race Can't Be Ignored
Compared to their star-studded Western Conference counterparts, postseason hopefuls at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture have largely been ignored. However, with a handful of surging squads trading blows in what will assuredly set up a photo finish, there's reason to believe excitement will dominate the home stretch out East.
For instance, don't sleep on the Boston Celtics (29-36), who have methodically worked their way into contention following a post-All-Star break renaissance.
With a 93-89 win over the Indiana Pacers Saturday night, Boston has won four straight and six of its last seven games dating back to March 4. Not coincidentally, the Celtics have limited all six of those opponents to fewer than 100 points.
Behind another superlative defensive effort laced with balanced scoring, Boston's now captured nine wins since the All-Star break. That's tied with the Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers for tops in the Eastern Conference.
"Quality wins against the likes of the Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans and Miami Heat, as well as a near upset against the Golden State Warriors, make this particular stretch a bit more noteworthy than most," Bleacher Report's Brian Robb wrote.
And while Boston didn't win pretty—shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three—Brad Stevens' club now sits just a half-game out of the No. 8 seed and one game back of the seventh-seeded Pacers.
According to the Celtics' official Twitter account, Stevens didn't mind the aesthetically displeasing nature of his team's performance:
Boston's not the only upstart club worth keeping an eye on, though.
Although Indiana saw its seven-game winning streak snapped Saturday night, the Pacers have established themselves as the scariest matchup for front-runners like Cleveland, Toronto and Atlanta.
With the NBA's best net rating (plus-14.6 points per 100 possessions) and top defense (89.9 points per 100 possessions) this month, according to NBA.com, Indiana is starting to resemble the savvy squad that's coming off back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
Then we have the Charlotte Hornets. Steve Clifford's club has won seven of its last 10 games and is starting to pack the defensive punch that propelled last season's unit into occupation of the No. 7 seed. In March, Charlotte's defense ranks No. 6 overall.
Lurking in the background are the Miami Heat, who are deadlocked with the Celtics for the No. 9 seed.
But as CBS Sports' Matt Moore noted, Miami's fighting a rather steep uphill battle:
"Miami, the Oklahoma City of the East, in that every time something starts to break its way, it gets a stroke of bad luck. Injuries, weird losses, the freak Chris Bosh condition (which is obviously more important than basketball but does affect their chances), and the fact that the Heat simply haven't been able to field a consistent rotation.
"
The Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans may be absorbing every ounce of attention as parity reigns supreme out West, but don't sleep on the East—where one game separates seeds Nos. 7 through 10.
That's a recipe for chaos, and lots of entertainment.
Around the Association
Milwaukee's Slide Continues
Milwaukee Bucks, meet regression.
Having lost seven of its last 10, including a 96-83 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night, Milwaukee is just 3.5 games up on the Pacers for the No. 6 seed.
After the Bucks sacrificed short-term profits for supposed long-term gains by replacing Brandon Knight with Michael Carter-Williams (who missed Saturday's game with an ankle injury) at the trade deadline, this isn't an entirely surprising development. But for a club that looked like it would be a feisty first-round opponent a month ago, Milwaukee has encountered a backslide of concerning proportions.
Over the last two weeks, the Bucks rank 25th in net rating, according to NBA.com. At minus-6.5 points per 100 possessions, they've been worse than the Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers.
With their once-vaunted defense surrendering nearly 104 points per 100 possessions, the Bucks no longer have a calling card to help mask the inefficiencies of a 23rd-ranked offense.
On the bright side, at least Giannis Antetokounmpo (19 points, six rebounds) is still defying the laws of physics.
Splash Brothers Embarrass the Knicks
The Golden State Warriors hosted the New York Knicks, and, well, you can probably guess how things went.
With the best of the West squaring off against the least of the East, Golden State obliterated New York, 125-94, behind 25 points (8-of-15 shooting, 6-of-10 from three) and 11 assists from Stephen Curry.
According to GSWStats on Twitter, Curry is at a level all his own when it comes to the volume at which he’s swishing and dishing:
Curry, who turned 27 on Saturday, also knocked down one of the prettiest buzzer-beaters of the season to cap off a 47-point second quarter for Golden State:
Here are a few factoids to sum up how dominant the Warriors were:
- Golden State scored 73 points in the first half, its second-most in any half this season.
- Their 47 second-quarter points represented a season high for any quarter and were the most any Warriors team had scored since 1991, according to GSWStats.
- The Warriors tied a season-high by sinking 19 threes.
- Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. He played 26 minutes.
At 52-13, the Warriors have officially surpassed last season’s win total with 17 games remaining. The Knicks, on the other hand, were officially eliminated from postseason contention with the loss, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Washington Won't Back Down
The Washington Wizards looked cooked following a putrid second quarter that saw the Sacramento Kings build a 64-46 advantage, but things turned rather quickly following halftime.
While DeMarcus Cousins dominated with 30 points, six rebounds, five assists and one monstrous block of former Kentucky teammate John Wall, he received little in the way of ancillary support down the stretch.
In the second half, Washington turned the tables to the tune of a 67-33 advantage while shooting 61 percent from the field, as Wall went on to rack up a game-high 31 points (9-of-15 shooting) and 12 dimes. All told, six Wizards players finished in double figures, including Paul Pierce (17 points), Bradley Beal (14 points) and Rasual Butler (14 points).
Washington's now won three straight and four of its last five to move within 1.5 games of the fourth-seeded Chicago Bulls.
Brooklyn Lives to Fight Another Day
The Brooklyn Nets' playoff hopes are alive—barely.
It wasn't exactly pretty, but by slaying the Philadelphia 76ers, 94-87, Brooklyn moved to within three games of the Hornets and the No. 8 seed in the East. Thaddeus Young led the way with 21 points, nine rebounds and two steals against his former team while Brook Lopez and Deron Williams added 10 points apiece.
Joe Johnson was steady to the tune of 15 points (6-of-10 shooting), but Brooklyn shot an appalling 2-of-17 from three.
Nerlens Noel posted 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, marking the seventh time in the last nine games that the flat-topped one has scored in double figures. This month, Noel is averaging 12.1 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.9 blocks.
Derrick Favors Is a Man On a Mission
The Utah Jazz have become renowned for their stingy defensive demeanor, but let's take a moment to appreciate the greatness of Derrick Favors.
Along with Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard, Favors is one of three players averaging at least 16 points and shooting better than 54 percent from the field, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
He helped bolster those numbers by dropping 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting in Utah's thrilling 88-85 win over the Detroit Pistons. Favors also blocked a game-high four shots as Utah held a ninth straight opponent to fewer than 100 points and captured a fifth straight win.
Rudy Gobert continued his sensational run, totaling 10 points, 19 rebounds and two swats in 39 minutes.
Detroit, meanwhile, has lost 10 straight and lost center Andre Drummond to a concussion in the second half.
It was fun while it lasted, guys.
