There’s not much time left in the season. All teams have passed 60 games, but only Miami has clinched a playoff spot so far. And nobody has clinched ping pong balls yet, but will next game, in all likelihood. The biggest race by far is for the lowest seeds in the West; #7-#9 are separated by just one game, and #6 isn’t completely safe either. In a time where the playoff race has largely become a matter of jockeying for position, let’s look at what would happen if the playoffs started as of Wednesday, March 13, before the day’s games: Continue reading If the Playoffs Started Today – NBA Week 18 »

Now a week into March, the brackets are pretty set. The East is definitely set, with 7.5 games separating #8 from #9. The Lakers are still making a case in the West, but 2.5 games back may be too much when you have a poor road record in a powerful conference. Right now, Miami is still a juggernaut that can’t be stopped, while New York is also making their move to reclaim #2. None of the lower Western seeds will be happy, with the Spurs, Thunder and Clippers providing such stiff competition. There are a lot of very strong teams that are making themselves contenders, so let’s look at what would happen if the playoffs started as of Wednesday, March 6, before the day’s games: Continue reading If the Playoffs Started Today – NBA Week 17 »

After signing shooting guard Terrence Williams to a 10-day contract on February 20th, the Boston Celtics have once again turned to the Chinese Basketball Association for short-term help, signing power forwards D. J. White and Shavlik Randolph to twin 10-day contracts. The Celtics also extended Williams until the end of this season, and possibly next.

The 26-year-old White played his college ball at Indiana and was the Big Ten player of the year and a second-team All-American in 2008, his senior season. He was a late-first-round pick by the Detroit Pistons before being traded to Oklahoma City. He missed much of his rookie year after having a benign growth removed from his jaw, and ended up playing just 42 games over two and a half seasons with the Thunder.
Continue reading Celtics Sign DJ White and Shavlik Randolph, Extend Williams »

We’re coming up on 60 games played in the season, and there’s still a lot to play for. Miami and San Antonio are still the teams to beat, but it’s a lot closer amid the rest. In particular, the race to avoid the worst West seeds is getting very heated, especially with San Antonio and OKC waiting. Many teams are trying to carve a niche out for themselves where they are, but there’s still plenty of time left for movement, so let’s look at what would happen if the playoffs started as of Wednesday, February 27 at 8:00pm: Continue reading If the Playoffs Started Today – NBA Week 16 »

All-Star Weekend is upon us and the Celtics, except for East starter Kevin Garnett, have five full days of rest before embarking on a five-game west coast road trip that starts Tuesday at Denver. The Celtics enter the break in third place in the Atlantic Division at 28-24, and have won eight of their last nine games without Rajon Rondo.

While the Celtics have certainly been playing their best basketball of the season during this stretch, the upcoming trip will provide a real test as only two of their last nine games have been away from TD Garden, and their road record is just 8-15 overall.
Continue reading Grading the Celtics at the All-Star break »

The All Star Game is this weekend, and the playoff teams are starting to come into the picture. Miami is rebuilding a lead in the East, as San Antonio is starting to do out West. The teams in the middle are still fighting for position, which is extra important in order to avoid the hardest teams at the front of the conferences. So where does everyone stand at the All Star Break? Let’s look at what would happen if the playoffs started as of Thursday, February 14, before the day’s games: Continue reading If the Playoffs Started Today – NBA Week 15 »

There’s not much not to like about the season 14 weeks in, unless your team is well on its way to the #1 pick. San Antonio and Miami are still in the lead, and plenty of other teams are where they were last week, with some minor changes. Of course, that means many different teams are still quite close to each other, so let’s look at what would happen if the playoffs started as of Wednesday, February 6, before the day’s games: Continue reading If the Playoffs Started Today – NBA Week 14 »