The grind of the compressed season has, for the most part, already separated the men from the boys in the NBA. Those who haven't been sifted onto either side of the fence will inevitably find themselves shepherded to one or the other in exactly one month's time, when the campaign comes to a close on April 26.
In the meantime, these three teams had better get their acts in order lest they find themselves spiraling out of control before the playoffs get underway.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have lived up to their "Lob City" billing quite well this season, with Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan ooping alleys with reckless abandon.
Trouble is, that's about all LA's other team has done with any proficiency or consistency this season. The Clips are just 12-14 since Chauncey Billups went down with a torn Achilles, leaving the team's uncouth youth to its own devices while Vinny Del Negro struggles to hang onto the locker room.
Chris Paul has held up his end of the bargain, but Griffin has shown himself to be something of a one-trick dunking pony who can't hit free throws (54.8 percent) and shrinks in the clutch (43 percent shooting, 3.8 turnovers per 36 minutes).
Fourth place in the Western Conference may look nice on paper, but at 27-21, the Clips sit just a game-and-a-half from falling off the cliff and out of the postseason picture.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Like the Clips, the Timberwolves have fallen on hard times since the loss of their star point guard, dropping six of nine games in Ricky Rubio's absence.
Kevin Love's production hasn't suffered, though the same can't be said for the rest of Minnesota's roster, which has looked lost in space more often than not without Rubio dishing and diming with his incredible panache. Injuries to Nikola Pekovic and JJ Barea certainly haven't made things any easier in Minneapolis, either.
And with games against the Grizzlies (twice), the Celtics, the Suns, the Nuggets (twice), the Thunder, the Clippers and the Pacers left on the docket, the 'Wolves would be hard-pressed to make up the two-and-a-half-game gap between themselves and the playoffs before the season comes to a close.
Philadelphia 76ers
There's nothing wrong with the 76ers finding themselves in fourth place in the Eastern Conference behind the top-seeded trio of the Bulls, the Heat and the Magic.
Rather, it's how Philly has found its way into that spot that should have fans in the City of Brotherly Love concerned. The Sixers have lost seven of their last 20 games since climbing 11 games over .500 just before Valentine's Day and fallen out of favor with the rankniks in the process.
Their youth and depth comes off much more like inexperience and a lack of star power these days, though to their credit, the Sixers still rank among the top teams in the league in field goal percentage defense and opponents' points per shot.
Doug Collins' club certainly has enough to advance at least one round in the playoffs, but will be hard-pressed to compete with any of the Beasts of the East if it doesn't dig up at least a smidgen of scoring prowess from between the couch cushions.
Colton Gilies Justin Falk Robbie Eal Joe Callahan Bryan Allen Mark Cullen
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿