"April is the cruelest month," T.S. Eliot wrote in The Waste Land. The Mavs, Warriors and Nuggets wouldn't argue right now. As the NBA flips the calendar for the final time in the 2007-08 regular-season, one of those deserving squads is about to get shut out of the Western playoffs.
Incredibly, Dallas might be the team in the most peril right now. The Mavs lost at Golden State on Sunday night to fall into a tie with the Warriors and Nuggets for the No. 7 spot, and will be without the services of forward Dirk Nowitzki (ankle) for at least one more game. Meanwhile, the red-hot Nuggets have won five in a row -- including a win over the Mavs last week that gave Denver the tiebreaker should the two teams finish with the same record.
Dallas, Denver and Golden State all have tough contests this week. The Mavs play host to the Warriors (Wed.) and travel to L.A. to take on the Lakers (Fri). The Nuggets have a home-and-home against the Suns (Mon. and Tues.). The Warriors play at San Antonio (Tues.) before heading to Dallas.
Three teams capable of 50 wins. Two playoff spots. Not even Eliot could have imagined such poetic injustice.
This week's high riser: Nuggets (No. 7 from 13)
This week's big drop: Lakers (No. 8 from 3)
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The way they thrive on challenges is a good sign for their championship hopes. Last Friday's 20-point win over the Hornets, for example, was a clear response to last week's loss at New Orleans. It also gave the Celtics at least one victory over every NBA team this season, the first time they have accomplished that feat since the 1990-91 season. |
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They bounced back from that defeat in Boston by spanking the Raptors on Sunday in Morris Peterson's return to Toronto. Mo Pete finished with eight points (complementing Chris Paul's 20 points and 16 assists) as they won for sixth time in seven outings and reached the 50-win plateau for the first time since 1997-98. |
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Michael Finley is heating up (19.5 points on 68.9 percent shooting over his last four games) and Brent Barry is back on the roster after re-signing as a free agent. Meanwhile, Sunday's blowout over the Rockets made it seven straight triumphs following that four-game losing streak. |
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Rip Hamilton (sore hip) returned last Saturday to help them avenge last week's loss to the Cavs and notch their third victory in their last four games overall. With a soft schedule the rest of the way, Flip Saunders should have plenty of time to keep everybody fresh and get ready for the postseason. |
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Shaquille O'Neal's running feud with former coach Pat Riley and the Heat training staff has partially overshadowed the Diesel's steady play in Phoenix (12.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in 29.4 minutes). Partly as a result, they had won nine of their last 11 games to pull within a half game of the Lakers for the Pacific Division lead. |
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They missed Andrei Kirilenko (calf) and Mehmet Okur (illness) in Sunday's loss at Minnesota that snapped a three-game win streak. But injuries alone can't excuse another road setback against an inferior foe, especially since they need every win from here on out to ensure home-court advantage in the first round. |
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Nenê's emotional return to the court, two months after surgery to remove a malignant testicular tumor, isn't the only reason spirits are soaring these days in the Mile High City. Saturday's win over the Warriors ran their win streak to five and vaulted them into the No. 7 spot in the West. |
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They survived the Wizards in OT on Sunday to get back on track after consecutive embarrassing home losses to the Bobcats and Grizzlies. But Phil Jackson's main concern right now has to be injuries, with Derek Fisher (sore foot) having joined Pau Gasol (ankle) and Andrew Bynum (knee) as question marks heading into the postseason. |
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Win. Loss. Win. Loss. Win. Loss. They have been alternating Ws and Ls for the last three weeks as they try to hang on for dear life in the West. But Sunday's win over the Mavs should be a confidence-booster as they get set for a big four-game Western road trip that begins Tuesday night in San Antonio. |
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Rookie guard Nick Young had a career-high 27 points in Sunday's heartbreaker at L.A., but the former USC star had a costly turnover and a big miss late. Still, they were 2-2 on their five-game Western trip heading into Monday's finale at Utah, and had won eight of 11 overall to stamp themselves as a team to watch in the East. |
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