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So now that we're tracking both the playoffs (the usual) and the lotto (the new) we have an expanded "While you were sleeping" schedule to track. Here was all the action from last night:
| Record | Last 10 | Remaining | Standings | Game Result | |||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | % | GB | W | L | % | Gm | v20 | v10 | Seed | Lotto | Last | Next | |||||||
| 1 | Milwaukee Bucks | 12 | 47 | 20% | 0.0 | 3 | 7 | 30% | 23 | 13 | 7 | East 15 | 1 | vs UTA | W | ||||||
| 2 | Philadelphia 76ers | 15 | 45 | 25% | 2.5 | 0 | 10 | 0% | 22 | 13 | 7 | East 14 | 2 | @ OKC | |||||||
| 3 | Orlando Magic | 19 | 43 | 31% | 5.5 | 4 | 6 | 40% | 20 | 12 | 4 | East 13 | 3 | ||||||||
| 4 | Boston Celtics | 20 | 40 | 33% | 7.5 | 3 | 7 | 30% | 22 | 14 | 6 | East 12 | 4 | ||||||||
| 5 | New York Knicks | 21 | 40 | 34% | 8.0 | 1 | 9 | 10% | 21 | 15 | 10 | East 11 | 5 | 3* | @ DET | L | |||||
| 6 | Sacramento Kings | 21 | 39 | 35% | 8.5 | 4 | 6 | 40% | 22 | 15 | 6 | West 15 | 6 | vs NOP | W | ||||||
| 7 | Los Angeles Lakers | 21 | 39 | 35% | 8.5 | 3 | 7 | 30% | 22 | 12 | 5 | West 14 | 7 | @ POR | W | vs NOP | |||||
| 8 | Utah Jazz | 21 | 39 | 35% | 8.5 | 4 | 6 | 40% | 22 | 16 | 6 | West 13 | 8 | @ MIL | L | ||||||
| 9 | New Orleans Pelicans | 23 | 37 | 38% | 10.5 | 1 | 9 | 10% | 22 | 12 | 6 | West 12 | 9 | @ SAC | L | @ LAL | |||||
| 10 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 24 | 37 | 39% | 11.0 | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21 | 14 | 7 | East 10 | 10 | vs SAS | |||||||
| 11 | Detroit Pistons | 24 | 36 | 40% | 11.5 | 3 | 7 | 30% | 22 | 13 | 8 | East9 | 11 | vs NYK | W | ||||||
| 12 | Denver Nuggets | 25 | 34 | 42% | 13.0 | 1 | 9 | 10% | 23 | 14 | 4 | West 11 | 12 | 4* | vs MIN | L | |||||
| 13 | Atlanta Hawks | 26 | 32 | 45% | 14.5 | 1 | 9 | 10% | 24 | 15 | 7 | East 8 | |||||||||
| 14 | Charlotte Bobcats | 27 | 33 | 45% | 14.5 | 5 | 5 | 50% | 22 | 16 | 8 | East 7 | @ MIA | L | |||||||
| 15 | Brooklyn Nets | 29 | 29 | 50% | 17.5 | 7 | 3 | 70% | 24 | 19 | 11 | East 6 | 1* | vs CHI | W | ||||||
| 16 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 30 | 29 | 51% | 18.0 | 6 | 4 | 60% | 23 | 17 | 9 | West 10 | 13 | @ DEN | W | ||||||
| 17 | Memphis Grizzlies | 34 | 25 | 58% | 22.0 | 7 | 3 | 70% | 23 | 15 | 5 | West 9 | 14 | @ WAS | W | ||||||
| 18 | Dallas Mavericks | 36 | 25 | 59% | 23.0 | 6 | 4 | 60% | 21 | 15 | 6 | West 8 | |||||||||
| 19 | Phoenix Suns | 35 | 24 | 59% | 23.0 | 6 | 4 | 60% | 23 | 14 | 7 | West 7 | vs LAC | ||||||||
| 20 | Golden State Warriors | 36 | 24 | 60% | 23.5 | 6 | 4 | 60% | 22 | 16 | 8 | West 6 | 2* | @IND | |||||||
| 1* - ATL has right to swap picks with BKN | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2* - UTA owns GSW pick | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3* - DEN owns NYK pick | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 4* - DEN owes ORL their lower of their two 1st round picks | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Almost everything that could go possibly right for us did last night!
- The Jazz lost to the Bucks, which on a personal level makes me upset, but in the big picture it was for the greater good
- The Kings (ahead of Utah) won, and beat the Pelicans
- The Lakers (also ahead of Utah), won, and beat the Trail Blazers
- The Timberwolves (chasing the Dubs) won, and beat the Nuggets
- The Grizzlies (chasing the Dubs) won, and beat the Wizards
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- The Knicks lost, again, this time to the Pistons and went from being #7 to #5 in one night because of the LAL and SAC wins
- With the Pelicans loss they are now only 2.0 games behind the Jazz
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- The Nets beat the Bulls and pulled to .500 on the season. It was a nice moment because playing in the game were former Jazz players Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko, and Carlos Boozer; and in attendance was Jarron Collins.
- The Bobcats got destroyed by the Heat, and more specifically LeBron James who went crazy.
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Tonight's Action:
So almost everything went for Utah, save for the Knicks jumping to the Top five for lotto balls. Also in the East the Pistons are one step closer to the playoffs, which is good. Out West LAL, SAC, and UTA are all now 21-39. Because of tie breakers and such we are 3rd place. Can we out tank these two teams? Over the next 22 games we'll find out. And in the other race, the chase for the Warriors, Golden State holds a 0.5 lead over Phoenix and Dallas, a 1.5 lead over Memphis, and a 5.5 lead over the Timberwolves.
Anyway, what about tonight?
- The 76ers visit the Thunder, so expect their 'slide' to continue. They have lost 14 straight games, but the NBA head office reports no evidence for tanking still.
- The Lakers will host the Pelicans. Both teams played last night, and the Lakers are actually "hotter" than NOP is. The Unibrow's team is only 1-9 in their last 10. Ouch. Weren't they supposed to make the playoffs this year, according to some national writers?
- The Cavaliers will host the Spurs, so, well, that should be a loss.
- The Suns host the Clippers, and that will be a tough game. But if the Suns are to overtake the dubs they're going to have to play some tough games, only 7 of their final 23 games are against Bottom 10 teams.
- And last, and least, the Warriors will travel to the Pacers. They are on a long East road trip and I predict their schedule should get easier over the next 22 games. But for as long as they are on the road (near loss in DET, loss in TOR) they need to keep losing. Indiana, hopefully, will destroy them.
And that's the score for what happened last night, and what to expect for tonight. The Jazz really do hold their own fate in their hands now. There are 22 games left, 16 against these bottom 20 teams, and 6 left against the bottom 10. If they want to pick a direction and follow through with it, now would be the optimum time.