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There were seven games last night, and as predicted, nothing really changed in the NBA Draft Lottery standings, though we saw some change within the NBA Playoffs race -- just not with the Western Conference. Man. Not every year has an exciting finish to the regular season.
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What happened last night?
| Winner | Loser | Commentary | ||||||||||
| 1 | HOU | West | 2 | 115 | - | OKC | West | 8 | 112 | Russell Westbrook could probably use a little Kevin Durant right about now | ||
| 2 | CLE | East | 2 | 99 | - | CHI | East | 3 | 94 | Bulls talk the talk, but don't walk the walk | ||
| 3 | IND | East | 10 | 112 | - | MIA | East | 9 | 89 | Paul George makes his return! Plays great! | ||
| 4 | SAS | West | 6 | 107 | - | GSW | West | 1 | 92 | Some people just gotta learn the hard way. | ||
| 5 | NYK | East | 15 | 101 | - | PHI | East | 14 | 91 | Knicks avoid 10 game losing streak! | ||
| 6 | UTA | West | 11 | 101 | - | SAC | West | 13 | 95 | Rodney Hood is really really good! | ||
| 7 | LAC | West | 5 | 106 | - | LAL | West | 14 | 78 | And yet I still can't take the Clippers seriously. | ||
Don't worry Lakers fans, only six more games . . . keep telling yourselves that.
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NBA Draft Lottery standings:
Once again, no changes in the top part of the lotto, but lots of movement in the late part of it. The Heat jumped up two spots and are in a free fall now having lost four games in a row. They've fallen so far that the Note #5 is now in play, where Boston will get a pick from Philly, if Miami continues to stay in the lotto. As Miami fell, the Pacers and Jazz both got bumped down one spot. Remember how the Cavs lost LeBron James, and then the NBA got Cleveland the #1 pick? It would be hilarious if the NBA did the same thing to Miami after losing LeBron.
In other news, New Orleans is 0.5 games behind Oklahoma City for a playoff spot. Sheesh! THINK ABOUT OUR DRAFT PICK, WHY DON'TCHA ???
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Western Conference standings:
| Team | W | L | % | GB | GL | Streak | Last Night | Tonight | |||||||||||
| 1 | Warriors | z | 63 | - | 14 | 81.82% | 0.0 | 5 | -1 | @ | SAS | L | |||||||
| 2 | Rockets | x | 53 | - | 24 | 68.83% | 10.0 | 5 | 3 | @ | OKC | W | |||||||
| 3 | Grizzlies | x | 52 | - | 25 | 67.53% | 11.0 | 5 | -1 | ||||||||||
| 4 | Trail Blazers | y | 50 | - | 26 | 65.79% | 12.5 | 6 | 2 | @ | BKN | ||||||||
| 5 | Clippers | x | 52 | - | 26 | 66.67% | 11.5 | 4 | 3 | @ | LAL | W | |||||||
| 6 | Spurs | x | 51 | - | 26 | 66.23% | 12.0 | 5 | 7 | vs | GSW | W | |||||||
| 7 | Mavericks | 46 | - | 31 | 59.74% | 17.0 | 5 | -2 | |||||||||||
| 8 | Thunder | 42 | - | 35 | 54.55% | 21.0 | 5 | -3 | vs | HOU | L | ||||||||
| 9 | Pelicans | 41 | - | 35 | 53.95% | 21.5 | 6 | -1 | |||||||||||
| 10 | Suns | 39 | - | 38 | 50.65% | 24.0 | 5 | 1 | |||||||||||
| 11 | Jazz | 35 | - | 42 | 45.45% | 28.0 | 5 | 1 | @ | SAC | W | ||||||||
| 12 | Nuggets | 28 | - | 49 | 36.36% | 35.0 | 5 | -4 | |||||||||||
| 13 | Kings | 26 | - | 50 | 34.21% | 36.5 | 6 | -5 | vs | UTA | L | ||||||||
| 14 | Lakers | 20 | - | 56 | 26.32% | 42.5 | 6 | -3 | vs | LAC | L | ||||||||
| 15 | Timberwolves | 16 | - | 60 | 21.05% | 46.5 | 6 | -6 | |||||||||||
| z - Clinched Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| y - Clinched Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| x - Clinched Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||
If you guessed that no teams switched spots then you are right. While the Warriors massive win streak is no more, and the Spurs keep slowly creeping up . . . there is the theory that these gunslingers are all just in the stare down mode before the playoffs start and they all draw. And shoot to kill.
There are only 5.3 games (on average) left to be played by each team. The difference between #2 and #7 is not 7.0 games, and the West is beginning to stratify for realsies. The Jazz, still only 4.0 games behind the Suns -- with 5 games to play for both teams -- have a chance. But they had a chance and you could say they blew it the other night.
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Tonight's games:
| Road | Home | Commentary | ||||||
| 1 | POR | West | 4 | @ | BKN | East | 7 | Only one game tonight? Awful. Thanks NCAA Finals! |
Can the resurgent Nets take out the Blazers? I'm actually more excited for this game than the NCAA Championship.
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Tonight will be the closest thing I get to a day off . . . I am going to enjoy it by spending, *sigh* more family time.