All season, the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat have been the two teams favored to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. But with the season winding down, two other teams are charging into that race.
Suddenly, the New Jersey Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers are playing the kind of basketball that could give the Pistons and Heat some competition in the Eastern Conference Finals.
On Tuesday, the Nets did not look their best, nearly blowing a 23-point lead to the lowly Atlanta Hawks, but the team held on for a 96-94 victory to clinch the Atlantic Division and give the Nets a 13-game winning streak.
Midway through the third quarter, the Nets learned that they had clinched the division when the Philadelphia 76ers' loss to Cleveland was posted on the scoreboard. While they almost dropped the game to the Hawks, their slot as the third seed in the Eastern Conference is secured.
Vince Carter continued his strong run of play by leading for the eighth time in 13 games with 27 points. On Sunday, Carter had perhaps his biggest performance of the season, scoring 43 points, 20 in the third quarter alone, to give New Jersey a 90-78 win over Miami. The win moved the Nets to 3-1 against Miami on the year and within three and a half games of the second-best record in the East.
As they did on Sunday, the Nets have been playing fantastic defense on their winning streak. Over the stretch, the Nets have allowed just 82 points per game, with only the Washington Wizards able to reach the 100 mark. On the season, the Nets have the fifth-best defense in terms of points allowed, which, coupled with the scoring ability of Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, has made the Nets legitimate contenders for the Eastern Conference title.
Another factor on offense has been the emergence of Nenad Kristic, who is averaging 13.2 points per game and giving the perimeter-oriented Nets an inside presence. Still, Kristic is not much of a rebounder, and crashing the boards has been a big problem for this team. The Nets have been consistently out-rebounded by their opponents, not surprising for a team whose leading rebounder is its point guard (Kidd).
Still, the Nets' lack of dominance on the boards shouldn't keep the them from coasting through the rest of the regular season. Of the nine teams remaining on its schedule, only one, the Cavs, has a winning record.
That game will pit two of the hottest teams in the league against each other.
Late-season collapses have plagued the Cavs in the past two seasons, but it seems that this team has turned the corner, winning nine in a row. On Tuesday, they hung a 124-91 loss on the 76ers, a team with everything to play for.
LeBron James has continued his stunning play over the past month, leading the Cavs in scoring in the last 13 games. The team also got good news with the return of Larry Hughes, who had been out with a broken finger.
With Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskus and new acquisition Ronald "Flip" Murray, this team finally has some scoring options to complement James. For the Cavs to make a run in the playoffs, they will have to overcome the "stand around and watch LeBron syndrome" that has plagued them all season.
With eight games left, the Cavs are five wins from a 50-win season. That might be a tough goal, as the team finishes with six of its last eight on the road. Still, the way the Cavs have been playing lately, it may not matter.
