Two NBA Races to Keep an Eye On
The NBA season is winding down. Most teams have roughly fifteen games remaining. With March Madness about to take center stage for the next three weeks, the next time the NBA is in the forefront the playoffs will be days away. Here are a couple of interesting storylines to keep an eye on as the season comes to a close.
The top seed in the East and West. As of today, the Cavaliers are three games up on both the Celtics and Wizards for the number one seed. While three games seem like a comfortable cushion, the Cavaliers have the hardest remaining schedule in the East, while the Celtics have the easiest. I do not see the Celtics overtaking Cleveland, but it is worth keeping an eye on. The West is where the fight for the top seed gets very interesting. The Warriors and Spurs are tied for the top slot. While it is not crucial for either team to secure the top seed for the purpose of home-court, there is a huge difference between playing the Nuggets in the first round or falling to the second seed and having to play the Thunder, led by the energizer bunny in Russell Westbrook. The Warriors should especially want to avoid the Thunder. With Kevin Durant sidelined for another couple of weeks with a knee injury, Steve Kerr and company will want to ease him back into the rotation. If the Warriors were to fall to the second seed and were paired with the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs Kevin Durant would be facing his former team and in my opinion would be pressured into returning sooner than he should. This is definitely something to keep tabs on in the last few weeks of the NBA season.
MVP Race. The MVP Race has never been this tight. Ever. Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and LeBron James are all worthy candidates. Westbrook is averaging a triple-double, Harden is leading the league in assists while also being in the top-three in scoring, Kawhi is a menace defensively while averaging over 26 points per game, and LeBron James is quietly having the most efficient shooting season of his legendary career. Ultimately due to "LeBron fatigue", this award is down to just three: Westbrook, Harden, and Leonard. I think Harden is the leader right now, but things can certainly change over the last few weeks of the season.
