Wizards, Cavs Destined For Round 1 Playoff Matchup
The Washington Wizards just survived a brutal five-game swing through the Western Conference. Nobody ever wants to have a losing road trip, but when it includes stops in Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and New Orleans in a span of eight days, a 2-3 record is hard to complain about.
The schedule isn’t about to get any easier for Washington either. After a home date with the New York Knicks, the Wizards’ next four games include the Chicago Bulls twice, a trip to the East-leading Atlanta Hawks and a visit from the defending-champion San Antonio Spurs.
Currently fourth in the Eastern Conference at 23-11, it doesn’t look as if Washington will be moving up in the standings any time soon. The Hawks (26-8) and the Bulls (25-10) are both red-hot–Atlanta has won 19 of its last 21, while Chicago is victorious in 10 of its last 11.
The Toronto Raptors (24-10) have dropped three straight, but they occupied the No. 1 spot in the East before All-Star DeMar DeRozan‘s injury, and they’re about to get him back in the lineup. The Raptors also play in a division that includes the NBA-worst Knicks (5-32), the Philadelphia 76ers (5-28) and the Boston Celtics (11-21).
Owners of the conference’s fifth-best record, the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-16) appear to be in a state of utter chaos at the moment. Starting center Anderson Varejao is done for the season with a torn Achilles. LeBron James is out with a knee strain, while Kyrie Irving missed their most recent contest with bad back.
The Cavs lost that game in Philadelphia 95-92, giving the 76ers their first home win of the season.
In a move that reeks of desperation, the Cavs shipped Dion Waiters out of town and brought in former Knicks J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert. Even if the trade does benefit Cleveland this year, there will more than likely be an adjustment period before Smith and Shumpert become acclimated.
At the moment the Cavaliers sit 5.5 games behind third-seeded Toronto and six games back of Central Division-leading Chicago.
Yes, there is still more than 50 percent of the regular season remaining. It’s very, very early to start speculating about playoff matchups next spring. But consider this: If the Raptors and Bulls keep up their current percentages, both clubs will win around 58 games. The Hawks, playing .765 ball right now, only need to win 67 percent of the time from here on out to get to 58.
On the other hand, the Cavs must go 39-8 the rest of the way to win that many. Chances are that’s not going to happen.
It also seems unlikely that the Wizards will pass any of those three clubs. Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post recently wrote:
"…an objective observer using current analytical methods would look skeptically at the Wizards’ 22-11 record. They’ve only outscored their foes this season by 2.15 points per game. Their schedule is third easiest in the NBA. And their six wins by three points or fewer are the most in the league. This western swing is just part of a larger reality check that will continue all winter.Crunch the numbers, as Basketball-Reference.com does in its projected standings, and you might conclude the Wizards are the 14th-strongest NBA team and may go 26.5-22.5 the rest of the season. Gulp. That would give the Wizards 48 or 49 wins rather than the 60-or-more that seemed conceivable just two weeks ago when they were off to a 19-6 start."
If Neither the Wizards nor Cavs jump into the top three, regardless of who is fourth and who is fifth (the rest of the Eastern Conference isn’t even worth mentioning), they’ll being going head-to-head in Round 1 of the postseason.
And oh, what a showdown it will be. John Wall with the opportunity to prove he’s a superstar on the biggest stage against LeBron James. Paul Pierce taking on James in the playoffs for the sixth time. The magnitude of what it means to each city if Washington wins and Cleveland loses.
I can’t wait.