It’s official. Thanks to Amir Johnson’s late-game heroics, which sealed a gritty win over the Celtics on Friday, the Toronto Raptors are headed to the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
The remaining eight games will decide whether the upcoming journey will start at home and which of the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets or Washington Wizards will end up as Toronto’s first-round opponent. The Bulls and Nets also happen to be two teams that are pushing the Raptors’ for home-court advantage.
It’s all to play for in Toronto. Roll the rankings…
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Even with Indiana’s recent slide, thumping the Pacers by 24 points on the road was impressive. Team-first basketball has propelled the Spurs to 17 wins in a row. They have five players in the top 50 in PER, while no other team has more than three. All business as usual for Popovich and Co.
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Doc Rivers was brought in to make the Clippers a better defensive team. He’s done just that. LA posted the second-best defensive rating in the league in March. DeAndre Jordan deserves credit for his improvement in that area. Big men take time, folks.
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Jeremy Lamb’s early-season form is a distant memory, with coach Scott Brooks opting for Derek Fisher in his place of late. Lamb is shooting 38 percent from the field and 29 percent from deep in 2014 while receiving his fair share of DNP-CD’s. Brooks’ reliance on Fisher in late-game situations is both admirable and a form of defensive suicide. It could come back to haunt OKC when the stakes are higher.
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Even though they lost to the Pacers last week, the Heat sit atop the East for the first time this season. It’s a feat made all the more impressive when you consider that LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have only played together in 13 of Miami’s past 24 games.
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The news that Patrick Beverley won’t need surgery on his right knee came as a relief to Rockets fans. His perimeter defence takes Houston to the next level, as does his ability to harass opposing guards.
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Friday’s win over the surging Grizzlies and Tuesday’s OT dagger from Steph Curry in Dallas somewhat made up for dropping a home game to the Knicks. Somewhat.
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Tom Thibodeau’s penchant for turning other team’s spare parts into vital cogs in the Bulls’ engine is downright scary. D.J. Augustin’s time with Toronto was unremarkable. For the Bulls, however, he’s been nothing short of impressive. His career-high 33 points led them past the Celtics on Sunday.
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Every week we wonder if the Pacers have hit rock bottom yet. Indy has lost five of six and scored just 71, 77, 84, 78, 76, and 77 points in those contests. If this isn’t the bottom, what is?
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An upcoming four-game road trip is absolutely crucial for the meandering Mavericks. 3-3 in their last six, Dallas needs to start winning—facing the Lakers, Kings and Jazz could help that cause.
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Escaping Denver with a win on Monday kept the Grizzlies just ahead of the Suns in the Western Conference playoff race. They’ll have to do their best to stay there with Phoenix hot on their heels.
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It turns out LaMarcus Aldridge was the missing link after all. The big man’s return has coincided with a four-game winning run for the Blazers.
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March’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month Jason Kidd has the Nets playing the best basketball in the conference these days. His perseverance is an indictment of owners who lose patience with coaches too early. The Nets were 10-21 with no 2014 draft pick at one point this year. Now, at 40-33, they’re the team everyone wants to avoid in the playoffs.
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If the Suns can somehow make the playoffs, Jeff Hornacek is a lock for Coach of the Year. An 8-2 stretch has allowed Phoenix to reclaim the eight seed out west. This Goran Dragic fan loves the action so much he made a tribute song.
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Getting through the next two against Houston and Indiana will be tough, but after that the schedule is a walk in the park. The Bucks (twice), 76ers, Knicks (twice) and Pistons won’t intimidate this group in the slightest.
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Washington is about to return to the post-season for the first time in six years, but their inability to hang onto leads is worrying. The Wizards have lost 11 games this year in which they held a lead of at least 10 points.
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Charlotte’s win against Washington saw them move within two games of their opponents for the sixth seed. You get the feeling that the Bobcats would rather play Toronto (who they’ve won 11 of 14 against) than Miami or Indiana.
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New York knew they had little margin for error on their Western road trip. Four wins in six, with the highlight being a gritty 89-84 W in Golden State, keep them on the edge of the playoff race.
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If they make the second season, the Hawks are on pace to become the playoff team with the worst regular season record since 1994-95. The Celtics went 35-47 that season.
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Through some dark magic there’s still a chance Cleveland could make the playoffs. The surging Cavs have won four of five and Kyrie Irving is nearing a return to action. The gap between Cleveland and Atlanta is a mere two games.
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The Pelicans could only muster 80 points against San Antonio on Saturday and followed that up with a 102-97 loss to the Kings. Five of their next six are on the road, with three of those games coming against contenders (if you still count Portland).
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Gorgui Dieng has filled in nicely for the injured Nikola Pekovic. Dieng has averaged 11.9 points, 13 rebounds, a steal and a block over his last eight games—six of them as a starter. He’ll have to keep it up with the Grizzlies, Heat and Spurs on the docket this week.
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The Nuggets are headed nowhere but Ty Lawson has been more than solid. He’s averaging 17.8 points and 8.8 assists despite shooting a career-low 43.2 percent from the field.
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Chris Kaman exploded for 26 points on Sunday to help the Lakers end Phoenix’s six-game winning streak. Hoping to play the role of spoiler, the Lakers were encouraged by Nick Young to be “the player haters of the year.”
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With all due respect to the Kings’ win over the Pelicans on Monday, the hoax that DeMarcus Cousins was planning to release an R&B album justifiably dominated any and all talk of the team this week. Fans and pundits alike were dreaming of what ‘Boogie Smooth’ might sounds like on the microphone.
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The Pistons have won just five of their last 23 games with the lowlight being a 25-point loss to Philly—a team that had previously dropped 26 straight games. Cleaning up Joe Dumars’ mess might be the most unenviable job in basketball.
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The Magic nearly extended their win streak to against the Raptors on Sunday, but their comeback came up just short. Tobias Harris and his teammates provided a moment of levity in this otherwise dismal season with their own version of ‘Mean Tweets’.
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A rough five-game stretch saw the Celtics drop consecutive games against the Nets, Raptors and Bulls. To their credit, the Celtics are competing every night and doing their best to establish a ‘winning’ culture. In a season when other teams seem happy to get blown out by 20 points, it’s a refreshing alternative.
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Five losses in a row continue to push the Jazz down the standings, which is right where everyone expected them to be. Tyrone Corbin’s future is in doubt and ownership has yet to commit the team’s future to the maligned coach.
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The Bucks are 2-0 against the Lakers this season—and 12-60 against the rest of the league. If only ever game was against LA.
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A win over the Pistons prevented the Sixers from earning one of the more unwanted records in sports—longest losing streak. Instead, they tied for it with the 2010-11 Cavaliers. Misery loves company.
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