Here in the rotation, we don't condone public indecency in any way. However, it's hard to ignore that there has been a lot of streaking going on around the NBA lately.
It may not be the kind of streaking you might see overseas at a soccer game or at some sort of PETA rally, but it's certainly altered the playoff picture in the NBA right now.
And while we won't be stripping down and racing to the quad any time soon, this week's Starting Five consists of five of the most prominent streaking teams in the NBA right now.
Starting Five
1. Utah Jazz's 11-game winning streak
Quite simply, no one is playing better basketball than the Jazz right now. They have the best record in the league since February 1st, going 14-1. They are healthy (Carlos Boozer had started six straight games before missing Sunday with an ankle injury, but is expected to be back on Tuesday), motivated (they haven't lost since the passing of Larry Miller), and red-hot (averaging 106 points per game during their 11-game winning streak).
That Jazz's recent success has catapulted them to the top of the Northwest Division and into the three-seed out West. Deron Williams is playing his best basketball of the season, registering double-figure assists in 11 straight games before only tallying 9 in Sunday's win in Toronto.
The Jazz, notoriously one of the toughest teams to beat at home, need all the momentum they can get going into the stretch run. Twelve of their remaining 18 games are on the road and they're going to need to continue to play at this high level if they want to hold on to their very slim lead over the Nuggets for the very crucial Northwest Division crown and the four-seed that likely comes with it.
2. New Orleans Hornets' 7-game winning streak
Let me get this straight, you mean to tell me that not trading your starting center for a bag of balls and some salary relief puts you in better position to make a late season push? That just doesn't make any sense.
Yet here were are, just weeks after a trade that would have sent Tyson Chandler to the Thunder was rescinded over a lingering toe injury, proving that in fact a contending team is better off not trading away one of its key pieces and essentially getting nothing in return.
The Hornets haven't lost since Tyson Chandler rejoined the team on February 23rd, and have pulled to within a half game of the Houston Rockets for the three-seed in the West.
With seven of their next 10 games against teams below .500, the Hornets have a chance to put themselves in the driver's seat in the Western Conference playoff race and gain some separation from the very congested rest of the pack, and are playing too good right now to believe that they'll do anything different.
Of course, any slight hiccups on the upcoming four-game East Coast trip and the Hornets could just as easily find themselves in the unfortunate position of having to play the Lakers or Spurs in the first round.
Such is life in the hotly-contested Western Conference.
3. Charlotte Bobcats' franchise-best 6-game winning streak
Don't look now, but Larry Brown has the young Bobcats overachieving and just a game back of the Chicago Bulls for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Enjoy it while it lasts, Bobcats fans, both in the short-term and long-term, because consecutive games against the Spurs and Rockets this week ought to be the end of the winning streak, and it's only a matter of time before Larry Brown skips town and hands the team over to someone less likely to be able to maximize this team's talent.
Still, this season has been a very positive one for the Bobcats, and this strong finish, playoffs or not, will give the Bobcats some confidence and momentum going into the offseason.
4. Houston Rockets' 11-game home winning streak
The Rockets' last lost at home on January 28th, 95-93 to the 76ers. Since then, the Rockets have lost Tracy McGrady for the season to microfracture surgery and traded away their starting point guard, Rafer Alston, to the Orlando Magic.
Despite all that, the Rockets have played their best basketball of the season in the face of adversity, eerily similar to last season when the rattled off 22 consecutive victories after losing Yao Ming in mid-February.
The emergence of young players like Aaron Brooks and Von Wafer has helped push the Rockets into third position in the West and proven yet again that this team can still compete even without one of its most important pieces.
But with 13 of the Rockets' final 19 games against teams in the playoff picture, they are going to need even more brilliant play from their role players if they want to hold on to the home court advantage they'd currently have and so desperately need if they are going to finally get over the round one hump.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves' 9-game losing streak
Not all streaking is good streaking, however. Since the calendar changed over to 2009, the Minnesota Timberwolves have experienced both the good and the bad that comes with being streaky.
The T-Wolves started the New Year by rolling off wins in 10 of their first 12 games of 2009, only to have the wheels come completely off when Al Jefferson suffered a season ending knee injury in early February.
The Wolves, who looked like they had turned over a new leaf under new/old head coach Kevin McHale, have fallen back to their old and familiar ways, losing 11 of the 12 games they've played since Jefferson got hurt, including the last nine by an average of 12 points per game.
This late-season collapse could have a silver lining to it, as these losses surely won't hurt their lottery chances this May, but it's still a disappointing finish to a season that, for the first time in a long time, actually showed some promise for the Timberwolves.
In the Rotation: LeBron vs. Wade
This week, the NBA treated us to a double-dose of the best head-to-head matchup in the league right now. Everyone wants to talk about Kobe vs. LeBron or Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams, but time after time, when LeBron James and Dwyane Wade step on the floor together, they put on a show.
The two have been remarkable against each other in head-to-head matchups in their career; LeBron averaging 28.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game and Wade putting up 27.2, 5.4, and 6.8 in their 19 regular season matchups against each other (LeBron's Cavs have the slight 10-9 lead over the Heat).
This week's two matchups in six days would meet the already high standards these two superstars have set for themselves over the past six seasons. Wade came into Monday's game in Miami having just been named East Player of the Month for February, while LeBron and the Cavs had won seven of their last eight.
Monday's game turned into a shootout between the two early (both players scored over 20 in the first half) and would finish that way as well, as LeBron and his 42 points was enough to outlast Wade's 41-point, 12-assist, 7-steal performance as the Cavaliers beat the Heat in Miami 107-100.
The encore in the Q on Saturday would not be as climatic as the Cavs held the upper hand most of the game, led by LeBron's 21st career triple-double. Mo Williams stole the show with 12 points in the final seven minutes and Wade was ejected late as the Cavs won by 10.
While the second game may not have been as much of a head-to-head shootout as were accustomed to seeing when these two players take the court, the overall play of the two this week did not disappoint.
LeBron averaged 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists in the two games and achieved a triple-double, while Wade averaged 33 points, 7.5 rebounds, 10.5 assists, and 5.5 steals as the two showed once again why they are the most fun head-to-head battle to watch in the NBA.
Out of the Rotation: Phoenix Suns
Remember how impressive those three 140-point games were to start the Alvin Gentry era? Me either.
What a batch of fool's gold that turned out to be. The consensus at the time seemed to be, "I don't care who they're playing, 140 points is impressive." Really? Since when is blowing out the two worst teams in the league three times in four nights ground-breaking stuff? Isn't that what good teams are supposed to do?
I can't imagine the Spurs or Lakers going through that same stretch and thinking to themselves, "So what if this is the Clippers and Thunder, we've really found our groove now."
Instead, the Suns sold themselves and their fans that they were back to prominence by beating up on the NBA's junior varsity squads. Well, unfortunately for Alvin Gentry and the rest of the seven seconds or less gang, the Clippers and Thunder don't pop up on the schedule as much as they need them to.
Since Terry Porter was fired and Gentry reinstalled the seven seconds or less offense, the Suns are 1-6 against teams with a winning record. They are 5-0 against teams with losing records.
Porter and his slower, defensive-minded style may not have necessarily been the solution for the Suns, but the fact is he was 15-15 against teams over .500. Porter's style may not have been as fan-friendly, but at least it kept the Suns competitive.
Now, the Suns sacrificed competitiveness (minus 9.4 point differential against winning teams under Gentry) for the sake of being able to beat up on terrible teams (plus 23 point differential against losing teams under Gentry), and it's ultimately going to cost them a trip to the postseason.
Unless, of course, the Suns can somehow swap out some or their remaining games for a few extra visits from the Clippers.
Inactive list: Shaq
Shaq becomes the first ever repeat Inactive List offender as he makes the list for the second time this season.
As you may recall, Shaq was given this dubious distinction in week 3 for his role in an on-court skirmish with the Rockets and his ridiculously flagrant foul on Rodney Stuckey.
This week, Shaq was doing what he does best, not letting bygones be bygones, and got into a war of words over flopping with former coach Stan Van Gundy.
Van Gundy, rightfully so, called out Shaq for flopping while trying to draw an offensive foul on Dwight Howard Tuesday night. All he was doing was making a point of how hypocritical it is for Shaq, of all people, to flop.
Shaq even admitted that he was flopping on the play, and that should have been the end of it. Shaq was wrong to try to flop and he knew it, Van Gundy was right to call him out on it and that could have and should have been the end of it.
Instead, Shaq responded with a few tangents about Van Gundy being a "nobody" and a "master of panic," ensuring that he would remain in the headlines for yet another week.
I think Shaq's having a great season, and I would much rather use this space to give him credit for exceeding all my expectations (18 points and 9 boards at age 37 is downright impressive), but I can't get past the fact Shaq just seems unwilling to fade into retirement and let his stellar play in his final years be the punctuation mark on a Hall of Fame career.
Instead, he feels compelled continually call out former players and coaches regularly (mind you, it's only been eight months since he rapped about Kobe) as a seemingly desperate attempt to continually prove himself as the alpha dog of any situation.
The Suns are four games out of the eight-seed with 17 games to play. There are more important things to worry about than ex-coaches, and until Shaq starts to see it that way, he's The Big Inactive in my book.
Be sure to check back at Sports Central every Monday to see who cracks Scott Shepherd's rotation as he breaks down what is going on around the NBA.
Leave a Comment