The first half of the NBA season has ended! Man, was that fast. At this point in the season NBA teams are either trying to win games in order to get into the playoffs or lose games in order to get a higher pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Please join us as we take a division by division look at the NBA and what you might be able to expect for the rest of the regular season.
Atlantic Division
Three teams from this division (Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers) should make the playoffs. Let’s take a closer look at the division.
Toronto Raptors: Currently sitting in the top spot in the Eastern Conference and winners of nine of their last ten games this Raptors team has been solid at home (24-4) and the road (17-12) with the highest point’s differential in the Eastern Conference (+8.1). The Raptors face ten below .500 teams in the second half and are 23-2 this season against lottery bound competition.
Prediction: The Raptors should handedly win the Atlantic Division and barring injury to Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan should head into the playoffs as the number one seed in the East.
Boston Celtics: Losing All Star forward Gordon Hayward five minutes into the season should have doomed the Celtics yet they head into the second half as the two seed in the East. More surprisingly the Celtics have the best defense in the NBA and have become a much better rebounding team. Boston is 20-5 this season against .500 teams; ten of their final 23 games this season are against below .500 teams that bode well for them hanging on to the number two seed.
Prediction: If the Celtics are going to catch the Raptors they will have to find a way to score the ball more consistently. I don’t think they will and I see them as the number two seed in the East.
Philadelphia 76ers: After several seasons of self-inflicted mediocrity the 76ers have found themselves in the thick of the playoff hunt. The 76ers finished the first half with a five game winning streak and currently are hanging on to the seventh seed in the East with a three game lead over the Detroit Pistons. The 76ers have a favorable second half schedule with 17 of their final 27 games against below .500 teams.
Prediction: The 76ers have arguably the easiest second half schedule in the NBA. They also have the ability to put away weaker teams. If they can they make the playoffs; if they can’t they won’t. I think they can and should enter the playoffs as either the 6th or 8th seed in the East.
New York Knicks: Losing All Star Kristaps Porzingis for the season hurt the Knicks playoff hopes but going 7-24 on the road and a 106.7 defensive efficiency rating this season probably didn’t help much either. The Knicks enter the second half mired in an eight game losing streak and with little to no chance of making the playoffs the Knicks will more than likely enter tank mode as they look ahead to the 2018-2019 season.
Prediction: No matter what Knicks players like Enes Kanter think the Knicks aren’t going to make the playoffs. Hopefully the Knicks Front Office is preparing for the 2019 season because Knicks fans like me have had enough.
Brooklyn Nets: Losing D’Angelo Russell for a good chunk of the season all but crushed any hope for the Nets this season. Losing Jeremy Lynn for the entire season wasn’t ideal either. The Nets enter the second half of the season on a seven game losing streak in full tank mode; the Nets are 9-12 against below .500 teams and with 12 of their final 23 games are against teams with below .500 records they might not wind up with the worst record in the NBA.
Prediction: The Nets play exciting ball at home and with six of their final nine home games coming against teams with below .500 teams hopefully we see a snapshot of what could be a better future for the Nets in 2019.
Next up……the NBA Central Division.
Follow Phil @Flashtennis31 and The Phil Naessens Show.
