NBA Playoffs Scenarios and NCAA Tournament Final

But first, a long overdue update on the WBC.

So, the WBC is over. Japan won. A note on that: I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to see this become a battle between the Far East teams. That's just a thought. It should be the WORLD Baseball Classic, and the event has many issues yet to be worked out.

Now, to the real topic of this blog post. In the NBA, the Suns seem to be lost. At 42-35, a loss will cost them the playoffs. In a 9-team conference (10th place Golden State is 14 games behind Phoenix) the Suns have been struggling to get back into the picture. A Dallas Mavericks win will clinch the final playoff spot while much in the East is yet to be decided. Allowing 140 points to the team you're chasing last night won't help the Suns either.

-The Cavaliers have gotten their home record to 37-1 (the only blip was a loss to the Lakers). I hope that someone can spoil the fun soon (for MJ's 95-96 Bulls, please).

-At the 6th seed in the East, the 76ers have clinched a playoff spot. At 7th is Ben Gordon (above) and the Bulls then 8th is Tayshaun Prince (right) and the Pistons. The Bobcats are 9th and the Pacers are 10th. Playoff scenarios:

-For the Indiana Pacers to get into the playoffs, the Pistons must lose all 5 remaining games while the Pacers win all of theirs. Meanwhile, the Bobcats must lose two of their five remaining games. Basically, a Pistons win can eliminate the Pacers.

-For the Charlotte Bobcats to get into the playoffs, the Pistons must lose three of the next five while the Bobcats win four. If the Pistons win four or the Bobcats lose two, the Pistons seal off the 8th spot.
-The Bulls follow the same scenarios as the Pistons seeing as they have identical records despite the Bulls holding the tiebreaker.
-What happened to the Milwaukee Bucks? The Bucks once held the 8th spot and the Bulls were chasing them and now their record has fallen to 32-46, good for the 12th seed including 2-8 in their last ten games.

The NCAA tourney wraps up with the title game featuring UNC and MSU. I don't really follow college basketball, so in case you're wondering, my bracket is doing bad after I had the Illini make it to the Sweet 16. For this one, I've got Kalin Lucas and MSU.

NBA Trade Deadline Deals

In a major surprise, the Chicago Bulls appear to have been the biggest winner at the deadline. GM John Paxson was hanging on a thread, but made three moves. The biggest was first, dealing F Andres Nocioni and F Drew Gooden to the Sacremento Kings for C Brad Miller and G John Salmons. This was a total steal, because Salmons is a great scorer, 18 PPG. At that point the Bulls had John Salmons, Larry Hughes, Ben Gordon, Derrick Rose, and Thabo Sefolosha all competing for the two guard spots. So, some had to be delt. Larry Hughes was sent to New York for Tim Thomas and Jerome James, while Thabo Sefolosha was sent to the New Orleans Hornets for a first-round draft pick in the upcoming draft. In other deals, Rafer Alston was sent to the Orlando Magic from the Houston Rockets to replace Jameer Nelson who is injured. There was no big superstar moves like last season, when we saw Jason Kidd, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and others move. Shaq was again on the rumors possibly going to Cleveland for Ben Wallace and Wally Sczierbiak or Pavlovic. No deal was done, much like for Amar'e Stoudamire. The Suns are rejunvinated under their new coach. I can see the Suns making the 6th seed when all is done. This refilled Bulls team that has many new guys replacing traded guys will make the playoffs and could work their way up the seeds, too. The Celtics made no deals, and are slipping in the East.