The Warriors were 55-5. The Lakers were 12-51. But anything can happen in this league, and it did on Sunday. The Lakers had to come through on at least one of those national TV games, didn’t they?
We can make assumptions about how the standings will look after April 13, based on how teams have played thus far, who actually has something to play for, and strength of schedule. But there are going to be a few results every week that challenge our assumptions and throw the playoff picture into chaos.
It looks like we have 10 teams in the East and nine in the West that are still alive. But there are 294 more games to be played and there are surely a few more surprises to shake things up.
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Last week: History happening in two places
This time last year: Still a clear top two after Hawks thwart Cavs — The Nuggets fired Brian Shaw and Wesley Matthews tore his Achilles. Joel Embiid threw down an East Bay Funk Dunk in warmups, Russell Westbrook took off against the Sixers, Marc Gasol beat the Rockets with a fadeaway runner, and Stephen Curry hit a ridiculous shot after dancing through the Clippers’ defense.
Plus-minus stud: Goran Dragic (MIA) was a plus-58 in four games last week.
Plus-minus dud: Robert Covington (PHI) was a minus-63 in four games last week.
Hero team of the week: Cleveland (3-0) — LeBron James went to Miami and tweeted out some goofy stuff, but the Cavs took care of business at home, beating two East playoff teams (Indiana and Boston) and another playoff hopeful (Washington).
Zero team of the week: New Orleans (0-3) — The Pelicans booked Dell Demps’ trip to the Lottery with losses to the eighth-place Rockets and ninth-place Jazz.
Team to watch this week: Oklahoma City — The Thunder are struggling, especially defensively. But they face two more tests with top-six offenses — the Clippers and Spurs — this week
East vs. West: The West is 190-172 (.525) against the East in interconference games, though the East was 14-10 (3-1 vs. Portland) last week.
Toughest schedules so far: 1. L.A. Lakers, 2. Sacramento, 3. Philadelphia
Easiest schedules so far: 1. San Antonio, 2. Memphis, 3. Oklahoma City
Schedule strength is based on cumulative opponent record, and adjusted for home vs. away and days of rest before a game.
High jumps of the week: Charlotte (+3), Milwaukee (+3), Cleveland (+2), L.A. Clippers (+2)
Free falls of the week: New Orleans (-3), Oklahoma City (-3), Brooklyn (-2), Portland (-2)
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Pace: Possessions per 48 minutes (League Rank)
OffRtg: Points scored per 100 possessions (League Rank)
DefRtg: Points allowed per 100 possessions (League Rank)
NetRtg: Point differential per 100 possessions (League Rank)
The league has averaged 98.1 possessions (per team) per 48 minutes and 103.5 points scored per 100 possessions this season.
