| | By Eric Karabell
ESPN.com
The Bucks won 85-83 at Orlando on Monday night to clinch the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth, but there are a number of other key games this three-day week (playoffs start Saturday). We continue our Monday feature in which we'll examine the playoff races in each conference and look ahead to the games that could help shape them.
(All records and matchups are through the games of Tuesday, April 18):
| Western Conference |
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Eastern Conference |
1. Lakers (67-14) vs.
8. Kings (44-37)
The skinny: Sacramento dropped three of four against L.A., but the games were close, and the Kings can run with the Lakers. |
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1. Pacers (55-26) vs.
8. Bucks (41-40)
The skinny: It went down to the wire, and now we have a rematch of last year's first-round series, which Indiana swept. |
2. Jazz (54-27) vs.
7. Sonics (45-36)
The skinny: Sonics, who didn't have a chance against the dominant Lakers, believe they at least have a shot against the aging Jazz. |
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2. Heat (52-29) vs.
7. Pistons (41-40)
The skinny: Talk about two teams going in hurting; Heat have better shot to win sans Tim Hardaway than Pistons do without Grant Hill. |
3. Blazers (59-22) vs.
6. Wolves (50-31)
The skinny: We're thinking the Blazers will be fine when the games really count. They've had the third seed locked up for two months now. |
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3. Knicks (50-31) vs.
6. Raptors (45-36)
The skinny: It's not just a few losses -- the Knicks have looked bad lately, lifeless in Toronto and Cleveland. Still, like Portland, it's all about the postseason. |
4. Suns (52-29) vs.
5. Spurs (52-29)
The skinny: Phoenix failed to beat Houston at home Tuesday, hurting its chances of home-court advantage against the Spurs. |
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4. 76ers (49-33) vs.
5. Hornets (48-33)
The skinny: More than a few experts will pick the winner of this series as an NBA Finals dark horse. |
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Upcoming games to watch |
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Lakers at San Antonio (Wednesday): Only thing on the line here might be home court in the first round for the Spurs. Still, the Lakers have to know that the Spurs loom in round two, and they are the defending champs. That's the way it's supposed to be, anyway. If you want to win, knock off the previous winner. Tim Duncan may not play in this game, but the Spurs will care.
Sacramento at Utah (Wednesday): No matter what the seeding looks like, you know the Kings want to win this one.
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What's up (and down)
Two on the spot: George Karl is absolutely on the spot. The Bucks looked like a contender for the Central Division title in November. You've got the highest scoring troika this side of California and role players to rebound and defend, though more often than not they haven't done that. The Bucks aren't a bad road team -- in fact, their 18 road wins are only one off the East lead. Karl, who may have said a little extra in his pregame talk, may just have saved his job with Monday's two-point win at Orlando.
Out West, Seattle has been so bad recently (except for that nice win in Houston on Sunday) that the Sonics can't be expected to get that No. 7 seed. But Rick Adelman's Kings were expected to get at least that spot and meet the Jazz in a rematch of last year's best first-round series (with apologies to the Knicks). Kings don't really want the Lakers. No team wants the Lakers.
Sacramento remains a difficult team to figure out. You can't fault them too much for their play the last week, as the opponents were the Blazers, Lakers, Spurs, Suns and Wolves (all losses), but still you'd expect a young, loosey-goosey team like this to win at least one of these. Last season the Kings snuck up on everybody, especially the Jazz in the playoffs. That can't happen this year. The Jazz will be ready. The Kings need to play better, or they won't be sending any series to a fifth game.
On the rise: Philly and Charlotte each had great weeks, and are going to meet this weekend. It's not a huge deal which team hosts, though with only 11 losses at home for each, it is an advantage. For Philly, the play of Toni Kukoc has been critical the last few weeks. While Allen Iverson deals with injuries to numerous body parts, Kukoc has played a bigger role and the Sixers have been more balanced. The Hornets have been winning because their big front line has dominated everyone. They may have their way with the Sixers as well.
Out West, only the Lakers are on a streak with more than two straight wins. So look at Dallas for a second. Sure, the Mavs won't make the playoffs and won't win half their games, but Cuban's bunch closes with the Lakers and Wolves. And these games do matter to guys like Michael Finley.
On the fall: The Heat have won the games they needed to in the past week, but with Alonzo Mourning's brief benching and Tim Hardaway's newest injury, this is a team that is going into the playoffs with issues. Anthony Carter is just a rookie, and while he has had his moments this season in lieu of Hardaway, he's not ready for this. Luckily for him, the Pistons don't have a dominant point guard either, as Lindsey Hunter seldom has the ball in his hands and camps out at the three-point line. But if it were Cassell or David Wesley, it could matter.
Out West, what can you say about the Clips? It's not 16 straight losses. Jim Todd is 3-31. The final two games are against Portland and Seattle, so there are no wins here. Brutal, brutal team.
Trend to watch: Don't look for too many great healthy players to sit the next few days. The Lakers might hold Shaq to 30 minutes rather than 40, but he won't sit. Allen Iverson will play. Rik Smits has his minutes all over the place anyway. Patrick Ewing isn't sitting. Arvydas Sabonis, he could use a few minutes.
But with the injury risks, the Pistons don't need to get Grant Hill back in there. Tim Duncan isn't likely to suit up. It's just not worth it, especially with the guys who are so critical to their teams. So when it comes to who plays as the regular season closes, the healthy guys play, the others don't.
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