There are hot teams and there are cold teams in the NBA right now.
With the postseason starting two weeks from this Saturday, most head coaches would prefer not to be the latter. Unless, of course, they happen to be coaching a lottery team, then being cold is perfectly alright. But that’s something totally different. We’re talking about teams in the playoff hunt, teams that might still be playing games after the regular season ends in two weeks.
Here are three of the hottest, and three of the coldest teams in the NBA right now.
Hot: Boston Celtics
With Cleveland losing to San Antonio earlier this week, the Celtics ascended to the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings only to drop back into second place after losing to Milwaukee on Wednesday night. But the Celtics are still hot, having won eight of their last 11 games, and star point guard Isaiah Thomas is on a hot streak of his own, having scored 30 or more points in three straight games.
Boston is right where it wants to be, jockeying for first place in the East with two weeks left in the regular season.
Cold: Atlanta Hawks
Last Sunday’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Hawks’ seventh in a row, matched their longest losing streak of the season. They have managed to slow the bleeding with back-to-back wins this week, but the damage has been done.
While the Hawks were struggling, Milwaukee, which has won 13 of its last 16 games, moved into a tie with Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. On top of that, star forward Paul Millsap, who has missed seven consecutive games with knee tightness, will miss at least three more games due to injury.
Atlanta doesn’t need this right now considering how close the East playoff race is. A mere few games separate the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth-place teams.
Hot: Golden State Warriors
The Warriors extended their winning streak to nine straight games with a big road win over San Antonio on Wednesday night. They had lost the previous three meetings against the Spurs this season. The win helped the Warriors increase their lead over San Antonio to 3 1/2 games for first place in the Western Conference standings. And that’s not all.
Star forward Kevin Durant, who hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury Mar. 28 against Washington, has been making good progress and might be able the return before the start of the playoffs if all goes well during his recovery. So the NBA’s hottest team right now could be even hotter heading into the playoffs if Durant is healthy.
Cold: Detroit Pistons
The Pistons, who halted a six-year playoff drought last season, are in danger of missing the postseason. They’ve lost eight of their last nine games, including a heartbreaking one-point loss on Tuesday after Miami’s Hassan Whiteside tipped in the game-winning shot as time expired. The Heat won again on Wednesday, pushing Detroit even further out of the playoff picture.
The Pistons are now three games back of eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, and climbing out of their funk won’t be easy in the slightest. Of their final seven regular-season games, five are against teams that are above .500 and firmly in control of a playoff spot: at Milwaukee, vs. Toronto, at Houston, at Memphis, vs. Washington.
Hot: San Antonio Spurs
Despite Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, the Spurs are still quite warm. They’ve won seven of their last nine games, and they’re playing good basketball right now. In addition to ranking second in points allowed per game (98.3), San Antonio also has the fifth-best field-goal percentage at 47.2 percent.
That the Spurs didn’t beat Golden State this time isn’t concerning because they already beat the Warriors three times this season. However, the loss doesn’t help San Antonio’s pursuit of first place in the West. With eight games to go, there’s still a slight chance the Spurs can pull it off, but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t.
Cold: Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavaliers’ blowout loss in San Antonio Monday was their fourth defeat in six games. For the defending champions, that’s a big deal, and it could be costly unless they get back on track. Boston is nipping at their heels for first place and third-place Washington isn’t far behind either.
The Cavaliers will head to Chicago Thursday in search of a much-needed win, but those have been hard to come by against the Bulls. Chicago has been perfect against the Cavaliers this season and needs just one more win to sweep the season series.
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