Today’s edition of HeatCheck featured two especially tough choices. Over the past week, 7 teams went without a win and 7 teams had an unblemished record. Roughly half the league had streaks of either all wins or all losses, so there were plenty to choose from.
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| Team | Season Record | Previous Week’s Record |
| Washington Wizards | 5-8 | 3-1 |
| This was a tough choice between the Los Angeles Lakers, a fringe playoff team, and the Washington Wizards, also a fringe playoff team without as much playoff history. The Wizards did lose a game over the past week, but they have resurrected their season with a 3-1 stretch since last Tuesday. After a disappointingly slow start to what was hyped as a playoff season, the Wizards sat at 2-7 following a tough overtime loss at home to the Cavaliers. Then, the Wizards regrouped with a 2-day layoff before they faced the Timberwolves at home. An impressive home win against Minnesota was followed up with an even more impressive win on the road against the Cavaliers, giving quick revenge for Washington.However, the Wizards had a rough trip north of the border, suffering an 8-point loss to a much better Raptors team than they had last year. Wall scored a season-high 37 points, but aside from he and Bradley Beal, no other players put up much offensively during the loss. The Wizards finished off the week with a solid win at home against the reeling Knicks, and Wall yet again put up 30+ points. Cleveland and Minnesota figure to be in the playoff race, and the Knicks are very easily a playoff contender despite their rough start, so these three wins have been pretty impressive for a team with such a slow start. | ||
| Lottery Spin | ||
| The Wizards were predicted by many (including this writer) to be a playoff team at season’s end. However, starting 2-7 doesn’t necessarily reinforce those opinions. Now that it looks like the Wizards have found the win button on their playoff machine, mostly due to John Wall’s averages of 24.25 PPG and 8.5 APG during this span, there is a strong possibility that they avoid the Lottery next June. Given the Eastern Conference’s historically bad overall records for the teams fighting for the final playoff spot, the Wizards are actually in position to capture a spot higher than 8th this year. I expect the Wizards to finish around 7th in the East this year. | ||
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| Team | Season Record | Previous Week’s Record |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 2-11 | 0-4 |
| Wow. The Bucks make the Ice Cold spot for the 2nd straight week, and all I can say about it is wow. With an NBA-leading 9-game losing streak, the Bucks simply can’t find ways to stay in games. The three closest losses during this streak were on the road against Orlando, a 94-91 loss, a 115-107 overtime loss in Philly, and a 91-83 loss at home against Dallas. Aside from these three, the loss margin for these games has been just over 19 points per contest.The first loss came at the hands of the league’s hottest team, Portland. The Blazers won by 9 at home against the Bucks, then the Bucks found themselves in an overtime battle with one of the league’s most confusing teams, the Sixers. The next night, the Bobcats dismantled the Bucks to the tune of a 24-point win, the first double-digit win for the Cats in the 2013-14 campaign. On Monday, the Bucks traveled to Motown and left with a 19-point defeat to the talented, new-look Pistons squad. | ||
| Lottery Spin | ||
| As stated last week, the Bucks have to be at full strength to have a shot at a playoff berth. Luckily, 13 players were available for the Bucks for Monday night’s contest against the Pistons. While the results weren’t desirable, the production should come after the injured players shake off a bit more rust, especially Brandon Knight. John Henson continues to be one of the most impressive young big men in the league, and OJ Mayo is leading the team in points per game as expected. However, 14.8 PPG isn’t necessarily thrilling to see from your leading scorer. The Bucks have a worse record than every team not located in Utah, and the teams directly ahead of them in the East (Brooklyn, New York, and Cleveland) all have the potential to make the playoffs immediately. I don’t believe the Bucks will finish dead last per se, but it wouldn’t be much of a surprise at this point. I’m expecting they’ll finish 15th in the East at this point, but Philly, Boston, and Orlando all could compete for that spot by season’s end. | ||
By Jon Elliott
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