NBA notes and observations

The playoff picture is coming into focus, with most of the NBA teams only having about 20 or so games remaining in the regular season. For all the world, it seems the Cleveland Cavaliers will be the top seed in the Eastern Conference, with the Boston Celtics following close behind. In the West, it’s all about the race for the No. 1 line between the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs. The winner of that race has the inside track to another Finals appearance.

However, the intrigue is in the meat of the conferences. The East doesn’t have a team that can truly compete with Cleveland, provided Kevin Love is back on the court come the conference finals. The question is which team out of the gaggle can give Boston a run for its money in the second round of the postseason? The Washington Wizards are playing very well down the stretch, with John Wall and Bradley Beal continuing to show why they should be respected.

The Toronto Raptors made some moves at the deadline, especially picking up P.J. Tucker from the Phoenix Suns and Serge Ibaka from the Orlando Magic. Combined with the prolific backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, Toronto could make some teams sweat it out, including Cleveland, which it took to six games in the conference finals last season.

In the West, the Houston Rockets remain a team that nobody can quite figure out. James Harden is playing out of his mind, but the rest of the roster is nothing to write home about. Harden is likely the MVP of the league, which is really saying something in a year where Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double.

At 45-21, Houston has the label of favorite in the first round regardless of who the opponent is (and wouldn’t it be great to see it play the Oklahoma City Thunder and Westbrook?), but would be a significant underdog against either the Warriors or Spurs. Still, Harden has the ability to win any game at any time against any team, making the rockets very dangerous.

The Utah Jazz are the other team that nobody seems to be talking about. Utah is led by a pair of true superstars in Rudy Gobert and Gordon Hayward, who continue to lead a scrappy team toward home-court advantage in the first round. Should Utah win in the initial round, it would look for a massive upset against the top seed.