The Four NBA Teams to Clinch Playoff Berths
With the NBA Playoffs beginning in just a matter of weeks, the best of the best are already clinching playoff berths and predictions and analyses are already starting to fly. Here’s a look at the four teams that have already claimed their spot, and how they’re likely to do once playoffs start.
The Bulls might be the favored team going into the playoffs, if only because they’re the number one team and as such, they were the first to claim their playoff spot. The biggest problem for the Bulls will be the Heat, and these two will most likely meet at some point. The Bulls are going to have to get every rebound they can when playing against the Big Three of the Heat, and they’ll have to take advantage of the fact that the Heat virtually never play the low post position.
The Miami Heat have taken up the majority of space in many sports headlines, columns and newspapers this year and with the Big Three to watch, it’s no wonder why. The Heat are currently in second place, and are going to be the biggest threat to the Bulls, if both teams can make it that far. The Heat have fallen apart in the last few weeks and despite a stellar season, it couldn’t be a worse time for it so close to the playoffs. That same three that carried them through the beginning of the season are now starting to show signs of injuries and sluggish play. The rest of the team that’s faded into the background during the meanwhile though, all seem to be stepping up their play in order to make up for it. When it comes to the Heat’s playoff run, it might come down to a matter of who’s head is most in the game at the time.
While the Bulls and the Heat may have taken all the talk over the regular season, no one should count them out as a genuine playoff contender. They are one of the youngest teams in the league, which gives their legs more speed on the court and helps them deal with the shortened season while off of it. Add to that mix the fact that they’re also the best passing team in the league; and that their record of being second in the west speaks for themselves, and you have a team that could move on to take it all.
Sitting just above the Spurs in the Western conference standings are the Oklahoma City Thunder, and this is the team in the West that most have been paying attention to all year round. Already having clinched their northwestern division, this team is going to be the biggest competition for all those other teams in the East once they eventually meet — and that’s if the Thunder can beat the Spurs. As it stands now, that’s seems like the most likely possibility, but we all know that anything can happen in the playoffs.
Categorized in: NBA