Friday, March 29, 2013

NBA playoff picture: Jazz benefit from Lakers, Mavericks losses, Pacers move past Knicks


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Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Kobe and Lakers suffered a loss on Thursday night and the Mavericks followed suit, so the idle Jazz received a gift in the Western Conference playoff race. Will they take advantage?
Nobody seems to want the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks both lost on Thursday night, and Kobe Bryant now has a bone spur in his left foot that will need to be examined. The Utah Jazz made the biggest moves on Thursday, and they didn't even play a game. The Lakers hold a half-game lead over Utah for the final playoff spot, while the Mavs sit 1.5 games out of the No. 8 seed.
ESPN playoff odds now peg the Lakers with a 50.5 percent chance of taking the last spot, but that doesn't account for any injury that could slow down Kobe. The Jazz (35.4 percent odds) and Mavericks (12.3 percent odds) are still very much alive in the playoff race.
The Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks were the only two Eastern Conference playoff teams to play on Thursday, and both teams won. The Bucks were responsible for knocking off the Lakers, and with the win they pulled within two games of the Boston Celtics for the No. 7 seed. The Bucks hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, so if they match Boston they will avoid a date with the Heat.
Meanwhile, the Pacers knocked off the Mavericks to move a half-game ahead of the Knicks for the No. 2 spot. Indiana announced that Danny Granger(knee) will be shut down for the remainder of the season, but they have played well without him for most of the year. The Knicks and Pacers are in a battle to see who will start the playoffs on the opposite side of the bracket from the Miami Heat.

Western Standings

GPW-LPCT
San Antonio Spurs7154-17.761
Oklahoma City Thunder7253-19.736
Los Angeles Clippers7249-23.681
Denver Nuggets7349-24.671
Memphis Grizzlies7147-24.662
Golden State Warriors7341-32.562
Houston Rockets7139-32.549
Los Angeles Lakers7337-36.507
Utah Jazz7236-36.500
Dallas Mavericks7235-37.486
Portland Trail Blazers7133-38.465
Sacramento Kings7327-46.370
Minnesota Timberwolves7025-45.357
New Orleans Hornets7225-47.347
Phoenix Suns7323-50.315

Eastern Standings

GPW-LPCT
Miami Heat7156-15.789
Indiana Pacers7346-27.630
New York Knicks7044-26.629
Brooklyn Nets7142-29.592
Chicago Bulls7039-31.557
Atlanta Hawks7240-32.556
Boston Celtics7137-34.521
Milwaukee Bucks7135-36.493
Philadelphia 76ers7128-43.394
Toronto Raptors7126-45.366
Washington Wizards7126-45.366
Detroit Pistons7224-48.333
Cleveland Cavaliers7022-48.314
Orlando Magic7218-54.250
Charlotte Bobcats7117-54.239

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