Can you believe the Knicks are in playoff contention?
March 3, 2021
Last issue was all about the Western Conference, such as how awesome the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns had been. They are both still doing well, holding the first and the fourth spots in the Western Conference respectively.
However, this week’s hot topic belongs to the Eastern Conference.
Three teams, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks, are all winning streak (six games, five games, and three games respectively). This brought the Bucks into third place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, the Knicks into fourth place, and the Heat into fifth place.
I understand that it is way too early to celebrate the team’s success, but it is definitely great to see the Knicks in the top four during any regular season. Currently, the Knicks are 1.5 games ahead of the Pacers, the ninth-place team, so the ranking can flip flop at any moment. Still, it is great to see the Knicks doing better.
How about the Bucks?
I know the story this year is all about the Philadelphia 76ers with their new head coach Doc Rivers and the Brooklyn Nets with their new head coach Steve Nash and three superstars, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. However, the Bucks are always a tough team to beat and they are capable of beating anybody.
The Bucks just need to make sure that their starters and bench stay away from injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the Western Conference, it seems like four teams are separating themselves from the rest including the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns.
It is refreshing to see the Jazz and the Suns in the top four, but they got young superstars Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker pushing the teams. The addition to Chris Paul gives the Suns a balanced offense and defense, so we will see if Paul gets to see a final game stage this year.