| The Agony And The Ecstasy Authored by Matthew McQueeny - March 19, 2005 - 5:25 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
A Melo Behind The SuperstarsCarmelo Anthony has never been one of the league's most efficient offensive players.
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Maynor Using Utah’s Resources
Eric Maynor is an increasingly rare four-year, small college rookie. He sat down with RealGM to discuss how his first few weeks of NBA life has gone and what he has learned from Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan.
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Why LeBron To The Clippers Makes Sense
LeBron James already plays for a perennial underdog in Cleveland, but moving to the Clippers would allow him to do so in a huge market and with a core that will immediately compete for championships while also having an encouraging long term outlook.
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‘Home-Heavy Schedule’ Brings Question Marks
The Heat have been plagued by inconsistencies, making it difficult to determine how good they really are this season.
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More from RealGM's Columnists
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The Nets sit 4 games back of the sixth seed Indianapolis Pacers. Coincidently, the Nets have a home-and-home with the Pacers starting in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon and finishing up in Jersey on Tuesday night. They will play one more in Indianapolis in late April. The Pacers continue to give Rick Carlisle the effort but without Artest or O’neal, and with the urgency of the games for New Jersey, the Nets need to take care of business if they are serious and poised for the playoffs.
The Nets are 3.5 games back of the seventh seed Chicago Bulls. New Jersey swept the season series 4-0, so there is not much more that they can do themselves to gain ground on the Bulls. The Bulls are quite young, however, and might just slip up themselves.
Lastly, the Nets are 2.5 games back of the eight seed Sixers. Whoever gets this seed will be dismantled by Miami, so the prospects of making the playoffs in this position are somewhat dire. However, it is the playoffs. The Nets have one more meeting with Philly in April. Philadelphia also still has a quick 3-game western swing where they could slip up. The Webber deal has not made an impact on their team and he has become a 20 million dollar a year role player, so there will probably be an implosion of some sort before the conclusion of the season. The Sixers may go the way of the Magic, who are right in front of the Nets, and just fall off the playoff cliff.
This season has been tough for New Jersey from the start. With Kidd and Carter, they are basically a .500 team. So, it is hard to look at the schedule and see them going on a prolonged winning streak. Going .500 the rest of the way will give them 37 or 38 wins. Will that be enough to get them in to the NBA playoffs? Will it give them a better seed than a Miami Heat first round tune up for the big boys? We shall see.
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