OKC, Cavs, Remain Atop Realistic Power Rankings Entering March
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The Cleveland Cavaliers became the first team to capture 50 wins this season, and the Oklahoma City Thunder followed suit on the other day. It seems that these two teams are continuing to be the driving power of competitive basketball – leading atop their respective conferences and moving toward the playoff scene.
Being able to clinch the first playoff spot of the season is no easy feat for the Cavaliers, who have managed to stave off the defending champion Boston Celtics after being down as much as 22 points, which continues to bring them to the top of the league now more than ever.
The Thunder, on the other hand, continue to put distance between them and the rest of the competition, and it is easy to say that the team continues to find ways to win, with the first half of the season massively focused on their defense, while this post All-Star Break run being able to emphasize more on their offense.
Both teams won’t meet each other for the rest of the season, but there are indeed high hopes that we will see a seven-game series between these two teams – which would be the NBA Finals – should they both enjoy a deep run in the postseason.
Cavaliers Locking Up the Eastern Conference
The Cavs don’t really have any other key opponent to look out for other than the Boston Celtics – who, given the state of things should the playoffs begin today, would be their potential opponent in the postseason not until the Eastern Conference Finals. New York is a contender as well, but they haven’t won any games against the Celtics or the Cavaliers themselves.
The Atlanta Hawks, however, have been the only team to defeat the Cavaliers twice this season aside from Boston, which seriously says a lot about how they could be a threat to Cleveland’s hopes considering that they are a potential Play-In opponent.
The Cavaliers are making history this season. They are the first non-LeBron James version of this team to be able to reach 40 wins before 20 losses and be on the pace for 60 games in a season. Everything is starting to be great for the Cavaliers so far, and this season could continue to get even better with the campaign closing down on the final weeks now more than ever.
Winning another set of 10 games in a row, the Cavaliers have really put in the work at this point in time, and they are certainly getting better push with the way they are playing right now, which should be quite promising with the way it has taken place over the course of the season not once, but twice.
OKC on the Run
The Thunder have the biggest gap (yes, bigger than the Cavs’) over any other team in the NBA with 10 ½ games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets for the top seed in the Western Conference. Sure, they have seen some tough stretches so far in some of their previous games, but the team is getting some impressive looks on the offensive end so far.
Opening the season with the best defense in the league is a huge boon, but now their offense is showing off as the team now plays at full strength for the first time since November, which says a lot about how it has been really different for them late in the campaign.
The Thunder now has nine 50-win seasons logged in the books, which is the most since the 2009-10 season. All signs point towards a deeper hope for a playoff run, and a championship at most.
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