darrell,

One pick today as well as my thoughts on the Eastern Conference playoff picture...

My NBA Power Rankings are updated weekly and can be found here.

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Good luck , darrell!

The Eastern Conference Race for the playoffs cannot get any tighter. The top four spots have been clinched by the Pistons, Nets, Heat and Cavs. However, the remaining four spots  are still up for grabs and in reach of 6 teams. Any one of them can move up or down as the standings are fluid and chaning every day.

If the playoffs started today, we'd have...

#5 - Washington (have lost 3 in a row now)
#6 - Indiana (two games behind Washington)
#7 - Milwaukee (two games behind Wash & tied with Pacers but have lost 4 in a row)
#8 - Philadelphia (one game behind Milwaukee)
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#9 - Chicago (one game back)
#10 - Orlando (three games back but have won 5 in a row)
#11 - Boston - (four games back)

The top 4 teams that have clinched could end up playing any one of the #5 - #8 teams currently in the playoffs, or could even end up playing one of the teams on the bubble. The Sixers just took back the 8th seed from the Bulls with the win over the Wizards at home.  Furthermore, watch out for the Magic!  For quite some time many were talking about the Celtics and their playoff hopes, but it is the Magic that have won 5 straight and are just 3 back from Philly with 6 games remaining on the schedule for most of the teams.  Thus, with the the Bucks losing and Philly dropping a couple games and the Magic continuing their hot streak, we could very well see one of the best late regular season pushes to get in the playoffs.  In fact, the Wizards have six games left and if they lose two more games, they could find themselves holding on to the last playoff spot as well!  What a difference it would be for them to be seeded at #8 and face the Pistons vs. holding on to #5 and getting the Cavaliers.

There are plenty of key matchups to come and home court is going to play a big factor as well. As a bettor, it is important to be aware of the playoff dynamic to understand the motivation associated within each team and their respective matchup. With March Madness behind us, it's now time for April's Madness with all the juggling of playoff teams and emotions running high in the NBA. Should be fun!

Game: New Jersey at Chicago (8:35 PM Eastern)
Pick: 2 stars on New Jersey -1

Sure Chicago needs this game. But, New Jersey also wants this one badly. Not only do they want to continue to win entering the playoffs, but they would very much like to catch 2nd place Miami. NJ has won 15 of their last 16 games and now we get the hottest team in the NBA at a virtual pick'em. They've won key games on the road during that stretch. New Jersey is 8-1 straight up vs. Chicago over the past three seasons including 3-1 here in Chicago. The Bulls are just 3-7 ATS in their last ten as home dogs. Nets here.