Real Deal

No reason for the Knicks to tank, but every reason for the Blazers to keep winning games. New York is 10-25 on the road, and the Blazers are a solid home team that has gone 8-2 in their last 10 games. The Blazers take it and stay ahead of the Spurs in the playoff race.

The Spurs need to win to avoid Los Angeles in the first round, and the Rockets need to win the rest of their games to have a chance at the playoffs (a very slim one). Maybe Manu was resting the last game, so I'll assume he'll come out firing, and Houston will drop one in San Antonio.

Hornets are at home (23-14 record), they have Chris Paul and David West, and the Wizards can't win in March. Lock 'em up for that winless month!

Evans is back in the five, and the Kings are still terrible. I wouldn't be surprised if they take this one, though. The Wolves have lost 16 in a row, a.k.a. Tanking.

Dallas isn't looking too hot right now, but Memphis has had their struggles at home, for some reason. I expect the Mavericks to get the win here, especially if the Grizzlies are already counting their chickens before they hatch (and they might as well, because they aren't making the playoffs).

The Spurs were without Ginobili when they lost to the Nets. Phoenix locked up their playoff spot, but they would LOVE home court in the first round, so they could be running the Nets out of their own building tonight.

Could be a tough game, because I can see Detroit walking into the Palace, hoping to ruin someone's playoff hopes instead of tanking. Miami isn't in the clear yet. If they can end up with the sixth seed and a date against the Celtics, assuming the Hawks screw up, that would probably be their best bet at a first-round series victory.

I'm interested in the Rondo/Westbrook match-up more than anything else. The Thunder can look to Durant as their MVP, but they have to thank Westbrook for his emergence as a dangerous guard in the West.

Big game for the Raptors, even though it would be a small win back in December. Toronto doesn't want a piece of the Cavs, so they have to roll into the final month of the season eager to grab the 7th seed in the East.

Cleveland isn't going to rest yet. While they are way ahead of LA, there's always that crazy, 0.001% chance that the Lakers will win the rest of their games, while the Cavs go 3-5.

Come on Charlotte, LOSE! Gotta grab that eighth.

The Bucks could be a tough play in the first round. I'm surprised at how well they are doing...but then again, it's without Michael Redd, and we already knew how much of a cancer he was.

Well...thanks to Carwin, no Lesnar/Mir fight just yet.

Definitely won't be an easy game. Maybe Gasol will take advantage of the smaller Horford, although Al's defense has been pretty good this season. Kobe time?

If you hate UNC because of their bandwagoners (because a lot of people say that), you should hate Duke just as much. I know more Duke bandwaogners, actually.

They asked him because it relates to the Knicks, and they were talking to Boozer about his free agency and New York (posted by the NYTimes, if I remember right). And with that said, it sounds to me like Boozer is jinxing it, haha. He would LOVE to team up with LeBron in New York, possibly making the most money he can out there.

I honestly think Martin is the second best defender on the team, next to Afflalo. Billups' defense has been too inconsistent, possibly from the injuries...but it still counts.

Tough call, honestly. Chicago is going to have to dig deep, though. @ Washington vs. Charlotte vs. Milwaukee vs. Cleveland (L) @ New Jersey @ Toronto (WHOA!) vs. Boston @ Charlotte That's Chicago's remaining schedule. vs. LA Clippers @ Philly vs. Golden State @ Cleveland (L) vs. Boston @ Atlanta vs. Chicago (WHOA! again) @ Detroit vs. New York There's Toronto's.

Not sure about the Spurs, but the Lakers run the same plays for Bryant at the end of every game. Same exact ones. It's more of Kobe saving us than any play or coach. But yeah, I get what you're saying. I think Brooks should've drawn it up to where a big is the screener, though. That would've helped a bit more, even if Durant left his position early.

Pretty impressive for a dog like Udrih, but let him run the yard for 82 games by himself. The Kings would be in worse shape than they are now (which is still pretty bad).

Pacers 102, Kings 95 http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gamecenter/recap/NBA_20100330_SAC@IND Granger has been a monster lately. I read a few things about him being injured for a while and still trying to play, so maybe that was what held him back.

Thunder 111, Sixers 93 http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gamecenter/recap/NBA_20100330_OKC@PHI This game wasn't that fun to watch, really. Dalembert did suck, though. Holiday and Maynor both look like they have the tools to be decent guards someday, too.

Suns 111, Bulls 105 http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gamecenter/recap/NBA_20100330_PHO@CHI

Increased the quote embedding count. Sorry about that.

The only problem with that is that a player DOES decide his own fate when it comes to the draft. He can play well in high school, well in college, get a top three pick and suddenly disappoint. My belief is that if he's a legit top three pick in the draft coming out of college, and he has full control of how well he plays in the league...and he doesn't make the grade...that's a bust. Players gain weight. They slack off after getting their $4-5 million a year. They don't listen to coaches and want to play like a superstar. Maybe they just don't have the skills that transition. There are many reasons why, but a player does control is fate in the league, especially when he's a top three pick and the team is likely going to play him significant minutes as a rookie. If you suffer a career-ending injury, or an injury keeps coming back to haunt you, that's a different story. Maybe that's where you consider the actual SELECTION (or pick) a bust. Michael Olowokandi is a bust. Jay Williams is not because he could've been one of the better guards in the NBA, but the Bulls selecting him was a bad move in the long run.