NBA Southeast Division
Miami has won 8 of 10, and are now surprisingly leading Washington by a single game in the Southeast. Miami is also holding onto the fourth seed in the East, another huge surprise. Miami has become a little bit uneven as of late, however, as they barely held on for a 106-105 win over Charlotte, and had losses last week to both Chicago and Brooklyn. The Heat have a huge date tonight, as they take on Houston on the road. They will then return home for games against Sacramento and Charlotte, and they should be favored in both.
Washington sits a game behind Miami in both the division and conference standings, as the Wizards are grabbing onto the fifth seed in the East. Washington snapped a two game skid with a win over Detroit last week, and are looking to get back on track this week in relative good health. Bradley Beal has led the team in scoring for 3 of the last 4 games, scoring 76 total points in those games. The Wizards are 2-1 in those game that Beal leads them in scoring in recent days. Washington will be on the road all week for games against Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Atlanta. A 2-1 week would be fairly strong.
Charlotte is falling further out of the race, and now may be going into full asset selling mode, as Kemba Walker is being discussed with the Knicks this week in a potential deal. The Hornets had a 2 game win streak snapped in the loss to the Heat to close out last week, but are just 18-26 on the season, and out of the playoff conversation entirely. The Hornets start the week against Sacramento at home, and then New Orleans comes to town on Wednesday. They close the week with road games in Atlanta and Miami. An even split would be productive.
Orlando is only 2-8 in their last 10 games, and are fighting Atlanta for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. That said, they managed to beat Boston to close out the week on the road. There are only 2 games on the slate this week, as the Magic gets Sacramento at home Tuesday, and then plays at Indiana on Saturday.
Atlanta currently is the worst team in the East by a half game. and had a 2 game win streak snapped in a loss to Chicago. Kent Bazemore's name is now coming up in trade discussions, so it is only a matter of time before the Hawks sell off whatever it is they consider valued trade materials. They have four games on the slate this week, and should not be considered as a favorite in any of them. They get Utah tonight, followed by Toronto at home on Wednesday, and they get a road trip to Charlotte on Friday, before returning home to face Washington on Saturday.
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