The Cleveland Cavaliers are on a roll, winning their last 10 games to open up a six game lead in the conference and a 15 game lead over 23-24 Chicago in the Central division. After going 7-3 in their last 10 games, Orlando is back on top of the Southwest division with a 1 ½ game lead over Atlanta. Boston continues to struggle, going 4-6 in their last 10 games and now leads 27-23 Toronto by just 5 ½ games in the Atlantic division. There are only five teams in the East with winning records with Miami at 24-26 holding onto the eighth spot in the conference. Here is a brief look at my power rankings for the top three teams in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland Cavaliers (40-11) Current Odds to Win the Eastern Conference: 6/5
Last Friday night, the Cavs opened up an 18 point lead in the 1st quarter and went on to crush the Pacers 94-73. It was pretty much the same story in their next game as they routed the Clippers 114-89. LeBron James led the team with 32 points and 11 assists. In a 105-89 win over the Grizzlies, James (22 points and 15 assists) and Shaquille O’Neal (13 points and 13 rebounds) both recorded double-doubles. On Thursday night, the Cav’s extended their winning streak to 10 with a dominating 102-86 win over the Heat. Through 51 games James leads in points per game with 29.3 and assists with 8.2. Anderson Varejao leads in rebounds with 8 per game. Next up for the Cavaliers are three straight home games starting with the Knicks on Saturday, the Nets on Tuesday, and the Magic on Thursday, February 11th.
Orlando Magic (33-16) Current Odds to Win the Eastern Conference: 4/1
Last Saturday the Magic won a huge showdown with division rival Atlanta, 104-86 to regain control of the division. Dwight Howard had a monster game with 31 points and 19 rebounds. In a tighter than expected 91-86 win over Detroit, Howard’s second straight double-double (16 points and 15 rebounds) along with JJ Redick’s 17 points off the bench helped seal the win. They outscored the Bucks 27-10 in the second quarter and went on to win their fourth straight game by a score of 98-82. Through 49 games Howard leads in points per game with 17.8 and rebounds with 13.3. Jameer Nelson leads in assists with 4.7. Next up for the Magic in a very busy week are the Wizards at home tonight, the Celtics on Sunday in Boston, back home on Monday against the Hornets, and then on the road to face the Bulls on Wednesday and the Cavaliers on Thursday, February 11th.
Atlanta Hawks (31-17) Current Odds to Win the Eastern Conference: 13/2
Last Friday, the Hawks beat the ailing Celtics 100-91 with Jamal Crawford scoring 28 points off the bench. Against Orlando, they hung tough until the third quarter, but ended up getting blown out 86-104. They lost their second straight game, falling to the Thunder 99-106 despite Joe Johnson’s game high 37 points. They bounced back with a 103-97 win over the LA Clippers with three starters recording double-doubles. Through 48 games Johnson leads the team in points per game with 22 and assists with 4.7. Al Horford is the leading rebounder with 9.5 per game. Next up for the Hawks are the Bulls tonight at home, on the road against the Wizards on Saturday and the Grizzlies on Tuesday, and then back home to play the Heat on Wednesday, February 10th.
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