IT’S RAPTORS, ROCKETS, NOT CAVS, WARRIORS
Plus, playoff format changes debated
Toronto, Houston are top seeds, for now, as NBA play resumes today.
Golden State and Cleveland are used to looking down at the rest of the NBA, though it’s Houston and Toronto enjoying that view at the All-Star break.
The Rockets and Raptors are the conference leaders and will try to keep rolling when play resumes today. Houston has won 10 straight to edge past the Warriors, and Toronto is two games up in the East after seven consecutive wins.
So, are the Raptors the best team in the East?
“I don’t know. The record says we are, but for me to sit here and say we are the best team — we have confidence, but I’m not going to sit here and say we are the best team,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “Right now, we’re No. 1. The numbers say that.”
Houston coach Mike D’Antoni says the Rockets like being in the Warriors’ spot, but don’t talk about them — for now.
“Nobody’s ready for that yet,” he said. “So as we go forward we’ll see what we got, but yeah, we would love to be the No. 1 team without a doubt.”
While Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the idea of revamping the playoff format during his All-Star Saturday press conference, the reality is that the NBA isn’t near any kind of change.
A glance at the current standings explains why.
While having the best 16 teams in the league in the playoffs would be nice, Silver worries about the extra travel that could be created if teams were playing someone outside their conference. And if they were seeded 1 to 16 based on their records at the All-Star break, No. 4 Boston and No. 13 Portland would have to play a coast-to-coast series in the first round.
“We are just concerned about the overall travel that we would have in the top 16 teams,” Silver said.
No. 5 Cleveland against No. 12 Denver also would create some difficult travel, though Minnesota against Milwaukee in a 7-10 series would be quite convenient.
The other current first-round pairings, if the 1-16 format was in play:
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Los Angeles Clippers.
No. 2 Golden State vs. No. 15 New Orleans.
No. 3 Toronto vs. No. 14 Philadelphia.
No. 6 San Antonio vs. No. 11 Oklahoma City.
No. 8 Washington vs. No. 9 Indiana.
Silver also mentioned the idea of keeping the playoff field as the top eight in each conference, but seeding them 1 to 16. In that scenario, Miami would replace the Clippers as the current No. 16 team.
Cleveland’s LeBron James, who has been to seven straight Finals with Miami and the Cavs, said Wednesday that he would not be in favor of altering the playoff format.
“It just changes the landscape of the history of the game,” he said. “It’s cool to mess around with the All-Star Game — we proved you can do that — but let’s not get too crazy about the playoffs.”
MARK CUBAN FINED: The NBA has fined outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600,000 for comments about tanking during a podcast with Hall of Famer Julius Erving.
Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday the fine was for “public statements detrimental to the NBA.” The podcast with Erving was posted Sunday, the day the All-Star game was played in Los Angeles.
Looking ahead
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State, today. The Warriors (44-14) are one loss from tying their high for any season under Steve Kerr. They were 67-15 in 2014-15 and 2016-17. Minnesota at Houston, Friday. The Rockets snapped the Timberwolves’ 13-game home winning streak on Feb. 13. Now Minnesota can end Houston’s overall 10-game win streak. Dallas at Los Angeles Lakers,
Friday. Dirk Nowitzki (22) and the Mavericks both had their highest-scoring performances of the season in a 130-123 victory over the Lakers on Feb. 10.
Top stat line
LeBron James: 29 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists in Team LeBron’s 148-145 victory over Team Stephen in the AllStar Game. James scored at least 25 for the eighth time in the All-Star Game, three more than Kobe Bryant and Bob Pettit for the most ever, according to NBA.com/stats, and was just shy of what would have been his second All-Star Game triple-double. Michael Jordan and Dwyane Wade are the only other players with one.