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Los Angeles Lakers – Hate is a Great Motivator
The only thing the Los Angeles Lakers have left to motivate them is ruining it for others, and while it’s difficult for this team to beat superior sides, they proved that filling your body with hate towards the opponents, which is what happened according to Nick Young, leads to some impressive results, like beating the Phoenix Suns 115-99 with Chris Kaman doing better than anyone else.
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Chicago Bulls – Defense & Efficiency Win Championships
The majority still isn’t sold on the Chicago Bulls being championship contenders, but it doesn’t stop the team from envisioning it happen, led by D.J. Augustin in 107-102 win over the Boston Celtics, improving their chances of having home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
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New York Knicks – Can Almost Smell the Playoffs
Maybe the most impossible team to understand in the NBA happens to be the New York Knicks, who travel the line between mediocre and awful and are still just one game away from making the playoffs, beating the Golden State Warriors 89-84 thanks to J.R. Smith taking over for Carmelo Anthony and pretty much having just one good quarter throughout the whole game.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant Getting Closer to Michael Jordan
There are plenty of goals for the Oklahoma City Thunder and Kevin Durant this season. Championship and MVP above all else, but winning the scoring title and on the way breaking an old record by Michael Jordan doesn’t really hurt. A 116-96 win over the Utah Jazz go them a little bit closer, or at least him.
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Indiana Pacers – It’s Time to Panic
That promising lead at the top of the Eastern conference has withered away, and the bad basketball the Indiana Pacers have been playing for almost two months now continues to get worse, resulting in a 90-76 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, with David West losing his cool and Paul George simply not carrying the team as he’s expected to.
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San Antonio Spurs – How a Championship Team Should Look Like
Even though March hasn’t been the toughest of months for the San Antonio Spurs, finishing it with a perfect record if they win one more game is an impressive accomplishment and another indication of how serious their title challenge is this season, easily walking all over the New Orleans Pelicans 96-80, led by Marco Belinelli.
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Philadelphia 76ers – Finally Met a Team That’s Worse
It might be a bit embarrassing to see a team celebrating a rare win like they’ve won a playoff game or something like that, but the 123-98 victory over the even more pathetic Detroit Pistons meant that the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t set a new losing record, led by an excellent game from Michael Carter-Williams.
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Houston Rockets – Jeremy Lin & James Harden Backcourt Doesn’t Work Out
Having James Harden and Jeremy Lin in the same starting backcourt isn’t such a bad thing to have, but the Houston Rockets played badly in a home loss with Dwight Howard and Patrick Beverley missing, as Lin had one of his worst games of the season and Harden didn’t play the kind of basketball the team needed to get out of the jam.
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Miami Heat – Barely, But Still Standing
There’s a feeling that the Miami Heat are close to running on empty. For these situations, it’s good to play a team like the Milwaukee Bucks, which leads to a 88-67 win to end a road trip, not needing anything special from LeBron James once again, being able to give their MVP a bit more rest.
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Golden State Warriors – Stephen Curry Makes Things Easier
Every game in the Western conference matters in a playoff race and positional battle that involves nine teams, unlike the East where things are a lot more simpler. The Memphis Grizzlies needed this win against the Golden State Warriors, but not being able to find an answer to Stephen Curry proved to be fatal in 100-93 loss.