Phx-Suns.Net

PLAYOFF PICTURE UPDATE
Let's make this update snappy. The Sixers, Cavaliers, and Pacers had good weekends. The Wizards, Bucks, and Heat did not. The Blazers, Nuggets, Spurs, and Jazz had good weekends. The Clippers and Pelicans did not. The Thunder were mixed.

The upshot in the East: the Cavaliers and Sixers are still virtually tied for the No. 3 seed, with Cleveland holding the advantage on projected tiebreakers. They play Friday in a potentially crucial game. The Pacers are holding tough just one game back in the loss column. The Wizards are now four games back in the loss column, and just one game ahead of both No. 7 Miami and No. 8 Milwaukee for the No. 6 seed. The Pistons have slightly re-entered the conversation with a 5-game winning streak -- word to Reggie Jackson -- but they are still four games out with five to go, so it'd take an incredible miracle to get in.

The upshot in the West: the Blazers have a 3-game gap for No. 3, the Spurs have taken sole possession of No. 4 with a 1-game cushion over the Thunder and Jazz, and the Wolves and sliding Pelicans have just a 1-game lead over No. 9 Denver. The Clippers are two games out.

No games scheduled for Monday in apparent deference to the men's college basketball championship game.

Split T wrote:Dallas and Orlando in an epic tank battle.

Orlando started: augustin, iwundu, hezonja, Gordon, biyombo and are closing the game with Artis, Mack, iwundu, hezonja, birch

Dallas started: barea, Harrison, McDermott, Finley-smith, motley and are closing the game with collinsworth, jalen jones, Aaron Harrison, Finley-smith, motley

Split T wrote:Kyrie is out for the season and playoffs. Wizards/Bucks/Heat should be fighting over that 7 seed spot.

Trey Burke, New York Knicks

Burke leapfrogged Jarrett Jack for New York's Walton spot and resurrected a career that appeared headed toward China. As Mike Vorkunov wrote at The Athletic, change had to start with Burke cleaning up his off-court life. Teams intrigued by his talent were turned off when they dug deeper. Burke matured.

The results have been beyond anything any reasonable person could have dreamed. Burke in New York has the statistical profile of a star. He's shooting well from everywhere: 39 percent from deep, Nowitzkian levels from midrange on colossal volume, and even 73 percent at the rim -- once a no-fly zone for an undersized guy with average athleticism.

Burke isn't just hunting points. He has assisted on almost 40 percent of New York's baskets while on the floor, a borderline top-five number. He has developed a nice pick-and-roll chemistry with Michael Beasley, captain of last year's Waltons; New York has scored 1.28 points per possession on any trip featuring a Burke-Beasley pick-and-roll, the fourth-best (!) mark among almost 300 duos that have run at least 150 such plays, per Second Spectrum.

Only six players over the past two seasons have commandeered such a large share of possessions with shots and assists: LeBron, Russell Westbrook, John Wall, James Harden, Dennis Schroder, and D'Angelo Russell.

Most of those guys are stars. Burke fashions himself an All-Star. Almost every team -- including the Knicks -- considers Burke a very nice backup, even now. They are all wondering how Burke will receive that message.

Some of his shooting numbers are unsustainable. He'll never be a plus defender. But his life is in order, and he adjusted to the superior athleticism of NBA defenders by adding subtle craft to his pick-and-roll game -- fakes to set up defenders before he uses a screen, change-of-pace dribbles, other goodies.

He is a good shooter capable of playing off the ball and producing a decent midrange shot in a pinch. He should stick beyond his contract, which runs through next season.

UglyTruth wrote:Glad we didn’t trade Josh Jackson for injured goods Kyrie Irving.

Split T wrote:Sixers smashing the Cavs right now. Up 23 halfway through 2nd Q. They win this game and I think they go to the Eastern conference finals. 24-6 since the start of February +9 point differential. They are really good. How crazy if they represent the East in the finals? And they could add LeBron next year.