Now that All-Star Weekend has come and gone, the 2006-07 NBA season is heading into its final stretch, with 30 games remaining for each team before the playoffs begin. Here's a look at five pivotal questions that will play out over the next four months:
Is this the Mavs' year? Last season ended bitterly for the Dallas Mavericks, who despite winning the first two games of the NBA Finals and leading Game 3 by 13 points in the fourth quarter, fell to the Miami Heat in six games. It appears as though the Mavs, winners of 44 of their last 49 games, including nine in a row, have put last year's disappointment behind them, however, as they have cruised to the NBA's best record through the All-Star Break.
One of the keys to Dallas' success has been its balance. Despite not having a single player ranked in the league's top five in points, assists or field goal percentage per game, the Mavericks are still a respectable 11th in the NBA in team scoring. Their defense has been even better, having yielded just 92.5 points per game this season. This may be the year that Dallas - a team that has made the playoffs six years in a row without coming away with a championship - finally wins its first-ever title.
Can the NBA champion come out of the Eastern Conference? In two of the past three years, a team from the heavily-derided Eastern Conference has taken home the Larry O'Brien trophy, and this year, there are a couple of Eastern squads that could once again score an upset in the NBA Finals. Winners of eight of their last nine and owners of the conference's best record, the Detroit Pistons have appeared to hit their stride ever since landing Philadelphia 76ers castoff Chris Webber on Jan. 17. Considering all their playoff experience (they went to back-to-back NBA Finals in 2004 and 2005) the Pistons are a legitimate threat to take the title.
The 2007 NBA champion may even come out of the East's current eighth seed, where the Heat, who got head coach and president Pat Riley back last night after a seven-week absence that followed hip and knee surgeries, are poised for a chance to defend their title with a healthy Shaquille O'Neal and an electrifying Dwyane Wade.
Is Steve Nash healthy? The two-time defending Most Valuable Player suffered from inflammation in his right shoulder, an injury that kept him out of four games as well as the All-Star Weekend festivities. Though he has returned, the Phoenix Suns might be wise to continue resting their star point guard, who is playing near his career-high of 35.5 minutes per game. Doing so may force Phoenix to concede the Southwest Division to Dallas and drop to the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs. But the alternative of not having Nash fully healthy for the postseason would be devastating to a team with title aspirations. Four of the Suns' 13 total losses on the season came with Nash sidelined by injuries.
Are the Rockets the second-best team in Texas? How much the Houston Rockets will be able to challenge the San Antonio Spurs for the Lone Star State's second-best mark will depend on the health of Houston's two stars, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming. McGrady, whose back problems limited him to 47 games last season, has managed to stay relatively healthy through the first half of this year and keep the Rockets in the Western Conference playoff picture despite the loss of Yao to a broken leg on Dec. 23. Yao is expected to return to the Rockets' lineup in March, but if he suffers any setbacks, or if McGrady's stubborn back flares up again, any prospects Houston had of finishing second in the Southwest Division will be derailed.
Is this the last we'll see of the Nets contending in the East? The course of New Jersey Nets history changed upon point guard Jason Kidd's arrival in the 2001 offseason, as the laughingstocks of the league transformed into back-to-back Eastern Conference champions. But it appears that the Nets' mini-run as an East powerhouse will come to an end after this season. Injuries to center Nenad Krstic and small forward Richard Jefferson have eliminated any chance of the team being competitive this year, especially with the emergence of the 29-24 Toronto Raptors as the Atlantic Division's top team. With unrestricted free agent Vince Carter expected to leave New Jersey this offseason, the Nets may feel compelled to trade Kidd, the franchise's savior, and clean house before their expected move to Brooklyn in 2009.
