Last night Denver stuck it to Dallas, which tightened things up significantly in the playoff race. Most teams have ten or eleven games to go.
Take a look at the standings.
The race to make (or not miss) the playoffs in the East:
| 8 | Atlanta | 31 | 40 | .437 | 25 | 22-13 | 9-27 | 19-23 | 9-5 | 97.0 | 99.0 | -2.0 | Won 1 | 6-4 |
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And in the West:
| 7 | Dallas | 45 | 27 | .625 | 5 | 30-7 | 15-20 | 27-15 | 9-6 | 100.1 | 95.6 | +4.5 | Lost 1 | 6-4 |
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John Hollinger's playoff predictor thinks the most likely scenario is that the East stays as it is -- with Atlanta in the eighth spot, while Dallas and Denver beat out Golden State in the West.
But that machine doesn't know that Dirk Nowitzki is hurt. Jalen Rose knows that, and he thinks Golden State and Denver are both likely to pass the Mavericks.
Pressure's on.