NBA Midway Point

So I took my nephews to a Cleveland Cavaliers game last night. I must say that it is hard to imagine that a team has been able to fall so hard so fast. It seems undeniable after watching the Cavs lose 25 of their last 26 games that they will become the 1st team in NBA history to have the league's best and worst records in back to back seasons. Though I am a loyal fan, I must admit that this is the 1st time this season I have watched a Cavs game in its entirety. Usually I have the luxury of using my remote control as I choose. This team is bad. And it's not just the talent they lost in LeBron James, although that triggered the disaster that this team has become. They have been struck with a serious case of the injury bug, (Mo Williams has missed a lot of time, Anderson Varejao is out for the season), and the loss of LeBron took the wind out of their sails. Coach Byron Scott has not been able to motivate them one bit, and it has shown with their lack of movement on offense and lazy rotations on defense.

All of the factors listed above lead me to conclude based off of current winning percentage and simulations of the remainder of the season that the Cavs will have the best chance at winning the NBA Lottery. Maybe the Cavs can win the lottery and draft the next coming of LeBron. Then again, it is completely unfathomable that any player in the upcoming draft class will turn into that type of overwhelmingly dominant player.

Here's a look at how the entire league is projected to finish:

East
1. Boston 62-20
2. Miami 61-21
3. Orlando 57-25
4. Chicago 54-28
5. Atlanta 51-31
6. New York 44-48
7. Milwaukee 36-46
8. Charlotte 35-47                                      
9. Philadelphia 33-49
10. Indiana 31-51
11. Washington 27-55
12. Detroit 26-56
13. Toronto 24-58
14. New Jersey 22-60
15. Cleveland 17-65

West
1. San Antonio 64-18
2. LA Lakers 61-21
3. Oklahoma City 54-28
4. Dallas 53-29
5. Utah 53-29
6. Denver 46-36
7. New Orleans 45-37
8. Portland 44-38                                       
9. Phoenix 42-40
10. Houston 40-42
11. Memphis 37-45
12. LA Clippers 35-47
13. Golden St. 32-50
14. Sacramento 23-59
15. Minnesota 18-64

East Quarters
1 Boston over 8 Charlotte 4-0
4 Chicago over 5 Atlanta 4-2
3 Orlando over 6 New York 4-2
2 Miami over 7 Milwaukee 4-0

West Quarters
1 San Antonio over 8 Portland 4-1
4 Dallas over 5 Utah 4-3
3 Oklahoma City over 6 Denver 4-3
2 LA Lakers over 7 New Orleans 4-2

East Semis
1 Boston over 4 Chicago 4-3
2 Miami over Orlando 4-2

West Semis
1 San Antonio over 4 Dallas 4-3
2 LA Lakers over 3 Oklahoma City 4-1

East Finals
1 Boston over 2 Miami 4-3

West Finals
1 San Antonio over 2 LA Lakers 4-3

NBA Finals
1 San Antonio over Boston 4-3

You can't question how well the Spurs are playing right now. They have tied the 2nd best start in NBA history at this point in the season. Many would proclaim that this would be a boring Finals matchup, but I disagree. You could not ask for better played basketball. Ultimately, I still believe the Celtics are best suited to take home the O'Brien Trophy, but for now we will say the Spurs win it all.