This week in the NBA: Magic and Nets end playoff droughts, Westbrook stars

The Oklahoma City Thunder point guard has spent the majority of the season under the radar, and gone about his business quietly.

He’s not in the hunt for MVP this year, which looks to be between James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and his Thunder side will go into the play-offs as sixth or seventh seeds.

But for the third straight year, Westbrook has averaged a triple-double over the season. Before him, Oscar Robertson was the only player to achieve it, an accomplishment widely considered impossible to repeat in the modern game.

With Westbrook averaging the trip-dub for a third straight season (23 points per game, 10.7 assists & 11 rebounds) and out of the running for MVP, it begs the question of whether his achievements are undervalued within the league due to the dominance of Harden and Giannis…

Losers

Boston Celtics

With the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference play-offs guaranteed, it seems strange to be including the Celtics in the losers list. But during their 116-108 home defeat to the Magic, they lost two of their stars to injury.

It’s not known how severe either injury is at the moment, but Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum may miss a pair of games apiece in the play-offs. Smart was taken out of the game against the Magic with a side-injury, while Tatum appeared to re-aggravate a shin contusion he’d been suffering with before.

On the plus side, their nearest challengers for fourth spot and home advantage in the play-offs, Indiana Pacers, lost out 108-96 to the Nets to see their challenge fade and hand the advantage to Celtics. They’ll face each other in the play-offs, with Boston leading the regular season match-up 3-1.

Dwayne Wade & Miami Heat

In his final season as an NBA player, it looks like Dwayne Wade won’t be able to drag his Miami Heat side into the play-offs for one final time.

The Heat sit 10th in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining, sharing the same 38-42 record as Charlotte Hornets, and one game back from the Pistons who hold the eighth seed with a 39-41 record.

With Wade declaring this season as ‘One Last Dance’ with the league, the two final must-win games come against the Sixers and the Nets. The Sixers may rest their star men, with their spot as third seed in the East guaranteed.

D Wade could bow out on a high though, with only 24 points needed in the final two games to overtake Elgin Baylor on the NBA all-time scoring charts.

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