With 20 games left to go, it’s a 3 horse race

The NBA is heading into the home stretch of the season coming into the final quarter and the two favorites look strong coming off the final turn but don’t be surprised if a dark horse comes on the outside to win. The Lakers and Celtics have lead their respective conferences most of the season despite major injuries to key players as LA has played about half the season without Andrew Bynum and the C’s losing KG for a key stretch and now Rondo out for and indefinite time, with no certainty what he’ll be like when he comes back. While the favorites have had one eye on each other and the nation with both eyes on them, the Cavs, playing the dark horse, have come hard on the outside and are in a great position to edge them both out at the wire. The Lakers, already coming off their worst loss of the season at Portland, still have 9 of their next 12 games on the road including six in a row. They may be too far outside of ‘gun zone’ for the Spurs to catch them in the West but despite having the best road record in the NBA, look prime to be caught from behind. The Celtics also have a stretch where 7 of their next 10 are on the road, with the afore mentioned injuries and Pierec & RayRay playing major minutes which does not bode well for Beantown come playoff time. Which leaves us with Cleveland, who have 8 of their next 12 at Q Arena, and one of those road games is at the Clipp Joint so that might as well be a practice, oops sorry Celtics, you let that one get away, but for the rest of the league it is pretty much a win. With all of that said, we expect the Cavs to cross the tape first when the 82 games are in the books, and make Boston win a game 7 on the road, which they didn’t have to do last year, and that will be the difference as Cleveland will move on to their first final. From there they should face the Lakeshow (2-0 vs. Cavs this year) and then place your bets again. Who is your pick to finsh with the best record? Are the finals a foregone conclusion? Let us know here and in the NBA Chat rooms.