NBA: Western Conference Stock Report

We've hit the point in the NBA season where we can begin to read into teams' records, and decide who's a legit contender, and who's just faking it. To help weed through the current playoff landscape, rsfreshmen gives you the stock report: which teams should you buy as a contender, sell or hold onto for a couple more weeks.

Western Conference

1. Los Angeles Clippers (27-8; 1st Pacific) - SELL

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This is a tough one, because I really like this Clippers squad, and feel they could make some noise in the playoffs. I'm really only selling them because I think the Thunder will end up as the top-seed (and, yes... I know the Thunder just lost to the Wizards...).

Honestly, there really is a lot to like about this team. Chris Paul is the best point guard in the league, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan form the most athletic duo of bigs in the game, and they have the deepest bench going. Again, I just think the Thunder will end up as the first seed.

There are a couple red flags for the Clips too. Paul has been playing a ton of minutes and—because his body kind of fell apart late last season—LA might want to consider resting him a bit. Also, although the bench is a strength, it'll be hard to give all of the guys on the squad meaningful minutes since there are so many quality players riding the pine. A deep bench is definitely a good problem to have, but I can totally see coach Vinny Del Negro mucking up the rotation a couple times.

Buy the Clippers as a strong playoff team. But sell them as the top-seed. I think that spot goes to...

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (26-8; 1st Northwest) - BUY

Remember when fans and pundits were worried that, by trading James Harden before the season, the Thunder were handing over the Western Conference crown to the Lakers? How hilarious does that seem know?

The Thunder—even without Harden—are the best team in the league. They pace the league in terms of offensive efficiency, while allowing opponents to shoot only 42.9% from the floor, good for second-best in the NBA. In fact, go look up just about any team statistic, and you'll find the Thunder resting comfortably in the upper-half. Go ahead, check the stats... I'll wait...

See? OKC is awesome (ok... so they are below the league average in offensive-rebounds-per-game...). They score and defend with the best of them, while rebounding and passing at an above-average rate. Seems like a successful blueprint for a team to me.

Buy the Thunder.

NBA: Eastern Conference Stock Report

We've hit the point in the NBA season where we can begin to read into teams' records, and decide who's a legit contender, and who's just faking it. To help weed through the current playoff landscape, rsfreshmen gives you the stock report: which teams should you buy as a contender, sell or hold onto for a couple more weeks.

Eastern Conference

Miami Heat (23-9; 1st Southeast) - BUY

Every time I watch the Heat, I feel like they are leaving something in the tank, like they have another gear which they're only going to touch come playoff time. This has got to be absolutely terrifying for every other team in the league.

Miami is comfortably in the top-tier of NBA teams in terms of offensive efficiency, and have the best player in the world in LeBron James. While their defense has been a little lacking, and while their rebounding has been flat-out bad (probably the only red-flag this team has), I would be shocked if anyone else ends up with the top-seed.

I know it's boring, but buy the Heat.

2. New York Knicks (23-11; 1st Atlantic) - SELL

Getty Images

My buddy and I were talking about the Heat's above-mentioned ability to turn it on at any given moment, and it made me think about the Knicks: as far as I'm concerned, they've already maxed out; they don't have that second gear.

This isn't to say that they won't put together a couple more good runs or win the division or anything. But c'mon. Their play at the beginning of the season was as good as it's going to get, right?

I mean nobody thought they could shoot 3s as well as they did at the beginning of the season (a feature of the team which is already slipping a bit). Nobody thought they were going to be a defensive force, like they were early in the year (again, a facet of the team which is disappearing). Nobody thought Carmelo Anthony would be gunning for LeBron's MVP title (... this one's still going on).

I like the Knicks, and they are definitely one of the best teams in the East. That said, I just can't help but think they will head into the playoffs fondly thinking back to their hot start.

Buy the Knicks as a top-tier team in the East; sell them now if you still think they're one of the best teams in the entire league.

NFC Wildcard Preview

Minnesota @ Green Bay - Saturday, January 5th 8:00 PM

Saturday night's NFC North matchup pits two teams that are all too familiar with each other. This game will mark the third time in six weeks that the Packers and Vikings will square off, and could very well be the most even matchup of the entire Wildcard round.

It was exactly one month ago when the Packers defeated their division foes at Lambeau in Week 13. Only two players really stood out in that contest: Adrian Peterson, who has been exceptional all year, and Packers' safety Morgan Burnett. Burnett picked off Christian Ponder twice in the red zone in the 2nd half, both turnovers leading to Green Bay field goals. Peterson rushed for 210 yards, including an 82-yd TD, making Peterson's effort the fifth-most rushing yards by a player on a losing team in the Super Bowl era.

While we can expect AP to put up more beastly numbers, I wouldn't count on Ponder to throw the game away like he did in December. Ponder has thrown just one pick since those two at Lambeau, and it came in the Vikings' next game against Chicago, a defence who led the league in INTs and overall takeaways. And if regular season stats are any indication, Minnesota should go to the ground early and often. The Vikes ranked 2nd in rushing yards and second-last in passing yards. This fits well with the conventional wisdom when facing an elite QB; keeping it on the ground will limit how much time Aaron Rodgers and his O has the ball.

AFC Wildcard Preview

Cincinnati @ Houston - Saturday, January 5th 4:30 PM

Just 3 weeks ago, Houston was the run-away favorite to begin the playoffs as the top seed in the AFC. Then, their defense completely fell apart, Matt Schaub laid a couple stinkers and Arian Foster was held out with an irregular heartbeat. Needless to say, they struggled. 

And yet, I fully expect the Texans to win on Saturday.

No doubt, Arian Foster will get plenty of touches, as he has all year. His 351 carries this year are the most any back has had since 2009 (Chris Johnson had 358), and while Foster has been less explosive than in recent years, the Texans' run-game is always relentless, and often wears teams down. 

NFL Pick'ems - Week 17 Results

Mike wins Week 17 and finishes the season with a 7-game lead over Simon. Peter King's late-season surge lands him just shy of second place, one game behind Simon. Pete Prisco struggled down the stretch and finds himself in the basement to end the season.

Stay tuned for the RS Freshmen Wildcard round preview which will include our playoff predictions.