Phoenix vs. Charlotte

Phoenix -4  vs. Detroit

Two teams that were on different planes a few weeks ago have been streaking in opposite directions. The Phoenix Suns have had trouble winning consistently lately, while the Charlotte Bobcats have been winning more frequently lately. It could possibly be the growing pains for one team has persisted, while the other has grown out of it as these two teams were involved in a six-player swap on December 11th and will meet up for the first time since then Friday night in Charlotte.

Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley were sent to Phoenix in exchange for forward Boris Diaw, guard Raja Bell and guard Sean Singletary. With no clear victor in the trade the result on the court will have to stand as proof and it appears Charlotte (17-25) got the better of the deal as they have won four of their last five.

In their last game, on Wednesday, the Bobcats improved to 10-9 since the trade with a 101-86 home victory over Memphis. Diaw and Bell have been paying off in spades for Charlotte. Diaw is averaging 13.6 points along with Bell’s 12.1 since the trade.

Charlotte looks to continue their momentum, win two straight and defeat Phoenix for the first time in its five year history on Friday. As it stands right now, Charlotte is only 2 ½ games out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

The Suns (23-17) have bested the Bobcats in each of their eight previous games, but have little confidence left after losing four of their last five overall. Phoenix is 10-7 since the trade and is tied with Dallas for the final playoff spot in the West. Many of those 10 victories came early on after the trade. Now the Suns have been struggling as was evidenced in their 114-109 loss to New York on Wednesday.

Jason Richardson, who came over in the trade, did his best to earn his team a victory by posting 27 points against 20 points for Shaquille O’Neal. Richardson has averaged 15.7 points since joining the Suns.

This will be the first matchup of the teams this season. Last year, with a lot of the components of each team’s current squad on the other team, Charlotte lost both games by an average of 23 points.

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Dallas vs. Detroit

Dallas  +3 1/2 vs. Detroit

In his two seasons coaching the Detroit Pistons, Coach Rick Carlisle made his name with a stingy defense, with his current squad, the Dallas Mavericks—well not so much. Carlisle’s present team will travel to face his former team Friday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Dallas’ defense reached a new low in their last contest, Wednesday night in Milwaukee. They allowed the Bucks to score the most points they have given up in seven years en route to a 133-99 rout. It was also the Mavericks’ (24-18) worst loss since November 2001.

Giving up 99 points per game, Dallas has seen that stat bloom to 109.6 in their last seven contests, of which they have lost five. Dirk Nowitzki is trying his best to keep his teams in these games. Over the past five games, he has averaged 31.4 points and has shot 52 percent.

The Pistons (24-17) are looking for their third straight victory after dropping five in a row from January 10th-January 17th. Wednesday, they defeated Toronto 95-76 in a solid defensive effort which saw Detroit hold the Raptors to 42.5 percent shooting. Tayshaun Prince led the way with 25 points on 11-of-16 from the field.

Detroit has been solid on defense much of the season, ranking fourth in the NBA in field goal defense and fourth fewest points allowed per game with 92.7. Their recent slide has more to do with their offense than their defense as they have struggled to reach 100 points. The Pistons have hit the century mark only once in the last 15 games.

This will be the first meeting of the year between the teams. They have alternated wins and losses in each of their last eight meetings at the Palace of Auburn Hills, with the Pistons taking the most recent game played there 90-67 last February 3rd.

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Cavaliers vs. Golden State

Cleveland -6 1/2 vs. Golden

Alternating wins and losses over their last four, the Cleveland Cavaliers have not been their usual juggernaut selves, however they have a great shot at turning around this trend by winning two straight against the 30-loss Golden State Warriors when the teams met up Friday night at Oracle Arena.

Cleveland (32-8) was defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening game of their western road trip 105-88, but they bounced back to defeat Portland 104-98. The victory over the Trail Blazers prevented Cleveland from losing two straight games for the first time all season. The Cavaliers are in close step with Boston and Orlando for the race for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

After being beaten up by the Lakers, the Cavs’ defense returned against the Blazers. Cleveland held Portland to 40.7 percent shooting one game after allowing their season worst 52.4 percent to Los Angeles.

Cleveland is leading the league in scoring defense by only allowing 89.6 points per contest. A matchup with Golden State may seem easy on paper, but the Warriors are averaging a little over 107 points per game and that is without their high-octane scoring guard Monta Ellis, who will return to the lineup for the first time this season on Friday.

The Warriors (13-30) will welcome back Ellis, who has been out while recovering from a sprained ankle from a scooter accident during the off-season. The relationship between the player and the team was strained when Golden State suspended him for 30 games without pay for the incident after the Warriors had signed him to a six-year $66 million dollar contract just prior to the accident. He was rewarded handsomely for his career year a season ago when he averaged 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

This will be the second and final meeting of the year between the clubs. Cleveland held Golden State’s potent offense in check in their first meeting November 28th in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 112-97 and held the Warriors to 39.8 percent shooting. The Cavs have won four of the last five matchups and the last two at Oracle Arena.

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Cavaliers vs. Celtics

Cleveland -4 vs. Boston

The last time that Cleveland and Boston met, the Cavaliers was not yet the elite team they have become and the Celtics were beginning their steamrolling over everyone, including Cleveland. The Cavs were the Celtics first victim in their opening night matchup.

With Boston (29-8) unable to jumpstart themselves out of the doldrums, the Cleveland Cavaliers have taken over the best record in the Eastern Conference and will look for revenge for the October 28th 90-85 road loss to Boston when the teams met up for the first time this season in Cleveland on Friday night.

The Cavaliers (28-6) have climbed the ladder, but have not played their best ball lately, going 2-2 in their last four after winning 25 out of their previous 27 games. Even with both teams not playing their best, most feel this could be the preview of the Eastern Conference Final and would be a marvelous rematch of teams so familiar with each other after last seasons seven-game conference semi-final won by Boston.

Cleveland’s 2-2 stretch has come with losses to some of the lesser teams in the NBA. On December 30th, they lost the back half of a home-and-home series with Miami and last Sunday they lost at Washington. They rebounded with a home victory against Charlotte 111-81.

The Celtics are in for a fight if they expect to break their three game losing streak in Cleveland. The Cavaliers remain the lone NBA undefeated team at home, with an 18-0 record. Boston’s woes had largely been on the road, but now it has been infiltrating their home arena, TD Banknorth Garden. The Boston Celtics were defeated by Houston in Boston 89-85 in a game in which Boston was held to 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Missing this game will be Cleveland’s Zyrdunas Ilgauskas. The center has missed the past three games with a chipped ankle bone and is expected out until February.

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Steelers vs. Chargers

Pittsburgh -6 vs. San Diego

Every NFL playoff matchup this week is a rematch of at least one regular season game. No one game was more intriguing than the last time that San Diego and Pittsburgh met on November 16th.

The first 11-10 game in NFL history will have a rematch Sunday afternoon when the Chargers (9-8) once again travel cross country to Heinz Field. The much maligned Chargers defense held the Steelers out of the end zone, even though Pittsburgh made it inside the red zone three times.

The key game was the first of three straight losses for San Diego and seemed to seal their fate of missing the playoffs. But the Chargers rebounded to win their last four games, finish 8-8 and claim the shaky AFC West crown. Last week, the Chargers were able to show they do belong in the 2008 playoffs by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 23-17 in overtime. The Colts had won nine straight contests coming into the Wild-Card round in Qualcomm Stadium.

The Chargers have scored 34.4 points during its five-game winning streak, even largely without LaDanian Tomlinson. The All-Pro has been hampered by a groin injury and it is unclear whether he will play this week in a very cold Pittsburgh. Still Tomlinson’s limited play last week did not stop the offense let by backup back Darren Sproles and his 328 all-purpose yards and 105 rushing yards. Sproles won the game in overtime with a 22-yard gallop.

Sproles will undoubtedly be in for a tougher test when he faces off against the league’s number two defense. In the November game, San Diego was held to 66 yards on the ground and Philip Rivers was not much better, contributing only 134 yards and throwing two picks.

The Steelers (12-4) did not fare much better on offense in the earlier game and really struggled down the stretch, scoring eight touchdowns in seven games against teams that would make the playoffs. In their season finale two weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers seemingly got on track by posting 31 points in a shutout victory at Cleveland. Willie Parker was back against the Browns after missing five games and posted 116 yards and a score.

Ben Roethlisberger seemed to regress this season. Last year he had 32 touchdown passes and 11 picks, but was down to 17 scores and four more interceptions. Roethlisberger suffered a concussion against Cleveland and was taken out on a stretcher. Despite always stating he would play this week, Roethlisberger had ongoing headaches last week and didn’t pass a post-concussion test until Monday.

The Chargers have also had a bit of drama this week when it was revealed that top receiver Vincent Jackson was arrested under suspicion of a DUI. Jackson had a team best 1,098 yards and will play this week.

It is good news-bad news in San Diego’s history playing in the Steel City. The Chargers have won only twice in 15 trips to Pittsburgh, but both victories came in the postseason. The last time these teams met in the postseason was in the AFC championship game in 1995, when the Chargers advanced to their first and only Super Bowl with a 17-13 victory.

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Giants vs. Eagles

New York -4 vs. Philadelphia

The New York Giants have to be frightened with this Sunday’s matchup with their division-rival Philadelphia Eagles. After all, no one knows you better than a team you face twice per year, but the Giants fright may be in the fact that the Eagles are looking eerily like the 2007 edition of the New York Giants.

The Giants foundered their way through the regular season a year ago and entered the playoffs as a wild-card team. In the divisional round, they face a Dallas Cowboys team that won the NFC East and dominated the league until the last quarter of the year. The Giants who rode a hot streak into postseason play surprisingly dominated the Cowboys and earned a berth in the NFC championship game, which would, of course, later result in a Super Bowl title over the heavily-favored New England Patriots.

The Eagles (10-6-1) have the same record the Giants had a year ago and are in the same fifth seeding which New York resided in. Philadelphia had to be red hot in the final month of the season following a season of ups and downs.

New York (12-4) rested last week after losing three of its final four regular season games. Meanwhile Philadelphia was able to handle the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings, on the road, 26-14.

The Eagles won four of their last five games to get into the postseason. They seemed to respond after two weeks of negative attention was shown to Philadelphia and their quarterback Donovan McNabb. The veteran was criticized for not understanding the tie rule in the NFL after the Eagles and Bengals played to a Week 10 draw. The following week, the team was thrashed by Baltimore, which resulted in the benching of McNabb.

McNabb responded and so did the Eagles. Philadelphia was able to give New York their only home loss of the season on December 7th, 20-14. McNabb passed for 191 yards and was helped by running back Brian Westbrook’s 131 yards rushing and 72 yards receiving, including a 40-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

That same week was the same week that may have turned the Giants season around for the negative. Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce were involved in a nightclub incident that left Burress with an accidental shotgun wound to his leg. Burress was dismissed from the team and the Giants offense has suffered since.

The offense also struggled in the second half because starting running back Brandon Jacobs was in and out of the lineup due to various injuries. He was forced out at halftime in the December game against Philadelphia but ran for 126 yards and two scores when the Giants dropped the Eagles in Philadelphia 36-31 on November 9th.

Despite the most recent nod going to Philly, New York has won six of the last nine meetings. This will be the fourth time that the rivals have met up in the postseason, with the Philadelphia Eagles winning the last matchup, 23-20 in a January 7, 2007 wild-card contest.

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Panthers vs. Cardinals

Carolina -9 1/2 vs. Arizona

After the joy of the first home playoff victory in their franchise since 1947 and two home cities ago, the Arizona Cardinals realized where the divisional round would take them: the dreaded Eastern time zone against a team who has not lost at home this season. Arizona will travel to travel to Charlotte, North Carolina for a second time this season when they take on the Panthers Saturday night.

The Cardinals (10-7) were 0-5 in the East this season. They lost to Washington, the Jets, Philadelphia and New England by an average of 24 points. Arizona has won 2 games in their last 22 trips into the Eastern time zone.

They played a bit better in their Week 8 trip to Carolina (12-4), but still lost 27-23. Arizona actually held a commanding 17-3 lead in the third quarter of that contest until Carolina rallied to take the lead. Arizona drove to Carolina’s 15-yard line late in the fourth quarter in an attempt to regain the lead until Kurt Warner was intercepted by Jon Beason, the Panthers All-Pro linebacker.

The encouraging point for Arizona from that game was the fact that Warner was able to throw for 381 yards against Carolina’s defense, which was the second highest total a quarterback achieved against the Panthers this season. Further, Carolina’s secondary has struggled at times this season and will have their hands full with the second best offense in the NFL.

While the Panthers rested, the Cardinals flapped their wings and defeated Atlanta 30-24 to win their first postseason game in a decade. The home victory was actually considered a mild upset because Arizona did not fare well outside of beating up on its own weak division.

The Carolina Panthers have been phenomenal at home this season. They are hoping for the perfect storm of improving to 9-0 and have Philadelphia defeat New York, thus allowing the NFC championship game to be played at Bank of America Stadium. The undefeated home regular season is the Panthers first since they went to their first NFC championship game in 1996. They have won their eight home games by an average of 15.4 points.

While Arizona will rely heavily on their passing game, Carolina will be going up against the running back duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Williams was the third best back in the league with 1515 yards and 18 touchdowns, 16 of which came in the last nine games. Stewart, a rookie out of Oregon, added 836 yards and 10 scores.

The teams have met eight times since Carolina was added as an expansion team in 1995 and the Panthers have won six of those. Arizona has not won since winning in back-to-back seasons in 2001 and 2002.

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Titans vs. Ravens

Tennessee -3 vs. Baltimore

Two one-time division rivals will meet up in the playoffs for the third time. If it is anything like the previous two, it will be quite a show. The red-hot Baltimore Ravens will meet up with the rested Tennessee Titans in Nashville Saturday afternoon in a matchup of two of the best defenses in the NFL.

For the Titans (13-3), this matchup is a painful déjà vu of 2000 when the team finished 13-3, just like this season; clinched home-field advantage, just like this season and faced the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round, just like this season. Baltimore won, just like this season? Tennessee certainly hopes not.

The teams also met in 2003, when the heavily-favored, AFC North champion Ravens went down in the first round to the wild-card Titans.

This game will be played in the present and the present squads did meet up on October 5th in Baltimore (12-5), with the Titans improving to 5-0 en route to a 10-0 start with a 13-10 victory. The game went down to 1:56 remaining for the game to be decided as Kerry Collins hooked up with Alge Crumpler for a game-winning 11-yard touchdown.

Most expect a game like that to repeat itself as the Titans and Ravens have two of the best defenses in the NFL and that was seen in their Week 5 game as both offenses combined for 495 yards and committed 21 penalties for 169 yards.

The suffocating defenses are near the tops in the NFL and not separated by much. Tennessee ranks second in scoring defense with 14.6 points per game. Not to far behind is Baltimore, ranked third with 15.3. In total yards, Baltimore was second with 277.1 and Tennessee was tied for fifth at 277.1.

The Titans could be even more dangerous if Albert Haynesworth can come back as planned. The All-Pro defensive tackle is day-to-day, but had targeted this game to come back after missing the final two regular season games and resting up through last week’s bye week. Also on the mend is defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, who is recovering from an injured groin and could be back for the first time in a month.

Collins doesn’t have to be outstanding given Tennessee’s running game. The Titans averaged 137.4 yards per game led by Chris Johnson and LenDale White, who combined for 2,001 yards and 24 touchdowns. White rushed for a career-high 15 touchdowns this season.

While Tennessee rested, the Ravens hit on all cylinders when they beat the AFC-East champion Dolphins in Miami 27-9. They forced a usually steady Miami defense into four Chad Pennington interceptions en route to victory. Rookie Joe Flacco was not particularly sharp, but he did not have to be as he threw 9 of 23 for 135 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

The teams have split 18 meetings, with Tennessee winning three of the last four; however five of the last six have had a margin of victory of six points or less.

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Mavericks vs. Knicks

Dallas -8 vs. New York

A once promising season for the New York Knicks now resembles many of their seasons of the last decade. The NBA and fans of the Knicks hopeful of a renaissance in Madison Square Garden may have spoke to soon as New York has dropped eight out of their last ten.

Some hope was reborn with New York (13-20) defeated Boston on Sunday, but the fact that the Celtics have been losing to everyone lately and the Knicks followed that victory with a devastating loss to the doormat of the NBA, the Oklahoma City Thunder, 107-99, on Tuesday. Any hope was deflated.

Thursday the Knicks can attempt their next rise from the ashes as they travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks. It will be quite the uphill battle for New York who has not won in eight trips to Dallas, their last road win was in 1999. The Mavericks (21-13) also look to wrap up the two-game season sweep, having beaten the Knicks at MSG 124-114 in overtime on November 16th. A victory Thursday will give the Mavericks nine straight victories over the Knicks and victories in 14 of the last 15 matchups between the teams.

Dallas continues their stretch against some of the weaker teams in the league and while they have been victorious in most games, they have struggled, including overcoming double-digit deficits in wins over Minnesota and Philadelphia and a 20 point loss to the cellar dwelling Memphis Grizzlies.

Tuesday the Dallas Mavericks rebounded with a 107-102 home victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Dirk Nowitzki blocked a shot and nailed the game winner with under a minute to play. Dallas has now 11-2 in their last 13 home games. Still Dallas had to go on an 11-1 run to come back and win.

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Iowa vs. Minnesota

Hawkeyes vs. Golden Gophers

The number 22 Golden Gophers of Minnesota are no longer in the ranks of the nation’s unbeaten masses, but they are still off to their best start in 12 years. Two games ago, Minnesota was beaten at home by, then-number 10, Michigan State, but rebounded to a victory against Ohio State 68-59 last Saturday. But now the Gophers will set off on an odyssey of which they are unfamiliar with: the road.

Unbelievably at this point in the season, Minnesota (13-1, 1-1) has played only one road game at Colorado State on November 22nd, a 72-71 victory. Thursday night they will travel to rival Iowa for their first road conference game and they will feature a team that has not lost at home in nine tries.

You would have to look hard in the Minnesota records to find a season when they started this well. That is because the last time that they did, 15-1 at the start of 1996-97, the records were expunged because of NCAA sanctions, which wiped a Final Four appearance off of the books.

The Gophers are residents of the Top 25 for the first time since 2002. They have done it with a balance offensive attack which scores 73.1 points per game, but the production is spread around because Minnesota has only one player in the top 25 scorers within the Big Ten. Lawrence Westbrook is the lone representative with 13 points per contest.

The Iowa Hawkeyes‘s promising start has been derailed by alternating wins and losses over their last five games. They will look to win two straight for the first time in about a month after beating Indiana 65-60 last Saturday. The Hawkeyes (11-4) remained perfect at home by defeating the Hoosiers. At home, Iowa is holding opponents to a mere 50.6 points and 37.7 percent shooting. On the season, both home and away, Iowa is holding opponents to 55.9 points per game, good for a place in the top 10 in the country.

Minnesota is technically 2-0 on the road this season, having also beaten, then-number nine, Louisville at the neutral site of Glendale, Arizona on December 20th. A season ago, the Gophers were 4-8 on the road last season and have dropped their last four and seven of eight at Iowa.

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