NFL: FINAL STRETCH, ANALYSIS; BRONCOS QB PEYTON MANNING, BRONCOS OVER TEXANS, 37-13

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner. . . // . . . NFL: FINAL STRETCH, ANALYSIS; BRONCOS QB PEYTON MANNING, BRONCOS OVER TEXANS, 37-13 //(Note to all of our readers: Best wishes for a happy holiday period and a great 2014. Our next posting, January 3, 2014)--- //. . . NFL---Well, it’s here, dispirited moments for 11 of the 32 NFL franchises that won’t be finishing NFL-2013 as winners, that is, not being above .500, not even at the margin of eight wins and eight losses. To date, only one of these teams has accrued more than four wins, the American Conference East’s 6-9 Buffalo Bills. At the very bottom of the 11 are the 2-13 Houston Texans. . . Top of NFL-entire, that’s the National Conference West’s 12-3 Seattle Seahawks and the AC West’s 12-3 Denver Broncos, both post-season billeted even if the Seahawks lose on Sunday to the 7-8 St. Louis Rams, which is unlikely, and the Broncos fall to the 4-11 Oakland Raiders, just as unlikely. Also playoff-headed are the AC West’s 11-4 Kansas City Chiefs (probable Wild Card) and the AC East’s leading team, the 11-4 New England Patriots, plus the AC North’s 10-5 Cincinnati Bengals and the AC South’s 10-5 Indianapolis Colts, each capable of ending NFL-2013 as division leaders. Last’s year’s Super Bowl winner, the now 8-7 Baltimore Ravens, they could finish second to the Bengals if they defeat the latter on Sunday. . . IT’s inside the NC where much more is undecided. Yes, the Seahawks now own a post-season doorway and are likely to turn the key further by pulverizing the NC West’s last place 7-8 St. Louis Rams on Sunday, yet should the Seahawks lose and the now NC West second place team, the 10-4 San Francisco 49ers, win the two games that they have left to play, the Seahawks and the 49ers will then be tied at the NC West’s first position and will be leading the NC. This won’t be easy for the 49ers, in that of the two challenges that they have left, one is against the NC East’s now third place franchise, the 10-5 Arizona Cardinals, which isn't a marshmallow crew. Too, the NC South’s numero uno, the 11-4 Carolina Panthers, they are as close as any team could get to a playoff spot, set to face and probably defeat the NC South’s third position team during Week 16, the 4-10 Atlanta Falcons. That said, the NC South’s 10-5 New Orleans Saints are directly behind the 11-4 Panthers and could land at first position by defeating the NC South’s 4-11 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (likely), providing that the Panthers lose on Sunday to the 4-10 Falcons (not likely). Meanwhile, the NC East’s 8-7 Dallas Cowboys could tie at division first place by prevailing against current first position team on Sunday, the 9-6 Philadelphia Eagles, and the NC North’s 7-7 Green Bay Packers could also get to first by kayoing the 8-7 Chicago Bears. But after Monday night, when the 49ers and Falcons will experience the second of back-to-back matches, all will be static until that distillation/elimination road toward February’s Super Bowl XLVIII. . . // BRONCOS---FROM a distance and certainly on TV, he doesn’t look any different than most quarterbacks. It’s that more times than most, Broncos quarterback, Peyton Manning, gets the job done. He spots weaknesses in the opposing defense and exploits them as quickly as gun radar, which seems to speak to his arm as fast as the speed of light. He then delivers a timely and accurate pass to a wide receiver or tight end, who usually makes the catch. Or, Manning hands the football to a running back like Knowshon Moreno or to RB Monte Ball, both rushing for first downs just short of Usain Bolt-speed. When this happens, and it has happened a lot for the Broncos throughout NFL-2013, we are seeing classic football, enactment of Football 101, the very game that we are taught as kids---basic, hardly any frills. And, when Manning has the pass protection that would make a U.S. President’s Secret Service protectors envious, it’s still nearly impossible to tell if he has followed a sequence of steps from flip to the football’s lift-off or transfer, or if Manning has trained himself to make everything happen at once. On Sunday, Manning threw for a 51st season touchdown, an NFL record, one up on New England Patriots QB, Tom Brady, and the offense that Manning led to win versus the Houston Texans, 37-13, it accrued 21 first downs inside 28 minutes of ball possession time, a first down within less than two minutes per, the read: economy of force, making every second count for something. Also, the Broncos attained 510 yards vs. the Texans 240, which included 114 rushing yards vs. the Texans 87. Manning passed for 400 yards, Texans QB Matt Schaub for 176. Okay, when it comes to number of games won, the NFL-2013 Texans have leased the basement, more to do with a weak defense than its offense, which has managed to accrue more than 20 points in seven of its 15 games played, two of those with higher than 30. Only two of the Texans losses have been with fewer than double-digit points. It’s against that still credible Texans offense that the Broncos defense finally managed to allow fewer than the 20+ points that it has given away during 11 of 14 of 15 NFL-2013 games that the Broncos have played, the lowest Broncos defense giveaway of the season---13. Surely a steadily improving Broncos defense is among keys to an easier Broncos ride toward a Super Bowl appearance. . . AGAIN, A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY PERIOD TO ALL OF OUR READERS. NEXT POSTING AT THIS PAGE WILL BE JANUARY 3, 2014. . . END/ml.

NFL: WEEK 16, "PIVOTAL"; BRONCOS AT THE FINISH LINE // NBA: TURNABOUT DAYS // DENVER NUGGETS, ARE THEY PLAYOFF-BOUND?

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner. . . // . . . NFL: WEEK 16, "PIVOTAL"; BRONCOS AT THE FINISH LINE // NBA: TURNABOUT DAYS; DENVER NUGGETS, ARE THEY PLAYOFF-BOUND? . . // NFL---THE National Conference West’s 12-2 Seattle Seahawks, the franchise that is best in the league today, will face the 9-5 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Expected to win by 10 or more, the Seahawks could then finish NFL-2013 not only atop the NC but at the apex of NFL-entire, providing that the American Conference’s now leading franchise, the AC West’s 11-3 Denver Broncos, lose on Sunday to the AC South’s 2-12 Houston Texans, which is unlikely, or if the Broncos lose in the following week to the AC West’s last place 4-10 Oakland Raiders, also unlikely. A safer bet is that the NC and AC end-of-season results won’t get in the way of the Seahawks and Broncos entering the post-season as contenders favored by analysts for Super Bowl billets. Thinking that the two will be respective conference champions and then Super Bowl XLVIII’s match-up is not foolish from any angle, although a wider swath of competition could be the NFL-2013 experience from Week 16 into the heart of the post-season, this from among the remaining six division leading teams, which are the AC East’s 10-4 New England Patriots, the AC North’s 9-5 Cincinnati Bengals, the AC South’s 9-5 Indianapolis Colts, the NC South’s 10-4 New Orleans Saints, the NC East’s 8-6 Philadelphia Eagles and the NC North’s 8-6 Chicago Bears, all under the shadows of elimination that darken the road to any SB. And, for wild card breakthroughs and/or division leadership yet are five second place teams, the AC North’s 8-6 Baltimore Ravens, the AC West’s 11-3 Kansas City Chiefs, the NC West’s 10-4 San Francisco 49ers, the NC North’s 7-6 Green Bay Packers, the NC South’s 10-4 Carolina Panthers. That’s a lot of uncertainty for the last stretch of an NFL season. Not even the best moneyballers, not even the lord$ of La$ Vega$, no-one has it figured precisely. . . BRONCOS---BEING on the cover of Sports Illustrated and being the magazine’s choice for Sportsman Of The Year is high-end gratification for Peyton Manning, which he’d trade away in a heartbeat for a Super Bowl win as QB for the now 11-3 Denver Broncos, doubly rewarding if Manning can get to compete for that goal after defeating the now 9-5 Indianapolis Colts, his former team that had let him go after 14 loyal years. Not that climbing over the also 11-3 Kansas City Chiefs, or the 10-4 New England Patriots, or the 9-5 Cincinnati Bengals, wouldn’t be past challenges to cherish while on the way to New Orleans for SB XLVIII, a reasonable guess being that the Broncos would then be facing the Seattle Seahawks, maybe the New Orleans Saints, possibly the Carolina Panthers, or the San Francisco 49ers. BUT---starting with game one of the playoffs, can the Broncos do what a great Samurai facing 50,000 enemy does, defeat one at a time until it is last team standing and that would be the men from Denver? Keep in mind that last year’s post-season loss to the Baltimore Ravens, which cost the Broncos a trip to the SB as other than spectators, that was from a fluke, a Ravens QB Joe Flacco pass that was of the sort that has less than a two percent chance of receivership, yet it happened, robbing Manning and the Broncos of a chance to defeat the 49ers for the Lombardi trophy. And, Manning-year 2012 wasn’t as good as Manning-year 2013. So, let’s look at Sunday’s Broncos versus Texans, the Broncos having won almost as many 2013 games as the Texans have lost. In two of the Texans losses, only three points per each occurred against opposing teams that scored more than 20. Since Week 3, the Texans haven’t won a game, that’s 12 L’s in a row, during which the Texans have given away more than 380 points to their victors. Yet in that period, the Broncos defense, which has been marginal throughout the season, gave away almost 310 points, this difference not one that the Broncos can be giddy over. Also, the 7-7 San Diego Chargers lists among one of two teams that the Texans have managed to defeat this year. During Week 14, the Chargers defeated the Broncos, 27-20, and the second team that the Texans prevailed against this season, the 5-9 Tennessee Titans, they managed to take 28 points away from the Broncos during a Week 13 game, which was the second most points allowed by the Broncos to an opposing team since NFL-2013 began. Still, if the Broncos offense is “on” this Sunday, if it is at the capacity displayed by Manning and company during the Broncos 11 wins, then the Texans will surely lose. A point to be taken here is that a Broncos defense allowing the Texans to own 20 or more points within three periods on Sunday, such will definitely characterize the presumed Broncos victory as a tough haul; it won’t be as easy as was last week’s Seahawks 23-0 victory over the New York Giants and the Colts 25-3 win vs. the Texans. . . NBA---IT took only three days for the Oklahoma City Thunder to leave second position for the lead within the Western Conference Northwest, within the WC itself and inside the entire NBA, pushing the East’s first position and the East’s Central Division first place Indiana Pacers to second position inside the full NBA. The remaining four division leading franchises, the 20-5 San Antonio Spurs (WC Southwest), the 18-9 L.A. Clippers (WC Pacific), the 12-15 Boston Celtics (EC Atlantic) and the 19-6 Miami Heat (EC Southeast), they add to a list of six top teams reflecting a status quo, in that each finished the previous NBA season within the top 10 of the NBA’s 30 teams. How secure are these leading franchises after each has played between 23 and 27 games to date? Not very---only two have substantial leads over their division second position teams, the Pacers being 20-5 over the 13-14 Detroit Pistons, and the 19-6 Miami Heat above the 14-12 Atlanta Hawks. The Thunder is but one win ahead of second place team, the 22-5 Trail Blazers. Eighteen NBA teams are still under .500, while nine are above .600, four of which are at .800 and higher, the .840 Thunder, .815 Trail Blazers, .800 Spurs, and the .800 Pacers. Among the six third position teams, the 15-10 Dallas Mavericks and the 14-12 Golden State Warriors are the two that added wins to their record in the past three days. . . // NUGGETS---THIS Denver NBA team, now 14-10/.583, has been to the playoffs nine years straight, and only once since 2007 have they reached the second round. Given the number of NBA teams that year after year fail to make the playoffs, the Nuggets surely rank just below teams that make the second playoff round and get to the finals, which is like being at the podium after finishing third in a big race that included 30 cars. Can this year be any different for the Nuggets, can they get to the playoffs by playing as they have been since the 2013/14 season began? A positive note is that only twice since the current season began have the Nuggets NOT followed a win with a win. They seem to be winning streak-prone, having won seven in a row November 21 through December 3, and three straight earlier in November. And, the Nuggets have not had a loss with fewer than 88 points (just twice), and no deficit within a loss greater than 15 points (to the Trail Blazers, 113-98, November 1). Also, in 14 of 23 games played the Nuggets managed to score more than 100 points, highest being 117 vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves. Too, five of the Nuggets players have already accrued double-digit ppg averages, and as a team the Nuggets have a higher team ppg average over all opposing franchises, 102.1 ppg over 98.9 ppg. In addition, for more than a month the Nuggets have advanced above opposing teams in number of netted field goals, 3-pointers, free throws, and in number of rebounds, blocks, steals and assists. However, there’s a factor hard to assess and predict a future for, this: “The rate of games won vs. losses as a season progresses.” For the 82 games that the Nuggets will complete on the day that the current season ends, 50 wins is the magic number if the Nuggets are to obtain a playoff berth easily. Right now, with 24 games already over, the team’s 14-10 record with 58 games left to play is a pace that can reach 50 Nuggets wins by April 16, which is the day of the Nuggets last 2013/14 regulation game (vs. Golden State). In other words, the Nuggets current win/loss pace can yield 28 wins within the next 48 games that the Nugget must play, which means that the Nuggets will have accrued 42 wins from 62 games played and can then win eight of the rest that have to be played, total by season’s end: “50 wins,” which is what can get a team to the playoffs. The next and harder question is, “Can the Nuggets maintain its current win/loss pace?” Between now and the end of 2013, are six Nuggets challenges only two of which are against weaker franchises, the 11-13 New Orleans Pelicans and the 10-15 Memphis Grizzlies. The five other matches include two first position teams, the 19-6 Miami Heat and the 18-9 L.A. Clippers, and two teams that have been winning as much or more than the Nuggets have, the 14-10 Phoenix Suns and the 14-12 Golden State Warriors; and from January 1 through January 31 the Nuggets will be facing three top franchises, the 12-15 Boston Celtics, the 20-5 Indiana Pacers and the 22-5 Portland Trail Blazers. That’s seven hard challenges. If these become losses for the Nuggets, the team’s 14-10 win/loss pace will slow and diminish as a rate of progress, making it difficult for the Nuggets to achieve the desired 50 for playoff candidacy. For the Nuggets, winning the hard seven now through January 31 is crucial if the team is to obtain playoff-candidacy. Also, as to whether or not the Nuggets can get to the playoffs second round, the answer could lie within how well the team does when playing against the aforementioned hard seven, the latter likely to be those teams also reaching the playoffs. END/ml

NFL; WEEK 15, OUTLOOK; BRONCOS & SUPERBOWL XLVIII // NBA: STANDINGS @ 20+

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner. . . // . . . NFL: WEEK 15, OUTLOOK; BRONCOS & SUPERBOWL XLVIII // NBA: STANDINGS, @ 20+ . . . // NFL--- NFL-2013’s WEEK 14 was of some discomfort for seven of the eight division leading franchises in that they hadn’t been able to advance from being one or two wins ahead of second position holders. The American Conference South’s 9-5 Indianapolis Colts are the only division top franchise with a substantial lead over a number two team, they are 9-5, thus four wins ahead of the 5-9 Tennessee Titans. Within the National Conference West, the 12-2 Seattle Seahawks are ahead of the 10-4 San Francisco 49ers, but by losing this Sunday to the NC West’s 9-5 Arizona Cardinals, and next week to the NC West’s 6-8 St. Louis Rams, the Seahawks could, if the 49ers defeat the NC South’s 4-10 Atlanta Falcons next Monday and then the NC West’s 9-5 Cardinals during Week 16, surely they will see the 49ers champion the NC West. And, if now NC East leading team, the 8-7 Philadelphia Eagles, loses to the NC North’s 8-6 Chicago Bears on Sunday, and in the following week is taken down by the NC East’s 7-7 Dallas Cowboys, then the Cowboys will be leading the NC East. The current NC North’s leading franchise, the 8-6 Bears, could experience a similar fate if they lose to the Eagles during Week 15 and next week to the NC North’s 7-6 Green Bay Packers, they will be watching the Packers ascend to first position. The NC South’s leading team, the 10-4 New Orleans Saints, and the NC South’s number two, the 10-4 Carolina Panthers, could trade positions if the Saints lose to the Panthers on Sunday and to the NC South's 4-10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Week 16, providing that the Panthers defeat the NC South’s last place 4-10 Atlanta Falcons the following week . . . WITHIN the AC West, the Broncos losing to the 2-12 Houston Texans this Sunday, and next Sunday to the AC West’s 4-10 Oakland Raiders, could drop the Broncos to number two if now AC West second place team, the also 11-3 Kansas City Chiefs, defeats the Colts during Week 15, and beats the 7-7 San Diego Chargers during Week 16. . . OF COURSE, if some of the above-cited outcomes seem to be impossible given the odds based on recent power rankings and on win/loss divides, we need to think again: during Week 14, the Chargers managed to defeat an expected victor, the Broncos, 27-20, and last Sunday the AC East’s 10-4 Patriots lost unexpectedly to the AC East’s 9-5 Miami Dolphins, 24-20. . . AS TO the NFL franchises at the low end of Do-Or-Die but that can hope rationally, these are the 7-7 Chargers, the 6-8 New York Jets, the 6-8 Pittsburgh Steelers, the 6-8 St. Louis Rams, and the 7-7 Detroit Lions. Each of these teams can finish NFL-2013 at 8-8/.500, or higher, thus as winning instead of losing teams, providing that they win during Weeks 15 and 16 . . . WHICH team to hum sad melodies for? That’s the AC South’s last place 2-12/.143 Houston Texans, which has the worst win/loss record of the year . . . // BRONCOS---THIS 11-3 team is playoff-bound, even if the Kansas City Chiefs manage to attain first position within the AC West. Presently, the Broncos are division numero uno, and, thanks to the Patriot’s Week 14 loss, the Broncos are the AC’s leading team and just one win behind the league’s number one franchise, the NC West’s 12-2 Seahawks. Next Sunday, the Broncos will probably defeat the 2-12 Houston Texans, and with a Week 16 win versus the 4-10 Oakland Raiders they could then be first seed re. the playoffs. Along the bright side is that the Broncos won’t be playing its final two games in freezing weather. To the dim side, they won’t be having home advantage, and there have not been any signs that the Broncos defense could keep from giving away 19 or more points vs. even the weakest opposition. During Weeks 15 and 16, the Peyton Manning-led offense will be working as hard as they have had to during any 2013 game to date, in order to offset points allowed by the Broncos defense. Our take is that they will get the job done, and as we cited many weeks ago it will probably be a Broncos vs. Seahawks Super Bowl come February, contravening current Las Vegas odds the Broncos taking it, though close, by no more than six . . . // . . . NBA---THE Indiana Pacers, like the team's counterpart wihtin the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts, they are the only NBA franchise holding what could be characterized as substantial division and conference leads. With one fourth of the NBA 82-game season over for most of the NBA’s 30 teams, the Eastern Conference’s Central Division Pacers are 20-4 today, eight wins above second place franchise, the 12-14 Detroit Pistons. Next is the East’s Southeast leading team, the 18-6 Miami Heat, five wins above second place franchise, the 13-12 Atlanta Hawks. The remaining four division leading teams are but two or three wins above second place holders. . . STILL nearly at the bottom of the NBA unexpectedly are the Western Conference Northwest Division last place team, the 6-21 Utah Jazz, the West’s Southeast 10-13 Memphis Grizzlies, the West’s Pacific Division 11-13 Los Angeles Lakers, and the Eastern Conference Atlantic’s 7-17 New York Knicks. . . AMONG the six division third place franchises, the Denver Nuggets are in the lead, 14-9/.609. END/ml.

NFL: WEEK 15 "OUTLOOK;" BRONCOS LOSS TO THE CHARGERS

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner. . . //. . . NFL: WEEK 15 “OUTLOOK;” BRONCOS LOSS TO THE CHARGERS. . . //. . . NFL--IF drama, if story, if suspense happens to be your thing, then NFL-2013 at Week 15 is for you. Example, the American Conference West’s 11-3 Denver Broncos are no longer a cinch for division and league leadership, this from a Thursday night 27-20 loss to AC West’s third place 7-7 San Diego Chargers, opening a window for the AC East’s 10-3 New England Patriots to fill that position providing that they prevail against the AC East’s 7-6 Miami Dolphins on Sunday and then the AC North’s 7-6 Baltimore Ravens during the following Sunday, and, of course, that the Broncos lose during Week 16 to the AC South’s now 2-11 Houston Texans. Not from any vantage point are these impossible happenings, in spite of the odds favoring the Broncos over the Texans by a wide margin. . . MEANWHILE, the AC West’s 10-3 Kansas City Chiefs are at the heels of the Broncos, in that a Chiefs win over the AC West’s 4-9 Oakland Raiders on Sunday, and then a Chiefs win versus the 8-5 Indianapolis Colts during the following Sunday, plus the possible Broncos Week 16 loss to the Texans, such could make the Chiefs division numero uno as NFL-2013 regulation closes. . . AND, except for the AC East’s Patriots 3-game lead above second place team, the Dolphins, all other division leading franchises are today owners of but a one or two game lead atop second position teams. These other division leading franchises could finish the season at second or third position if teams behind them ascend. . . WEEK 15, then, is a period of much uncertainty. Further evidence of this is that within the AC North, the 7-6 Baltimore Ravens can push back today’s first place team, the 9-4 Cincinnati Bengals, by defeating the NC North’s 7-6 Detroit Lions on Monday night after the possibility of a Bengals loss on Sunday to the AC North’s 5-8 Pittsburgh Steelers. Also, should the AC South’s 8-5 Colts lose to the Texans on Sunday (unlikely, though it could happen) and to the Chiefs during Week 16, and the now AC South’s 5-8 Tennessee Titans defeat the NC West’s 8-5 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday and takes down the AC South’s 4-9 Jacksonville Jaguars during Week 16, the Titans could then own the AC South. . . MOREOVER, inside the NC the NC West’s 11-2 Seattle Seahawks can drop from first to second place if they lose to the NC East’s 5-8 New York Giants on Sunday and to the NC West’s 8-5 Cardinals in the following week, if simultaneously the 9-4 San Francisco 49ers unravel the 4-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, next the NC South’s 3-10 Atlanta Falcons during Week 16. . . FURTHERMORE, within the NC East the 8-5 Philadelphia Eagles are today only one game over second place team, the 7-5 Dallas Cowboys, while inside the NC North the 7-6 Detroit Lions are just one win ahead of the 6-6 Chicago Bears, while within the NC South the 10-3 New Orleans Saints are only one game ahead of the 9-4 Carolina Panthers. The Lions would have to lose to the Ravens this Monday, and the Bears would need to defeat the AC North’s 4-9 Cleveland Browns on Sunday, for the two to reverse positions; and, for that to happen within the NC South the Saints must lose to the NC West’s 5-8 St Louis Rams during Week 15 and the Panthers have to undo the AC East’s 6-7 N.Y. Jets on Sunday. Yes, current win/loss records, and other data, suggest that for most of the above-listed NFL teams their Week 15 and Week 16 outcomes will reflect a status quo, i.e., win/loss records and other stats say that that today’s division-leading NFL teams will keep their current slots. . . STILL, if the Chargers could “surprisingly” overtake the Broncos the way that they did on Thursday night, well, anything could happen. For teams at the top directly after Week 15, NFL could truly be the acronym that players like to use when discussing career or status longevity---“NFL---Not For Long.” . . . //. . . BRONCOS, CHARGERS---WHEN a season is over and players look back, before them will be seen the proverbial good, bad and ugly, among the worst a game such as the AC West’s now 11-3 Denver Broncos 27-20 loss to the AC West’s 7-7 third place San Diego Chargers on Thursday night, this largely from a Broncos defense that throughout NFL-2013 has had only short periods of effectiveness equaling the power and skills of the Broncos offense, the latter being at its worst versus the Chargers on Thursday, Week 15. Obvious here is that a loss for the Broncos is practically guaranteed when the Broncos offense retreats to mediocrity, in that the Broncos defense, as now constructed and as it has performed almost game-by-game since September, is likely to give up 19 or more points no matter which team that the Broncos are facing. One way to describe this is that the Broncos offense has been in the butt-saving business during 11 games so far this season, and attached to this is a truth about Broncos QB Peyton Manning, this: while being the NFL’s best QB afield today, Manning still has, like all above-the-margin QB’s since football was invented, “Vulnerabilities.” Super-heroes are for the comic books. No great athlete has a career without some ditches in the road. Like all superb athletes, Manning will still have off-game moments, just less frequently than arrival of the downturns that afflict other NFL QB’s, but when it happens at a crucial moment it can devastate, like that fourth Q interception that turned Sunday around for the Chargers, with the 27 of 41 passes that Manning completed and that resulted in two touchdowns diminishing as possible game-savers. . . SADLY, the Broncos defense hadn’t helped the Manning-led offense to more than 21 minutes of ball possession while they helped the opposing Chargers offense to accrue 38 minutes, enough for Chargers QB Phillip Rivers to drive his offense for three TD’s off of 337 total yards, within which were 177 yards from rushing. The most yards gained rushing by a Broncos RB on Sunday stunned---just 19, all by one RB, Knowshon Moreno. And, Broncos QB/receiver “completion connectivity” was absent way too often---not one of Manning’s “preferred” WR’s caught to score, it took a largely unknown Broncos reserve-WR to set up 12 points, Andre Caldwell. Was Chargers QB Rivers out-manning Manning, was he the outstanding QB? He didn’t have to struggle to be this, and he wasn’ta version of Manning at Manning's best, though Rivers was certainly above mediocrity. On Thursday, the Broncos defense was Rivers partner, an opportunity for Rivers to shine. Though Rivers accrued fewer than 170 yards for the Chargers, it led to 24 first downs vs. the Broncos 19 first downs. Via weak Broncos defenses, Rivers managed to lead the Broncos from second Q onward. . . THE Broncos remaining two challenges appear to be easy wins, first against the AC South’s 2-11 Texans on December 22, with last game of the season vs. the AC West’s last place team, the 4-9 Oakland Raiders, December 29. However, we cannot discount the fact that 19 or more points given away to either challenger by the Broncos defense could set the Broncos up for weak playoff capacity, for an 11-5 season finish if indeed the Broncos Manning-led offense has peaked and repeats the performance exhibited Thursday night vs. the Chargers. This is an unlikely happening, according to just about every NFL analyst, what stat guys label, “Low probability.” END/ml.

NFL: WEEK 14, ANALYSIS; BRONCOS DEFEAT OF THE TITANS // SUPER READS, 2013 SPORTS BOOKS, FINE AS XMAS GIFTS

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team---milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner. . . // . . . NFL: WEEK 14, ANALYSIS; BRONCOS DEFEAT OF THE TITANS // SUPER READS, 2013 SPORTS BOOKS, FINE AS XMAS GIFTS. . . // NFL---ON Sunday, the now 11-2 American Conference West Denver Broncos defeated the AC South’s currently second place team, the Tennessee Titans, 51-28, and the National Conference West’s 10-2 Seattle Seahawks lost to the NC West’s 9-4 San Francisco 49ers, 19-17, which frames the Broncos in super-hero format, as the only NFL-2013 franchise that will enter Week 15 leading a division, a conference and the league itself, while also holding lock and key for a playoff billet, a position that the Seahawks might have obtained had they defeated the 49ers. . . Other division leading franchises that won Week 14 games were the AC East’s now 10-3 New England Patriots over the AC South’s last place team, the 2-10 Houston Texans, 34-31, and the NC South’s 10-3 New Orleans Saints prevailing against the NC South’s second place franchise, the 9-4 Carolina Panthers. . . Of the remaining division leading teams, three lost during Week 14 but kept their first place positions, while the NC East’s 7-5 Dallas Cowboys reversed to second place after the NC East’s now 8-5 Philadelphia Eagles beat the Arizona Cardinals, 24-21, grabbing first place. . . Of the division first place franchises that lost on Sunday, only one projects a guaranteed Week 16 division title, the AC South’s 8-5 Indianapolis Colts, now three games ahead of second place team, the Titans. On Sunday, the Colts lost to the AC North’s 8-4 Cincinnati Bengals, 42-28. . . But it is too late for 13 NFL teams to reach past .500 by Week 16, given scheduled opponents that are likely to defeat them, and due to the limited number of games left in the season for them to leap forward re. number of wins. The unlucky 13 are the now 4-9/.338 Oakland Raiders, 4.9/.308 Buffalo Bills, 5-8/.385 Pittsburgh Steelers, 4.9/.308 Cleveland Browns, the 5-8/385 Titans, the 4-9/.308 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-11/.154 Texans (Ugh!), 5.8/.385 St. Louis Rams, 5.8/.385 New York Giants, 3-10/.231 Washington Redskins, 3.9/.269 Minnesota Vikings, the 4-9/.308 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the 3-10/.231 Atlanta Falcons. Surely of much study and crunching in the off-season will be of that which has caused the “unholy unpredictable” to happen, i.e., “How could the Texans, Falcons, Redskins and N.Y. Giants land at the back end of the NFL-2013 grid?” . . . // BRONCOS, TITANS---THE NFL game isn’t always a pass venture, but if you are Broncos quarterback and NFL legend, Peyton Manning, you prefer it that way. Against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Manning threw for almost 400 yards and four touchdowns, including his 45th TD of the season, five short of Patriots QB Tom Brady’s 50, with enough games ahead for Manning to go one or more better; final score against the Titans, 51-28, the third NFL-2013 contest during which the Broncos scored more than 50 points. Noteworthy is that the Broncos win against the Titans happened as comeback stuff, with the Broncos behind as the first quarter closed, 14-10, then back of the Titans at half time, 21-20. The magic kicked in during the third Q, which ended with the Broncos ahead, 34-28, and it formed completely with 17 additional Broncos points in the fourth Q, while the Broncos defense finally purchased 15 minutes without giving up a penny, as if having allowed more than 20 points to the Titans was a stirring wake-up call, reminding the Broncos defenders that the danger of points given away increases as fourth Q minutes fly by. Meanwhile, it’s what exists back of points-earned that addresses the superb offense. By endgame, the Broncos offense had advantaged the Titans in just about every major game category---39 first downs vs. the Titans 15, plus a gain of 551 net yards, the Titans with but 254. The Broncos attained 39 minutes of ball possession, the Titans bought 20 minutes. There were 32 Broncos rushing plays vs. the Titans 22, and the Broncos rushed for more than 150 yards vs. the Titans 99. Manning’s 397 passing yards was met by Titans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 172. Manning completed 39 passes of 59 attempts, Fitzpatrick 13 of 24. . . OUTSTANDING: Broncos kicker Matt Prater’s amazing field goal from the Titans 46 yard line. . . Next up for the Broncos, the AC West’s third place and 6-7/.462 San Diego Chargers, defeated by the Broncos during Week 10, 28-20. . . // BOOKS---TELLING it like it is makes for good reading, and telling it like it is with some humor thrown in along with the realism, well, that’s even better, and that is what former NFL WR and TE, Nate Jackson, has delivered in SLOW GETTING UP, an unveiling of what it’s like to be in the NFL wars from energetic and hopeful rookie year to seasons when cynicism could settle in as one’s philosophy regarding professional sports. Jackson’s prose is strong and yet cool, covering what’s relevant for a thorough understanding of today’s NFL game and of what is in the hearts of those players who “dare to dare,” who struggle to find and hold to civility among the violence and busine$$ nuance$ that can destroy that (240 pages, Harper-Collins). . . NO PLAN B---This is a lively and full accounting of the transformation “and transport” of an athlete misperceived, of talent thought mistakenly to be in decline and of its travel upward from that perception. NO PLAN B is also the story of an unnecessary team loss becoming another team’s big win, told through the actions of players, head coach and a front office exec (former QB great, John Elway). Another title for this book by Denver Post sportswriter, Mark Kiszla, could have been, “The Peyton Manning Saga, Part Two.” It is mainly about Peyton Manning being let go by the Indianapolis Colts, his joining the Denver Broncos and leading an offense that in two years has made franchise history and pulled the Broncos back to elite NFL status. Warning: this book isn’t anywhere near to being about what it’s like to be any quarterback in the NFL, it’s about the exception, of a QB that is the outstanding QB, the ideal QB, the QB of whom there are only one or two around in any season. The author has delivered this with great thoroughness, so that a reader can know Peyton Manning “the unusual better and extremely well-liked and respected man,” and why Manning is the superb athlete that he has become and can still be. Humanizing what appears super-human isn’t easy---Kiszla has managed to do this, his accounting of the Manning transition from Indianapolis to Denver is a Manning-like spiral (182 pages, Taylor Trade Publishing). . . SPORTS & THE HEROIC---Want a book emphasizing why sports matter, how its best performers have reflected what’s best about all of us, and what could stand correction, as well? By author Marvin Leibstone (Ed., Publ., Sports Notebook), this book gets the job done, recounting key events in baseball, football, basketball, other major sports, that give pause, that can cause us to think about the strategies and tactics that can deliver success in nearly all endeavors. Covered in detail are actual events and the athletes participating within them, teh latter demonstrating great courage, integrity and persistence against the odds (153 pages, XLIBRIS). . . These books are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and through most other book outlets. END/ml

NFL: WEEK 14---BRONCOS, SEAHAWKS, OTHERS AT BASE OF THE SUMMIT // NBA: AROUND THE HORN; NUGGETS & BREAKING "GOOD."

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed. & Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner. . . // . . . NFL: WEEK 14---BRONCOS, SEAHAWKS, OTHERS AT THE SUMMIT // NBA: AROUND THE HORN; NUGGETS & BREAKING “GOOD.” . . . NFL---WERE NFL-2013 to end with Week 14, win/loss records alone would place the National Conference West’s 10-1 Seattle Seahawks against the American Conference West’s 10-2 Denver Broncos, and that could very well be an outcome for the February 5, 2014 Super Bowl. But which of the two is best? Going by win/loss numbers only, the two franchises are roughly equal, though the Seahawks have one less loss from the Seahawks having played 11 instead of the 12 contests that the Broncos have endured. From these games played Weeks 1 through 13, the Broncos have put 429 points on the board, while the Seahawks have accrued 306. When adding the 35 points that the Broncos gained vs. the AC West’s 9-3 Kansas City Chiefs during Week 13 to the Seahawks total number of 2013-earned points, the Broncos still have a much greater number of combined touchdown + field goal data. Moreover, in two of the Broncos games this year, the Denver team has finished with more than 50 points, in three others with more than 40. The highest number of points achieved by the Seahawks in any of their 11 games remains the 45 taken from now AC third place team, the 3-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, all other Seahawks wins being of much loweer figures. In addition, within the Broncos two losses are opposing teams that today are NFL division leaders and candidates for the post-season, the AC South’s 8-4 Indianapolis Colts and AC East’s 9-3 New England Patriots. And, there are no Broncos near-losses, while though the Seahawks also lost to the Colts, they have allowed two of NFL-2013’s worst teams to push them into Overtime, the now AC South’s last place 2-10 Houston Texans, and the NC South’s 3-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, these franchises losing to the Seahawks by only three points respectively. Furthermore, the Broncos have accumulated more yards throughout NFL-2013’s Weeks 1 through 13, than the Seahawks have, 4,135 passing yards and 1,463 rushing yards, total: 5,598, vs. the Seahawks 2,807 passing yards and 1,954 rushing yards, total: 4,561 yards gained. With regard to rushing, the Broncos have fewer total yards gained during Weeks 1 through 13, than the Seahawks have, yet the Broncos rushing stat has evolved into 14 TD’s, the Seahawks, 11. Also, the most yards gained to date by a Broncos receiver totals more than 1,060, the best from a Seahawks receiver being 663. From rushing, the top three Broncos running backs have gone for a total of 1,403 yards, the Seahawks top three having accrued 1,631, which seems an advantage for the Seahawks until noted is that the Broncos top RB’s have rushed for 12 TD’s vs. the Seahawks top two going for 11 TD’s. As to a quarterback match-up, the Broncos QB Peyton Manning has it all over Seahawks QB, Russell Wilson. Manning has passed for 4,125 yards since the start of NFL-2013, Wilson for 2,672. Manning’s pass completion rate is 68.1 percent from 327 completions of 480 attempts; Russell’s pass completion rate is 64.9 from a much lower attempt/completion reading---198 from 305 attempts. However, in Manning’s NFL-2013 pass corner are 41 TD’s, compared to Russell’s 22. But there’s a category of play that is troubling for the Broncos re. a Broncos/Seahawks match-up---“Defense.” Since early September, the Broncos defense has given up more than 20 points in 10 of 12 matches and allowed 17 and 19 in others, for a total of 317 points. The Seahawks have allowed 20 and more in only three of 11 games, totaling but 186 given away. . . This Sunday (Week 14) will likely be an easier go for the Broncos than for the Seahawks, the former being up against a much weaker franchise, the AC South’s 5-7 Tennessee Titan. The Seahawks will be facing a more formidable opponent, the NC West’s 8-4 San Francisco 49ers. . . Other leading NFL teams that can from Week 14 continue claiming division supremacy/playoff candidacy almost couched in guarantees, that’s the AC West’s 9-3 Chiefs facing the NC East’s 3-9 Washington Redskins on Sunday, the AC East’s 9-3 Patriots to be challenged on Sunday by the AC North’s 4-8 Cleveland Browns, also the AC North’s 8-4 Cincinnati Bengals and the AC South’s 8-4 Colts as a Week 14 match-up same day, plus the NC East’s 7-5 Dallas Cowboys being on for Monday night vs. the NC North’s 6-6 Chicago Bears. Also on Sunday, the NC East’s 7-5 Philadelphia Eagles will go against the NC North’s 7-5 Detroit Lions, and the NC South’s 9-2 New Orleans Saints and 9-3 Carolina Panthers will face off. And, it’s still “heartbreak country” for the NC South’s last place 3-9 Atlanta Falcons and the AC South’s 2-10 Houston Texans, which finished the 2012 season high-end and valiantly. . . // NBA---THE deepest division lead within the NBA today belongs to the Eastern Conference’s Central Division number one franchise, the Indiana Pacers, 17-2 over second place team, the Detroit Pistons, now 9-10. Next are the East’s Southeast Division’s Miami Heat, 14-5, ahead of second place team, the 9-9 Washington Wizards. Within the Western Conference’s Northwest Division, the 16-3 Portland Trail Blazers are above second place franchise, the 13-4 Oklahoma City Thunder. The remaining division leading franchises---WC Southwest’s 15-3 San Antonio Spurs, WC Pacific’s 13-7 Los Angeles Clippers and the EC Atlantic’s 8-12 Boston Celtics—they have but two and one game leads over second place teams. . . The unexpected poor performances in today’s NBA appear to be within the EC Atlantic, where not one of the division’s five teams has reached .500. The EC East’s division leader, the Boston Celtics, has the lowest record among all six NBA division number ones---8-12/.400. Too, the EC East’s Toronto Raptors dropped from first to third position since December 2, and the 5-14 Brooklyn Nets and the 4-13 New York Knicks are still the only two franchises below .300 within the EC-entire except for the EC Central’s 3-5/.167 Milwaukee Bucks. Presently, only three WC teams are below .500, the WC Northwest’s 9-10/.474 Minnesota Timberwolves and 4-16/.200 Utah Jazz, and the Pacific Division’s 4-12/.250 Sacramento Kings. Inside the EC, 11 franchises are below .500, highest the Central’s 9-10/.474 Pistons, lowest the Central’s Bucks. . . NUGGETS---THE end of a winning streak before half of an NBA season is over isn’t the end of opportunity, it’s essentially the possibility of it being a pause before the next victory sweep. The currently 11-7 Western Conference Northwest Division third place Denver Nuggets just went down after seven straight wins, to the Eastern Conference Central’s now 6-12 Cleveland Cavaliers, 98-88, with a chance that the Nuggets can topple the EC Atlantic’s 8-12 Boston Celtics tonight, a team that’s essentially new and still working on coordination since the seasoned Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce left for other pastures. Noteworthy is that the Nuggets have won 10 of the team’s last 13 games and is above .500 on the road. Too, 10 of the Nuggets 18 NBA-2013/14 games played so far have been wins from more than 100 points each, and two of the team’s winning streaks above the recent run of seven have been of three and four wins. Also, the Nuggets worst loss to date re. points accrued has been 88, but just two digits below the 90 points gained by winning team, the WC Pacific's now 4-12 Sacramento Kings. And, not since November 5 have the Nuggets lost more than three games in a row. In addition, four of the Nuggets players have been averaging double digit ppg, Ty Lawson leading with 20.9 ppg. Too, the Nuggets began December holding leads vs. all opposing teams in successful field goals, 3-pointers, defense rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. END/ml

NFL: CLOSE TO THE WIRE AT WEEK 14; BRONCOS DEFEAT OF THE CHIEFS // NBA: HIGH GROUND, LOW & THE MIDDLE

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . FOR MORE ANALYSIS, GO TO "MILE HIGH SPORTS RADIO," AM1510 or FM93.7, and to Denver’s best sports blogging team, milehighsports.com. SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed. & Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner. . . // . . . NFL: CLOSE TO THE WIRE AT WEEK 14; BRONCOS DEFEAT OF THE CHIEFS // NBA: HIGH GROUND, LOW & THE MIDDLE . . . // NFL---EXCEPT for increases in number of wins, there are no changes in NFL-2013’s division lead landings, for instance, the AC West’s Denver Nuggets are now 10-2, first above second place franchise, the 9-3 Kansas City Chiefs, after defeating the Chiefs on Sunday, 35-28; and, the AC East’s now 9-3 New England Patriots stayed ahead of number two team, the 6-6 Miami Dolphins, after beating the Houston Texans, 34-31 (The Dolphins replaced the New York Jets at second position on Sunday, defeating the Jets 23-3). Also within the AC, the AC North’s first place 8-4 Cincinnati Bengals are two up over the Baltimore Ravens, having taken down the AC West’s third place team, the 5-7 San Diego Chargers also on Sunday (The Ravens replaced the Pittsburgh Steelers at second position, AC North, after defeating them on Thursday, 22-20). And, AC South’s leading team, the 8-4 Indianapolis Colts, now owns a three game lead over second place team, the 5-7 Tennessee Titans, after Sunday’s win over the Titans, 22-14. And, leading the National Conference West still are the 11-1 Seattle Seahawks, the team atop NFL-entire and that clinched a playoff spot last night after beating the NC South’s New Orleans Saints, 34-7. Up front within the NC East still are the 7-5 Dallas Cowboys, after putting away on Thursday the AC West’s last place franchise, the 4-8 Oakland Raiders. However, number two NC East team, the 7-5 Philadelphia Eagles, still have the same number of wins + losses as the Cowboys have; and, the NC North’s leading franchise, the 7-5 Detroit Lions, increased its lead over the now 6-6 Chicago Bears during Week 13, having beaten the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, 40-10, while the Bears were in Bye Week. At NC South, the 9-2 Saints dropped a one game lead over the now 9-3 Carolina Panthers, from Monday night’s loss to the Seahawks. . . As for the eight third place franchises within the eight NFL divisions, six have an opportunity to finish the season at .500, that margin separating winning from losing teams, and these chances are indeed slim for the 5-7 Chargers, 5-7 Jets, 5-7 Steelers and 5-7 Giants, while the 7-5 Cardinals and the 5-6 Packers have more opportunity for adding wins through to Week 16. The two other third place teams, the AC South’s 3-9 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the 3-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have no chance whatsoever for escaping “the Loser’s Club,” which will include the eight fourth place franchises, as well, lowest among them the 2-10 Texans, the NC East’s 3-9 Washington Redskins and the NC South’s 3-9 Atlanta Falcons. . . BRONCOS, CHIEFS---HAVING defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, 35-28, the Denver Broncos are the number one American Conference and AC West leading team, also the second NFL-2013 franchise to reach double-digit wins and a possible Super Bowl attendee versus a possible National Conference championship team, the 10-1 Seattle Seahawks. But sustaining dominance is always tricky in the NFL. Enter, possible spoilers: the Broncos could give way to hard-to-beat AC South second place team, the Tennessee Titans, during Week 14, thought the Titans are 5-7, while the Kansas City Chiefs may have an easier go this Sunday versus NC East last place team, the 3-9 Washington Redskins, matching the Broncos at first place, AC West, also first within the AC and third inside NFL-entire. Meanwhile on Sunday, a likely AC East 9-3 New England Patriots win over the AC North’s last place and 4-8 Cleveland Browns can give the Patriots equal footing with the Broncos should the latter fall to the Titans. What causes suspicion of a Broncos win to always hover above? One word, “Defense,” “the big D,” a defense squad that is flawed not by dents within the four S’s, “Skills, Speed, Strength, plus ‘Smarts’ for employing the first three S’s,” instead by the sometimes lack of initial introduction of these values at the start of a game, or lack of consistency once the four values kick in during later periods of a game. It’s a defense that is choppy, that goes up or down upon the proficiency scale, superb to lousy and back again. Luckily these defense flaws that have allowed an opposing team to score more than 20 points in nearly all of the 12 games that the 2013 Broncos have played to date, such have been offset by the Broncos QB Peyton Manning-led offense, which has scored more than 450 points in games since the regular season began, vs. the more than 317 points given away by the Broncos defense. Computer research would surely show that the Broncos offenses led in the recent past by QB Kyle Norton and then by QB Tim Tebow would have, if paired with today’s Broncos defense, kept the 2013 Broncos struggling now to reach .500 and third place within the AC West. So, the Chiefs are not out of any running for a playoff berth and could strengthen that possibility with a win on Sunday against the Broncos. But the odds still favor the Broncos, mostly because the Chiefs offense hasn’t been able to fully exploit the Broncos defense flaws and the Chiefs defense isn’t that much better than that of the Broncos. And, if the Manning/Eric Decker and Manning/Thomas-2 (Demaryius & Julius) throw/receiver connectivity is as it has been during the Broncos recent wins, whatever the Broncos defense gives up will be taken back and put on the board + by the Manning-led drives and end-zone efficiency. . . // NBA---STEADY go the leaders. No NBA-2013/14 division first place franchise of last week has been dragged down, while two second place teams have dropped to third, the Eastern Conference 6-12 Philadelphia 76ers giving way to the 7-12 Boston Celtics, and the EC Southeast’s 9-10 Atlanta Hawks dropping behind now second place team, the 9-9 Washington Wizards. Atop the Western Conference Northwest, then, are the 15-3 Portland Trail Blazers, second the 12-3 Oklahoma City Thunder, and leading the WC Southwest are the 15-3 San Antonio Spurs above second place team, the 13-6 Houston Rockets, while ahead of the WC Pacific still are the 12-6 Los Angeles Clippers, behind them directly the 10-8 Golden State Warriors. Within the EC Atlantic, atop are the 6-10 Toronto Raptors, second the 7-12 Celtics, and inside the EC Southwest it’s the 14-3 Miami Heat, second the 9-9 Wizards. Leading the EC Central, that’s the 16-2 Indiana Pacers, second the 7-9 Chicago Bulls. . . The 16-2 Pacers are first within the NBA-entire re. number of wins, the 15-3 Trail Blazers and 15-3 Spurs directly behind, fourth the 14-3 Heat. Up from the bottom are the EC Southwest’s now 9-8 New Orleans Pelicans, taking fourth instead of last place, with the 8-8 Memphis Grizzlies now last. Worst in the league now are the EC Atlantic’s 3-13 New York Knicks and the NC Central’s last place franchise, the 3-13 Milwaukee Bucks. Unique is that were the EC Atlantic’s first place 6-10 Raptors within another division, they’d be hanging at fourth or last place. The Raptors are the only division leading 2013/14 franchise still below .500 (.375, a lower win/loss percentage than eight NBA-2013/14 teams currently holding fourth and last place positions). . . With regard to third place franchises, only one of six is behind second place by more than two wins, the WC Southwest’s 10-8 Dallas Mavericks back of second place team, the 13-6 Rockets, suggesting the possibility of several early-on division middle-ground upheavals. END/ml.