NFL: Last Chance Sunday // NBA: Those Up, Those Down!

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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.  

NFL---THE National Conference West’s Seattle Seahawks and the NC West’s Arizona Cardinals, the NC East’s Dallas Cowboys, also the NC North’s Detroit Lions and NC North’s Green Bay Packers---each has won 11 games, lost four and will compete on Sunday for a 12th victory and a playoff slot to their liking. It will be the NC West’s Seahawks against the NC West’s last place team, the 6-9 St. Louis Rams, the NC West’s Cardinals versus the NC West’s fourth position franchise, the 7-8  S.F. 49ers, the NC East’s Cowboys vs. the NC East’s last place team, the 4-11 Washington Redskins, while NC North supremacy will be battled for by the Lions and the Packers.

Also on Sunday, the NC South’s 5-8 Carolina Panthers will challenge the NC South’s second place team, the 5-9 Atlanta Falcons, for division leadership.

At the very bottom of the NC are the 2-13 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, scheduled to on Sunday meet the NC South’s third position team, the 5-9 N.O. Saints.

            Within the American conference, and at the very top and also best in the NFL as the end of 2014 regulation approaches, are the AC East’s leading franchise, the 12-3 N.E. Patriots, close behind them the AC West’s number one team, the 11-4 Denver Broncos, playoff-billeted in spite of the Broncos 37-28 loss last night to the AC North’s leading franchise, the now 10-4 Cincinnati Bengals.

Atop the AC South are the 10-5 Indianapolis Colts, two wins ahead of second place team, the 8-7 Houston Texans.

Sunday will see the Patriots against the AC East’s third place 8-7 Buffalo Bills, also the Broncos versus the AC West’s last place team, the 3-12 Oakland Raiders, while the Bengals will face the AC North’s second place 10-5 Pittsburgh Steelers, same day the Colts meeting the AC’s and AC South’s last position team, the 2-13 Tennessee Titans.

            The current best edge among division leading teams over a second place franchise belongs to the AC East’s Patriots, three wins atop the 8-7 Miami Dolphins. On Sunday, the Dolphins will face the AC East’s last place team, the 3-12 N.Y. Jets.

Of the remaining seven division leading teams, four have the same number of wins as the team directly behind them, the Seahawks (Cardinals), the Lions (Packers), the Panthers (Falcons) and the Bengals (Steelers), which from losses on Sunday could finish the regular season tied with number two teams re. number of season victories.

The three other division leading franchises (Cowboys, Broncos, the Colts) are two wins atop their respective second position franchises, therefore guaranteed division leading status at season’s end even if they lose their Sunday matches.

            So, for three of the eight divisions on Sunday, contention at the top will be tight, in that the AC North’s 10-4 Bengals and 10-5 Steelers will face one another for division leadership, so, too, the NC North’s 11-4 Lions versus the 11-4 Packers and the NC South 6-8 Panthers vs. the 6-9 Falcons.

            NBA---SEVEN of the 30 NBA franchises have won 20 or more of the NBA-2014/15 games that each has been scheduled to finish by mid-April 2015, when playoffs commence. That’s roughly one fourth of the 82 games that every NBA team encounters during regulation. This rate of wins over losses---and not one of the seven has lost more than seven games to date---, can surely carry each into playoff opportunities. Best among the seven are the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division’s 22-7 Toronto Raptors and their nine game edge over second place team, the 11-15 Brooklyn Nets, also the Western Conference Pacific’s 22-3 Golden State Warriors being four wins above the 19-9 L.A. Clippers, and the WC Northwest’s 22-7 Portland Trail Blazers, eight wins atop the 13-15 Oklahoma City Thunder.

            Presently, 15 of the 30 NBA franchises are below .500, 11 of which are under .400. Of the 15 below .500 teams, nine are from the EC, six from the WC, and within a single EC Division, the EC Atlantic, all but the leading team, the .759 Raptors, are below .500, and within a single WC division, the WC’s Northwest, all but the leading team, the .759 Trail Blazers, are below .500, last the 5-9/.192 Minnesota Timberwolves.

Only one division, the WC’s Southwest, can say that all five teams are above .500. Lowest team in the NBA right now, that’s the EC Atlantic’s 3-23/.115 Philadelphia 76ers.

            Struggling at or barely above .500 today are three teams, the EC Central’s 14-14/.500 Milwaukee Bucks, the WC Southwest’s 14-13/.519 Phoenix Suns, and the WC Pacific’s 15-14/.517 Phoenix Suns.

            It makes sense that of the 30 franchises, half would be at the losing end, which doesn’t mean that the wide inequality among teams within the losing side must be as it is. The league’s losing teams aren’t just losing, they are losing BIG, and they are drifting “widely apart.” Ugh, nine of the 15 below .500 teams are below .400, of that there are four that are below .200!

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NFL: Week 16’s Possible Outcomes;Broncos versus Bengals, Seahawks vs. Cardinals // NBA: Nuggets, Nets, Spurs & the Mavericks.

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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.  

NFL--- OF THE eight NFL-2014 teams of 32 that at Week 16 have double-digit wins, three are leading their respective divisions from 11-4 records. They are the National Conference West’s 11-4 Arizona Cardinals, American Conference East’s11-4 N.E. Patriots, the AC West’s 11-4 Denver Broncos.

The remaining five teams with double-digit wins are at 10-4 each, three of them also division leading franchises---the 10-4 NC East’s Dallas Cowboys, 10-4 NC South’s Detroit Lions, and the AC South’s 10-4 Indianapolis Colts. Two of the five 10-4’s, then, are second place teams---the NC West’s 10-4 Seattle Seahawks and the 10-4 Green Bay Packers, which could reverse position and be division number ones should the Seahawks defeat the Cardinals on Sunday and the Packers take down the now NC South’s last place team, the 2-12 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (most likely), meanwhile the Lions losing to the NC North’s last place 5-8 Chicago Bears (not likely).

Another shaky division lead exists for the NC East’s 10-4 Cowboys, they’ve but a single win above the NC East’s 9-5 Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys will be facing the 10-4 Colts on Sunday, odds favoring the Colts, while the 9-5 Eagles have a better than fair shot at defeating the NC East’s last place 3-11 Washington Redskins on Saturday.

And, the season’s final week could see the NC South’s leading team, the now 5-8 Carolina Panthers, and the now 5-8 N.O. saints still tied for first should the Panthers defeat the AC North’s last place 7-7 Cleveland Browns on Sunday and the Saints take down the NC South’s now third place 5-9 Atlanta Falcons, or both of the NC South’s leading teams lose on Sunday and the Falcons jump to first place from being 6-9.

Tenuous within the AC is the lead held by the AC North’s 9-4 Cincinnati Bengals over second place team, the 9-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. On Monday night, the Bengals will meet the 11-3 Denver Broncos, which has a three game lead atop the AC West’s second place team, the 8-6 K.C. Chiefs and so can afford to lose to the Bengals re. its division number one slot “but the Broncos surely want a playoff first round Bye from a Week 16 win,” while a Bengals loss and a Steelers defeat of the Chiefs on Sunday could settle the Steelers into the AC North’s lead position.

A likely Patriots win over the N.Y. Jets could place the Patriots at the top of the AC if the Broncos lose to the Bengals, the Patriots then having a four game lead within the AC East over the Buffalo Bills should the latter lose to the AC West’s weakest team, the 2-12 Oakland Raiders that are yearning and burning for a win so as not to finish the season last among the league’s 32 franchises.

Broncos, Bengals; Seahawks, Cardinals---SEVERAL pundits and analysts could go snooty, smug, smart-alecky, if, as they predicted at the start of NFL-2014 regulation, the AC West’s 11-3 Denver Broncos and the NC West’s 10-4 Seattle Seahawks obtain conference crowns in January, 2015, and Super Bowl slots therefrom.

Some pundits are saying now that the Broncos don’t have to defeat the AC North’s 9-4 Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night for a division or conference crown to be theirs, yet doing so could mean a first round playoff Bye for the Broncos, which is the easier road toward a conference championship, although a likely Broncos match vs. the N.E. Patriots for that to be is in the brewing, which will be tough going for either team.

The Bengals, well, they want a defeat of the Broncos from desperation, in that the Bengals could lose division supremacy to the AC North’s 9-5 Pittsburgh Steelers should the Steelers defeat the AC West’s second place 8-6 K.C. Chiefs on Sunday and the Bengals lose to the Broncos.

So, Monday night’s Broncos/Bengals match has significant drama regarding order of standings, but also because it’s been touted that the game will remain close. Lots of high rollers are seeing either team capable of winning but by a mere three to six or seven points, largely because of their placing weight on comparisons falsely, for comparisons can be deceptive, for instance, while the Broncos receivers can claim 37 TD’s accrued to date compared with the Bengals 16, the latter team can claim 18 rushing TD’s alongside the Broncos 11. That said, within the Broncos last four games it was the Broncos running strategies that led them to locations from which Broncos receiver TD’s could occur. The Broncos rush tactics could be as effective as those of the Bengals today, while QB Manning’s pass completions for the season exceeds that of the Bengals QB, Andy Dalton, greatly, 346 for 4,143 yards and 313 first downs vs. Dalton’s 265 for 3,008 yards and 274 first downs.

Add that when the Bengals lose, they lose big, the least number of points allowed a winning opposing team this year being 24 to the Cleveland Browns, meanwhile giving away 43 to the Patriots, 42 to the Steelers and 37 to the Panthers. The Broncos have defeated better teams than the four that the Bengals have lost to, and during the Broncos last three games the team’s defense allowed no more than 16, 17 and 10 points respectively.

Yes, the Bengals humiliated the Brown last week, 30-zip, but in a loss to the Indianapolis Colts the Bengals were zero against 27 points, and vs. the Browns during Week 10 the Bengals lost, 24-3.

As for the Seahawks and Cardinals match on Sunday, the Seahawks hadn’t the better season start compared with that of the Cardinals, but catch-up since Week 8 has included seven Seahawks wins above only one loss, not one of the losing teams able to score more than 20 points against the Seahawks, the one loss being a giveaway of 24 to the Chiefs.

And, during Week 12 the Seahawks defeated the Cardinals, 19-3.

Too, the Seahawks are superior to the Cardinals re. running game TD’s, 16 over 6, and the Seahawks are behind the Cardinals in receiver TD’s by just a single digit, 18 vs. the Cardinals 19.

The above noted, we’re going with the Broncos defeating the Bengals by seven or more, and a Seahawks knockdown of the Cardinals by seven or more.

Of course, football is not just about the numbers, no amount of data can guarantee a future NFL outcome exactly.

NBA---FOUR NBA franchises, the Denver Nuggets, Brooklyn Nets, San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks have been middle of the rankings when having exhibited reasons to be closer to the top within their respective conferences and divisions, and while there’s no way of knowing if either will surge forward and land higher within the NBA-2014/15 rankings, should each remain as they are now, that is, if each maintains the same rate of wins over losses, it’s unlikely that any will own a playoff slot come mid-April 2015, when regulation ends.

Right now, neither of the four NBA teams cited here is higher than third position within a division. Using the Nuggets as being representative of the four, the team is now at 10 wins over 15 losses, which means the Nuggets have finished playing 25 NBA 2014/15 games, more than a fourth of the season’s 82 games.

Winning 10 of the next 25 contests puts the Nuggets at 20 over 30, and winning 10 of the next 25 places the Nuggets at 30-45, with only seven games left on the team’s schedule. Even winning the season’s final seven games keeps the Nuggets very hard put to achieve a post-season billet.

Should the same fate re. rankings infect the other NBA teams listed here, the end-of-season outcomes for them, that is, for the now 10-14 Nets, 17-9 Spurs and 19-8 Mavericks, won’t be enough for post-season appearances. If this doesn’t seem so for the Spurs and the Mavericks, note that the two teams are competing within divisions where the first and second place teams have already accumulated 21 and 19 wins over four and six losses respectively and they, too, can maintain a status-quo or progress further.

But the above is commentary, speculation. It’s quite possible that with 57 games left in the season the Nuggets, Nets, Spurs and Mavericks could leap ahead and look back on current win/loss data as prelude to better days, to numbers underscoring post-season candidacies, e.g., the Mavericks may have reinforced for the standings by acquiring guard Rondo recently from the Celtics, a formidable addition to an already effective line-up of NBA starters.

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NFL: Week 16, soon the playoffs // Broncos 22, Chargers 10; the Manziel Disapointment.

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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.  

NFL---NFL-2014 is about to be history and yet a few changes could occur at the top of the National Conference standings during Week 16, for instance, the 11-3 Arizona Cardinals losing to the 10-4 Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night places the two in a tie for conference and division best, while on Monday night an American Conference North’s 9-4 Cincinnati Bengals loss to the now 11-3 AC West’s Denver Broncos, and an AC North 9-5 Pittsburgh Steelers beatdown of the AC West’s 8-6 K.C. Chiefs, positions the Steelers atop the AC North.

And, should the NC East’s current number one, the 10-4 Dallas Cowboys, lose on Sunday to the AC South’s top team, the 10-4 Indianapolis Colts after a NC East’s number two 8-5 Philadelphia Eagles crushing of the NC East’s 3-11 Washington Redskins on Saturday, the Eagles will regain the NC East lead.

Too, atop the NC North today are the 10-4 Detroit Lions and the 10-4 Green Bay Packers. Respective wins or losses for the two during Week 16 won’t change that, but the Packers have a better chance at the win from Sunday’s challenge versus the NC South’s 2-10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, than the Lions have vs. the NC North’s 5-8 Chicago Bears on Sunday.

As if a division isolated from what the rest of the NFL can accomplish in a season, there’s the NC South, not even leading teams the 5-8 Carolina Panthers and 5-8 N.O. Saints, above .500---they are .393 and .385.    

The AC is not as open as the NC for turnabouts at the top. The AC West’s 11-3 Broncos, the AC East’s 11-3 N.E. Patriots and the AC North’s 10-4 Indianapolis Colts can afford to lose their Week 16 contests, since each has a three game lead over a second place team. The Broncos will be facing the Bengals, the one AC division leading team that from a loss on Sunday could give way to a now second place franchise, the Steelers, should the latter crush the Chiefs on Sunday, meanwhile the Patriots probably defeating the now NC East last place 3-11 N.Y. Jets.

Broncos, Chargers---THE Denver Broncos 22-10 win over the S.D. Chargers was further evidence that the former has a hard-to-stop running game and a consistently crushing defense, and a QB who can make up for shortfalls in pass and red zone-to-TD opportunities by making the conservative choice, the FG attempt, and having the support of a kicker who doesn’t miss.

Some effective Broncos passing was still in the mix with those repeated RB C.J. Anderson gains in yardage, notably the one Broncos TD from a pass received by WR Demaryius Thomas, though the game’s highlight will remain QB Peyton Manning bringing his offense squad within range of the FG’s that kept insuring a Broncos victory, this as response to points put on the board by the Chargers.

But key to what could be a Broncos win over the Cincinnati Bengals this coming Monday is a Broncos defense that kept the Chargers to 10 points, and kept the Buffalo Bills to 17 during the week before, and the Chiefs to 16 week before that.

Manziel---TIM Tebow, RGIII, now Johnny Manziel, college QB’s of great promise tanking in the NFL---they have not been the only star athletes losing their mojo so quickly in the NFL, and in mists of humiliation so thick it can seem like glue that won’t go away.

Which underscores several questions, for example, Why has the divide between college stardom and even a modest form of NFL rookie success between so difficult for these athletes to cross?

Is there a bridge they missed seeing?

Have some ugly personality flaws and/or absent skill-sets been in their way?

Has some PR exec made the mistake of building expectations of the new guy that not even the best of the best could reach in any professional sport?

Has a public too eager for there to be superstars in their city caused the unreachable expectation, a set-up for failure?

And, could blame rest with NFL team management, with an HC and assistant coaches disliking the time and attention placed on rookies touted as incoming saviors, often a distraction from next-season preparation, and how about some teammates who weren’t anywhere near early picks from college now resenting the incoming star?

So, where’s the snake, or snakes, that have been living in the grass? One indication has been obvious: come into the NFL super-cocky and you’ll sooner than later be dead meat, same result from exhibitions of humility so obviously showbiz that viewers and teammates might want to vomit repeatedly.

Too, the one or two top defenders of an opposing team that a star college QB has to face on a Saturday, with the remaining defenders being marginal, well, those one or two are every defender that the QB faces in any NFL game, oops! Bengals 30, Manziel’s Browns zero, zip, Nada!

But those other factors listed here, to what degree can they hammer away and pull the air out from under a rookie of promise? This is something that the NFL should explore with great seriousness. Maybe there are ladders that the fallen star can still climb, reaching highest potential. Perhaps with imposed corrections the next top athlete transitioning from college to professional football can give more, be more, can succeed.

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NFL: Week 15; Broncos vs. Chargers // NBA: Current Standings; Nuggets & the Week Ahead

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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.  

NFL---NO division leading franchise will play another during NFL-2014’s Week 15, limiting likelihood of dramatic changes among the eight number ones for the approach to Week 16. The National Conference West’s number one team, the now 11-3 Arizona Cardinals, began the week last night with a win over the NC West’s last place 6-8 St. Louis Rams, and on Sunday the American Conference North’s leading team, the 8-4 Cincinnati Bengals, will probably crush the AC North’s last place 7-6 Cleveland Browns during the same afternoon, while on Sunday the NC North’s 9-3 Green Bay Packers are expected to defeat the AC East’s third place team, the 7-6 Buffalo Bills.

Still, the NC South’s 5-7 Atlanta Falcons are scheduled to go up against AC North’s 8-5 Pittsburgh Steelers, a game that can go either way. For example, if the Falcons lose to the Steelers and the NC South’s 5-6 N.O. Saints prevail over the NC North’s last place 5-8 Chicago Bears on Monday night, then the Saints will rise above the Falcons and occupy AC South’s number one slot.

And four division leading teams will be facing franchises that are directly behind them in the standings----NC East’s 9-4 Philadelphia Eagles vs. the 9-4 Dallas Cowboys; AC East’s 10-3 N.E. Patriots against the 7-6 Miami Dolphins; 10-3 Denver Broncos vs. the 8-5 San Diego Chargers; AC South’s 9-4 Indianapolis Colts vs. the 7-6 Houston Texans, but only the Eagles vs. Cowboys match can reverse which will be on top of the NC East for Week 16, in that the other has leads of two or more won games to date.           Also at the edge of reversal are the 8-4 Bengals should the 8-5 Steelers defeat the 5-7 Falcons on Sunday.

            As to the 11-3 Cardinals maintaining supremacy, much will depend on Week 15’s NC West’s 9-4 Seahawks vs. the 7-6 S.F. 49ers match. The Seahawks could win this and then face and defeat the Cardinals during Week 16, causing a NC West tie at first position.

Now let’s call it a set-up for vengeance: the Patriots lose two of its next three, and Seattle wins its next three and finishes the season atop the Cardinals, while the Broncos complete the season at 13-3. Post-season seedings then favor the Broncos and the Seahawks, the Broncos soon get their chance to defeat the Patriots for the AC crown and next take down the Seahawks at the February 2015 Super Bowl.

But success occurs when realities and rational expectations for them marry up, and right now, even at Week 15, no-one can be certain of what all of the realities are.

            Broncos, Chargers---EVEN in three of its eight wins, the S.D. Chargers defense has allowed 21 or more points to an opposing team, and during three of its five losses the Chargers defense gave away 37, 35 (to the Broncos, Week 8) and 23, while the Broncos defense has allowed no more than 26 but once during the current season, this alone signaling possibility of another Broncos victory over the Chargers.  

Moreover, the Broncos receivers have accrued 36 TD’s since Week 1, from rushing 11 TD’s, vs. the Chargers 26 and five. Also, of the Chargers eight season wins, only one of them has been against a team rated high within the standings, a 30-21 victory vs. the Seahawks, Week 2.

Other game categories favor the Broncos for Sunday, as well, but not with great significance, 3,923 passing yards over the Chargers 3,417, 295 first downs above the Chargers 257.

Likely to keep the Chargers in the game will be its QB Philip Rivers-led offense, if the Denver defense regresses from performance factors of the Broncos last two games. Rivers isn’t far behind QB Peyton Manning when it comes to achievements, his pass completion rating is slightly better than Manning’s to date, 68.5 percent over Manning’s 66.9.

            NBA---A fourth of the NBA-2014/15 season is now over, and so metaphorically a first lap of four around a track has played out, with only one of 30 NBA franchises close to the 20 games won of the 82 to be completed by each team by mid-April, 2015. The distinction belongs to the Western Conference’s leading team, the WC Pacific Division’s leading franchise, the 19-2 Golden State Warriors, now above second place team, the 16-5 L.A. Clippers. Second best in the WC and leading the WC Southwest are the 17-4 Memphis Grizzlies, atop the second place 16-5 Houston Rockets. Third best within the WC and leading the WC Northwest are the 17-5 Portland Trail Blazers, seven wins above second place team, the 10-12 Denver Nuggets.

            Within the Eastern Conference, the EC Atlantic Division’s number one team, the 16-6 Toronto Raptors, have the lead, behind them the EC Atlantic’s 8-12 Brooklyn Nets. Leading the EC Southeast, that’s the 15-6 Atlanta Hawks and 15-6 Washington Wizards, and atop the EC Central are the 13-8 Cleveland Cavaliers and 13-8 Chicago Bulls.

            Only the WC Northwest’s Trail Blazers and the EC Atlantic’s Toronto Raptors have comfortable leads, seven wins above a number two team respectively. Within the WC Southwest, the differences between first and next to last team is only one game, to wit; fourth place team, the 17-7 Dallas Mavericks, has won as many games as number one the 17-4 Grizzlies.

            Nuggets---OF the 11 of 15 Western Conference teams that have accrued double-digit wins to date, the 10-12/.455 Denver Nuggets rank 11th. It is still in second place within the WC Northwest, but by only one win above the 9-13 Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that’s improved steadily in recent days and just defeated the Eastern Conference Central’s leading team, the 13-8 Cleveland Cavaliers, 103-94. Another winning streak is essential now for the Nuggets, if this team is to have some assurance of a post-season slot.

            Given the Nuggets coaching staff and team roster, that they are below .500 surprises. The Nuggets usual starters have more than a dozen years of professional basketball experience combined, nearly each having played for more than one NBA team, and all can claim double-digit ppg. Only one of its five straight wins of last month can be said to have been won against an easy to defeat franchise---two of the five wins were versus first place teams, and on December 10th the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat, 102-82.

The next five games up for the Nuggets are vs. credible organizations but none that can force the Nuggets further down in the standings easily. Nuggets HC Brian Shaw and his playmakers need to recover that fusion of skills that made the November winning streak possible---the next five games, win or lose, could be the right set for whatever experimentation might lead to that.

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NFL: Week 14, Analysis; Broncos Defeat Bills // NBA: Standings; Nuggets, Down Again

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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.  

NFL---ON Sunday, the National Conference West’s Arizona Cardinals and the American Conference West’s Denver Nuggets and AC East’s N.E. Patriots became the first NFL-2014 teams to accrue double digit wins, they are 10 wins and three losses each, while three of the remaining five NFL division leading teams have now obtained nine wins as they head toward Week 15’s match-ups---the NC North’s 9-3 Green Bay Packers, NC East’s 9-4 Philadelphia Eagles and the AC South’s 9-4 Indianapolis Colts. Leading NC South still are the 5-7 Atlanta Falcons, and atop the AC North it’s the 8-4 Cincinnati Bengals.

            Yet significant edges among division leading teams has continued to be rare this year. From Week 14, the best lead belongs to the Patriots, three wins atop the AC East’s second position 7-6 Miami Dolphins. Behind four of the division leading franchises are second place teams that have won the same number of games to date, while all other division leading teams are no more than one or two wins ahead of their respective second place teams.

            Meanwhile, 13 of the 32 NFL franchises are below .500, six of these under .250 not having won more than two or three games since the season began. Nine of the 13 are within the NC, four of the nine being of the same division, the NC South. Only one division can boast of each member team being above. 500, the AC North, at its bottom the 7-6 Cleveland Browns, which has more wins and fewer losses than the NC South’s leading franchise, the 5-7 Falcons.

The gap between winners and losers is indeed wide as NFL-2014 regulation nears its end, although five NC division number two teams have the same number of wins as the team above. These five could be leading their divisions after next week’s games---the NC West’s 9-4 Seattle Seahawks, NC East’s 9-4 Dallas Cowboys, NC North’s 9-4 Detroit Lions and NC South’s 5-8 N.O. Saints. Within the AC, the AC North’s 8-5 Pittsburgh Steelers are the only team to have the same number of wins as the leading franchise, the 8-4 Bengals.

The upshot, then, is that Week 15 could comprise several reversals of fortune.

Broncos, Bills---THE Broncos 24-17 defeat of the Buffalo Bills addressed an unexpected and favorable exploitation of Broncos assets, QB Peyton Manning releasing  control frequently to those who could run the football forward as if it were practice day, he the quiet trainer handing off opportunities to RB C.J. Anderson who’d run for three TD’s, no-one of the opposition capable of stopping him.

Anyone who watched Sunday’s Broncos only to see Manning throw TD passes bought disappointment. The Broncos win was ground-dominant, Manning a silent non-flamboyant catalyst. This was by design, it wasn’t a last minute “Hey, Bro’, take a breather” from HC John Fox, let the earth-beaters do the work for a change,” it was Manning leading from behind, so to speak, controlling an offense that into the fourth Q led the Bills 24-3.

Of course, much credit has to go to the Broncos defense, though it dissipated some in the last Q. The Bills led the Broncos in nearly every game advantage category, time of possession, first downs, total yards gained, except for the Broncos 29 rushing plays that purchased 133 yards and three TD’s vs. the Bills 16 for 74 and the one Bills rushed-for TD, but until that last quarter surge for points, and an earlier field goal, the Broncos defense kept the Bills investments in a mostly passing game from yielding dividends, for the sixth time this year forcing an opposing team to stay below 20 points by endgame, in all cases the Broncos offense seven or more points ahead.

NBA---THE Eastern Conference Atlantic Division’s 16-5 Toronto Raptors are leading both conference and division but as of today are fifth within the full league, in that the Western Conference Pacific Division’s 18-2 Golden State Warriors are at the top of the full league, followed by the WC Northwest’s 16-4 Portland Trail Blazers, the WC Southwest’s 16-4 Houston Rockets and 16-4 Memphis Grizzlies. Ten other NBA teams can also claim double digit wins, all second or third place holders division-wide, and nine NBA teams are above .700, sustaining the wide gap between winning and losing NBA franchises.

But except for two leading teams, the Raptors and the Trail Blazers having seven game leads over their respective second place franchises, the leads held by first place teams within divisions is quite fragile, in some cases a tie re. number of wins, or a lead from just one game, e.g., the EC Central being led by the 12-7 Cleveland Cavaliers, the Chicago Bills directly behind them, 12-8.

Still feeding at the bottom are the EC Atlantic’s Philadelphia 76ers, 2-18 and the EC Centrals’ Detroit Pistons, 3-18.

Nuggets---GIVEN tactics that won games for the Nuggets before a recent road trip and four straight losses, one has to apply some blame for the downfall on injuries that have kept guards Randy Foye and Nate Robinson and forward Kenneth Faried from court time. The Nuggets have slid below .500, current record 9-12. This has put excess strain on guard Ty Lawson and forward Danilo Gallinari, both prone to injury. Too, the four losses weren’t to beneath-the-margin teams, the Nuggets lost to the Raptors 112-107, an OT loss, by the way. Other hard matches were vs. the Trail Blazers, the Washington Wizards and the Atlanta Hawks, first and second place division teams, all above .600 as of now. Many NBA teams lack sufficient depth for the worst case injury scenario, that is, they haven’t enough back-up for best players suddenly on a disabled list. The Nuggets are one of these teams.

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NFL: Week 14, Pivotal or Status-Quo? // Broncos Vs. Bills.

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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.  

NFL---IN the race for end-of-season NFL division leadership, the 9-3 Arizona Cardinals have it for Week 14 within the NFL National Conferences West, but only by one win over the NC West’s second place 8-4 Seattle Seahawks.

But---if the Cardinals lose to the American Conference West’s 7-5 K.C. Chiefs on Sunday, and the Seahawks defeat the NC East’s leading team, the 9-3 Philadelphia Eagles, during the same afternoon, the Seahawks will then tie with the Cardinals for NFL West leadership.

A similar situation exists inside the NC East, the number one team, the Eagles, being 9-3 and the NC East’s 8-4 Dallas Cowboys at number two after crushing the NC North’s Chicago Bears last night, 41-28, though an Eagles win over the Seahawks on Sunday could sustain the Eagles current division lead.

Meanwhile, the 9-4 Green Bay Packers own the NC North’s number one slot, only a win above the 8-4 Detroit Lions.

Should the Packers drop to the NC South’s number one franchise, the 5-7 Atlanta Falcons, on Monday night, and the Cowboys beat the Eagles during Week 15, the Falcons will stay atop the NC South yet tied still with the currently 5-7 N.O. Saints should the latter defeat the NC South’s 3-8 and third place Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

It’s not much different within the AC.

The AC West’s Broncos are division number one and 9-3 above the 8-4 S.D. Chargers. There could be a tie at AC West’s first position if on Sunday the Broncos lose to the AC East’s fourth place team, the 7-5 Buffalo Bills, and if the Chargers triumph over the AC East’s number one team, the 9-3 N.E. Patriots.

The Patriots now have the best AC division leading edge, two wins above AC East’s 7-5 Miami Dolphins.

AC North’s race is closer, the 8-3 Cincinnati Bengals being one win over the 7-5 Baltimore Ravens.

And, the AC South’s leading franchise, the 8-4 Indianapolis Colts, they are two wins ahead of the 6-6 Houston Texans.   

Note that the NC South is the only NFL division led by a team that has a below .500 record---417. That’s no more NFL-2014 won games than those purchased by the NC West’s last place team, the 5-7/.417 St. Louis Rams, and no more wins than accrued by the NC North’s last place team, the 5-8/.387 Chicago Bears.

But which of the above will emerge from Week 14 as division leading franchises?

Given the win/loss records of all teams competing on Sunday, a Week 14 supporting the status quo appears likely for much of the league, in that the NC’s top division leading franchise, the Cardinals, will probably defeat the Chiefs on Sunday, and the AC’s number one division leading team, the Patriots, will likely defeat the Chargers. And, yes, the Philadelphia Eagles can own a knockdown versus the Seahawks, but if it happens it probably won’t be apparent until the game’s final minutes. Also, a Packers win over the Falcons seems likely, as does a Lions defeat of the NC South’s last place 2-10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Yet the Saints could win vs. the Panthers on Sunday, positioning the Saints as NC South’s leading team, 6-7 above the Falcons should the latter lose to the Packers on Monday.

Moreover, a Broncos win on Sunday vs. the Bills is expected, so, too, the Bengals taking down the AC North’s 7-5 Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, while analysts predict a Colts win over the AC North’s 7-5 Cleveland Browns.

So, division standings at the top won’t look very different as Week 15 approaches.

Broncos, Bills---THERE are numerous ways to back an opinion that the Denver Broncos will defeat the Buffalo Bills during Week 14. You can begin with names, Broncos QB Peyton Manning, WR”s Julius and Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker, RB’s C.J. Anderson, Ronnie Hillman, the pass rush masters Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.

Or, you could point to the Broncos being 9-3, the Bills 7-5 and the fact that the Broncos have this year defeated six of the teams that the Bills have defeated or lost to, to include the AC West’s third place 7-5 K.C. Chiefs twice.

In addition, eight of the Broncos nine wins ended with the offense accruing more than 30 points, four of which were 41 or higher, in all cases the opposition unable to score half of that. This has happened only twice for the Bills.

Also, the Broncos have received for 36 TD’s to date, the Bills but 18, and the Broncos have rushed the ball for eight TD’s, the Bills, five.

Too, QB Manning has completed more than 315 passes Week 1 through 13, Bills QB, Kyle Orton, 187. Manning has passed successfully for more than 3,700 yards, Orton for around 2,000.

The most points given away in a single game by the Broncos this season has been to the AC East’s 9-3 N.E. Patriots, 43, Week 9, all other games 26 and less. The most points allowed an opposing team by the Bills has been 37, also to the Patriots, Week 6, and remaining games saw a much lower Bills allotment of points to opposing teams, indicating a Bills defense that isn’t going to go limp and allow the Manning-led offense to stomp all over them continually on Sunday. A Broncos humiliating killing leaving the Bills with a huge deficit is probably not in the cards, especially if the Bills defense can keep the Broncos under, say, 27 points, as the Bills have been able to do (win or lose) in most of its games since September.

A rational pick, Broncos, 24, Bills, 16.

End/ml   

NFL: Week 13, Analysis; Broncos Defeat Chiefs, 26-16 // NBA: the Unexpected.

sports-notebook.blogspot.com . . . Dec. 2 // 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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.  

NFL---DURING NFL-2014’s Week 13, the National Conference South’s now 5-7 Atlanta Falcons lifted to division first place from a surprising 29-18 win over the previous week’s league-wide and NC number one franchise, the NC West’s 9-3 Arizona Cardinals, but the Falcons are but tied at NC South’s first slot with the 5-7 N.O. Saints. The NC West’s Cardinals are still atop the NFL, but now tied with the NC East’s number one franchise, the 9-3 Philadelphia Eagles and the NC North’s leading team, the 9-3 Green Bay Packers.

On Thursday, the Eagles began Week 13 by defeating the team it was tied at first place with, now second position team the NC East’s 8-4 Dallas Cowboys, and the Packers moved ahead by beating the American Conference East’s 9-3 N.E. Patriots on Sunday, 26-21.

Yet from Week 13’s results the AC is still led by the N.E. Patriots, but now sharing the position with the AC West’s leading team, the 9-3 Denver Broncos, which on Sunday crushed the AC West’s third place 7-5 K.C. Chiefs.

Within the NC, then, three of the conference’s four Week 12 division leading teams are the leading teams from Week 13, with the NC South’s Falcons move into first position being the exception. Moreover, from the AC’s Week 13 outcomes compared with those of Week 12 we could say the same re. the AC, in that the AC North is still led by the 8-3 Cincinnati Bengals and the AC South still by the 8-4 Indianapolis Colts, in addition to the AC East’s Patriots and AC West’s Broncos still leading their divisions and the AC-entire.

Suggested at first glance, then, is that during Week 13 there was little change at the top of the NFL’s eight divisions.

Not so!

It is significant change at the top that has characterized Week 13.

For instance, three teams are now holding the NC’s number one spot, and two teams are tied for the AC’s leading position, with no division leading team within either conference having a commanding lead over teams in second place. Today, the only two-game leads above second position teams belong to the Patriots above the 7-5 Buffalo Bills, and the Colts above the 6-6 Houston Texans---all other division leading franchises are but one game above the franchise directly behind.

And addressing the possibility of more change in the next two weeks and the start of NFL-2014’s playoffs are Week 13’s upsets, the Falcons having defeated the Cardinals, and the Patriots having lost to the Packers.

Too, the NC West’s now second place 8-4 Seattle Seahawks 19-3 defeat on Thursday versus the NC West’s now 7-5 S.F. 49ers reflects the possibility of a not too late surge from the Seahawks for division leadership and for that shot at another post-season billet.

Also, the Broncos now being tied with the Patriots for the top AC slot after its Sunday victory vs. the Chiefs, such speaks to the possibility of another Broncos/Patriots duel for the AC championship and, yes, for another Broncos/Seahawks SB if the Seahawks can leap ahead of, and then defeat, the Cardinals while besting the Eagles and Packers from the latter two failing to win upcoming matches.

But there’s a sudden glitch for the Broncos, that of the AC West’s San Diego Chargers having moved up to second from third position within the AC West after a Sunday 34-33 defeat of the AC North’s second place team, the 7-5 Baltimore Ravens, the Chargers now just one win behind the Broncos.

As to Week 13’s top routing, an award for such would go to the NC West’s 5-7 St. Louis Rams having crushed the AC West’s 1-11 Oakland Raiders on Sunday, 52-0.

Broncos, Chiefs--- SOMETIMES the role of a QB is not to be Sunday’s hero but to exploit field situations so that others can have that distinction, which is how it went during a Denver Broncos Sunday defeat of the K.C. Chiefs, 29-16, from Broncos QB Peyton Manning trusting Broncos RB C.J. Anderson for delivery of 168 yards and a TD, WR DeMaryius Thomas for 68 yards + TD, and Broncos kicker Connor Barth providing three field goals, this while Manning completed 17 of 34 pass attempts, compared with the better completion record of Chiefs QB Alex Smith’s 15 of 23 attempts. Still, Manning’s CP’s were for 179 yards gained and 21 first downs, while Smith’s CP’s accrued 151 yards and but 11 first downs.

And, QB Manning going for the running game more than for the pass tactic, it paid off immensely---214 rushing yards from 45 rushing plays, vs. the Chiefs 45 rushing yards gained.

Also, observers rarely notice the feat of sustaining time of possession while a game proceeds, which a superb QB can extend, e.g., the Broncos offense accrued nearly 39 minutes of ball possession compared with the Chiefs less than 22 minutes of possession.

We could say safely from the data, then, that QB Manning was the game’s fourth hero, though quietly, and there’s something heroic about making others the day’s stars.

Now appears a fifth Broncos star, a collective, the Broncos defense, which held the Chiefs to points under 22, so necessary it now seems in seven of the Broncos nine 2014 wins to date, in five of those seven to 17 points and below.   

NBA---TWELVE of NBA-2014/15’s 30 competing teams have double-digit wins after five weeks of play, the NBA Western Conference Southwest Division’s Memphis Grizzlies atop the list with 15 wins over two losses, the WC’s Pacific Division’s leading team, the Golden State Warriors, second with 14 over two, while 12 teams have less than half that number of wins, two of them less than half of seven wins, one franchise at zero, the 0-17 Philadelphia Eagles.

Reflected today is much inequality among teams above and below .500, though some surges upward from the bottom and the middle seem to be occurring, for example, the Denver Nuggets have been back from a losing streak to occupy second position within the WC Northwest at 9-8, finally above .500 and behind WC Northwest first place team, the 14-4 Portland Trail Blazers, which the Nuggets will face this evening, hoping to join the double-digit wins club.

And though 5-12 and below .500, the WC Northwest’s OKC Thunder have risen from the division’s very bottom to third position behind the Nuggets, but there’s been no forward jump for teams expected to be higher in the standings, e.g., for the Eastern Conference Central Division’s Cleveland Cavaliers. Thought in October and November to exhibit a leap-ahead start from the LeBron James return, the Cavaliers are currently 8-7 and division third.

Nor have the Miami Heat, the N.Y. Knicks and the Indiana Pacers, each of sustained leadership last season, reached double-digit wins yet, which last year’s NBA number one team, the WC’s Southwest San Antonio Spurs have reached, now 13 over four, tied at second with the Houston Rockets, two wins back of the Grizzlies.

END/ml 

NFL: Week 13, Standings & Uncertainties; Broncos @ Chiefs // NBA: Breakaway Days.

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 each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL--- THE National Conference East’s 9-3 Philadelphia Eagles are now a win above the NC East’s currently 8-4 Dallas Cowboys and so the division’s leading team, and the NC West’s Seattle Seahawks are at 8-4 after defeating the now 7-5 S.F. 49ers yesterday, the Seahawks therefore one win below the NC West’s leading franchise, the 9-2 Arizona Cardinals.

Meanwhile, the NC North’s 8-3 Green Bay Packers and the NC North’s 8-4 Detroit Lions have gone to first and second positions respectively, while the NC South’s 7-4 Atlanta Falcons and 7-4 N.O. Saints are tied at division first position.

Surely the above-cited division leading edges are fragile with regard to final NFL-2014 regulation outcomes and for preferred playoff spots.

It’s different, however, for the American Conference East’s 9-2 N.E. Patriots, three wins above the 6-5 Miami Dolphins, but less so for the AC West’s number one franchise, the 8-3 Denver Broncos, the latter one win above the 7-4 K.C. Chiefs and the 7-4 S.D. Chargers.

And division leadership is now at risk for the AC North’s 7-3 Cincinnati Bengals, in that the AC North’s 7-4 Baltimore Ravens are directly behind them, while a better though still uncertain lead belongs to the AC South’s 7-5 Indianapolis Colts over second place team, the 5-6 Houston Texans.

Best within the NC, then, are the NC West’s 9-2 Cardinal’s, this by one less loss over the NC East’s 9-3 Eagles, while the Patriots dominate the AC, though tied with the Cardinals for best within the two leagues.

Unmistakably, Week 13 can make the difference for smoother slides into where today’s division, conference and league leading teams are hoping to be for post-season billeting.

So---to maintain dominance all-around, the Cardinals need to defeat the Falcons on Sunday and hope for a Seahawks loss to the Eagles during Week 14 (Sun., Dec. 7), while the Patriots will seek dominance over the Packers on Sunday and then hope to bury the Chargers in the following week.

Meanwhile, a Broncos loss to the Chiefs this Sunday will place both teams at the number one slot along with the Chargers if the Chargers can defeat the Ravens during the same day.

Also, a likely Bengals win on Sunday over the NC South’s last place franchise, the 2-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will keep the Bengals atop the AC North, though a Ravens win on Sunday, plus the AC North’s 7-4 Pittsburgh Steelers punishing the Saints, and simultaneously the AC North’s 7-4 Cleveland Browns crushing the AC East’s 6-5 Buffalo Bills, such will definitely continue the AC North’s three-way Ravens/Steelers/Browns tie for second position behind the Bengals.

Meanwhile, the AC South’s Colts will probably defeat the NC East’s last place team, the 3-8 Washington Redskins, on Sunday, holding onto division leadership.

Within the NC, an expected Cardinals win over the Falcons should keep the Arizona franchise at the very top, and the AC Patriots losing to the NC North’s Packers on Sunday could mean its loss of AC conference dominance and upkeep of a tie for such with the AC West’s Broncos should the latter take down the Chiefs.

Looking back from Week 1 to the present, each of the NFL teams vying now for post-season slots have experienced an unpredicted loss, e.g., the Broncos defeated by the now 4-7 St. Louis Rams, and so the current NFL season’s Week 13 could reflect musical chairs, for some “13” seeming to indeed be the unlucky number.

Broncos, Chiefs--- THE now 8-3 Denver Broncos defeated the currently 7-4 Chiefs during Week 2 of NFL-2014 regulation, 24-17, and since then they’ve lost three games, giving away a total of 91 points to opposing franchises, while from Week 1 on the Chiefs have lost four matches, allowing 96 points to opposing teams.

And from the eight games won to date by the Broncos, 284 points have been gained, from the seven Chiefs wins, 197. Two of the Chiefs losses were to teams well below .500, to the AC South’s fourth position team, the 2-9 Tennessee Titans, during Week 1, score 26-10, and to the AC West’s last place team, the 1-10 Oakland Raiders, Week 12, score 24-20.

Also, two of the Broncos three losses were to teams holding first and second positions within their respective divisions, to the AC East’s first place 9-2 Patriots and to the NC West’s second spot team, the 8-4 Seattle Seahawks, the Chiefs most embarrassing loss being that to a then 0-10 last place Raiders, the Broncos most embarrassing loss to the St. Louis Rams, 22-7, Week 11, a team that the Chiefs defeated, 34-7, Week 8.

While games won/lost comparisons seem to favor the Broncos for a win versus the Chiefs on Sunday, left is some room for doubt, and data-comparisons regarding field and player accomplishments fail to reduce that room for doubt considerably, for instance, while today the Broncos total number of receiver TD’s for the year is 34 compared with the Chiefs 13, the total Broncos rush TD’s total eight, the Chiefs rush TD’s twice that, 16, and though to date for 2014 the Broncos QB Peyton Manning has completed 301 passes and the Chiefs QB, Alex Smith, 213, Manning’s were from 442 attempts, Smith’s from 327 attempts, the success rate difference between the two QB’s being quite narrow, Manning’s 68.1 percent, Smith’s 65.1 percent.

Nor is there significant difference between the Broncos and Chiefs re. average time-of-possession, the Broncos 29 minutes per game, the Chiefs 30 minutes, nor is the number of first downs achieved by the two teams of a wide gap, Broncos 259, Chiefs, 226.

But surely a Broncos advantage exists from its top two receivers totaling more than 2,300 yards from Weeks 1 through 12, vs. the Chiefs top receivers gaining around 1,230 yards during the same weeks, a gap much wider than the Broncos rushing yards gained being around 1,100 and the Chiefs, 1,508.

Moreover, the Broncos are 3-2 for its last five games, the Chiefs 4-1 with a victory vs. the now 8-4 Seahawks, a team that the Broncos lost to, 26-20, Week 3.

Yes, the Broncos 24-17 win over the Chiefs during Week1 was the fifth of five Broncos/Chiefs matches in a series across seasons, the Broncos having won each of the five, and Week 13’s match will be a second Broncos/Chiefs encounter during NFL-2014. But---it’s an illusion to think that the same teams that met before are really the same as they were, for as a season moves on all teams change, some dramatically and for the better. Even with data advising a Broncos win, anything could happen from either team having failed to recognize how the other has transformed.

NBA---THE NBA Western Conference Southwest’s 13-2 Memphis Grizzlies are atop the NBA now along with the National Conference Atlantic Division’s Toronto Raptors, also 13-2, directly behind them the WC Northwest’s 13-3 Portland Trail Blazers, while at the Trail Blazers heels are the WC Pacific Division’s 12-2 Golden State Warriors.

Two other teams that have reached double-digit wins to date are the WC Southwest’s second place 12-3 Houston Rockets, and the WC Pacific’s 10-6 Phoenix Suns, the latter back of the Warriors by two wins.

Of the above-listed NBA franchises, the Raptors own the best lead, seven wins over the EC Atlantic’s 6-8 Brooklyn Nets, second best lead belonging to the WC Northwest’s 12-3 Trail Blazers being five wins above second place team, the 7-8 Denver Nuggets.

Still above the EC Southwest are the 9-5 Washington Wizards, and leading the EC Central are the 9-6 Chicago Bulls.

Unable to climb back yet to previous season high-end status are the WC Northwest’s Oklahoma City Thunder, now 4-12 and division fourth place, and within the EC Atlantic the 4-12/fourth position N.Y. Knicks. Add the EC Southeast’s third place 8-7 Miami Heat and the EC Central’s 6-9/fourth place Indiana Pacers.

 Of the 2103/14 top teams, perhaps rising for a long spell are the WC Southwest’s 10-4/third place San Antonio Spurs, now three wins behind first place team, the Grizzlies, while two back of the 12-3 Houston Rockets.

The EC Atlantic’s Philadelphia 76ers have continued to hover at Zero, they are currently 0-15, while all other division last placers have won three or more NBA 2014/15 games.

END/ml  

NFL: Week 12, Outcomes & Analysis; The Broncos Win Against the Dolphins // NBA: Fast & Steady Turnarounds.

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 OR SATURDAY  each week. Ed., Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner .  

NFL---THE American Conference East’s 9-2 N.E. Patriots and the National Conference West’s 9-2 Arizona Cardinals are still leading their respective conferences and divisions as NFL-2014 moves into its final four or five regulation games for play by the league’s 32 franchises. The Patriots have a three game lead over the AC East’s second place franchise, the 6-5 Miami Dolphins, and the Cardinals are two wins ahead of the NC West’s second position team, the 7-4 Seattle Seahawks.

Presently, one of the remaining six NFL divisions includes a tie at first position, the NC East’s 8-3 Philadelphia Eagles and the 8-3 Dallas Cowboys, and the AC South’s 7-4 Indianapolis Colts now have a two game edge over second place team, the 5-6 Houston Texans, while the league’s other remaining divisions are seeing first and second place teams only a game apart, the AC West’s 8-3 Denver Broncos being above the 7-4 K.C. Chiefs, the AC North’s 7-3 Cincinnati Bengals atop the 7-4 Pittsburgh Steelers, and the NC North’s 4-6 Green Bay Packers ahead of the 7-4 Detroit Lions, the NC South’s N.O. Saints leading the 4-7 Atlanta Falcons.

Way behind within the full league still are the AC West’s 1-10 Oakland Raiders, the AC East’s 2-8 N.Y. Jets, the AC South’s 1-10 Jacksonville Jaguars, the AC South’s 2-9 Tennessee Titans, the NC East’s 3-8 Washington Redskins, the NC South’s 2-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

And as Week 13 approaches, the 16 teams of the AC have a total of one more win over the NC’s 16 team tally, 87 above 86, with the AC North and AC West having the most wins division-wide, 27 each. Also, the AC North is still the only division inside which all teams are at .600 or higher. Lowest total number of division wins, that’s the AC South’s 15 wins, no member team above .400.

Of note is that, except for the AC South’s 2-9 Tennessee Titans and the NC East’s 3-8 N.Y. Giants, third division position teams are but one or two games behind their respective second position holders, therefore the four or five games left to the current season per team could see third place-slotted teams reverse position with their division number twos, e.g., today the NC West’s third place 7-4 S.F. 49ers could rise above the NC West’s now second position 7-4 Seattle Seahawks, and the AC West’s third spot 7-4 San Diego Chargers could replace the 7-4 K.C. Chiefs that are now at second behind the Broncos.

Except for the Eagles 43-24 win over the Titans on Sunday, Week 12’s games ended without final scores being very far apart, implying near-parity for the 30 competing teams, that is, on that day.

As to Week 12’s big surprise, that was the Chief’s loss to the Raiders, 24-20, on Thursday. 

How pivotal will Week 13’s early match-ups be? Should the Cowboys defeat the Eagles on Thursday night, they’ll replace the Eagles atop the NC East, and if the 49ers prevail against the Seahawks on Thursday, they’ll replace them at second position within the NC West.

Broncos, Dolphins---UNABLE to establish the points needed for a significant first-half lead versus the then 6-4 Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the then 7-3 Denver Broncos appeared to have leveled off in the third Q but came from behind in a fourth Q to defeat the Dolphins, 39-36.

Yes, it’s points that make the win and it’s the win that can get you to playoffs and the SB, therefore to Broncos fans the first three Q’s of Sunday’s vs. Dolphins game were certainly disappointing---7-3, 21-17, 28-17, Broncos behind in each.

But---there’s more than points for defining a quality NFL franchise, and the Broncos are definitely a class act, demonstrated by the Broncos maintaining better numbers than the Dolphins on Sunday in nearly all of the NFL game categories that define a high performance team.

While behind the Dolphins until the fourth Q, those game category edges had kept the Broncos always within reach of leap-ahead moments for surpassing its already vs. Dolphins 17 points for another victory. Proof of life: endgame showed that the Broncos were ahead in time-of-possession with 34 minutes over the Dolphins 25, allowing for 29 first downs vs. the Dolphins 25, and for a total of 450 yards gained above the Dolphins 313, which included 201 rushing yards gained vs. the Dolphins 97, with the Broncos average gain in yards per rush 5.7, the Dolphins 4.5.

Meanwhile, the average gain per pass play had the Broncos ahead from 6.9, above the Dolphins 5.8.

Too, the Broncos accrued 149 return yards, the Dolphins, 57.

Were NFL teams rated at the end of a game in the manner that Olympic athletes are rated after a showing for Gold, with all performance factors reviewed the Broncos would have finished Sunday’s event close to a nine, the Dolphins with a six, and largely from several outstanding Broncos player-achievements, for example, QB Manning’s four TD passes, RB C.J. Anderson gaining 167 yards and a TD, his average gains per rush being 6.2., also WR DeMaryius Thomas receiving for 87 yards and three TD’s, WR Emmanuelle Sanders receiving for 125 yards, and WR Wes Welker catching a virtual bullet from Manning for a TD.

And, how about Broncos safety T.J. Ward’s interception in the fourth Q and his 37 yard rush that made it possible for a Manning’s TD pass to exist and so the three-point edge for the Broncos eighth season takeaway over three losses.

Rating the QB’s, Manning completed 28 passes from 35 attempts, the Dolphins QB, Ryan Tannehill, 26 from 36.  .  . The Dolphins QB was nearly equal with Peyton Manning, but not because Manning wasn’t at his best, or that the Broncos defense was half asleep. Fact One, Ryan Tannehill is a class act QB, with the Dolphins O-Line above the margin. Fact Two, the Broncos D executed the right maneuvers but hadn’t the speed or power for each in the first three vs. Dolphins Q’s, tightening up in the fourth Q so that the Broncos offense could come from behind for the win. The Broncos still need a D that can read any O-line early in a game and prevent a high-scoring first Q opposition, this to cancel the need for difficult comeback runs, for which no QB, not even Peyton Manning, could always rise to the occasion.

NBA---THE Denver Nuggets have won four games in a row, jumping to 6-7 from 2-6 and last place 10 days ago, to the number two spot inside the NBA Western Conference’s Northwest Division, now four wins behind the division’s number one team, the 11-3 Portland Trail Blazers, the latter now at second position within the entire NBA and within the WC, a game back of the WC Southeast Division’s 12-2 Memphis Grizzlies and one behind the NC’s number one franchise, the NC Atlantic’s 12-2 Toronto Raptors.

Tonight, the Nuggets have an opportunity to extend its streak of wins to five and to add a team to a list of top franchises sent down by them, vs. the EC’s Central Division leading team, the now 9-5 Chicago Bulls.

Other NBA teams have jumped upward recently from middle or low division status. They are the WC Southeast’s San Antonio Spurs rising from a recent below .500 record to 9-4, though a third place team, and the EC Central’s Milwaukee Bucks lifting from 1-2  and division fourth position to 7-7 and second place during the same period.

As to the downward slide, it’s being experienced by the NC Atlantic’s 4-11 N.Y. Knicks having dropped from first place to fourth position, and the NC Central’s now third position team, the 6-7 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Consistency within the overall rankings, such has belonged to the NBA 2014/15’s low position occupiers, no change in status from a month ago for the Thunder, the WC Southwest’s 7-5 N.O. Pelicans, the WC Pacific’s 3-11 L.A. Lakers, the EC Atlantic’s 0-14 Philadelphia 76ers (lowest within the NBA), the EC Southwest’s 4-11 Charlotte Bobcats, the EC Central’s 3-10 Detroit Pistons.

END/ml