The Heat managed to escape Game 1 with a win, but not without losing Chris Bosh. His status is questionable heading forward, but the young Indiana Pacers have their hands full in Miami for Game 2. Miami has the best chance to take home the Title at 26.9%.

Check out all the Title chances on SLAM!

Check out the final rankings here or on SLAM.

LeBron James ends the year in the same position he held all season, No. 1 in the NERD rankings. LBJ shot career bests 53.1% and 36.2% from the field and long range respectively. He will be the MVP.

After a 32-50 record in 2010-11, the Clippers finished this year 40-26 as the No. 5 seed in the West. Chris Paul is the primary reason for the Clippers’ turnaround; Paul scored a career-best 1.26 points per possession and led the League in steal rate at 3.8%.

Kevin Durant is now the 3-time defending NBA scoring champion (and the youngest one to boot). Durant had his best shooting year so far in his career sinking 49.6% from the field. KD also led the League in minutes played and free throws made.

Despite missing the last few weeks of the season, Kevin Love had a stellar year, proving he could maintain high levels of efficiency while using more possessions. He finished the season scoring 1.17 points per possession with a career-high usage rate of 28.8%.

The Thunder are thanking their lucky stars that James Harden has been cleared to play as he had a career-year and will undoubtably be the Sixth Man of the Year. Harden scored an absurd 1.25 points per possession and was No. 4 in the League in true shooting percent at 66.0%.

Manu Ginobili had a ridiculous year and would have easily cracked the Top 3 in NERD were it not for missed time due to multiple injuries. Manu put up a career-best 1.25 points per possession while using over 22% of the Spurs’ possessions. He was also just ahead of James Harden in terms of true shooting percentage at 66.8%, which includes free throws and the added value of a three-pointer over a regular field goal. In fact, Manu had the No. 3 efficiency rating this season at +4.9 which means that a league-average team would be expected to have a +4.9 point differential per game with him on the court. Only four teams in the NBA this year had point differentials above 4.9—Miami, Chicago, San Antonio and OKC.

The least NERDy player of the year award goes to Shawne Williams at -10.3. Williams shot 28.6% from the field and 24.1% from long range, scoring a dismal 0.84 points per possession. Williams only played in 25 games with the Nets before a season-ending injury and a trade to the Blazers. The least NERDy player with at least 1,000 minutes was a Bobcat, of course—Gerald Henderson (in fact the two least efficient players in the NBA were both Bobcats: Henderson and rookie Kemba Walker). Henderson scored just 0.99 points per possession, but the Bobcats players are mostly affected by their extremely poor defense, where as a team, they allowed 110.4 points per possession

After his vicious elbow to the head of James Harden on Sunday, the biggest question for the Los Angeles Lakers is just how long will they be without Metta World Peace. More importantly, though, what kind of an effect will World Peace’s probable absence due to suspension have on the Lakers heading into the Playoffs? If he is to miss significant playing time, the increase in minutes is likely to be shared by Matt Barnes and Devin Ebanks, who stepped up huge on Sunday in the Lakers 18-point second-half comeback.

Read More on SLAM: Hard Foul, Hard Times?

Check out the updated team NERD rankings here or on SLAM.

There are only two remaining teams in the NBA who have not clinched or been eliminated from playoff contention: Phoenix and Utah. Utah is currently sitting in as the No. 8 seed, one game ahead of the Suns. A Utah win tonight means a playoff berth, but if Phoenix wins, they will overtake Utah as the likely No. 8 seed based on a head-to-head tiebreaker (Phoenix would be 3-0 vs Utah on the year). If that occurs, Utah would need to beat the Blazers on Thursday AND need the Suns to lose to a San Antonio team that will likely rest all of their aging stars. All told, Utah has about a 75% chance of making the playoffs, while Phoenix sits at just above 25%.

The Charlotte Bobcats have now lost 21 straight games and are winless in the month of April. In the past week alone, they have lost by 20+ points to both the Kings and Wizards, two teams very near the bottom of the League. Charlotte has remaining games against Orlando and New York, and will likely lose both, becoming the worst team in the history of the NBA in terms of winning percentage. Based on their total level of efficiency, Charlotte currently owns the worst NERD ranking in history at 4.9—down 3.1 points since last week.

Last, look out for the Spurs—who have clinched home court in the West and have won 8 straight games over the last two weeks by at least 10 points. Over that time period, they have increased their NERD by 5.5 and chances of winning the NBA Title by just under 10%.

Check out the updated NERD player rankings here or on SLAM.

JR Smith is the biggest mover this week, increasing his NERD by 2.5 points. Smith is averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals over his last four games. In that time, he’s shot 29-62, but more impressively, he is 18 for his last 36 from long range. The Knicks will need that kind of bench production if they have any hope of going deep in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Carmelo Anthony also had a dominant week and is just behind his teammate Smith for the most improvement. While Melo is still shooting a career worst 43% from the field on the year, he has the highest assist rate of his career at 21%. It doesn’t hurt that he’s averaging close to 37 points per game over his last three. Melo has also shot over 50% in nine of his last 12 games.

Antawn Jamison had his least efficient week of the season, mostly thanks to an 0-10 performance in Detroit on Tuesday. He made just 3 free throws and it was the fourth time all year Jamison has scored three points or less in a game.

Tyson Chandler is still shooting a ridiculous 68.1% and looks like a lock to be the most efficient offensive player in the League. Chandler, who achieved that honor last year as well, is scoring 1.30 points per possession.

With the release of the 2012 NFL Schedule, fans are hurrying to their computers to find out who and when they face their toughest rivals, but the biggest question is a simple one: Will my team make the playoffs?

Having a tough schedule can be devastating in terms of playoff hopes, so we at numberFire look to quell those worries by digging into how the 2012 schedule will affect a team’s playoff odds.

In order to do this, we project out the 2012 season with the newly released schedule and compare that to thousands of randomly generated schedules. By looking at the difference between each team’s playoff odds for 2012 and the average playoff odds over the randomly generated schedules, we can see which teams have the easiest and toughest roads ahead.

Keep in mind schedules are determined as follows: Each team plays the three other teams in their division twice (both home and away, 6 total games). Each division faces one full division in the AFC and one in the NFC (8 games). The remaining two games are played against those teams in-conference who finished in the same spot within their division. For example, the Giants finished atop the NFC East, so they will face the other division winners in the NFC — the Packers and 49ers (they face the Saints as part of the NFC South, which matches up with the NFC East this year). As a result, the worse teams should have easier schedules and vice versa.

But one surprise playoff team from last season seems to have a particularly tough road in front of it, one that will absolutely test the abilities of newly acquired QB Peyton Manning. Based on our projections, the hardest schedule belongs to the Denver Broncos.

Read More: ESPN Insider – Easiest/Toughest Paths To Playoffs

Check out our updated Team NERD ratings here or on SLAM.

Despite a dramatic collapse, the 76ers have maintained their extremely efficient defensive numbers, ranking No. 2 in the League. They allow just 98.6 points per 100 possessions, but their offensive efficiency has fallen all the way to No. 20. Their playoff odds, once a hair shy of 100%, now sit at 93.8% with six games to play.

The Houston Rockets are in the midst of a heated playoff race, and currently sit in ninth place, on the cusp of the Western Playoffs. Going back to last week’s game against the Jazz, the Rockets have lost four straight games, dropping their playoff odds by 54.8% to a mundane 36.1%. Cui Bono? The Nuggets (+22.3%), Mavericks (19.8%), and Suns (12.6%) all improved their playoff odds dramatically and the Suns are looking at over a 50% of landing a post-season bid.

The New Orleans Hornets have had a throwaway year to say the least, but they continue to play hard throughout the tail-end of the season. In fact, the Hornets increased their NERD by 3.1 points this week after winning four straight games. Granted, these wins were over the Bobcats, Kings, Jazz and Grizzlies, but NOLA was a mere 15-42 coming into last week.

We’ve already discussed how historically bad the Bobcats are, but to add insult to injury, they are the only team in the NBA scoring under 100 points per 100 possessions. The second-worst team offensively is the Wizards, who score 100.4 points per 100 possessions. So, how bad is the Bobcats offense, you ask? Not only are they scoring under 100 points per possession, they are scoring under 96 points per possession. Add in their horrendous (No. 30) 110.3 points allowed per 100 possessions and that results in an estimated point differential of -12.6 points per game. Their actual point differential? -13.3.

Check out the updated player rankings here or on SLAM.

LeBron has been King of the NERD rankings all year and that will not change anytime soon. LeBron is scoring 1.18 points per possession while using 31.4% of the Heat’s possessions. That is the highest offensive production out of any player over a 30% usage rate this season.

Not a lot of big movers this week. Ryan Anderson found his way back into the Top 5 thanks to some poor play from the reigning MVP. Derrick Rose was the biggest loser this week, dropping his NERD by 2.2 points. While he scored 29 points on Sunday, Rose did not do so efficiently. In his last two games, Rose is 9-39 from the field (23.1%), made worse by his 1-13, 2-point performance against Miami. As a result, C.J. Watson played the hero.

Manu Ginobili is the most improved player, increasing his NERD by 1.9 points. Manu is averaging 17-4-4 over his last four games and has made 29 of 32 free throws over that time period. Ginobili is still scoring a ridiculous 1.24 points per possession and has recorded a 66.3% True Shooting percentage. That is third-best in the League behind Tyson Chandler and Steve Novak, making him the leader for players with usage rates over 20%.

Look out for the Wizards’ James Singleton. Fresh off the boat from playing in China, Singleton has appeared in four games, scoring 1.37 points per possession, best in the League. Although he has only played 100 minutes, and is unlikely to continue to play at such a high level, Singleton’s efficiency grades out to a 12.1 NERD rating which would put him at No. 10 overall, if he qualified.

The Sixers are in the midst of an epic collapse and are currently the No. 8 seed in the East. Despite losing four straight and 10 of their last 14, the Sixers have still been playing at an efficient level. For the first time all season, however, Philadelphia has been unseated by Boston as the top defensive team in the League. Luckily, the Sixers have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way with the exception of games against the Magic and two against the Pacers.

Atlanta looks like a sure thing to make the Playoffs and they have won 3 straight games (albeit against the Bobcats and Pistons), making them the most improved team, increasing their NERD by 3.4 points. The Hawks do a great job limiting fouls, allowing only 0.19 free throws per field goal attempt. They do, however, need to improve offensively—where they rank just below League average scoring 104 points per 100 possessions. Unless they can score at a higher rate, they will be no competition for the likes of Miami and Chicago in the East.

The Phoenix Suns have won 4 of their last 6 and are currently the No. 9 seed in the West, just one game out of a Playoff spot. While their Playoff odds only sit at 37.6%, that number is up over 22% from last week thanks to their current run. The Suns are the No. 8 team offensively in the League thanks to Steve Nash’s continued high level of play. Nash is assisting 54.7% of all Suns’ baskets while he is on the floor, the highest assist rate in a season since John Stockton in 1990-91.

Check out the updated player NERD rankings here or on SLAM.

Despite all the debate surrounding who should be the MVP, LeBron is having the best season in the NBA by far. He is averaging 27, 8 and 7, and according to his NERD rating, a League-average team would finish 24 games over .500 in an 82-game season based on his performance.

The Clippers are sitting pretty as the No. 4 seed in the West despite playing the short season with a gang of new players. Their success is predominantly thanks to CP3 who assists teammates on 43.5% of all field goals while he is on the floor. Paul is also shooting 48.1% from the field, resulting in a career-best 1.25 points per possession.

Not only is Kevin Love second in the League in every rebounding statistic (offensive, defensive and total rebounds), but Love has made more free throws than any other player in the NBA. He is 365 for 444 from the charity stripe. Love is scoring 1.18 points per possession while using over 28% of the Timberwovles’ possesssions.

Kevin Durant is No. 2 in the League in scoring and has helped his Thunder squad to the best record in the West. KD is shooting over 50% for the first time in his career and is one of four players to score over 1.10 points per possession while having a usage rate over 30%. The other three? LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Derrick Rose.

The most efficient rookie so far this year has been the Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried (8.5 NERD). Faried is scoring a ridiculous 1.24 points per possession while using 18.4% of the Nuggets’ possessions. That means he is taking (and making) extremely high percentage shots—good enough for a 59.2% field goal percentage. Faried is also shooting over 70% from the line and grabbing 22.9% of all available defensive rebounds. Likely Rookie of the Year winner, Kyrie Irving, is also deserving, registering a 2.5 NERD rating while playing on a poor Cleveland squad.

After missing a month and a half of the season, Andrea Bargnani is starting to return to peak form. Since last week, he is the most improved player efficiency-wise, increasing his NERD rating by 2.4 points. In his last five games, Bargnani is shooting over 50% from the field and averaging 25 ppg and 4 rpg. The Raptors have also won 4 of those 5 games, with the only loss coming against Miami. Overall, Bargnani is having a down year. He is shooting just 30% from beyond the arc and scoring only 1.04 points per possession.

In place of the injured Derrick Rose, CJ Watson has been solid all year. This past week, however, Watson hit rock bottom, dropping 2.8 points in his NERD score. Watson is just 12 for 48 over the Bulls’ last five games and is averaging 7.4 points and 4.2 assists per game. With Rose out, Watson is forced to use more of the Bulls’ possessions (to make up for the 30% that Rose typically uses). As a result, Watson is scoring just 1.01 points per possession with a usage rate of 23.5%. Historically, when Watson has a usage rate of 17% or less, he is actually an extremely efficient scorer. But, as soon as he breaches that threshold, his efficiency drops dramatically. Watson needs to stop shooting so much and distribute the ball to better high-usage players like Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer.