Court Report: Cramming for the finals

The season boils down to the next nine days for a large percentage you that are still checking in with the daily Court Reports. Week 23 is Championship Week in default h2h leagues. You'll find a schedule grid, with ease rankings courtesy of Basketball Monster, at the bottom of this post. Something to note right off the bat are teams with five games (BOS, CHA, CLE, MEM) and teams with three games (ATL, CHI, NJN, PHI). Quantity doesn't always trump quality, but an extra game can at the very least be used as a tie-breaker, and a difference of two games is clearly substantial.

Notable, widely-available free agents with five games during the finals: Byron Mullens, Donald Sloan, Alonzo Gee, Reggie Williams, Avery Bradley, Tristan Thompson, Bismack Biyombo, Lester Hudson, Marreese Speights, Greg Stiemsma

And if you need a push over the weekend in the hopes to get to the finals, then the quantity route (two games in two days) can only be addressed by three teams (SAC, PHI, BOS). Washington is the single team that doesn't play on either Saturday or Sunday, so you'll want to reconsider your stock in Wizards if you are desperate for an extra game or two. Saturday's most favorable matchups belong to the Clippers (SAC), Warriors (DEN), Hawks (@CHA), Hornets (MIN), and Nuggets (GSW); Sunday's best matchups go to the Rockets (@SAC), Nets (CLE), and Cavs (@NJN). Some good combinations of two games in two days would be Charles Jenkins or Brandon Rush for Saturday and Donald Sloan or Courtney Lee for Sunday.

• Status updates: Derrick Rose (groin) is expected to play on Sunday .. Jazz on Friday: Paul Millsap (illness) will be a game-time decision, Devin Harris (ankle) is probable .. The Cavs are hopeful that Anderson Varejao can return to practice on Monday, which could mean he rejoins the active roster as soon as Tuesday .. Wilson Chandler (groin) has not healed as expected and is now headed for an MRI .. Bucks on Friday: Drew Gooden (back) and Carlos Delfino (groin) both remain vaguely day-to-day .. Magic on Saturday: Hedo Turkoglu (facial fractures) is out, Ryan Anderson (ankle) is out .. Marcus Thornton (calf) is day-to-day .. Plantar fasciitis will keep both Nene Hilario and Trevor Booker out of the lineup again on Friday.

• Week 23 Schedule Grid (Apr 9 - Apr 15)

Ease Rankings courtesy of Basketball Monster.

Games remaining, through end of NBA season (April 26):
12 - CHA, CLE, SAS
11 - GSW, MEM, MIA
10 - BOS, DEN, DET, HOU, IND, LAC, MIL, NOR, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, PHO, WAS
9 - ATL, CHI, DAL, LAL, MIN, POR, SAC, TOR, UTA
8 - NJN