The last few weeks of the season are especially exciting for teams that are right on the bubble of the playoffs. Fans of the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, among many others, will be glued to the edges of their seats as their teams scrape away at often minuscule deficits in the standings. Fans of other teams like the Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors are praying their teams will be able to hold on and earn postseason berths.

March and April aren?t just about playoff races though. Higher teams are fighting for seeding while lower teams are fighting for a different kind of seeding, with some on the upswing and others on the decline regardless of place in the standings. The spring, then, can be a crossroads for just about any kind of team.

There are some legitimate questions facing both legitimate contenders and floundering bottom-feeders. The prospect of a deep playoff run or a high draft pick is very enticing, but what about the future? Teams will very soon find that the continuum of time extends far past June 2006. While a sudden jolt of energy can empower both a team and a fan base, some general mangers will have to shore up deficiencies, plug holes and do a lot of thinking this off-season.

San Antonio Spurs

When you have Tim Duncan, a dynamic backcourt and a gaudy 46-19 record to go along with a recently-snapped nine-game winning streak, you might think you?ve got it good. The Spurs certainly do. Behind the winning and the discipline, though, this team has a serious problem with age.

Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry are both still productive yet also both decrepit, Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto are surprisingly both thirty-plus despite their relative lack of experience and Duncan, at thirty, has played more ball in the past decade than arguably anyone else on the planet. Even Ginobili, who honed his game in Europe after being stolen in ?99, is turning thirty this year. The Spurs will have to find a way to bring in young talent without sacrificing the few tradable assets they have. This is a team that?ll need to use its mid-level exception very effectively and maybe look at acquiring a draft pick or two in order to keep the pool deep. Of course, another veteran or two, so long as the guy?s in his prime and not past it, wouldn?t hurt either.

Potential Free Agent Targets: Morris Peterson, Andres Nocioni, Desmond Mason

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons, much like the Spurs, are a battle-hardened team that?s won a championship and wants another one. The core group of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace is looking fantastic, and Chris Webber?s combination of all-around skill sets and leadership is paying off big time. They?re first in the East and favoured to make the Finals but they?re far from perfect.

Lindsey Hunter?s suspension reminded us of that; right now, the Pistons are dangerously thin in the backcourt, with Ronald Murray not being a reliable ball-handler or defender and Will Blalock being largely unproven. While Carlos Delfino is developing into a solid swingman off the bench, an injury to Hamilton or Prince could decimate the perimeter. The only place the Pistons are really deep enough is in the post. Trading a backup big man for a guard in the off-season might be the way to go, but Joe Dumars will also have to work some more mid-level magic and maybe even dole out some minimum contracts to guys he actually expects to see play.

Potential Free Agent Targets: Maurice Williams, Steve Blake, Brevin Knight*

Minnesota Timberwolves

How can we forget about the Wolves? Making headlines recently in the Forbes column about Kevin McHale allegedly being the NBA?s best general manger and always visible in the background due to the presence of one Kevin Garnett, this is a team that?s been underachieving since 2004. Something has to be done and it has to be done now.

While the NBA?s collective bargaining agreement won?t allow McHale to erase the putrid contracts given to players like Troy Hudson and Mark Blount, and it?s doubtful that the to-be-waived Eddie Griffin will ever clean up his act, this is a team that can still be a player with the right moves. The Northwest division isn?t incredibly strong aside from the Jazz and a serviceable wide body to pair with Garnett might just be what the Wolves need to stop looking like doormats. Along with the development of Randy Foye and a potential trade or two (whether it involves Garnett or otherwise), it?s an interesting team with quite a few options.

Potential Free Agent Targets: Jamaal Magloire, Michael Sweetney, Chris Mihm**

Atlanta Hawks

If there?s a group of teams that has questions, it usually involves the Hawks. They?ve recycled line-up after line-up while not making the playoffs since the nineties (remember Mookie, Smith and Deke? Yeah, it?s been that long) and they don?t even have their own draft pick this season unless they luck out in the lottery.

While the Hawks clearly need a lot of help in a lot of places, the most glaringly obvious one is that they need a long, athletic big man who can score in the post. The Hawks might want to look into trading into the draft to get one, with plenty of candidates there to be had; on the flipside, there aren?t that many in free agency. Billy Knight will need to be very careful with whatever spending money he has because he won?t be able to build that roster without a lot of patience and probably a couple trades.

Potential Free Agent Targets: To Be Determined ? the Hawks? draft status and potential trades prior to July 1st will clarify the picture here.

*assumes the Charlotte Bobcats will not invoke their ?07/?08 team option

**health permitting