#1 Western Conf. Sport: TIE breaker SAS vs. OKC?!

[iminol]

TIEBREAKER BASIS:
(-) Tie breaker not needed (better overall winning percentage)
(1) Division leader wins tie from team not leading a division
(2) Head-to-head won-lost percentage
(3) Conference won-lost percentage
(4) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, own conference
(5) W-L Percentage vs. Playoff teams, other conference
(6) Net Points, all games
x-Clinched Playoff Berth | o-Eliminated from Playoffs contention | e-Clinched Eastern Conference | w-Clinched Western Conference
nw-Clinched Northwest Division | p-Clinched Pacific Conference | sw-Clinched Southwest Division | a-Clinched Atlantic Division
c-Clinched Central Conference | se-Clinched Southeast Conference
*-Games remaining vs.Teams Over/Under .500

via. nba.com



Now, what if we got the same record (Spurs and OKC). Including this: we got OKC away on 4th april. We lose and there goes 2-2. Who's got #1 then?

[FromWayDowntown]

Whoever has the best record against teams from the West.

[iminol]

Whoever has the best record against teams from the West.

The key is who's got that stat :)

[Bruno]

It will likely be OKC

Spurs are 22-4 against eastern conference teams and OKC is 16-7 (teams will play 30 games against the other conference). In all likelihood, Spurs will have a better record against east teams which means, if both teams are tied, OKC will have a better record against western conference teams.

[iminol]

I got update:

San Antonio Spurs vs. West teams: 27-11 (71,05%)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. West teams: 31-10 (75,61%)

[Seventyniner]

It will likely be OKC

Spurs are 22-4 against eastern conference teams and OKC is 16-7 (teams will play 30 games against the other conference). In all likelihood, Spurs will have a better record against east teams which means, if both teams are tied, OKC will have a better record against western conference teams.

This. If the Spurs somehow end up with an equal or better record vs. the West, they'll be several games ahead in the standings and the tiebreaker won't matter.

Last night's win was huge because it gives the Spurs the chance to take the season series 3-1, though that's pretty unlikely.

[iminol]

update:

San Antonio Spurs vs, West team 28-12 (70%)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. West teams 33-11 (75%)

it's more like who wins this, will get #1:

April Thu 4
@ Oklahoma City (http://www.nba.com/thunder)Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

8:30 PM

[boutons_deux]

update:

San Antonio Spurs vs, West team 28-12 (70%)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. West teams 33-11 (75%)

it's more like who wins this, will get #1:

April Thu 4
@ Oklahoma City (http://www.nba.com/thunder)Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
8:30 PM




I figure Pop will blow a couple games resting starters rather than try to keep HCA throughout, as if HCA made no difference to him. To win the NBA, Spurs will probably not have HCA against OKC or MIA.

[FromWayDowntown]

update:

San Antonio Spurs vs, West team 28-12 (70%)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. West teams 33-11 (75%)

it's more like who wins this, will get #1:

April Thu 4
@ Oklahoma City (http://www.nba.com/thunder)Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

8:30 PM



Tracking the records against the West at this point doesn't do much to identify who's likely to win the tiebreaker. As Bruno suggested, the question is really whether the Spurs will clinch the better record against East teams for this season.

If the Spurs do that, the Thunder will necessarily clinch the tiebreaker because they will necessarily have a better record against the West.

At this point, the Spurs magic number to clinch the better record against the East is 1. The Spurs are 23-4 with 3 games remaining; the Thunder are 17-7 with 6 games remaining. If the Spurs win one of their remaining 3 games against the East (v. MIA, v. ORL, v. ATL), they will end with no more than 6 losses against the East; if the Thunder lose one of their remaining 6 games against the East (@ ORL, v. WAS, @ MIL, @ IND, v. NY, v. MIL) they will have 8 losses and even if the Spurs were to lose out in their games against the East, the Spurs would have 7 losses and, necessarily, the better record in those games.

So, to the extent that the tiebreaker will ultimately come into play to decide who gets the top seed in the West, the things to watch are: (1) the outcome of the 4/4 game in OKC; and (2) the results of those 9 games remaining against the East. Assuming the Spurs don't clinch the tiebreaker in the cleanest fashion by winning the season series, the whole thing hangs on 1 Spurs win or 1 Thunder loss against the East from here on out.