Indazone
02-11-2008, 12:33 AM
10 teams in the Western Conference are vieing for the playoffs separated by only 5.5 games. The Western Conference is really though. If any team falters then they could be out of the race. It's also plausible that the current 10th seed could make a big run and take over the number one seed come playoff time. I've never seen the West this close before.
The Northwest Division has:
Utah 33 19 0.635
Denver 31 19 0.620
Portland 28 22 0.560
The Pacific Division has:
Phoenix 36 15 0.706
L.A. Lakers 33 17 0.660
Golden State 30 20 0.600
The Southwest Division has:
New Orleans 34 15 0.694
Dallas 34 16 0.680
San Antonio 32 17 0.653
Houston 30 20 0.600
By contrast the Eastern conference will have a lot of sub .500 teams making the playoffs. I mean for real, the playoff teams in the East have no business even making the playoffs. You have New Jersey, Washington and Atlanta making the playoffs with less wins than losses. Here's how the playoff race stacks up in the East.
Atlantic Divison
Boston 39 9 0.813
Toronto 27 22 0.551
New Jersey 22 29 0.431
Central Division
Detroit 37 13 0.740
Cleveland 28 22 0.560
Southeast Division
Orlando 32 20 0.615
Washington 24 26 0.480
Atlanta 21 26 0.447
Maybe the NBA should consider moving teams out of the conference to create more balance between the divisions. If you look at Boston, they would not have the record that they have had they played in the West. There are just too many bad teams in the East for the Celtics to beat up on. That being said, the Celtics are for real and can play with any team from the West.
The Northwest Division has:
Utah 33 19 0.635
Denver 31 19 0.620
Portland 28 22 0.560
The Pacific Division has:
Phoenix 36 15 0.706
L.A. Lakers 33 17 0.660
Golden State 30 20 0.600
The Southwest Division has:
New Orleans 34 15 0.694
Dallas 34 16 0.680
San Antonio 32 17 0.653
Houston 30 20 0.600
By contrast the Eastern conference will have a lot of sub .500 teams making the playoffs. I mean for real, the playoff teams in the East have no business even making the playoffs. You have New Jersey, Washington and Atlanta making the playoffs with less wins than losses. Here's how the playoff race stacks up in the East.
Atlantic Divison
Boston 39 9 0.813
Toronto 27 22 0.551
New Jersey 22 29 0.431
Central Division
Detroit 37 13 0.740
Cleveland 28 22 0.560
Southeast Division
Orlando 32 20 0.615
Washington 24 26 0.480
Atlanta 21 26 0.447
Maybe the NBA should consider moving teams out of the conference to create more balance between the divisions. If you look at Boston, they would not have the record that they have had they played in the West. There are just too many bad teams in the East for the Celtics to beat up on. That being said, the Celtics are for real and can play with any team from the West.