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Yes. I think there are a couple of teams with that outside chance.
I don't usually create topics, but I figured after the Pistons dropped one last night, we've got three teams with no more than 12 losses on a season with 25, 26, and 26 games left in the season.
The Pistons are getting all the attention, the Spurs are known as the Rock of Gibralter, and the Mavs are the new kids that haven't proven anything.
Historically, do we see this very often? Having one, even TWO teams with an .800 winning percentage (ok, Spurs are .786, close enough) is one thing.. but having THREE? I've never looked this closely at the stat lines, but I can't imagine it happens very often.
Do you think it's possible that a team NOT named the Pistons, Spurs, or Mavericks has a chance to win the whole damned thing?
Yes. I think there are a couple of teams with that outside chance.
No. I don't think it's possible that a team other than the Spurs or the Pistons will win it all this year, and the Mavs have to make it to the Finals before they can win it.
There is always a chance, but it won't happen. The only team that might actually surprise in my opinion is Phoenix because they are doing very good right now w/out Amare. If he comes back and is 100% by some miracle during the playoffs, they might get to the Finals.
SA and Detrolit have the best shot, Dallas is lagging a step behind and then the Suns/Heat have about a 10% chance of winning it all...
I noticed that the Heat won their 7th in a row last night as well. Shaq's notoriously famous for sleeping through the first 3/4 of a season.
And the Pacers...
.. ok, I just needed a laugh.
Yeah, I think Phoenix is the wild card, mostly because they'll have a fairly easy road to the WCF (it would appear) and then will only have to deal with either Dallas or San Antonio, but not both. If Amare is close to what he was last year and if Kurt Thomas comes back and is effective, the Suns become a real beast, since Thomas remedies one of their most glaring weaknesses from last season. I think they're better suited for a playoff series with Diaw and Bell as opposed to Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson. They're a bit deeper, too, which should allow them to play at a faster pace if they want to.
Miami could put all of the pieces together and make things interesting, mostly because nobody really has an answer for a motivated and healthy Shaq. The question, though, is whether Shaq will be healthy and find motivation to play at that level for one more playoff run. I still think Detroit, with HCA, will win the East and is the favorite (for now) to win the le.
Phoenix would be right there as well, if Amare was healthy
Boston- 23-34
Seattle- 22-36
New York- 15-42
Orlando twice- 20-37
Toronto- 20-37
Miami should have won those games, and they did. Boston is 2 spots out of the playoffs. No other team is anywhere close to playoffs.
Yea, when I look at their schedule I knew the hype machine was going to start "heating" up for them. They have a garbage schedule.
A key to a playoff contender is 'winning the games that you're supposed to win'. I don't know about you guys, but I want compe ion. To me, that's what makes the playoffs fun. I hear what you're saying about the Heat, and I'm not putting them up there, I'm just hoping they get in gear and make a series out of it if/when we run into them in the playoffs.
I've had this feeling for a while now that Phoenix could spoil. I don't know if they can win the whole thing, especially against the Pistons, but they could knock us out in the WCF. Praying that it doesn't happen, of course, but we shouldn't underestimate them.
I don't. this year i want spurs to get 1st seed oin the west. somehow i hope houston makes a rally and gets 8th seed. T-Mac lights spurs up and takes them to 7 games. then i hope dallas does good and also make spurs win in 7 again. finally with amare back phoenix also pushes the spurs to 7 games. the spurs will be ready to slaughter if the pistons make it. this however will very likely not happen.
Spurs are still the champs. Dallas is going to have to beat us 4 times out of seven and I cant see that happening. Phoenix poses a legit threat but only if amare is healthy and works well with all the new guys they added since hes been out. For some reason, I doubt he will be ready for us.
So bring on Detroit.
As much as I want to think that the Spurs would be ripe for the picking, the flat out facts are that the Spurs could go through 3 7-game series, and still be ready when it comes to the Finals. I think you could be safe and say the same thing about the Pistons.
My thing is, I don't like being the 'overwhelming favorite'. Let someone else have that role. Ask the Lakers about being the 'favorite'. If we go into the Finals against the Spurs or the Mavs (or even Phoenix) and are picked by 9 out of every 10 'experts', that'll make my stomach turn. History tends to repeat itself over and over again, every single year.
Of course. In the East there is Miami if they continue to get their act together. The West of course has Spurs, Mavs, Suns.... and don't look now, but the Nuggets have taken both the Pistons and the Spurs to task.
Of course come play off time experience plays a huge part in winning. That's where the Spurs and Pistons are heads above the other mentioned teams.
so basically what you are saying is you hope Miami beats the Pistons at least 2 games in the series so that it becomes exciting? weird... I want the Spurs to cruise to the finals without losing even one game, but that is just me
Pretty much like everyone else said.
You can never just discount Miami, if only because it's always conceivable that Shaq, Wade and any Three Stooges could get hot enough to beat Detroit in a series. The Heat were only a few minutes away from doing it last year (though probably with a better overall team then, too).
And of course, if Phoenix can get back a healthy Amare and Thomas, then they have a better team than last year, too (assuming Marion decides to show up).
The Pistons and Spurs hold a bigger psychological advantage over the others more than anything else.
so basically what you are saying is you hope Miami beats the Pistons at least 2 games in the series so that it becomes exciting? weird... I want the Spurs to cruise to the finals without losing even one game, but that is just me
Nothing wrong with that opinion at all. To answer your question, of course I'd love to sweep our way through. But, I don't want that to be the "expectation". , when the expecatation is that you should beat the out of a team, that's usually when you get pimp slapped.
The Heat have the pieces, they just don't have the glue.
the team who will win it all is the team that says the healthiest and luckiest during the playoffs.
Wade and Shaq are scary. But we are talking about 7-game-series. I don't see those two big men plus a team without chemistry and don't play defense can beat a well tested team like pistons and spurs in 7 games. Maybe they will win big in 2 or 3 but I am confident the pistons will beat them.
If I were a spurs fan I wouldn't be worried about the suns too. The reason is the suns are going to play the best defensive team in the league.
So I really don't see any teams other than DAL, SA and DET can make to the finals.
I agree that in the West Phoenix is the wild card, the possible spoiler. Spurs should easily make it back to the Finals, Mavs still aren't better 4 games out of 7. But Phoenix really is a toss up because Diaw has been so much better than anyone expected, they're better MUCH defensively than they were last year, and Amare could be the difference maker if Spurs struggle with injuries...
In the East, no one is even close to Detroit right now. The only thing that could take them out is injuries or fatigue. If those set it (which is a very real possiblity) Cleveland COULD be a spoiler...they really are the second most talented team in the East, with their coaching, talent, and athleticism. But they may be too young and too inexperienced to go all the way this year...but I think they'll be there in a year or two, if not...
While the Spurs and Pistons are huge favorites to meet in the finals, a few other teams could upset one or both.
Although it has only been in issolated games and in flashes, the Heat, Cavs, Nets and Pacers have demonstrated they may develop into solid teams if they get healthy and on a roll at the right time.
In the West the Mavs, Suns, Clippers, and Nuggets have shown enough to demonstrate they will not be fun to play, especially if they get all players healthy and/or add a missing piece long enough before the playoffs to jell. While they don't impress me as much, the Griz, Kings and even the Rockets, if they can overcome a lost first half of the season to squeek into the playoffs, have some elements that could make them tough as well.
While I would never call either the East of the West wide open, San Antonio and Detroit will neither have calk walks to the finals, as many expect.
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