I think after one quarter of the season, we can ascertain that the top 7 seeds are set. Who gets that last 8 seed?
The candidates are:
Portland, Lakers, Clippers, Rockets , Grizzlies and Jazz.
That is six teams fighting for that last spot. I like Memphis' chances, personally. Any thoughts?
Western Conference
N O R T H W E S T W L PCT GB HM RD CONF DIV PF PA STRK L10
2 seedSeattle 18 4 .818 - 10-1 8-3 11-2 4-1 100.2 93.9 Won 1 8-2
5 seedMinnesota 14 8 .636 4 6-3 8-5 11-3 1-2 100.0 95.9 Lost 1 7-3
7 seedDenver 13 9 .591 5 9-4 4-5 4-6 1-3 94.8 95.1 Won 1 7-3
Portland 10 11 .476 7 ½ 7-3 3-8 4-7 2-3 90.5 92.1 Lost 2 4-6
Utah 10 13 .435 8 ½ 6-6 4-7 7-7 3-2 95.6 97.2 Lost 1 2-8
P A C I F I C W L PCT GB HM RD CONF DIV PF PA STRK L10
1 seedPhoenix 19 3 .864 - 10-2 9-1 10-2 4-1 109.4 97.1 Won 6 9-1
4 seedSacramento 15 6 .714 3 ½ 9-1 6-5 7-6 2-0 101.8 98.8 Won 2 8-2
LA Lakers 12 9 .571 6 ½ 8-3 4-6 7-7 3-3 96.9 96.8 Lost 1 6-4
LA Clippers 11 10 .524 7 ½ 7-6 4-4 4-7 3-3 97.9 94.4 Lost 3 6-4
Golden State 7 15 .318 12 5-7 2-8 2-13 0-5 93.6 98.7 Lost 1 4-6
S O U T H W E S T W L PCT GB HM RD CONF DIV PF PA STRK L10
3 seedSan Antonio 18 5 .783 - 10-1 8-4 7-4 2-2 96.2 85.6 Won 2 8-2
6 seedDallas 15 9 .625 3 ½ 7-6 8-3 10-7 5-2 99.0 95.5 Lost 1 6-4
Houston 10 12 .455 7 ½ 6-6 4-6 7-7 4-2 86.9 88.5 Won 1 4-6
Memphis 9 15 .375 9 ½ 6-7 3-8 5-9 1-4 92.0 93.0 Lost 2 4-6
New Orleans 2 19 .095 15 1-9 1-10 2-11 0-2 86.1 93.4 Won 1 1-9
I wouldn't count on Denver to hold on to their playoff spot. But if they do, I would say one of the LA teams will probably end up in the remaining playoff spot. Too early to say really, IMO. Portland could still step it up. Or anybody could land Jason Kidd and squeak in there. Memphis won't make it without a big move. I don't see Houston in the cards, either.
Don't discount Utah yet... wait until AK-47 returns.
I really dod not understand Memphis, they were a very good team last year and have their same team back. I am thinking that they will start playing like last year and make a move...we will see.
^^^
That's true too (Utah, Kirilenko). There are so many teams that have a shot, it would be real easy to see Denver falling out of the picture altogether.
Denver has a well balanced team with 7-8 players that can score in double figs. They are not a great passing team nor rebounding team, but they seem to play pretty hard. I think they will stay at 7 or drop to 8.
If the Blazers can pull off a significant trade, then we should get the 7th or 8th seed. If we don't make a trade we are lottery bound.
I don't see Denver as a lock either, but the current top 6 look like safe bets to make it to the playoffs, barring any significant injuries. The last two spots are really up in the air at this point. The Lakers will probably pull one out and I expect the Jazz to be fighting for a spot in April. Portland and/or Memphis could make runs if they trade some of their depth/misfits for a little more star power. I think the Clippers will falter and that Houston will miss out too.
I think Memphis will be screwed up this year...The word is that Hubie wasn't sick but basically wore his welcome out with the players...He was very successful last year with his 10-12 player rotation because they kept coming at you with fresh legs but the players got upset with the short minutes hurting their individual numbers...Memphis almost HAS to make some personnel moves if they are gonna drop to the standard 8-9 rotation or that locker room is gonna explode...almost half the players on the roster are in contract years...
That is a good explaination CC.
CC: I totally buy that explanation and my feelings were similar when Hubie stepped down. West certainly HAS to see what's going on, hasn't he?
If the Blazers can pull off a significant trade, then we should get the 7th or 8th seed. If we don't make a trade we are lottery bound.[I]
yawn
The west is wild this year. I would have never guessed that Seattle and Phoenix would be doing so well. . .especially Seattle.
I think Houston will get better and make the final eight.
Utah. We're seeing right now the impact of a healthy Kirilenko. When he gets back the Jazz will pull it together. I think the latest round of crap will just make Kobe try to be Superman even more and hurt the team even more. And with all of the press surrounding what a pain in the ass he is the Lakers won't be able to pull any trade to get some help there. Memphis' talent is deep but Fratello has been out of the game too long in my opinion. It's gonna be Joe Gibbs all over again. Portland is perenially cold down the stretch and they're just too streaky to impress me. Clippers...I want to pull for them, I really do, but I think they're still a year away from the playoffs. Rockets...hah! Unless they can pull off some miracle for a real point guard they are toast. I like Van Gundy a lot but when it takes ol' T-Mac 15 games to realize that the Rockets brought him in here to do some serious scoring, something's not quite right.
Of course, that's assuming that Denver holds steady, which is highly questionable. If they fall out then I'll pick the Clips to sneak in.
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