Didn't see this posted yet: http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-091123/seeding-west 1. West Playoff Forecast: Thunder In, Spurs Out By Tim Legler ESPN.com Four weeks of action in the 2009-10 NBA season have given us a good outline of how this season might play out. In fact, I've changed my projection of how I initially saw the field of playoff teams in the West. The Dallas Mavericks in particular have moved up. This team is playing with a lot of energy, getting guys to buy into roles. Notably, Jason Kidd has transformed himself into a consistent 3-point shooter, something you couldn't say about him in his last season in New Jersey. That shooting has helped open up the offense and spread the floor. On the downside, the San Antonio Spurs have looked so disinterested, they actually moved out of the playoffs. I thought the additions of Richard Jefferson and DeJuan Blair would give them some energy, along with Manu Ginobili being healthy (he's not). But the Spurs, who moved back to .500 with a win Monday over Milwaukee, have not played with a whole lot of passion. Still, we've learned not to write the final book on them until spring. Come April, here's how I see the Western Conference playoff seeds playing out from 1 to 8: 1. Los Angeles Lakers -- When Andrew Bynum is playing this well, this Lakers team is scary. Complacency is the only thing that keeps them from challenging 65-70 wins. Clearly the best in the West. 2. Dallas Mavericks -- They've been a nice surprise when this could have been a team headed in the opposite direction. They've played good defense. Dirk Nowitzki has been one of the 2 or 3 best fourth-quarter players this year. The Mavs have done a good job spreading around the job of helping him carry the scoring load, sometimes Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, J.J. Barea, Kidd and others. This team is playing with a lot more energy than it did a year ago. 3. Phoenix Suns -- Good to see the Suns back to being themselves. I understand that you need to be able to compete when the game slows down in playoff basketball -- but that doesn't matter if you don't make the playoffs in the first place. So the Suns are back to letting Steve Nash make great decisions and pick an opponent apart better than anybody. The team has had some unexpected contributions from Channing Frye and solid play from Grant Hill, while Jason Richardson has just been great. The Suns finally got back to who they were: Nash and Amare Stoudemire in the middle of the floor, running the pick-and-roll, surrounded by 3-point shooters outside. 4. Denver Nuggets -- Carmelo Anthony is in the best shape of his life and looks to be more committed to winning than at any point in his career. He's taken on a leadership role. It's much easier to get role players to follow when the best player sets the tone. 5. Portland Trail Blazers -- An improving team whose key will be continuing to get consistent play from Greg Oden, who had a big night Monday in the win over Chicago. He needs to be a guy who finishes around the rim (he's shooting an NBA-best 64 percent from the field) and is a deterrent at the other end. He's off to a good start. 6. Houston Rockets -- If you looked up the word "team" in the dictionary, you would find the Rockets. They take off fewer plays than anybody else in the league. They have very few blown assignments. On offense, it's going to be a struggle to score. Coach Rick Adelman keeps his fingers crossed that somebody will get hot. Trevor Ariza has more than lived up to what was expected (18.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists) to earn his money. Regarding Tracy McGrady's injury history: If I'm Adelman, I coach the team as if T-Mac won't return. 7. Utah Jazz -- The Jazz are playing their best ball of the season now. However, until they learn to win on the road in a good team's arena, we can't take them seriously as a contending team, even with the talent they have. You must win on the road. 8. Oklahoma City Thunder -- Their day is coming. Russell Westbrook was my preseason pick to be a breakout player. Kevin Durant will be a scoring champ one day. James Harden has come in and done a good job as a rookie in the sixth-man role. This team looks like they're having lots of fun playing together. They have the parts to become the next formidable team to rise in the West, whether it's this season or next.
San Antonio Spurs are not even in the playoffs?? And Dallas lost to Warrios last night.... all I can say is that it's wayyyy too early to tell ..
legler is trying hard to jinx us. seriously, forecasting the playoffs after a dozen of games? please...
Legler's a ****ing idiot. In the preseason he predicted that the Spurs would take the west, said something like how the Rockets would finish last in the division, etc. Now he's changing his tune. He's more of a flip flopper than Dick Justice.
I think a lot of people are changing their tunes at the moment especially things about the Rockets. No one would of thought that the Rockets would be playing as well as they have including clutchfan members. You got it right about Justice being a flopper though...
Didnt pretty much everyone think that during training camp? Maybe not the rockets finishing last, but I definitely thought that the spurs would take the west.
Here's the stock line regarding the Rockets that I'm getting sick of. We average 103 PPG! That's sixth in the league. We have no problems scoring. We have problems finishing.
He's just basing his rankings according to the current rankings in the West right now and that really involves zero insight/intelligence to do so. Legler was a one trick pony on the court being just a 3 point shooter and he's a one trick pony for espn as a bandwagoner.
Yea but anyone that has watched basketball in the past decade knows the Spurs are notorious for starting slow in the regular season. There's no way that Duncan and Popovich are going to let this team (especially when they brought in Jefferson and his salary) slip out of the playoffs.
That isn't flip flopping. Flip flopping is when the facts haven't changed, but your opinion has. The facts have changed. He has new information to help him form an opinion. It isn't a bad thing to change your tune when the facts change. In fact, to the contrary, it would be bad if you were so stubborn you didn't change your tune when the facts have clearly changed. Otherwise, if an atheist witnessed God part the skies, come down from Heaven to end war, hunger, poverty, and disease he would have to be like "Sorry bro. Still an atheist. Nobody is calling me a flip flopper."
I'll retract my statement that Legler's a flip flopper then but what would you call it then? I just think, as any sane NBA fan would, too premature to have a "playoff prediction" out when the season isn't halfway done yet. It's also ludicrous to think that the Rockets would make the playoffs AND the Spurs would miss the playoffs.
Agree, he said the rockets weren't doing anything this season and now he flip flops. If the rockets were to lose 5 games in a row, he'd be tauting that I told they wouldn't do anything.
You're kidding right??? Bosh is a possibility, but Chris Paul? I think the HOUSTON TEXANS have a better chance at the playoffs this year than the Rockets getting CHRIS PAUL by the trade deadline.
I still stay my prediction before the season started, the rockets would finish the record with the #7-9 seed. Right now, a chance for a playoff seems to be high, but it is a long season, it is hard to say we can be #6 seed yet.
No, they have an equal chance. Texans's chance for the playoff is very low after the Monday night game.
I think he means it'll be a struggle to score in the playoffs. Which, I have to admit, in the incredibly off chance that this team DOES make the playoffs, scoring will be hard. The game slows down....defenses learn to key in on certain guys.....every possession takes more time to develop. These are things that will hurt us.
