25% into the season, which team will not make the playoffs?

Great poll! It's hard to choose between Dallas and Phoenix. Dallas has a much better coach but their talent ain't that good. I don't see Jet Terry and Barea continuing their production over the long haul. What's gonna happen when they land?

The Suns have talent but are severely dysfunctional, for now. The dysfunction could go away or kill the team. Can such an old and creaky group hang in there (especially with a seemingly tone deaf coach)?

Unless injuries bite, I don't see either of these 2 teams finish ahead of the other 7.

 

I hope it's no D allasss. I don't think much of the Phoenix head coach. I think they are too talented to win less than 49, but will that be more than Dallas? No.

 

Tough decision, but Phoenix is the most likely IMO. They have lost their identity plus Amare is complaining and Nash and Shaq are declining.

 

Portland will falter as a younger team.. just barely losing out to Phx

 

I think it's amazing that the West is already down to 9 teams and the East has really only one team that's out of contention.

As for the odd man out in the West, it's there for the team that gets injured. The team that has it's star go down with an ACL tear or whatever gets the #9 spot. The Rockets are beat up right now, but it's just a series of small injuries with some hope of getting healthy again. If McGrady can't come back, it'll probably be us.

 

Portland will not be the #2 seed but they'll be in, maybe even w/ homecourt in the first round.

Of Dallas and Phoenix, I think Dallas is less likely to miss the playoffs--Carlisle has gotten less talented teams through worse. Phoenix, as someone mentioned, has the edge in talent, but it's not as great as people think, because:

1) The Suns bench was exposed in the playoffs last year. As it turns out, a lot of their "studs" were really the product of a system coach and a run-and-gun style that pads players' stats. Under D'Antoni, Chris Duhon had a 22 assist game!
2) Shaq, Nash, and Amare are injury prone
3) They're not even as good as their record, some of their squeaker wins coming against JV teams like the Thunder and depleted ones like the Jazz.
4) Amare is playing less aggressively than at any point of his career. He is dogging it in every aspect of the game except scoring--help d, man-to-man d, rebounding, etc. He's been getting burned by opposing team's stiffs, and channeling his inner Antoine Walker on offense. (They could have had KG for this guy!) If I were a Suns fan, I'd want his ass traded--give me Al Jefferson instead!
5) This is a transition year for the Suns, moreso than the Mavs. Everyone now realizes that if you can't defend, you can't contend, and that the Suns needed a change. The problem is that no one wants to make sacrifices towards that end, and so Porter gets scapegoated.

And--I know you guys hate Dallas--but that team does have heart and resiliency. Do the Suns?

 

by the pace of our injuries...HOUSTON....

 

We're 5th even with all the injuries so far. Looks like we'll survive.

I think Portland will fall away (as they did last season).

They've got a tough 9 games coming up - @Utah then LAX/ Sacto/ Phx/ @ Denver/ home to Denver, Dal, Tor Bos.

How they come through those will probably make or break their season! They could easily lose 6 (Uth/ Phx/ Den/Den/ Dal/ Bos) - but we'll see!!

 

If injuries to Yao occur, or if TMac and Artest don't come back to full health, that team might be the Rockets.

 

Phoenix was the team I had to miss the playoffs all the way up until just now, when I heard about the J-Rich trade. Now I have a hard time believing it will be them. While I agree with whoever said the Rockets might be that team if we don't get healthy, I can't see that happening since we haven't been CLOSE to healthy all year, and we're still winning 2 of 3. Once we get back to health, we'll win closer to 3 of every 4. It's a hard choice but I gotta go with Portland I think.....every other team in the West has the benefit of experience, and that's something you can't replicate, or replace down the stretch.

 

After the Richardson trade, i think I'll go with Dallas. It's tough to decide though. I could see Portland's youth catching up with them again too.

 

I dunno, adding talent via trades midway through the season sounds nice, but it's difficult to maximize the assets that you acquire without training camp/gelling/strategy. Remember last year--all the mid-season trades (minus Pau Gasol, even though he's a soft baby) were complete disasters for the Western Conference contenders. Jason Kidd is better than Devin Harris at this point, but Kidd couldn't adapt to the Mavs' halfcourt offense and was a liability with his shooting.

Amare is a gunner. JRich is a shameless gunner. It's a tough call as to whether the Suns improve this season.

 

really, 3 ppl voted that lakers won't make the playoffs? lol is that hating or what

 

dallas or houston. if our injuries continue to haunt us then it's quite possible that we will be fighting for that 8th seed.

phoenix is gonna be strong with their recent trade.
portland will be pretty strong and make it but not go very far in the playoffs.
everyone else will be in a tight race for the number 2 spot and (ugh) the lakers will be sitting atop the west AGAIN.

when we r matched up against Utah again, hopefully we can get homecourt and finally get past them.

 

In the West, one team is a lock (Lakers) and 8 teams are fighting for 7 spots.

In the East, 3 teams are a lock, and 12 teams are fighting for 5 spots.

 

Either Dallas or Phoenix.

 

The Celtics big 3 and Laker's Gasol acquisition have really upped the ante. I can see more possible big trades coming from several playoff contenders.

Bulls - Hughes or Hinrich on the block

Jazz - AK47 or Okur on the block to make room for a Boozer extension

Portland - Outlaw shopped since off-season. LaFrentz expiring out for season but contract is insured being shopped hard now.

Dallas - Josh Howard rumored to being shopped. Stackhouse demanding a trade. Both out injured.

Miami - Marion's expiring contract

Portland is the scariest of the lot with LaFrentz's pseudo-TE of a contract while having the young pieces and a crazy number of picks in the 2009 draft to add as deal sweeteners.

 

I have a feeling the Blazers will fall off. Right now, they're rated as the 2nd best offensive team in the league. When I look at their talent, I don't think they're anywhere near that good.