im sure some of you already realize this and have done the math. but i just did and i thought it was interesting. the mavs have 17 games left against western conference playoff contenders. (not counting seattle or denver) the wolves have 15 games left against western conference playoff contenders. (again not counting seattle or denver) the rockets have 11 games left against western conference playoff contenders (again not counting seattle or denver) i also didnt take into account any eastern conference games. but the rockets own the east and have already played our two games with miami, new york, orlando, and phily. i didnt look at pheonix, but with their win over the jazz today, i figure they will make it. i hear marion will only be out for a week. so it seems as though the rockets will have a great, great, great chance of ending the season with a better record than any of these teams, and thus making the playoffs, even higher than the eigth seed. ...but im sure everyone already knew that. ------------------ make it stop.
my math is a little off. the mavs have 15 left against the good west teams. and then 1 game with miami and 1 with orlando. thats still 17 tough games though. ------------------ make it stop.
The Suns are legit. They are a very good team. They proved that to me with their recent 3-1 road trip. They still could fall, because they have the toughest schedule of anybody. That being said, the Rockets have split the first 2 games with them, so they are one team the Rockets could still own the tiebreak advantage on. The Mavs are another team, with 22 losses, who could very well fall in the standings, and even out of the playoffs. I still put my money on the Timberwolves to be the ones to fall out of the playoffs. ------------------
Suns are FAR from legit! They have a brutal schedule coming up... They have their record because they have beaten the cupcakes already... In fact, I think they will be the odd team out... They simply have a frontcourt that is even weaker than ours... And their backcourt isn't as good as ours... Their only strength is depth, but that went out the window when they traded McPherson and Blount for Del Negro... Also, with Penny out and Marion out... Googs will have to step up huge if the Suns plan to keep their momentum... Marion was their only rebounder and the only guy who can run with Kidd... Suns get no transition baskets without Marion... Which means they have to rely on a postup game in the halfcourt... They don't have that right now... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teamsched?team=pho ------------------ Check out my homepage! Loads of sports pics! http://www.public.asu.edu/~sykim/
Gotta agree with Tacoma. The pups lost 6 of the last 7 (their win was over Golden State, albeit by 40), and the pups' schedule looks tougher than ours: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teamsched?team=min http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teamsched?team=hou D*mn...could it really happen?
To break down the competition a little differently I grouped the opponents for Hou, Phoe, Minn and Dal in terms of elite, good and bad. The elite teams I have are: Portland, L.A.L., Utah, San Antonio, Sac and Philly The good teams I have are: Milwaukee, Dal, Phoe, Sea, Den, Minn, Hou, Orl, Miami, The bad teams are: Chi, Atl, LAC, GSW, Ind, N.J., Wash, Van, Char, Cle, Det, Bos, I did not see Toronto or New York left on the schedule of Hou, Pheo, Minn, or Dal. 1. Houston has 6 games left against the elite teams, 8 games left against the good teams and 12 games left against the bad teams. 2. Minnesota has 7 games left against the elite teams, 12 games left against the good teams and 6 games left against the bad teams. 3. Phoenix has 9 games left against the elite teams, 11 games left against the good teams and 7 games left against the bad teams. 4. Dallas has 8 games left against the elite teams, 10 games left against the good teams and 8 games left against the bad teams. While it appears that Phoenix has a slightly harder schedule than Dallas, I actually think Dallas has the hardest schedule due to the fact that all 8 of their games against the elite teams occur from March 20 to April 13. That is a 13 game stretch where they play 8 against the elite teams. The end of the Mavs schedule is just brutal and could knock them out of the play offs. Houston easily has the easiest schedule left with 12 games left against the bad teams. I think I can smell the play-offs getting closer and closer! Can you say 7th seed? ------------------ [This message has been edited by crash5179 (edited February 26, 2001).]
and I believe the Rockets are 0-13 against the top 5 teams in the West. Don't count your chickens just yet. ------------------
Fortunatly we only have 6 of those games left. We did win against L.A. earlier butI also think we are do for another win or two against some of those teams. We are also playing so much better now than earlier in the year we are barely recognizable as the same team. ------------------
I think Phoenix is a legit playoff team. That doesn't make them a contender, however. They don't play enough D to be considered really in the running for that title and their star (Jason Kidd) doesn't score consistently. To me, there are 4 legit contenders in the West: Portland, Utah, LA Lakers and San Antonio. There are really 2 more good, solid playoff teams: Phoenix and Sacramento. That leaves two spots. Basically, it is down to Houston, Dallas, Denver and Minnesota for the last 2. If I had to make a bet, right now, I'd put my money on Dallas and Houston. Minnesota has some serious issues and have never really materialized as a legit playoff team. Denver is still a piece or two away from a serious playoff run though they have really been on fire for a while now. Dallas just seems to be getting better and the addition of Howard will help them, IMO. Houston is on a roll and really finding its confidence. I think it will be a battle for the 8th spot, but Houston's record and overall talent seems to make the Rockets the odds-on favorite even though they are 2 1/2 back of the T-Wolves at the moment. ------------------ "You know what they say about the music business. Here today, gone TODAY! - Chris Rock at the MTV Music Video Awards
