<table class="iptable" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <th colspan="2" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Western Conference</th><th>W</th><th>L</th><th>Pct.</th><th>GB</th></tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">1</td> <td class="row1"> X-NEW ORLEANS</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">55</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">23</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.705</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">-</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">2</td> <td class="row2"> X-LA LAKERS</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">53</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">25</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.679</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">3</td> <td class="row1"> X-HOUSTON</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">53</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">25</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.679</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">4</td> <td class="row2"> X-UTAH</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">52</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">26</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.667</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">3</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">5</td> <td class="row1"> X-SAN ANTONIO</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">53</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">25</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.679</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">6</td> <td class="row2"> X-PHOENIX</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">53</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">26</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.671</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">2 1/2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">7</td> <td class="row1"> DALLAS</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">49</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">29</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.628</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">6</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">8</td> <td class="row2"> DENVER</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">47</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">31</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.603</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">8</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"><th colspan="6" style="height: 4px;"> </th></tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">9</td> <td class="row1"> GOLDEN STATE</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">47</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">31</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.603</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">8</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
Tonight will go a long way in determining who gets the 8th and final playoff spot. 8 pm Eastern on TNT - Nuggets at Warriors
Dallas just clinched a playoff spot via a clutch Dirk 3 with .9 seconds left Nuggets overcame a horrible first quarter and then held on at the end to beat the Warriors. That gives the Nuggets essentially a 2 game lead with 3 to play for the final playoff spot
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GM3 @ Feb 26 2008, 02:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The west is almost too competitive. There are 9 teams on track to win 50+ games and one of them might actually miss the playoffs. Think about it, a 50 win team might actually miss the playoffs! Current playoff picture in the West: LA Lakers vs. Golden State Warriros SA Spurs vs. Houston Rockets Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns Utah Jazz vs. NO Hornets I can't wait for the Western Conference Playoffs.</div> Just wanted to reflect back on how competitive the West has been. The first post in this thread was made on 2/26
<table class="iptable" width="100%"> <tbody> <tr> <th colspan="2" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">Western Conference</th><th>W</th><th>L</th><th>Pct.</th><th>GB</th></tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">1</td> <td class="row1"> X-LA LAKERS</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">56</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">25</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.691</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">-</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">2</td> <td class="row2"> X-NEW ORLEANS</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">55</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">25</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.688</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">1/2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">3</td> <td class="row1"> X-HOUSTON</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">54</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">26</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.675</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">1 1/2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">4</td> <td class="row2"> Y-UTAH</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">53</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">27</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.663</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">2 1/2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">5</td> <td class="row1"> X-SAN ANTONIO</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">54</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">26</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.675</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">1 1/2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">6</td> <td class="row2"> X-PHOENIX</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">53</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">27</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.663</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">2 1/2</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">7</td> <td class="row1"> X-DALLAS</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">50</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">31</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.617</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">6</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row2" align="right">8</td> <td class="row2"> DENVER</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">49</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">32</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">.605</td> <td class="row2" nowrap="nowrap">7</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"><th colspan="6" style="height: 4px;"> </th></tr> <tr valign="top"> <td class="row1" align="right">9</td> <td class="row1"> GOLDEN STATE</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">48</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">32</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">.600</td> <td class="row1" nowrap="nowrap">7 1/2</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
<u>At the Bottom</u> Denver has a magic number of 1 to make the playoffs. They have 1 home game remaining against the Grizzlies. Golden State has 1 road game in Phoenix and 1 home game against Seattle. They have to win both games and the Grizzlies have to beat the Nuggets in order for the Warriors to make the playoffs. Dallas only has a 1 game lead on Denver and Denver has the tie breaker. Dallas has 1 home game remaining against New Orleans. If Dallas wins, they are the 7th seed. If not and if Denver beats Memphis, Dallas is the 8th seed. <u>At the Top</u> The Lakers have 1 home game remaining against Sacramento. If the Lakers win, they will have the 1st seed. The Hornets are the only other team that could possibly match the Lakers record if they win, however, the Lakers have the tie breaker by virtue of a better Conference record (season series is tied 2-2). If the Lakers lose to the Kings, things start to get complicated. New Orleans has 1 home game (Clippers) and 1 road game (Dallas) remaining. If they win both games and the Lakers win, the Hornets will have the 2nd seed. If they win both and the Lakers lose, the Hornets will have the 1st seed. Both the Spurs and the Rockets are 1 game behind the Hornets. All three teams have 2 games remaining and all three teams have split their season series 2-2. Houston loses the next tie breaker, Division Record, to both the Spurs and Hornets. If New Orleans loses to Dallas, then they will have the same Division Record as the Spurs. If the Hornets and the Spurs finished the season tied, the Hornets would have a better Conference Record, giving them the tie breaker. Now back to the 1st seed. The Rockets have a head to head tie breaker over the Lakers, while the Lakers have the Conference Record tie breaker over the Spurs (they split the season series). If more than two teams tie for the best record, the first tie breaker is winning percentage against all of the other tied teams. Bottom line - We'll know a lot more after tonight as the Spurs play the Kings and the Rockets play the Jazz.
Go Hornets! I would love for Dallas to get the 8th seed. Theres absolutely no way Denver will lose at home to the Grizzlies, right? Right?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti @ Apr 14 2008, 10:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Go Hornets! I would love for Dallas to get the 8th seed. Theres absolutely no way Denver will lose at home to the Grizzlies, right? Right?</div> I want Dallas to get the 8th seed only if the Lakers get the first seed. Denver recently lost at home to the Kings and on the road to the Sonics. They are very capable of blowing a game they should win on paper. They are quite maddening to follow.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Apr 14 2008, 10:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti @ Apr 14 2008, 10:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Go Hornets! I would love for Dallas to get the 8th seed. Theres absolutely no way Denver will lose at home to the Grizzlies, right? Right?</div> I want Dallas to get the 8th seed only if the Lakers get the first seed. Denver recently lost at home to the Kings and on the road to the Sonics. They are very capable of blowing a game they should win on paper. They are quite maddening to follow. </div> Then again, the Sonics also beat the Mavs, and the Kings are much better than they were in the beginning half of the year...
