Mortal locks (are already mathematically eliminated from next year's playoffs: Oklahoma City Memphis Minnesota Probably will, barring major changes, misfortune to other teams: Clippers (but look at that talent!) Sacto (but what if Kevin Martin gets healthy?) Golden State (will the return of Monta make a difference?) That leaves one more. Who will it be? Not the Lakers, Utah, San Antonio (check out their last ten games record) or probably Houston. Denver look much better with Chauncey. Dallas still has Nowitzki...
i say denver. Its not likely 3 playoffs team come out of the northwest division. It's either utah and portland or utah and denver, that's why division games are so important.
I would like to see what is happening with Phoenix long term as well. Amare is already grumpy. Nash is not comfortable in the half-court system - and while Shaq is playing much better than he did last year - will it last the entire season? A team who has one one "fresh" player from it's 4 best players is going to be somewhat suspect at longevity at this stage. They are already sitting Shaq down on back to back games, Nash is also sitting out a little and Grant Hill is not spring chicken. Could be a recipe for disaster in a couple of months.
I'd say Dallas... but a big injury or two could really shake things up. I'm not so sure that the Hornets are mortal locks, by the way. Ed O.
Right now, I think the Blazers are looking as good as just about any team in the West outside of the Lakers. I expect the Jazz and Hornets to be superior, but so far they haven't played better. That said, the Blazers might be playing over their heads. I don't think they have, as everything hasn't gone perfectly (Oden hasn't be an impact scorer and hasn't played a ton of minutes, Aldridge has been unimpressive) and what has gone well doesn't seem flukish. It's really early to say the Blazers are as good as any Western team outside of the Lakers, but the early returns are good.
IIRC, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and NO all came out of the SW Division last year and made the playoffs. Anything is possible. (Cue Garnett scream)
The Hornets are back in New Orleans. Oklahoma City has the Thunder. I think Dallas will fold too. They should have kept their team as it was last year.
I think we are playing less well than we will be later in the season. We will only get better this year as Oden becomes more comfortable, Webster comes back and the team gells. There is also the possibility of getting help via a trade.
I agree that the last team out will probably be decided by an injury. The East is even crazier. Five teams look to be slightly above the others IMO, but Atlanta wasn't thought to be very good before the season, are they better than we thought or will they fall back a bit? Which teams will take the final spots?
I see another decently big trade season. A couple teams have cap space, a couple teams think a trade can get them over the top for a title, a few think that a trade can get them in the playoffs, and there's just enough teams that are horrible that there may be a really fun trade season starting soon. And I like my odds with KP in trade scenarios.
if im being honest (unless a teams is killed by injurys) its gonna be the blazers or mavs in the final spot. with our luck, we will miss
Dallas or NO's will be on the outside. Dallas just has not looked that good. Kidd can't guard the WC guards. Howard shows that pot smoking and bringing it everyday in the NBA does not happen, and dalas needs him to bring it everyday for them to have a chance. There centers are slow stiffs that aren't that good, and their bench is weak, who is their b'u PG?exactly! They do have Dirk, but you need more then 1 to compete in the the WC. Last year everything went perfect for No's. This year they have comeback to the pack alittle. CP3 is great, no denying that. They did sign Posey, but after watching the last Blazer game he looks like Bowen to me, they claim he is good at defense, but just tries BS plays and use his rep to get away with it. Tyson Chandler and Hilton Armstrong don't cut it as centers, TC has no offence, and does not block or rebound like he once did. Peja will always miss stretches of games due to injury. David West is solid. There are my 2 cents. I think the Blazers will make it since we have escaped the brutal section of our schedule well ahead of the win count then any of us homers thought we could. Our team will only get better as Oden and Rudy get more used to the NBA style of play. PS please stop the Oden hate, he is coming off MF surgury, Amare struggled early on also. I just read a section of an article where someone thinks that Hawes of the Kings is better then Oden, whata joke, so he can hit 3's, that is not what I want my center doing in a game.
I get what you are saying - the Blazers really haven't been playing their "best" ball. Oden hasn't done a whole lot. Until the last few games, Frye has been bad. Webster out. Atrocious perimeter defense for much of the season. Roy/Rudy haven't got a chemistry yet. Aldridge has underwhelmed. The counter is that Roy has played better than ever. Will that continue? Rudy shot out of the gate at a really high level. He has dropped off recently. How much can we count on from him for the rest of the year? Blake AND Joel have played as well offensively as they ever have for their entire career. We can't possibly pencil that in for the rest of the season. Batum has filled in nicely. There have been no injuries to the players that have been the main force behind the winning so far this season - Roy, Rudy, Joel, Blake. We might be able to withstand an injury to Roy, or to Blake and Joel at the same time. But, won't know for sure unless it happens. So far, we have withstood the Webster and Oden injuries by Joel playing so well and our depth at SF and the unexpected play of Batum. Injuries are a part of the NBA and we either need continued good luck, or will again test our depth. I think the 5 game road trip will tell us a lot about where this team is headed. I wouldn't blame them if they only win 1. But if they win 3 or 4, the team will cruise into the playoffs.
Yeah... I got my head twisted, but differently than you thought. Given that NO was so good last year, and that they added Posey, it was widely thought that they were shoo-ins for the playoffs. I meant that they are NOT locks. Of course, this thread is about who's not making the playoffs so my comment didn't make much sense. Heh. Ed O.
Roy's play so far seems reasonable as a part of his development. As a rising star talent, he should have improved. He's scoring at a very good efficiency, but not taking a ton of shots. That seems something he can keep up. I think we can count on him for what he's done so far: be inconsistently good. Some nights he's a huge force off the bench. Others, he's not that much of a factor. I'd expect that to continue. More good nights than bad. I think Blake and Przybilla are playing a bit over their heads, but some of that is due to their teammates. They're surrounded by such scoring options that defenses have to give someone good looks and Blake and Przybilla are the ones they're leaving open. I would expect that to continue, though maybe see their percentages drop a little. Injuries are hard to account for. We've had Webster out and Oden missed time. I think this team's depth is well-suited to weather injuries.
