theBigLip 2016 East Playoff Predictor

[theBigLip]

I've done this the last several years, except previously with the intention of figuring out where we would draft. This year, it is actually for our playoff push. So I put all the contenders schedules into a spreadsheet, predict wins based on home v away and strength of opponent, and we start to see who should finish where for the East.

A few assumptions:
Cleveland and Toronto are assumed to be #1 and #2 in the East. No reason to track them in detail as of now.
Bad teams - teams that everyone should beat regardless of home or away. Currently, I have them as Brooklyn, Denver, LA Lakers, Minnesota, New Orleans, NY Knicks, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.
Great teams - teams that should beat everyone regardless of home or away. Currently, I have them as Cleveland, Golden State, LA Clippers, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Toronto.
Good teams - this would be everyone else. You beat these teams at home and lose to them on the road.

I know this isn't a "perfect" model, but it works pretty good and certainly shows the strength of schedule remaining. And with that, here are this years predictions as of games played through Feb 24, 2016:

Predicted Predicted Future Future Current Current
Team Wins Losses Wins Losses Wins Losses
3 Boston 48 34 15 9 33 25
4 Miami 46 36 14 11 32 25
5 Charlotte 45 37 16 10 29 27
6 Indiana 44 38 13 12 31 26
7 Washington 44 38 18 8 26 30
8 Chicago 43 39 13 13 30 26
9 Atlanta 42 40 11 13 31 27
10 Detroit 42 40 13 11 29 29
11 Orlando 37 45 12 15 25 30


So unfortunately, it looks like we miss the playoffs. Note the easy schedule for Washington. Looks like we need to get hot to get into the playoffs.

[theBigLip]

Detroit's predicted record: 42-40

Sat, Feb 27 @ Milwaukee Loss 29 30
Sun, Feb 28 vs Toronto Loss 29 31
Wed, Mar 2 @ San Antonio Loss 29 32
Sat, Mar 5 @ NY Knicks Win 30 32
Sun, Mar 6 vs Portland Win 31 32
Wed, Mar 9 @ Dallas Loss 31 33
Fri, Mar 11 @ Charlotte Loss 31 34
Sat, Mar 12 @ Philadelphia Win 32 34
Mon, Mar 14 @ Washington Loss 32 35
Wed, Mar 16 vs Atlanta Win 33 35
Fri, Mar 18 vs Sacramento Win 34 35
Sat, Mar 19 vs Brooklyn Win 35 35
Mon, Mar 21 vs Milwaukee Win 36 35
Wed, Mar 23 vs Orlando Win 37 35
Fri, Mar 25 vs Charlotte Win 38 35
Sat, Mar 26 vs Atlanta Win 39 35
Tue, Mar 29 vs Oklahoma City Loss 39 36
Fri, Apr 1 vs Dallas Win 40 36
Sat, Apr 2 @ Chicago Loss 40 37
Tue, Apr 5 @ Miami Loss 40 38
Wed, Apr 6 @ Orlando Loss 40 39
Fri, Apr 8 vs Washington Win 41 39
Tue, Apr 12 vs Miami Win 42 39
Wed, Apr 13 @ Cleveland Loss 42 40

[Kilo]

Last game could be interesting if a win would give us 8th seed or a loss would boot us etc as Cleveland could be handpicking their first round opponent.

Look how close it turns out - Miami is 4th seed with 46 wins - we're 10th seed with 42 wins. Have to imagine we'd end up better than this if you followed your scheme for the whole schedule with us - sure we beat GS and Cleveland twice which would be deemed losses but we has a lot of bad losses that would surely have been graded out as wins.

[theBigLip]

Look how close it turns out - Miami is 4th seed with 46 wins - we're 10th seed with 42 wins. Have to imagine we'd end up better than this if you followed your scheme for the whole schedule with us - sure we beat GS and Cleveland twice which would be deemed losses but we has a lot of bad losses that would surely have been graded out as wins.

It certainly does look like it will be an interesting race. And when we do pull an upset, it definitely changes the predictions - it's nice to see the impact of these immediately.

Curious how Miami plays without Bosh, Chicago and their inuries, and Atlanta who was about to blow things up. This will be great drama for the playoff spots.

[Spider156]

Lol there's a ton of games you're predicting as losses when they could be wins. Anything can still happen in the season. What if Wade all of the sudden can't play? It's happened before. They're already without Bosh. Washington is very inconsistent. Chicago is playing without Butler. Atlanta has lost its motive to win games. That front office destroyed the team's morale. I don't like predictions like this, they don't make sense to me. There's still a ton of games to play and I can make you a prediction list that'll have us sitting at #5. What if George sprains his ankle? That's 3-4 games out = losses. Anything can happen and prediction threads like this are unnecessary. You could just put it in the Push for the Playoffs thread.

[theBigLip]

Lol there's a ton of games you're predicting as losses when they could be wins. Anything can still happen in the season. What if Wade all of the sudden can't play? It's happened before. They're already without Bosh. Washington is very inconsistent. Chicago is playing without Butler. Atlanta has lost its motive to win games. That front office destroyed the team's morale. I don't like predictions like this, they don't make sense to me. There's still a ton of games to play and I can make you a prediction list that'll have us sitting at #5. What if George sprains his ankle? That's 3-4 games out = losses. Anything can happen and prediction threads like this are unnecessary. You could just put it in the Push for the Playoffs thread.

So if you have a better predictive model, go ahead and share it, and let us know the assumptions you use. And let me know if you want to wager on whose is better.

And rattling off a bunch of "what ifs" is sort of lame. What if Stephen Curry breaks an ankle tomorrow? That would change a lot of models, but it hasn't happened, so you don't model for it.

[Spider156]

Lol there's a ton of games you're predicting as losses when they could be wins. Anything can still happen in the season. What if Wade all of the sudden can't play? It's happened before. They're already without Bosh. Washington is very inconsistent. Chicago is playing without Butler. Atlanta has lost its motive to win games. That front office destroyed the team's morale. I don't like predictions like this, they don't make sense to me. There's still a ton of games to play and I can make you a prediction list that'll have us sitting at #5. What if George sprains his ankle? That's 3-4 games out = losses. Anything can happen and prediction threads like this are unnecessary. You could just put it in the Push for the Playoffs thread.

So if you have a better predictive model, go ahead and share it, and let us know the assumptions you use. And let me know if you want to wager on whose is better.

And rattling off a bunch of "what ifs" is sort of lame. What if Stephen Curry breaks an ankle tomorrow? That would change a lot of models, but it hasn't happened, so you don't model for it.

But that's basically what these predictions do. It's too early to make these predictions. That's all I'm saying. There's still a lot of games left on the schedule and things don't have to go well for us to make the Playoffs. It just has to go bad for others. It's up and down for the rest of the season. We're down right now but just like how Charlotte came back, we can come back. It really is about effort and momentum. Right now, I wouldn't predict this team to miss the Playoffs. Is it fair to predict a loss against Cleveland the last game when Lebron Kyrie and Love are likely not to play? That doesn't make any sense. Johnson could return right after San Antonio, it's a pain condition, not functional. I can go ahead and make a prediction but mine won't mean anything either. You're putting Charlotte at #5? Why? And above Chicago and Atlanta AND you got Washington above us when they've been consistently inconsistent the whole season and they're sitting 4 games under 500. They're garbage on away games and could literally lose to the 76ers if they decide to bring it that game and then they have to play Cleveland. It's just too early man. I'd appreciate a prediction of the next 10 games but not the whole season. There's still a quarter of the season left and I fully expect us to be in the Playoffs specially with a win against Cleveland at the end.

[DocRI]

Thanks Lip; I've actually come to look forward to this thread every year!

I think you and I discussed this last year (or was it even two years ago?), but I think your system is really solid. Granted, it's also flawed, but every predictive system, by definition, is flawed; if it wasn't, you'd be making a crap-ton of money, especially if you could find a way to apply it to the stock market! I do think it gives a really good, general overview on what to expect down the stretch, despite the fact that there will ALWAYS be outliers that run against your model.

Here's my only quibble with this year's version —

Bad teams - teams that everyone should beat regardless of home or away. Currently, I have them as Brooklyn, Denver, LA Lakers, Minnesota, New Orleans, NY Knicks, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.

NO, DEN and NY currently have 22, 23, and 24 wins respectively, and they're all classified as "Bad Teams." Meanwhile, SAC, MIL and ORL have 24, 24, and 25 wins respectively, yet they're classified as "Good Teams." Why? Seems kinda arbitrary; I don't think a game @ DEN should be an "auto-win," while one @ SAC is projected as a loss. Maybe I'm just a bigger believer in the parity in the NBA right now than you are, but I'd cull the "Bad Teams" list down to the true bottom feeders only — BKN, LAL, MIN, PHI and PHX.

And P.S. — I think you nailed the "Great Teams" list and wouldn't suggest any revisions on that end whatsoever.

[theBigLip]

Bad teams - teams that everyone should beat regardless of home or away. Currently, I have them as Brooklyn, Denver, LA Lakers, Minnesota, New Orleans, NY Knicks, Philadelphia, and Phoenix.

NO, DEN and NY currently have 22, 23, and 24 wins respectively, and they're all classified as "Bad Teams." Meanwhile, SAC, MIL and ORL have 24, 24, and 25 wins respectively, yet they're classified as "Good Teams." Why? Seems kinda arbitrary; I don't think a game @ DEN should be an "auto-win," while one @ SAC is projected as a loss. Maybe I'm just a bigger believer in the parity in the NBA right now than you are, but I'd cull the "Bad Teams" list down to the true bottom feeders only — BKN, LAL, MIN, PHI and PHX.

Thanks for the props and the feedback. It is pretty easy to adjust.

So for bad teams, a line has to be drawn somewhere, and I did struggle with that. It was obviously much easier for the "great" teams. I'll take your suggestion and run the model again. Also, I had to laugh when I was adding New Orleans as a bad team - they certainly seem to have our number

[theBigLip]

It did tighten things up a bit...

Predicted
Team W L
3 Boston 48 34
4 Miami 44 38
5 Charlotte 44 38
6 Indiana 43 39
7 Washington 43 39
8 Atlanta 42 40
9 Chicago 41 41
10 Detroit 41 41
11 Orlando 36 46

We're still out of the playoffs at the moment, but 4 through 10 spots are within 3 games!

[theBigLip]

Lol there's a ton of games you're predicting as losses when they could be wins. Anything can still happen in the season. What if Wade all of the sudden can't play? It's happened before. They're already without Bosh. Washington is very inconsistent. Chicago is playing without Butler. Atlanta has lost its motive to win games. That front office destroyed the team's morale. I don't like predictions like this, they don't make sense to me. There's still a ton of games to play and I can make you a prediction list that'll have us sitting at #5. What if George sprains his ankle? That's 3-4 games out = losses. Anything can happen and prediction threads like this are unnecessary. You could just put it in the Push for the Playoffs thread.

So if you have a better predictive model, go ahead and share it, and let us know the assumptions you use. And let me know if you want to wager on whose is better.

And rattling off a bunch of "what ifs" is sort of lame. What if Stephen Curry breaks an ankle tomorrow? That would change a lot of models, but it hasn't happened, so you don't model for it.

But that's basically what these predictions do. It's too early to make these predictions. That's all I'm saying. There's still a lot of games left on the schedule and things don't have to go well for us to make the Playoffs. It just has to go bad for others. It's up and down for the rest of the season. We're down right now but just like how Charlotte came back, we can come back. It really is about effort and momentum. Right now, I wouldn't predict this team to miss the Playoffs. Is it fair to predict a loss against Cleveland the last game when Lebron Kyrie and Love are likely not to play? That doesn't make any sense. Johnson could return right after San Antonio, it's a pain condition, not functional. I can go ahead and make a prediction but mine won't mean anything either. You're putting Charlotte at #5? Why? And above Chicago and Atlanta AND you got Washington above us when they've been consistently inconsistent the whole season and they're sitting 4 games under 500. They're garbage on away games and could literally lose to the 76ers if they decide to bring it that game and then they have to play Cleveland. It's just too early man. I'd appreciate a prediction of the next 10 games but not the whole season. There's still a quarter of the season left and I fully expect us to be in the Playoffs specially with a win against Cleveland at the end.

If you look at Washington's schedule, it is much easier than everyone else's, and that's why the model predicted they would have a better record. Out of 27 games remaining, they play Philly 3 times, Minnesota 2 times, and Brooklyn 2 times. That helps any team with their predicted record.

[Spider156]

So if you have a better predictive model, go ahead and share it, and let us know the assumptions you use. And let me know if you want to wager on whose is better.

And rattling off a bunch of "what ifs" is sort of lame. What if Stephen Curry breaks an ankle tomorrow? That would change a lot of models, but it hasn't happened, so you don't model for it.

But that's basically what these predictions do. It's too early to make these predictions. That's all I'm saying. There's still a lot of games left on the schedule and things don't have to go well for us to make the Playoffs. It just has to go bad for others. It's up and down for the rest of the season. We're down right now but just like how Charlotte came back, we can come back. It really is about effort and momentum. Right now, I wouldn't predict this team to miss the Playoffs. Is it fair to predict a loss against Cleveland the last game when Lebron Kyrie and Love are likely not to play? That doesn't make any sense. Johnson could return right after San Antonio, it's a pain condition, not functional. I can go ahead and make a prediction but mine won't mean anything either. You're putting Charlotte at #5? Why? And above Chicago and Atlanta AND you got Washington above us when they've been consistently inconsistent the whole season and they're sitting 4 games under 500. They're garbage on away games and could literally lose to the 76ers if they decide to bring it that game and then they have to play Cleveland. It's just too early man. I'd appreciate a prediction of the next 10 games but not the whole season. There's still a quarter of the season left and I fully expect us to be in the Playoffs specially with a win against Cleveland at the end.

If you look at Washington's schedule, it is much easier than everyone else's, and that's why the model predicted they would have a better record. Out of 27 games remaining, they play Philly 3 times, Minnesota 2 times, and Brooklyn 2 times. That helps any team with their predicted record.

They also have 15 games away and 11 games at home left. If they keep playing the way they have been which is what I expect, they're not good either home or away. Both are under 500 and they have 6 back to back games left in the season. They play the Nets twice at the END of the season meaning if they lose enough now, some players could check out of the season and give up. If they want to have a winning record, they'll have to put in the effort. Then those back to backs seem all that much more difficult all of the sudden. I really don't think Washington will make the Playoffs this season.

[DocRI]

It did tighten things up a bit...

Predicted
Team W L
3 Boston 48 34
4 Miami 44 38
5 Charlotte 44 38
6 Indiana 43 39
7 Washington 43 39
8 Atlanta 42 40
9 Chicago 41 41
10 Detroit 41 41
11 Orlando 36 46

We're still out of the playoffs at the moment, but 4 through 10 spots are within 3 games!

Thanks Lip!

Amazing how tight that gets; and hey, as has been discussed, we'd be tied for 8th if we steal a win versus the Cavs' JV squad on the last day of the season!

Your model also backs what my eyes have seen all year — while I think you're right to have left them off the "Great Teams" list, BOS looks like a playoff lock to me.

It's also interesting to see your model predict such good things for CHA, as I've read their remaining strength of schedule is right around .500 (as is ours). I take it they either have a lot of home games left, or else very few games against the "Great Teams?"

[theBigLip]

But that's basically what these predictions do. It's too early to make these predictions. That's all I'm saying. There's still a lot of games left on the schedule and things don't have to go well for us to make the Playoffs. It just has to go bad for others. It's up and down for the rest of the season. We're down right now but just like how Charlotte came back, we can come back. It really is about effort and momentum. Right now, I wouldn't predict this team to miss the Playoffs. Is it fair to predict a loss against Cleveland the last game when Lebron Kyrie and Love are likely not to play? That doesn't make any sense. Johnson could return right after San Antonio, it's a pain condition, not functional. I can go ahead and make a prediction but mine won't mean anything either. You're putting Charlotte at #5? Why? And above Chicago and Atlanta AND you got Washington above us when they've been consistently inconsistent the whole season and they're sitting 4 games under 500. They're garbage on away games and could literally lose to the 76ers if they decide to bring it that game and then they have to play Cleveland. It's just too early man. I'd appreciate a prediction of the next 10 games but not the whole season. There's still a quarter of the season left and I fully expect us to be in the Playoffs specially with a win against Cleveland at the end.

If you look at Washington's schedule, it is much easier than everyone else's, and that's why the model predicted they would have a better record. Out of 27 games remaining, they play Philly 3 times, Minnesota 2 times, and Brooklyn 2 times. That helps any team with their predicted record.

They also have 15 games away and 11 games at home left. If they keep playing the way they have been which is what I expect, they're not good either home or away. Both are under 500 and they have 6 back to back games left in the season. They play the Nets twice at the END of the season meaning if they lose enough now, some players could check out of the season and give up. If they want to have a winning record, they'll have to put in the effort. Then those back to backs seem all that much more difficult all of the sudden. I really don't think Washington will make the Playoffs this season.

Good points, although Washington has been to the playoffs recently, and I'd expect them to suck it up and play better down the stretch.

[theBigLip]

It did tighten things up a bit...

Predicted
Team W L
3 Boston 48 34
4 Miami 44 38
5 Charlotte 44 38
6 Indiana 43 39
7 Washington 43 39
8 Atlanta 42 40
9 Chicago 41 41
10 Detroit 41 41
11 Orlando 36 46

We're still out of the playoffs at the moment, but 4 through 10 spots are within 3 games!

Thanks Lip!

Amazing how tight that gets; and hey, as has been discussed, we'd be tied for 8th if we steal a win versus the Cavs' JV squad on the last day of the season!

Your model also backs what my eyes have seen all year — while I think you're right to have left them off the "Great Teams" list, BOS looks like a playoff lock to me.

It's also interesting to see your model predict such good things for CHA, as I've read their remaining strength of schedule is right around .500 (as is ours). I take it they either have a lot of home games left, or else very few games against the "Great Teams?"

Charlotte has an easier schedule - predict them to go 15-11 down the stretch, us? 12-12
Charlotte
Fri, Feb 26 @ Indiana Loss 29 28
Sun, Feb 28 @ Atlanta Loss 29 29
Tue, Mar 1 vs Phoenix Win 30 29
Wed, Mar 2 @ Philadelphia Win 31 29
Fri, Mar 4 vs Indiana Win 32 29
Mon, Mar 7 vs Minnesota Win 33 29
Wed, Mar 9 vs New Orleans Win 34 29
Fri, Mar 11 vs Detroit Win 35 29
Sat, Mar 12 vs Houston Win 36 29
Mon, Mar 14 vs Dallas Win 37 29
Wed, Mar 16 vs Orlando Win 38 29
Thu, Mar 17 @ Miami Loss 38 30
Sat, Mar 19 vs Denver Win 39 30
Mon, Mar 21 vs San Antonio Loss 39 31
Tue, Mar 22 @ Brooklyn Win 40 31
Fri, Mar 25 @ Detroit Loss 40 32
Sat, Mar 26 @ Milwaukee Loss 40 33
Tue, Mar 29 @ Philadelphia Win 41 33
Fri, Apr 1 vs Philadelphia Win 42 33
Sun, Apr 3 @ Cleveland Loss 42 34
Tue, Apr 5 @ Toronto Loss 42 35
Wed, Apr 6 @ NY Knicks Loss 42 36
Fri, Apr 8 vs Brooklyn Win 43 36
Sun, Apr 10 @ Washington Loss 43 37
Mon, Apr 11 @ Boston Loss 43 38
Wed, Apr 13 vs Orlando Win 44 38

Detroit
Sat, Feb 27 @ Milwaukee Loss 29 30
Sun, Feb 28 vs Toronto Loss 29 31
Wed, Mar 2 @ San Antonio Loss 29 32
Sat, Mar 5 @ NY Knicks Loss 29 33
Sun, Mar 6 vs Portland Win 30 33
Wed, Mar 9 @ Dallas Loss 30 34
Fri, Mar 11 @ Charlotte Loss 30 35
Sat, Mar 12 @ Philadelphia Win 31 35
Mon, Mar 14 @ Washington Loss 31 36
Wed, Mar 16 vs Atlanta Win 32 36
Fri, Mar 18 vs Sacramento Win 33 36
Sat, Mar 19 vs Brooklyn Win 34 36
Mon, Mar 21 vs Milwaukee Win 35 36
Wed, Mar 23 vs Orlando Win 36 36
Fri, Mar 25 vs Charlotte Win 37 36
Sat, Mar 26 vs Atlanta Win 38 36
Tue, Mar 29 vs Oklahoma City Loss 38 37
Fri, Apr 1 vs Dallas Win 39 37
Sat, Apr 2 @ Chicago Loss 39 38
Tue, Apr 5 @ Miami Loss 39 39
Wed, Apr 6 @ Orlando Loss 39 40
Fri, Apr 8 vs Washington Win 40 40
Tue, Apr 12 vs Miami Win 41 40
Wed, Apr 13 @ Cleveland Loss 41 41

[ChuckVanBrown]

But that's basically what these predictions do. It's too early to make these predictions. That's all I'm saying. There's still a lot of games left on the schedule and things don't have to go well for us to make the Playoffs. It just has to go bad for others. It's up and down for the rest of the season. We're down right now but just like how Charlotte came back, we can come back. It really is about effort and momentum. Right now, I wouldn't predict this team to miss the Playoffs. Is it fair to predict a loss against Cleveland the last game when Lebron Kyrie and Love are likely not to play? That doesn't make any sense. Johnson could return right after San Antonio, it's a pain condition, not functional. I can go ahead and make a prediction but mine won't mean anything either. You're putting Charlotte at #5? Why? And above Chicago and Atlanta AND you got Washington above us when they've been consistently inconsistent the whole season and they're sitting 4 games under 500. They're garbage on away games and could literally lose to the 76ers if they decide to bring it that game and then they have to play Cleveland. It's just too early man. I'd appreciate a prediction of the next 10 games but not the whole season. There's still a quarter of the season left and I fully expect us to be in the Playoffs specially with a win against Cleveland at the end.

If you look at Washington's schedule, it is much easier than everyone else's, and that's why the model predicted they would have a better record. Out of 27 games remaining, they play Philly 3 times, Minnesota 2 times, and Brooklyn 2 times. That helps any team with their predicted record.

They also have 15 games away and 11 games at home left. If they keep playing the way they have been which is what I expect, they're not good either home or away. Both are under 500 and they have 6 back to back games left in the season. They play the Nets twice at the END of the season meaning if they lose enough now, some players could check out of the season and give up. If they want to have a winning record, they'll have to put in the effort. Then those back to backs seem all that much more difficult all of the sudden. I really don't think Washington will make the Playoffs this season.

I agree. Washington's schedule isn't as easy as it seems. The loss last night to Chicago didn't help either. They haven't shown to be a good road team so far this season. I think Detroit will be competing more with Indy, Charlotte, Atlanta, and Chicago for one of the final four spots. Miami might slip too if Bosh is not able to come back, but they have been playing well thus far. It's going to be close and every game counts at this point.

[theBigLip]

I think I'll just drop Orlando from the analysis. they are the worst of the teams in the analysis, they have a hard schedule down the stretch.

[Spider156]

If you look at Washington's schedule, it is much easier than everyone else's, and that's why the model predicted they would have a better record. Out of 27 games remaining, they play Philly 3 times, Minnesota 2 times, and Brooklyn 2 times. That helps any team with their predicted record.

They also have 15 games away and 11 games at home left. If they keep playing the way they have been which is what I expect, they're not good either home or away. Both are under 500 and they have 6 back to back games left in the season. They play the Nets twice at the END of the season meaning if they lose enough now, some players could check out of the season and give up. If they want to have a winning record, they'll have to put in the effort. Then those back to backs seem all that much more difficult all of the sudden. I really don't think Washington will make the Playoffs this season.

Good points, although Washington has been to the playoffs recently, and I'd expect them to suck it up and play better down the stretch.

Only because of Paul Pierce. He's the reason they swept Toronto in the Playoffs and he's the reason why they suck this year. They can't just suck it up without a closer and they're missing that on their team. Only guy is Wall but I think he has enough of a load to compete in the games anyway let alone win them

[joedumars1]

They also have 15 games away and 11 games at home left. If they keep playing the way they have been which is what I expect, they're not good either home or away. Both are under 500 and they have 6 back to back games left in the season. They play the Nets twice at the END of the season meaning if they lose enough now, some players could check out of the season and give up. If they want to have a winning record, they'll have to put in the effort. Then those back to backs seem all that much more difficult all of the sudden. I really don't think Washington will make the Playoffs this season.

Good points, although Washington has been to the playoffs recently, and I'd expect them to suck it up and play better down the stretch.

Only because of Paul Pierce. He's the reason they swept Toronto in the Playoffs and he's the reason why they suck this year. They can't just suck it up without a closer and they're missing that on their team. Only guy is Wall but I think he has enough of a load to compete in the games anyway let alone win them

Bradley Beal is pretty good player when on the court. Porter and Oubre are nice players too. I think Washington has beat us in every game this year too. Can't just count em out

[Spider156]

Good points, although Washington has been to the playoffs recently, and I'd expect them to suck it up and play better down the stretch.

Only because of Paul Pierce. He's the reason they swept Toronto in the Playoffs and he's the reason why they suck this year. They can't just suck it up without a closer and they're missing that on their team. Only guy is Wall but I think he has enough of a load to compete in the games anyway let alone win them

Bradley Beal is pretty good player when on the court. Porter and Oubre are nice players too. I think Washington has beat us in every game this year too. Can't just count em out

KCP and SJ are nice players too but they're not the difference makers Drummond and Wall are. We have Jackson and Harris, who do they have Gortat and Nene? They won because they match up well against us but what about the rest of the games? It's different. They look good to us but they are what their record says they are. We have a better shot at the 5th seed let alone the 7th seed than Washington. The season is still going up and down and things even out in the end. I think we have a chance to go up further.