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The win total isn't far different from last year so I guess they're assuming improvements throughout the East will be a factor despite the many additions for the Hornets.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11334 ... -standings

I can see that. I would dearly love to be able to overtake Washington to get a top 4 spot. Barring injuries, I think that is absolutely possible.

I think we can be as high as 3. I would settle for any of the top 5 though.

I don't have a lot of faith in Toronto to repeat what they did last season, and Washington is really our only threat to the 3 seed.

If I had to predict the playoff seeding today, I'd have Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Charlotte, Toronto, Miami, Atlanta as my rigid top 7, with any of Indiana, Detroit, New York, Brooklyn, or Boston surprising me to snag the 8 seed.

BizGilwalker wrote:I think we can be as high as 3. I would settle for any of the top 5 though.

I don't have a lot of faith in Toronto to repeat what they did last season, and Washington is really our only threat to the 3 seed.

If I had to predict the playoff seeding today, I'd have Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Charlotte, Toronto, Miami, Atlanta as my rigid top 7, with any of Indiana, Detroit, New York, Brooklyn, or Boston surprising me to snag the 8 seed.

In that scenario we would still be 5 though. Toronto would get the 4 as a division winner.

OmegaAtrocity wrote:

BizGilwalker wrote:I think we can be as high as 3. I would settle for any of the top 5 though.

I don't have a lot of faith in Toronto to repeat what they did last season, and Washington is really our only threat to the 3 seed.

If I had to predict the playoff seeding today, I'd have Chicago, Cleveland, Washington, Charlotte, Toronto, Miami, Atlanta as my rigid top 7, with any of Indiana, Detroit, New York, Brooklyn, or Boston surprising me to snag the 8 seed.

In that scenario we would still be 5 though. Toronto would get the 4 as a division winner.

Although they wouldn't get home court.

That is too high for my liking. I'd rather be the underdog but I guess after last year that is impossible.

Chad Ford has us in the 3rd seed where I think we belong in the east. [tweet]https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/499012869132779520[/tweet]

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Of course Ford isn't aware of how seedings work, no surprise there.

LofJ wrote:Of course Ford isn't aware of how seedings work, no surprise there.

He didn't do it as seedings he just ranked the teams top to bottom. That appears to be how he things the teams stack up strength wise.

jdm3 wrote:

LofJ wrote:Of course Ford isn't aware of how seedings work, no surprise there.

He didn't do it as seedings he just ranked the teams top to bottom. That appears to be how he things the teams stack up strength wise.

Got ya, it is funny that he listed the 76'ers as 16th though. They're so bad a non-existent team is better than they are.

LofJ wrote:

jdm3 wrote:

LofJ wrote:Of course Ford isn't aware of how seedings work, no surprise there.

He didn't do it as seedings he just ranked the teams top to bottom. That appears to be how he things the teams stack up strength wise.

Got ya, it is funny that he listed the 76'ers as 16th though. They're so bad a non-existent team is better than they are.

If they trade Thaddeus Young for Anthony Bennett after all this, they may manage to be the worst team ever.

Noel/Varnado/Embiid[+]
Bennett/Moultrie/Davies
McDaniels/Grant/Adonis Thomas/Saric (Europe)
McRae/Hollis Thompson/Eliot Williams/J-Rich[+]
MCW/Wroten/Micic/Ware/Jackson[+]

I don't even know where to begin with that roster.

Kaorto wrote:Chad Ford has us in the 3rd seed where I think we belong in the east. [tweet]https://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/499012869132779520[/tweet]

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I have us at 3 as well but maybe it's my bias towards NYC street-balling between Kemba + Lance. I think they're going to give other teams fits with Al down low and I think we're going to be very stingy on defense. We're going to be in every contest because of our team defense and our elite perimeter defensive pairing of MKG + Lance. And I still think we'll add a shooter at the deadline to complete the offense.

Me and my buddies in Charlotte are up for games this year whenever anyone here wants to merge groups of friends.

5th sounds about right. I wouldn't be surprised if our win total exceeded 45 though. I think the East will be more competitive at the top this year. Everyone expects it to be as god awful as 2013-2014 forever, but that's simply not realistic. I think the conference will have at least three 50-win teams, hopefully we can be one of them.

I think 5 is reasonable. I think as we become more relevant and other teams scout us more thoroughly they will get better at exploiting our defensive holes which will limit us a little.

Outside of a few of my own nitpicking differences, both rankings seem reasonable to me, except for the Pacers being ranked wayyyy too high. They're going to be awful.

I'm starting to think that Marvin Williams is going to have a career resurgence with us. Don't forget, the general consensus was that McRoberts was a bust before we traded for him. Marvin is a more versatile shooter than McRoberts and he's going to have a lot of opportunities to show that playing in our offense. I think we're the best fit, roster wise, for his skills that he's ever been a part of.

It's easy to forget that in Atlanta he was playing with two other players who also happened to play his natural position. He was drafted into a bad situation playing with Smith and Horford, his game didn't fit with either of them. He was then traded to a rebuilding team and got hurt, but came back strong and had a decent season last year. He's never been in a situation as good as he is with our team. I think a lot of you are going to be really surprised at how well he plays.

The closer we get to the season, I really think we can be the 2 seed. If we concede the 1 seed to the Cavs, then we have Chicago, Washington, Toronto, Miami, and Atlanta all in the mix. All have concerns:

1. Chicago - Don't know how well Rose will come back, and how long he will be on the court. Pau hasn't really played lights out the past two years.

2. Washington - with all their hype, if we beat Atlanta down the stretch, we finish ahead of them. And we got better, they got a 97 year old Paul Pierce and lost a contract-year Ariza.

3. Toronto - Everything broke right for them last year, and Kyle Lowry has to duplicate what he did last year. Just don't see it.

4. Miami - Wade is all sorts of done, Bosh has to carry a team from the low post, where he hasn't played in 4 years.

5. Atlanta - I'm higher on them than most, but I think we are better than them. But I think the division is between us and them.

I can make a case that we are better than Indiana was last year, the overall number one seed in the East. So the 2 is not out of the question. Al > Hibbert, Marvin = West, PG>MKG, Lance = Lance, Kemba > George Hill.

_tijo_ wrote:Marvin = West

Benjamin Linus wrote:Outside of a few of my own nitpicking differences, both rankings seem reasonable to me, except for the Pacers being ranked wayyyy too high. They're going to be awful.

This. West-15ppg, Hibbert-12ppg & Hill 12ppg will be there top scorers lol, unless Stuckey goes back to 2008 version.

Anyways -- 3-5 is right. No way you finish 3rd in the div under the Heat. Whoever wins the SE Div will obviously get the 3-4 seed. It's gonna be close regardless & I see all Was(my 3) seed - Tor - Cha being around 50 wins.

Think Wiz got more experience in the playoffs which will help. Porter & Rice will help, good mix of old & young, but I mean I got Was at 51 & Cha at 49 lol. So obviously it can go either way.

mrknowitall215 wrote:

_tijo_ wrote:Marvin = West

Yeah, not so sure about that.

I think people are underestimating Washington. Nene missed like 30 games last season, and Wall and Beal are both young and will continue to improve and develop. Ariza was a big deal and I am not big on Pierce, but being realistic they could easily finish ahead of us if they stay healthy.