Duiz wrote:Let's take percentages from an expert.
John Hollinger's playoff odds have these as the odds for the finals...
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger ... sort=false
This is outside the statistics, but the color under the team name to me it defines Contenders, Pretenders, and No Chancers.
Rank - Team - NBA Finals Odds - Champs Odds
Western Conference Playoff Odds
1. Utah Jazz 31.3% - 17.0 %
2. Los Angeles Lakers 14.1% - 6.3 %
3. New Orleans 12.7% - 5.1 %
4. Phoenix Suns 12.2% - 4.8 %
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5. Houston Rockets 9.4% - 3.9 %
6. Dallas Mavericks 8.6% - 2.4 %
7. San Antonio Spurs 6.6% - 2.1 %
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8. Denver Nuggets 3.9% - 1.5 %
9. Golden State Warriors 1.2% - 0.5 %
Is it just me or everyone keeps sleeping on the Jazz. The Jazz have the best record in 2008, and against the Western Conference top teams, as well as the highest point differential and ranks 11th in defensive and 1st offensive efficiency per 100 posessions.
People also keep moaning about the Jazz's road record. They are 17-22. On December they were 1-9 when they lost to the very crap of the East. They have been 16-13 for the rest of the year, and have pulled off wins in Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver, Golden State, New Orleans, and Houston.
For those of you on the East, I will give you just your contenders.
Eastern Conference Playoff Odds
1. Boston Celtics 65.8% - 42.8 %
2. Detroit Pistons 16.2% - 8.2 %
3. Orlando Magic 9.4% - 3.6 %
The playoff odds don't count injuries and things like that, such as Manu Ginobli being injured, or Bynum being out for months, but as of the performance of the teams up to today, this is how they fare, and it does have accounted into it the current momentum of the team better expressed on the Hollinger Power Rankings.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerranking
Hollinger's odds are based on his own power rankings, so they're kinda skewed. Teams he likes more will have higher percentages based on just that; his own liking.
