Who will take the 7th and 8th seeds in the east?

[MagicFan32]

And earn the right to get prison raped by Detroit and Boston?

the way I see it, the top six in the east look pretty safe, meanwhile you've got a bunch of sub .500 teams who are a five game winning streak away from having a comfortable margin ahead of the others.

so whos' it gonna be?

[SOUL]

Chicago/Washington

[NetsForce]

I hope the Nets don't at this point I want them to rebuild but I don't think they'll do so before the move to Brooklyn unless they fail to make the playoffs...

[Suns_Fever]

Atlanta and New Jersey

[YiYaoYue]

Atlanta I think will stay 7th.

I'm expecting NJ to rebuild... so that is why I think they are out for this year... if not then they are in the running for 8th spot also.

8th can go to multiple teams... chicago, charlotte, and miami (dont laugh I think they are complete now).

I know Miami looks bad but they aren't far off... marcus banks comically is better than jason williams so that was another upgrade on top of shawn marion who is playing sf so ricky comes off the bench... if udonis comes back.. they looks pretty complete except backup center position for mark blount.

Blount
Marion (for now)/ Haslem (in return)
Ricky Davis (for now) / Marion (above)
Wade (nuff said)
marcus banks / jason williams or rookie... watever doesnt matter.

[big3_8_19_21]

Atlanta I think will stay 7th.

I'm expecting NJ to rebuild... so that is why I think they are out for this year... if not then they are in the running for 8th spot also.

8th can go to multiple teams... chicago, charlotte, and miami (dont laugh I think they are complete now).

I know Miami looks bad but they aren't far off... marcus banks comically is better than jason williams so that was another upgrade on top of shawn marion who is playing sf so ricky comes off the bench... if udonis comes back.. they looks pretty complete except backup center position for mark blount.

Blount
Marion (for now)/ Haslem (in return)
Ricky Davis (for now) / Marion (above)
Wade (nuff said)
marcus banks / jason williams or rookie... watever doesnt matter.

lol, I guess it depends on what they are looking for. Since the offense is pretty much going to run through Wade anyway, Banks is probably fine at PG with a low bbiq. He's really dumb, but he's got some crazy athleticism and can absolutely JET to the basket and his strength allows him to take contact pretty well at the rim. He has a mediocre jump shot (this is my analysis of his playing time with Minnesota as he never sees the court hardly at all when I watch the Suns). He had some BIG games in 'sota.

Hey! If Miami gets the 8th seed, the Wolves get the 15th pick in the draft! Woot!

[_BBIB_]

How exactly is the 6th spot secure?
The Wiz are a whopping 1.5 games ahead of the Hawks right.

You're right about being screwed in those spots though.


I'd much rather face the Magic than the Celtics/Pistons which has sweep written all over it

[JoshB914]

Hawks are not far behind the Wizards at all. And somehow they've managed to play way less games than all the time teams around them in the standings.

[JazzItUp13]

the pacers

[MalReyn]

Right now I'm thinking Chicago and Atlanta, wtih Philly being a darkhorse.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Washington is slipping right now with injuries and a really tough schedule coming up. I could see them moving down, but with a healthy Caron and Arenas due back at the end of Feb, they would probably climb back to the 6th spot.

[theGreatRC]

Going to go out on a limb and say Miami and Atlanta.

Washington will stay either 5th or 6th(Home town team kinda)

[Fenris-77]

Right now I'm thinking Chicago and Atlanta, wtih Philly being a darkhorse.

I'm not sure that Indy hasn't been slightly better than Philly, but it's really tight. If Miller gets moved at the deadline Philly's done of course. And if JO gets moved at the deadline, well, no one cares.

I'd slot Atlanta in for sure, and then Chicago (assuming they get heakthy sometime soon). After that it's a crapshoot, with Philly and Indy floating to the top.

People make a good point about Washington - getting Caron and Gilbert back in decent time, and healthy, leaves them in a better position to go on a tear than any of the above teams.

So what I'm really saying is it's all very close and I don't really know.

[conleyorbust]

Atlanta looks pretty safe in the 7th seed, especially if we make a move for a point guard/shooter/backup big man who isn't terrible; if we get a point guard like Dre Miller than I'd say the sixth seed is within reach. The 8th seed is tough because NJ looks bad and Indy looks worse so I'd imagine those two will fall in the standings. If Philly ends up trading Miller, they lose any shot at the post season too which puts the underachieving Chicago team into the POs.

[miller31time]

Atlanta looks poised for the 6th seed. Washington might not make the playoffs altogether since Arenas is still out for another month and Caron is not even close to 100% healthy (missed last game and will probably miss the next few), and since we have one of the hardest remaining schedules, especially in the next few weeks.

When Gilbert comes back, we might climb back to 8th or higher, but at this point, I'm really not banking on it.

Really a shame what injuries do to teams....

[Mad Balla 15]

Lol the East is great. You can have a record of 20-29 and still be in the playoffs! This reminds me of that one season where Boston made the playoffs with 36 wins I think it was.

Nevertheless I think NJ will take the 7th or 8th spot if they actually start trying to win games. I highly doubt NJ could take Boston or Detroit but that's one team I doubt they want to play in the first round. When you got 3 all-star calibre players (assuming all 3 are still in NJ for the season) anything can happen.

[bleu]

Its sad that a team like the Knicks could almost make the playoffs in the East. East sucks.

[WesWesley]

1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Cleveland
4. Orlando
5. Toronto
6. Atlanta
7. Washington
8. Chicago

[SherronShabazz]

1. boston
2. detroit
3. orlando
4. cleveland
5. toronto
6. washington
7. chicago
8. atlanta

but hey.. im a bulls fan. i still have hope.

i think a bolder prediction is that the heat will pass the knicks lol

9. nets
10. pacers
11. 76ers
12. bobcats
13. bucks
14. heat
15. knicks

[pineappleheadindc]

^
If the Heat manage to pass New York by the end of the season, I'm not even gonna lurk the Knicks board for a few months. That place can get scary.